Shriveled testicles

Question
I have a orange and white hamster.  In the past few days his one testicle has gone black, then has shriveled up completely and looks like a raisin.  His other one is fine. He doesn't seem to be in pain, and is still eating and acting normal.  Any clue as to what this is? Should I be worried?

Answer
Hi Kara

How old is your hamster?  Their testicles can look a bit odd at times and sometimes appear lopsided so there may be absolutely nothing wrong.  They can develop testicular cancer but this isn't that common and tends to occur in elderly hamsters rather than young ones.

The fact that he is eating and acting normal is good - and hopefully all is well.  If you are worried it would be worth getting someone to have a look - this would at least put your mind at rest.  At this stage if you can't get him to a vet do you have a good local pet shop or pet rescue that you know - sometimes they have a lot of knowledge of hamsters.  If they feel it is something that needs investigating then it would be important to get him to a vet in case medication etc. is needed.

I hope you get on OK.

Regards
Sheila