small growth/death

Question
i have to 2 part question. ok umm the first one is...i had 2 cambells dwarf hamsters. one is brown speckly and the other was pure white with red eyes. well the one with the red eyes all of a sudden became ill. one of her eyes started popping out of her head then the next day went back in and soon just turned milky white. i was wondering what could have been wrong with her? and my other brown hamster has developed a little growth on the corner of his lip. i am going to take him to the vet as soon as my parents feel it life threatening but i was wondering if its more likely benine or malignant?

Answer
Hi Christie, i'm really sorry to here about your hamsters being ill.  It sounds to me as if your hamster (the one with the bad eye) has developed Glaucoma.  This is a condition where one or both eyes swell and eventually fill with fluid, the affected eye will gradually go through various stages of this condition - leading to the eye 'popping' out always completely, in the last stage the eye will usually go back to normal but will, in most cases, be blind and, as you say, milky.  This condition is very painful for hamsters and the hamster should be taken to the vets straight away. There is currently no cure for this condition but the vet can sometimes give an ointment to be rubbed on the eye.  Please see your vet as he may be able to give your hamster something else too.

As for your other hamster, this could be an injury if the two are kept together and have been fighting or it could be something more serious, such as a tumour.  Please take them to the vets for an expert opinion.

Hope they both get better soon.

Tammy