thanks again for the replies.
I'm trying to reach a decision about whether to go back to the vet or not. each appointment costs £39 and in the last appointment the vet said that if his current meds don't work, the only option would be to send him off for tests. there are no more medications they will prescribe without sending ginger to a specialist, which I know will kill him with stress. it feels sort of pointless to take him on a stressful vet visit when I know the answer I'll be recieving.
if he was a young hamster I'd be more prepared to take him to the vet, but he really doesn't seem like he has long left, it's traumatic for him, and I already have painkillers which I can continue to give him until he goes. I would of course take him to be euthanised or take him if he developed an obvious infection anywhere, etc.
I've been examining his belly daily and it's not looking good, he's now got two lumps, each the size of a broad bean, and a few small bumps that resemble under-the-skin acne & his skin also looks really saggy around his outer belly for some reason, perhaps just old age.
no fur loss past what I'd expect of his age, very minimal, no sign of mites or anything.
he honestly just looks old. he sleeps a lot, but is still very happy with a mealworm. he will do anything for a mealworm (even lets me wipe his eye with cotton swabs dipped in saline solution, no complaints, as long as he gets his mealworm! homemade saline solution is my final resort)
his eye looks the same as when I last posted, brighter red than usual (he has dark red eyes) and swollen, but no discharge, no squinting, nothing. makes me think something is pressing on it rather than swelling it...
my lingering suspicion is that he has some kind of progressive malignant tumour on his belly which has spread to other regions...
as I type this he's digging around in his food bowl looking for extra food he might have missed!
I always worry quite a lot with my hamsters now, since my last dwarf hamster, Cinnamon, who was Ginger's sister & lived separately, died suddenly and unexpectedly and with no previous symptoms at all, when I found her she had been dead for a day & was covered in mites, I'd just cleaned out her cage as well
sorry for the rambling post, overall my opinion is that I'm going to wait and see how his condition goes, and take him to the vet if he starts to experience any obvious pain.
please let me know your opinions!
thank you ❤️