Bleeding found in Bedding

Question
Hello,
I have a Syrian Hamster....Leroy...who is around 2 and a half years old and this morning i found some dried blood in his bedding when i went to feed him.
He is perfectly fine otherwise, has no cuts on him and is in no pain. He was out to play last night running around and this morning has been out been eating both dried food and some fresh cucumber and drinking water. I know it is an old age related thing but i am just wondering what exactly it could be as it must of happened when he is going to toilet?! He always eats and drinks well, i noticed he was struggling to drink from his bottle sometimes so he has a little bowl of water in his cage too which he always drinks from as he seems to prefer this and he does drink a fair bit. Any advice?
Many Thanks
Rosie

Answer
Hi Rosie

Sorry to hear about your hamster - blood is always a bit of a worry.  It is difficult to know why /where he is bleeding.  It could be from some sort of infection - such as kidney in which case it might be possible to get him on antibiotics.  However, hamsters around this age are incredibly prone to getting tumors, especially abdominal ones.  Often you don't notice them growing - the only tell tale signs that there might be a problem initially is that the hamster drinks a lot more water than usual for a while.  The next sign you often get is that the hamster appears to lose weight although often their abdomen is quite swollen and they can look 'pear' shaped.  As the tumor grows it can put pressure on internal organs and also their spine and this can cause them to struggle to walk, fall over, reluctant to leave the nest, soil themselves.  If anything ruptures it can cause bleeding from the rear end.

I suggest you keep a close eye on him - it could be a 'one off' spot of blood, but if it is clear that he is bleeding from the rear end or if his behaviour changes in a negative way then it is best to get a vet to check him out, in which case euthanasia might be advised.  Do you have a local vet who treats small animals that you could take him to if necessary?  If he is still eating, looks fairly bright, and keen to come out to play (albeit not as much as before) and there doesn't appear to be any more blood then it would be good just to let him get old and die in his own time.

I hope this helps you.

Regards