Hamsters and Vets

[LittleBob]

It's a bit of a long one so please bare with me!
I just wanted to ask about people's experiences taking hamsters to see the vet and the vet's reaction to them.

My female Syrian (Bob) developed a pea size lump to the left of her vulva about three weeks a go. We took her to our regular vet who was very caring and compassionate as always but said she was unable to tell what the lump was. It didn't appear to be causing her any pain and she allows you to touch it and it doesn't seem to bother her. That ruled out the possibility of it being an abscess but without surgery (very very high risk in this area and we were advised this would only be a last resort), there was no way of truly knowing what the lump was. The vet thinks it's possibly a hernia but could also be a cyst or a tumour, she advised we take her home and monitor her as she was still her usually self and showed no signs of slowing down. She advised that we call if anything changed to avoid the unnecessary stress of frequent check ups.

Now fast forward two weeks and the lump has grown. It's probably double the size it was but she's still happy as anything and is showing no signs of pain. I called the vet just to check that the rapid growth didn't change the prognosis and to make sure I was doing the right thing by leaving her to it. I was unable to speak to our usual vet but spoke to another vet who seemed harsh, despondent, and made me feel as though I was wasting her time. She ubruptly told me 'there's not a lot we can do for hamsters' and advised Euthanasia if it grows any more. She was very unfeeling and in a rush to get me off the phone and really made me feel stupid for caring about my pet!

Baisically I'm hurt that the second vet seemed to care so little about my pet and can't help but feel that if I had brought a puppy in with the same problem they would have been much more compassionate. I know many people don't understand what great pets hamsters can be but I don't see why Bob's life is any less significant than any other animal's!

What I'm asking really is has anyone else had experience with Vets brushing off concerns because it's 'only a hamster'? I want the best for all animals in my care no matter how big or small and am wondering if it's worth going to a different Vets for another opinion to see if anything can be done?

[cypher]

I would try to find another vet, the first vet sounds caring but not too experienced with hamsters, vet's attitude to hams varies a lot but if you can find one with experience & knowledge of hamsters then there is a lot that can be done for them in many cases.
I don't know where you are but this thread might help.
Good vets finder

It's worth phoning round vets or looking online, many have websites that will list the vets various areas of interest & expertise.
In the US most vets that have hamster knowledge would be called exotics vets but I haven't found that to be the case in the UK.

[Hekomi]

Hi LittleBob,

I've had two females present with this, and both have been slightly different.

Arya started with a small lump to the left of her vulva. We took her to the vet, where they couldn't determine if it was a mass or an abscess. We opted to try a fine needle aspirate, as she also didn't display signs of discomfort when it was palpated.

The FNA was not completed, as when the vet went to inject, she drew up pus. We concluded it was an abscess and started her on meloxicam for pain and to reduce inflammation and chloramphenicol, an anaerobic antibiotic. When I pressed on the lump, it would express pus through her vulva. We did this twice daily. The lump never did go away, which leads me to believe it was an abscess around a small mass (this can happen). Due to placement, surgery was not an option, especially as it was connected to her vaginal tract (based on the expressing of discharge).

Cady also had a similar lump, however it was very soft. It also expressed through the vulva. Given her age, we opted to try fixing it medically. A course of antibiotics cleared up the lump, and it never reoccured.

I would personally opt for a fine needle aspirate, as it will give you a bit more information about what you might be looking at. If surgery is off the table (absolutely understand) I would try antibiotics, in the chance it is an abscess, and pain management.

Does the lump seem to bother her? I wouldn't rush towards euthanasia unless it's really impeding her ability to hamster (drink, eat, pee, poop).

Does she look bloated at all?

[Pebbles82]

Hello Little Bob. I know how distressing it can be when you speak to a vet who is not compassionate. I had a similar thing with our vet practice. One was very nice but didn't do much, and another was very uncompassionate and that really upset me too. Unfortunately there are some who aren't very nice and I would agree with Cypher that you should find another vet. Some vets who aren't that experienced with hamsters, but are caring and compassionate, will recommend a referral to someone more experienced, but I agree completely that the brusque attitude of "they won't live long so don't bother and if it becomes a problem have them pts" is outrageous. For any pet. From a profession who is supposed to care and help prevent suffering.

I'm a former nurse so have strong feelings about this! Treatment where necessary and procedures to keep comfortable and relieve pain are needed.

I don't think a good vet would have said such a thing to you, and it shows they don't know what to do (and aren't interested) so sack them

Hekomi's advice is good. It can be very hard finding a good vet. Recommendations help but sometimes there aren't many in your area, and it means traveling a little bit further. Which country are you in and we can help track one down.

Googling for "exotic vets" in your area might help, then read the profiles of the vets in the practice and see if any specialise in rodents or small furries. There often aren't many who do, but an exotic vet is used to all kinds of small and less usual pets and has an interest in the less common vet work, other than regular things like cats and dogs.

It's good that the lump doesn't seem to be bothering her, but you need to know what it is and what to do about it. How old is Bob?

[Hekomi]

I didn't touch on vets with bad bedside manners... sorry.

When we first noticed Arya's lump, I booked her in with the vet who had previously seen Java, Biscotti and Mallow. They were recommended to us by the vet down the road, who are great, but don't have as much knowledge in smalls.

The vet saw Arya, and immediately told me she had outlived her life expectancy. I believe she was about 18mo when we first noticed this, and the vet told me hamsters only lived a year. That obviously struck me poorly, and I tried to correct her, but got the "I'm a vet I know better".

What the vet wanted to do was a fine needle aspirate, not just on the inguinal lump, but on two other small benign lumps Arya had developed. She quoted me $600 for the FNAs, and $1200 to remove it. However, she told me Arya would die on the table, because she had not only outlived her life expectancy, but because smalls don't do well during surgery (which is somewhat true).

I paid $100, told her I'd think about it, and left.

It was one of the single most depressing experiences in my life, and I just sobbed on the way home.

That prompted us to find a new vet - one that was quite a bit further from us. He and his partner were the ones who helped us through Arya's health issues, until she finally passed away, and did surgery on Dusty, and saw our Banana. Each time they were fantastic, and he even referred to my own knowledge with smalls.

He ended up moving too far out of our reach, and now we travel about ~1hr or so to the Ontario Veterinary College to see the best vets in the country.

It takes some time to find a good vet, but I promise it is worth it.

[chesca_27]

I've seen some vets who were very uncompassionate towards my guinea pigs (like I'd ever trust them with hamsters if they don't care enough about my guinea pigs). I'd strongly recommend finding a new vet, who knows a little more. A good place to ask for recommendations is a reputable hamster breeder or rescue, that's where I found my current vet, who is excellent with Jasper and my piggies.

[EJoy123]

So far I've spent about 17 hours shadowing my local vet. She saw mostly cats and dogs, 2 rabbits, and no hamsters in the time I was with her.
On past visits, I've been told that they very rarely see hamsters and I get the impression comparitively very little research has been done about them. I'm still not really sure what vets can do for hamsters, mostly it appears to be a game of wait and see when it comes to lumps (in my experience).
I think in some cases vets can use human or other animal medicines in appropriate quantities.
My last Syrian, Willow, went down hill very quickly after getting ill, but I pressumed there wasn't much the vets could do about it. By the time we finally took her, it wast too late. But I got the impression that they may have been able to do a little more for hamsters than I expected. It's probably worth a visit (or a phone call) if anyone is worried about their baby, just in case there is something the vets can do.

LittleBob, do you know of any specialist vets in your area? I've heard of one in the UK who specialises in hamsters...