[Pebbles82]

Hello. Sorry to hear about the tumour. Your hammy is a grand age at two years old and it is likely he could die from natural causes as he ages regardless of the tumour. It is all uncertain but by the age of two it is very common for a hamster to develop something - it’s the equivalent of 80 ish in human years.

You mention he lives with his brother so I am assuming he is a Russian dwarf hamster (or a Robo?) Is that right? As those are the only two species who can live in sibling pairs.

I think the situation is tricky as it sounds great they have lived together so long - many pairs fight and have to be separated. My feeling is it could be a good idea to separate them now. Not just so one can get used to being alone before the other dies, but also because the one with the tumour will now be vulnerable and possibly in a weakened state and they have animal instincts. I would be concerned he may be attacked.

As for the benign tumour. If he is carrying on as normal and doesn’t seem to be suffering he can probably live out it his life comfortably. It is uncertain as it may get no worse or it may get bigger and cause other issues. Our Robo had a lump. He lived with it for quite a long time and seemed fine, active and eating well. It got bigger and started to cause mobility issues so I changed his cage set up so he could still nip about. We didn’t know if it was benign or not but I could tell the lump hurt when he tried to climb so he was on a Metacam for pain which seemed to keep him comfortable. He then started losing a lot of weight even though he was still eating well and had skin nodules and sadly had to be helped on his way.

Every case is different. A hamster can live with a lump. If you think he has any pain then do ask the vet for pain relief medicine. Hamsters are good at hiding pain, as prey animals, but if they seem hunched it is a sign. Or any sign of flinching when rubbing against something with his lump. Ears flat all the time can be another sign. Or just being less active. My vet said appetite isn’t always a sign. Our Robo still seemed to be enjoying his food but was losing weight. Vet said he had cancer at that point and that was causing him to be hungry but not enjoying the food. So a big loss of weight is a sign that something is not right too.

Just keep an eye on him and he’ll probably live happily with his lump. If he starts to chew at it then it could be hurting so watch for that.

I would suggest separating them now though - that is just my opinion though. They will have the benefit of getting used to living alone while still not “losing” each other as such as they will smell each other etc. If one starts to fail they can be cared for in their own cage.