My hammy has a tumour.

[sarahhhh]

Originally Posted by Vierville

Sarahhh, are you finding it ok giving her the medication? Hammies can be very reluctant to take their medicine by syringe and it can be stressful to them.

If you have any trouble, it is worth mixing the medication into a tiny amount of baby food, the kind you get in jars or pouches at the supermarket. A jar will go a very long way and doesn't cost much. They tend to love baby food and it masks the sometimes bitter taste.

If you do use this, get something like a beef and veggie or sweet potato baby food. You want to avoid anything with tomato in it, anything with citrus in it and anything that is high in sugar.

There is a thread on this forum where the topic of baby food for hammies is discussed.

Best of luck and once again, I'm SO glad she was ok.

Thank you so much! I'm going to try it on a sprout tonight but if that doesn't work I'm definitely going to try the baby food. That's such a good idea, I definitely wasnt going to try to shove it in her mouth, theres no way I could do that without really upsetting her and she's had a stressful day today x

[Charlie Dunn]

Aww sarahhhh what fab news! I am so so pleased to hear that the mass is an abscess and that the antibiotics will sort that out. I am sure you will find a way of her taking her meds. Boo will have his metacam if it is mixed with some finely chopped peas so between her sprouts and baby food you will be fine. I’m so pleased that the news was so positive and that you will get that extra time together x

[Ria P]

I hope that she'll take the antibiotic in food because it is very very important that she gets the dosage prescribed.
I had to give my hamster antibotics recently but he doesn't like babyfood and woldn't take it in food.
I had no choice but to syringe it straight into his mouth. I drew up the medication first and then a little Ribena syrup to cover the bitter taste. The vet gave me that tip and it worked.
He's a pretty chilled and tame hamster though which helped a lot.

[sarahhhh]

Originally Posted by Ria P

I hope that she'll take the antibiotic in food because it is very very important that she gets the dosage prescribed.
I had to give my hamster antibotics recently but he doesn't like babyfood and woldn't take it in food.
I had no choice but to syringe it straight into his mouth. I drew up the medication first and then a little Ribena syrup to cover the bitter taste. The vet gave me that tip and it worked.
He's a pretty chilled and tame hamster though which helped a lot.

I put a small amount of honey on the syringe and she took it!

[Amethyst_ice]

This is all nice to read

Did the vet not decide to drain the abcess if it is so big? I live with abcess lots as rats are prone to them... currently have two im draining..fun fun!

Glad to hear she is taking meds... the tumour may actually be benign, without them taking a biopsy they wouldnt know if actually cancer but even the benign can grow and spread. Hopefully it wont get much bigger and you have lots of time left x

[sarahhhh]

Originally Posted by Amethyst_ice

This is all nice to read

Did the vet not decide to drain the abcess if it is so big? I live with abcess lots as rats are prone to them... currently have two im draining..fun fun!

Glad to hear she is taking meds... the tumour may actually be benign, without them taking a biopsy they wouldnt know if actually cancer but even the benign can grow and spread. Hopefully it wont get much bigger and you have lots of time left x

Thank you! Yes, they drained the abscess. I've picked up some baby food so that shes not eating too much honey x