Roborovski issue

Question
Hello.

I have 2 Roborovski hamsters, same sex, bought together from a reputed Pet Shop.

They are so far a year and a half old, and never presented any problems, strange behaviour or ailments, until now.

One of them was always fatter, but in this past week he "shrunk" to the same size as his friend, and has a large growth between his hind legs. It doesn't stop him from using the wheel as usual, and he is just a little bit less "electric" than its usual self. It hasn't grown in these past few days, but due to his prior fatness i am unable to say if it has been there for a while or if it just apeared. If the latter is the case, then i am afraid of the size it might grow to, for it is pretty big compared to the body size of a Roborovski adult.

I went to a vet, and his diagnosis was that it is indeed a tumor, but due to the place it is in, and the age of the hamster (about half his life expectancy), he advised me to just let nature take its course. The tumor is now about 1 cm wide, and he is still able to place both hind legs on the ground, as well as run and use the wheel.


I have sort of fallen in to the sad prospect of him dying soon, but another problem arises. At first, without knowing what his ailment was, i was concerned the other hamster might get the same, but since it is a tumor, my concern is now about the prospect of him being left alone, which would lead to a lonely life and lower life expectancy. With that in mind i would like to ask if it is possible to (in case my cancer-driven hamster dies soon, which i hope will not happen) introduce a younger Roborovski friend to him. He is the calmest, gentlest and smalest of both, and i am hopefull that he would accept a new friend.

Any input over both this question and the advice of the vet would be much apreciated.

Thank you in advance,

Best regards,

Bruno Barbosa

Answer
hmmm.. in all honesty your older hamster wouldn't live a sad life and dwarf hamsters actually only live 1-2 years. dwarf hamsters can actually do fine by themselves and once they are used to a certain company they generally don't accept anyone else into the family. *thinks about hurricane katrina and all the animals getting mixed up at the pet store*  From my experience with hamsters they seem to do just fine when their friend is gone. Sometimes they will eat the body of their dead friend. I've seen it and heard it too many times to know. what i would do is give both hamsters love and attention and don't worry about the other one being lonely. he is pretty old as well. i do agree that the vet was right about having a tumor and I must say I am not a vet and so i agree with what a vet says about the tumor. there's not much that can be done and surgery is very risky. when the tumor gets too big for him to move and you notice a drastic change in his behavior then my advise would be to take him to a vet and put him to sleep so he wouldn't suffer any longer. you've been a good pet parent to your dwarf hammies.