After surgery care

[xbuttons94]

Hi! Lexi is very likely to be having surgery on Wednesday. She is my 19 month old Syrian hamster. I just have a few questions about how to care for her after. I have read a new posts on hamster care after surgery but I still have a few questions.

Lexi has been chewing the hair off her belly since her lump appeared. I am worried that she will chew her stitches after surgery. Any suggestions on how I can prevent her from doing so?

Also, her cage set up. I have read that I should take her wheel out, any toys and move her food closer to her nest which I will do. The one question I have is would she be more comfortable with all fresh bedding or should I have her scent in her cage for when she comes home? I don't know if it would be best to remove some bedding or just clean it completely.

I'm sorry for all the questions! I haven't been through something like this with a hamster before. I will get advice from the vet also when I take her in on Wednesday.

Thank you all so much for the support

[racinghamster]

Hi buttons, I firstly want to wish you and Lexi all the best on Wednesday and I`m sure it will go fine. Where possible, it`s always better to address tumours while they are `operable` than leave them if they are fast growing. Your vet will obviously advise you best on this.

As for her cage, well you have that in mind already so if it was me, I would leave things partially the same but when she`s in having her op, you can remove some of her old nesting IF you feel it smells or it`s even necessary. Line it with some fresh soft bedding and make sure it`s cosy for her. If the box she sleeps in is small, maybe look for a shoe box or something nearly as long and cut a few doors in it, remove the lid and turn the box upside down, so she can dig down into her nesting and substrate.

If she can reach her water bottle easily already then no need to move that, although if it does need lowering, you can do that. Food should be in a low sided ceramic dish. Again, if you already use one, that`s fine. Plant drip trays are very good shallow food dishes. I have the ceramic ones as these won`t `tip` over due to their weight.

The wheel....well again, she may not feel like using it right away anyway, but decide if its better to remove it for a few days or wait to see if she`s feeling well and actually wants to sit in the wheel. I`m not convinced she will want to run like the wind anyway after surgery! Some hamsters can be lively while others will just want to rest. Depends what Lexi is like after her surgery and monitor what she`s doing afterwards.

The stitches will more than likely be dissolvable and not thread, but ask the vet about this. x

[xbuttons94]

Originally Posted by racinghamster

Hi buttons, I firstly want to wish you and Lexi all the best on Wednesday and I`m sure it will go fine. Where possible, it`s always better to address tumours while they are `operable` than leave them if they are fast growing. Your vet will obviously advise you best on this.

As for her cage, well you have that in mind already so if it was me, I would leave things partially the same but when she`s in having her op, you can remove some of her old nesting IF you feel it smells or it`s even necessary. Line it with some fresh soft bedding and make sure it`s cosy for her. If the box she sleeps in is small, maybe look for a shoe box or something nearly as long and cut a few doors in it, remove the lid and turn the box upside down, so she can dig down into her nesting and substrate.

If she can reach her water bottle easily already then no need to move that, although if it does need lowering, you can do that. Food should be in a low sided ceramic dish. Again, if you already use one, that`s fine. Plant drip trays are very good shallow food dishes. I have the ceramic ones as these won`t `tip` over due to their weight.

The wheel....well again, she may not feel like using it right away anyway, but decide if its better to remove it for a few days or wait to see if she`s feeling well and actually wants to sit in the wheel. I`m not convinced she will want to run like the wind anyway after surgery! Some hamsters can be lively while others will just want to rest. Depends what Lexi is like after her surgery and monitor what she`s doing afterwards.

The stitches will more than likely be dissolvable and not thread, but ask the vet about this. x

Thank you for the advice. We have plenty of boxes in the house so I will do as you suggested. I will see how she is after surgery, knowing her she might try and have a run! I'm so thankful for everyone's support this week. I have been trying my best to keep it together but it has been hard. I wish I could have gotten her in sooner. We heard last week that she was fine and then we were told she needed surgery towards the end of the week and I don't think it has all sunk in. Thank you for your advice and for everyone else who has helped Lexi and myself... xx

[cypher]

I'm sure your vet will give you some good advice but as far as I know it's best to keep to a pretty much stripped down cage, just lots of soft bedding & nesting material, food & water, at least for the first few days while the wound heals.
The stitches will most likely be the type that dissolve but you will still need to keep an eye on her in case she tries to have a go at them, hopefully she'll just leave well alone.
I would imagine they will give her antibiotics & pain meds so she may just be a bit more sleepy than normal.
Fingers crossed all will go well & she'll soon be on the mend.

[xbuttons94]

Originally Posted by cypher

I'm sure your vet will give you some good advice but as far as I know it's best to keep to a pretty much stripped down cage, just lots of soft bedding & nesting material, food & water, at least for the first few days while the wound heals.
The stitches will most likely be the type that dissolve but you will still need to keep an eye on her in case she tries to have a go at them, hopefully she'll just leave well alone.
I would imagine they will give her antibiotics & pain meds so she may just be a bit more sleepy than normal.
Fingers crossed all will go well & she'll soon be on the mend.

Thank you for the kind words. I will take all her toys out until she is healing well and perking up. I'll make sure she is nice and comfy x

[BCjetta]

I've had a hamster have surgery on a mass beside the cheek pouch, one with 2 masses removed from behind her head, one that had a big liver cyst removed, one that had a c-section/spay, and one that had a liver mass removed. All had dissolvable sutures and none of them seemed to bother with them. The hammy with the c-section did have some issues with the outer incision opening up a bit but it never fully opened and it healed in time. I always took the wheel out and anything they could really stretch themselves climbing on except their bed house.
Good luck with your little one!

[DrKMcK]

I cannot add to the good advice you've gotten here xbuttons. But I did want to give you good wishes for the surgery tomorrow. {hugs}

[Thin Lizzy]

Will be thinking of you & Lexi on Wednesday! Good Luck xxx

[xbuttons94]

Thank you all so much! I'm feeling less stressed about it but still worried for her. She just isn't herself and I can't wait for things to hopefully get back to normal for her sake. I will update you all on how it goes when I can x

[flowerfairy]

Best of luck for tomorrow. I look forward to updates.