prolapse?

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

I don't know if you can help or not but I thought it was worth a try!! My boyfriend and I adopted 2 russian hamsters yesterday and while he has had mice, hamsters etc as pets before, this is my first pet!

Shortly after the ex-owner dropped them off yesterday, I noticed that one of them had a swollen lower abodmen (past the rear legs)and something pink sticking out of its bum :( straight away I assumed it was having babies... but 24 hours later, no babies and my boyfriend is fairly certain they are both girls and he has never seen this in any of the rodents he has had before.

Last night when the shyer one eventually came out I saw that it has the same sort of thing.

I have no frame of reference to know if they are eating too much/little etc so I'm sorry that I can't help there. They do eat and drink but to me it doesn't seem like a lot and they are still very active. They also seem to be poking/biting at their bums every so often.

After a bit of googling today, it doesn't sound good... could it be a prolapse/intussusception or something like that? Or am I over reacting?

Thanks, any clarity would be much appreciated!
Steph

ANSWER: Hi Steph

This sounds really strange.  It is hard to know for sure what it is without seeing them.  However, it is odd that both would have this if this is a prolapse.  Constipation or diarrhoea cause prolapses of the intestines when the hamster has been straining to go to the toilet.  If there is a prolapse the part that comes out tends to look bloody and gets bigger over the course of a day.  Prolapses can sometimes be sorted out by a vet - they can push it back inside and sometimes stitch it back in place providing this is done quickly before it dries out.  Intussusception is difficult to treat and sadly euthanasia tends to be the kindest option.  I had a hamster with this - I had nursed it through wet tail - thought it was fine, and then suddenly there was this dark bloody 'thing' hanging out of its rear.  Over the course of a few hours the length of this got bigger, although the hamster didn't seem to be that bothered by it.  The vet had to put the hamster to sleep as there was no way he could get it back into the hamster's body.

Are you absolutely certain they are definitely girls?  Sorry for the stupid question, but some males have very prominent testicles and I just wondered if it was this instead.  Also, are they definitely Russian and not Chinese?  Chinese males have incredibly huge testicles that often concern people when they see them.   If you are concerned then you really should try to get them checked out - at least this will put your mind at rest and if it is a prolapse then they stand a chance of recovery. Either contact a local vet - try to find out if they have anyone who specialises in hamsters and also double check their fee as most will charge a lot less for a hamster, or your local pet shop (or pet rescue if you have one near you) might be able to have a quick look for you and confirm if you need to see a vet - especially if they have some other hamsters of the same variety to compare them with.  They will be used to seeing hamsters and will know what is normal.

I hope you get on OK.

Regards
Sheila

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Sheila,

Thanks for the quick response. Your questions aren't stupid at all, as I say I have zero experience with animals! To answer them, I am not sure that they are girls or russians for that matter. My boyfriend got them off a local family whose kids were scared of them so I had no contact with the previous owner at all and am going off his experience (he previously had 2 chinese females and thought these weren't the same, they are a grey colour and I thought this was indicative of russian).

On seeing the second hamster with the same protrusion, I also thought it was strange that both would have prolapse but thought that if constipation was a factor that their environment could have caused both to have it?

Now that you say that, it does seem perhaps more like testicles... They don't seem to be in any discomfort at all apart from the occasional poking and I haven't seen any signs of blood or anything like that. They are pink but look clean.

I think maybe I've fallen foul of hamster-WebMD syndrome and went straight to worst case scenario, pictures of hamsters rarely show the rear end so I just wasn't sure if this was in anyway normal. I think I'm just nervous because they are my first and I want them to be happy!
I'll keep a close eye on them and may take them to the vet just to be doubly sure.

Thanks for your help
Steph

Answer
Hi Steph

Thanks for getting back to me.

If you have a look at my website: www.thehamstersite.com there are some photos of the different types of dwarf hamsters - as you can see, Chinese and Russian can be grey colour.  The Chinese male has a very prominent rear and their tails tend to be more obvious than with other hamsters.  If you can get a photo of your hamsters and want to send it to me I can see if I can figure out what is wrong.  however, if you are worried, then please get it checked out by a vet - hopefully this is absolutely nothing to worry about, but peace of mind is very important.

In terms of food etc. it is important that they have a good dry hamster mix - one that contains hard biscuits, seeds and nuts.  In addition, they should have a small amount of fresh vegetables nightly and this helps prevent constipation.  Avoid giving too much lettuce as this can cause diarrhoea.  Dwarf hamsters love seeds and I often give mine a stick of millet, or a mixture of sesame, linseed, sunflower seed etc. They also like small pieces of cheese or scrambled egg as a treat every week or two.  

I hope this helps.

Regards
Sheila