My hamsters cheek is swelling

Question
Hi Joanne,
         Well my Syrian Hamster, Teddy is un-well. One side of his cheekish area is swelling, redish-pink, big, and puss is coming out if it. I can't go to the vet because my mother says it is very pricey. One time we went for a check up and the bill was very, very expensive. It's been a few days now and it seems like the swelling has been going down. Is there anything I can do for him? And what do you think has caused this? Is it serious because I've been putting off changing his cage because I thought that he shouldn't be out on the cold floor and that he should be resting. Any info would help. Thank you!
                                 -Shannon

Answer
hi shannon,

forst of all apologees for the time it has taken to reply, ive been rather busy leading up to xmas but i try to answer as soon as i can :)

you must clean out his cage, it sounds like he had an abcess and it popped. if anythings going to make it worse is any bacteria that might infect it. as far as the abcess is concerned, clean him up, being careful to avoid touching the abscess the directly, just keep the general area clean, you can use a q-tip with luke warm, pre boiled water.

if you are worried about him getting cold, put him in a shoe box, poke holes in the lid and tape it closed, put some bedding and sawdust in it for him and some food, this will keep him warm, and occupied while you clean out his cage :)

good luck and thank you for your question, please ask again if you need to and let me know how you get on.

joanne :)