Bleeding ear wart.

[Clairealex]

Hey guys.

I went to check on Chubs this morning and noticed a couple of tiny dots of dried blood on his white fitch round where he sleeps. I let him eat some spinach and checked him over. There was a tiny spot of dried blood on his left hand side under her ear and some dried blood under his nail on his back leg.

When I got him out and used a small torch, I noticed that the inside of his left ear seemed to have a small wart (kind of like a skin tag - a bit like a wee ball with a texture to it). This had some dried blood round it.

Because he's had a cold and been on antibiotics, I didn't get round to trimming his back nails as I wanted to give him as much R&R as possible. What I think has happened is he's been scratching inside his ear with his overly long nails and has pulled at it, causing the minor bleeding. As it's Sunday and the only vets that are open are the emergency ones, I plan on holding off until tomorrow to visit my regular vet. He doesn't seem to be in any discomfort and from what I can tell there is no fresh blood so the wound seems to have healed at this point.

I know ear warts aren't uncommon in Russians. I was wondering what I can expect tomorrow though. Will the the vet most likely want to remove it? It's small so that would be my preferred option, that way it won't get any worse, but if they take a 'wait and see' approach, is it likely to get bigger? It is tiny right now, about 1mm round, so it doesn't seem to be affecting his ear as such. It's also only visible when he's sitting down with relaxed ears, not when he's zipping about with his ears fully alert. That's why I've never noticed it, but from what I can remember he has always scratched the inside of that ear a bit more, even from when he first came to me, which suggests it could have been there for months

Any advice at all would be very much appreciated!

[Clairealex]

Also, should I make any attempt to clean the rest of the dried blood from his ear or should I just leave him to it? I can use a cotton bud and a tiny bit of saline solution if need be? I'm just worried that he might scratch at it again!

[racinghamster]

Hi Claire. It`s one of those situations that quite rightly, isn`t an emergency and it gives you time to discuss and monitor what it actually is with your vet. In the meantime, if it isn`t bothering him where he`s `at it` all the time, then there should be no need to bathe it in case that just makes him more eager to have a go at the area. Saline (if needed) will keep the area clean but could also make it itchy if it irritates with the salt in it, so be guided by his own actions I would say. Lot of blood, clean it. Just dried bits of blood, leave it.

Russian dwarfs do seem to get these ear warts developing and they are probably viral (live off the blood supply) much like cancer does. So removal is one option to look at but with the knowledge that it may recur. It`s really a quality of life issue more than anything and whether the wart starts to grow and cause a blockage to the ear, or whether it`s growing on the outer edges of the ear and may be easier to remove and then hope it doesn`t come back.

Chubs certainly has had his fare share of bad luck recently and it`s unfair on him that this should happen. But rest assured that using your own judgement here is the best vision to have and keep in mind that a problem shared is a problem solved. x

[Clairealex]

Thanks RH. if it wasn't for the bleeding today i wouldn't have known it was there.

He seems fine thought. Appetite is fine etc. I do think he's probably had this for a long time now. The position it's in is in the outer ear, so is not obstructing anything in his ear. If I had noticed it on its own id probably just monitor it myself and go to the vet at any signs of change, but because he's made it bleed I'm not so sure.

I'm not an expert, but just looking at it, it really looks like a small wart that a human would get. Just a little growth held on by a thin stalky bit, from what I could see. Although a vet would be able to get a proper look I'm sure.

My poor little man. I got such a fright when I seen the blood today!

[racinghamster]

It does sound like a little wart and if it`s holding on by what looks to be a thin piece of skin or stalk, chances are Chubs will knock it off while scratching at it. If this happens, don`t panic! You may see more blood but that will just be due to the wart coming away. If this happens, you could just use the saline. I remember a female mouse I had grew a wart near her nose. I knew what it was so left it alone. I woke up one morning and the wart was gone! She had knocked it off herself and it didn`t even leave a hole or any damage. You just see some blood lying on the bedding or around the cage.

Obviously if you want a vets opinion then yes, do go along if it keeps bothering him. But these things can sometimes be knocked off by the hamster. If it grows larger, then it may be best to see your vet. x

[Clairealex]

Thank you so much. Your advice really has stopped me with a mild panic!! I've just gotten back in and he came out to say hello. He'd cleaned himself up and if I hadn't seen it this morning I'd never known it had happened. He came out for a wee play and a couple of sunflower seeds, had a groom, and went back to bed. He seems perfectly fine. I'm not going to rush him to the vets tomorrow as I feel he's ok and the vet trip will be a stress he doesn't need at all. I'll keep a very close eye I'm it and if it gets bigger, or he makes it bleed again, I'll speak to my vet.

[racinghamster]

Seems the best course of action for now Claire and if you see any changes going on or Chubs seems stressed about it, then do see your vet. It`s all about using your common sense and your own reasoning.x

[Clairealex]

I agree. I'm very much a 'let's fix this now' person but I have to learn that Chubs might not feel like anything needs fixing at the moment! I'm very in tune with his usual behavior so I'm confident I'll notice if he seems to be bothering with it and now I know that it's there I'll be able to monitor it. Any changes at all, he'll be straight down. I actually phoned my vet this morning for advice and they agreed close monitoring would be best. He's already on baytril, and they said all they really would have done today would have been look at it and give antibiotics to stop any infection from the scratch, so as he already has one of them then to take him out his nice home and back to the vets would probably stress him out unnecessarily.

I've got lucky with my vet if I'm honest. They're quite happy to tell me that bringing him wouldn't be best for him. They're not interested in just taking money, they really do love the pets. It makes me really trust them!

[racinghamster]

My vet is great too at talking over the phone and it`s really appreciated that they will take the time to do that. Most are too busy or will ask to see the animal before they will give any advice even if they have seen them before. It makes sense, especially with `rodents` not to cause them added stress by travelling. Your on the ball with this Clair and that`s what matters. x

Just seen your new Chinese.