Winter white hamster stopped eating after vet visit

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sheila,

My 10 month old dwarf winter white hamster suddenly developed a lump on his left face, and it was quite big. He behaved normally except that he didn't like people to touch the lump in the beginning. I took him to the vet, and the vet squeezed the stuff (liquid?# out of the lump. Since it was close to the eye, it couldn't be squeezed very thoroughly. The poor little thing was terribly scared, and spent hours grooming himself. Since the vet trip #last night#, he didn't really eat anything #only a few bites of his favor treat). I saw him drank a little bit of water and the urination was normal. I'm very concerned and what can I do to make him recover?

PS. He is now on an antibiotic provided by the vet.

ANSWER: Hi Milly

It sounds as though your hamster went through quite an ordeal, and for a creature so small this must have been frightening. It is good that your vet has managed to get some of the pus out, and hopefully the antibiotics will kill off any infection.

Regard to eating if I were you I would continue trying foods that he likes.  You might want to buy a packet of powdered baby food such as creamy porridge oats, and mix a little with water and give this for a few days in addition to his usual food.  This is full of nutrients and I feed all my hamsters on this when they are ill, elderly etc. and they seem to enjoy it.  Also give plenty of seeds - sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, linseed as dwarf hamsters do love these. You could also tempt him with a little cheese, or scrambled egg.  Also give a small amount of fresh vegetables - such as peas, sweetcorn, brocolli etc.(avoid giving too much lettuce as this can cause diarrhoea).

Once the antibiotics kick in he should start feeling more normal and hopefully he will get back to his old self very quickly.  With hamsters, a day in their life is like a month or more in a humans and whilst illness can have a dramatic effect on them in terms of the speed if appears, they also recover incredibly fast too.  

I'm assuming you will have him on antibiotics for a few days or more, and if at the end of that time there is no improvement or if he still is clearly not his usual self it would be worth speaking to the vet again.  Hopefully by then he will be fine.

Regards
Sheila

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

QUESTION: Hi Sheila,

Thanks for your answer. It has been 2 weeks since the vet visit. The vet told me that there is a chance the lump would grow back, and now it truly has grown back. Sadly, my poor hammy also started to have fur loss in the lump area. I'm not sure if revisiting the vet would do much help. The pus cannot be squeezed out thoroughly, since the lump is too close to his eye and ear. So I'm afraid this would result in the same thing again. Fortunately, my hammy is still doing fine. He does what he is supposed to do everyday. Please advise me what I should do. I really appreciate it!

Answer
Hi Milly

Sorry to hear that the lump has grown back straight away.  Have you spoken to your vet about it again?  It might be worth phoning him and telling him and seeing if you can have another course of antibiotics.  I'm assuming when he squeezed it, that pus came out of it - so that it is more of an abscess??  Did the vet ascertain why the lump was there?  What caused it?  Does your hamster have any dental problems that might be causing the lump to grow? Sometimes teeth can overgrow, or grow wrongly and if unnoticed they can pierce the cheek which can infect.  Hamsters can sometimes develop cheek pouch problems and if the cheek pouch is damaged in any way it can infect.

Does the lump have a scab on it now?  It is important to keep the area clean.  When abscesses are involved these need regular draining and cleaning, along with antibiotics, so if it is this, then I would imagine he would need antibiotics for some considerable time.

I would strongly advise phoning the vet at this stage and telling him that the situation hasn't improved and seeing if he would let you have more medication without taking the hamster back, as the trip to visit him is obviously very stressful.  

In the meantime, I'm glad your hamster is doing fine now and has settled back into his old routine.

Regards
Sheila