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Old 10-10-2020, 12:55 PM   #1
sarahhhh
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Join Date: Dec 2019
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Default Tumour removal.

Hi,
So I've posted on here about my hammys tumour before about 6 months ago. The size ended up being an abscess but she had a tiny mass underneath. The vet advised not to operate but now her tumours a quarter of the size of her and I'm taking her for a second opinion from a different vet on Monday.
So what I need is comfort in all honesty, and stories about your hammies surgeries, the good and the bad.
Thank you, I'm quite stressed.
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Old 10-10-2020, 09:46 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Tumour removal.

I’m really sorry to hear this & I can imagine how worried & stressed you must be.
I haven’t had a ham go through surgery personally but over the years there have been quite a few members on here who have had ham undergo surgery for tumour removal & most often they do seem to do well.
There are some things to consider though, the older the ham the harder it is for them to cope with an operation & recover well but older hams can do well so in’t unheard of.
Anaesthetic is always a risk for such a small animal.
where the tumour is & what it’s attached to will also be a factor in whether surgery is appropriate or not & the chances of making a good recovery so there is a lot to discuss with the vet there.
I hope surgery is an option & your ham recovers well, if not an option then you might want to discuss pain killers if necessary & ways to keep her comfortable if she is able to continue to live with the tumour for some time.
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Old 10-12-2020, 03:59 PM   #3
sarahhhh
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Default Re: Tumour removal.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
I’m really sorry to hear this & I can imagine how worried & stressed you must be.
I haven’t had a ham go through surgery personally but over the years there have been quite a few members on here who have had ham undergo surgery for tumour removal & most often they do seem to do well.
There are some things to consider though, the older the ham the harder it is for them to cope with an operation & recover well but older hams can do well so in’t unheard of.
Anaesthetic is always a risk for such a small animal.
where the tumour is & what it’s attached to will also be a factor in whether surgery is appropriate or not & the chances of making a good recovery so there is a lot to discuss with the vet there.
I hope surgery is an option & your ham recovers well, if not an option then you might want to discuss pain killers if necessary & ways to keep her comfortable if she is able to continue to live with the tumour for some time.
Thank you, I definitely kept your advice in mind today. The vet said that surgery could be done but it would require removing her whole leg which isn’t something I’m willing to risk at her age and since her quality of life is quite good right now.the vets have given me some meloxicam for emergency situations as it seems it’s not bothering her too much right now. One thing I’ve done is attempted to make her cage more accessible for her as her growth is affecting mobility, she keeps getting stuck. I’ve cut open her toilet paper tubes so she can get out easier, I’m going to make her a new hide that is easier for her to get in and out of and I may remove her cage platform. I’ve already changed her food bowl to slates to stop her having to climb in and out of it. Do you have any experience with meloxicam and do you have any idea on how to help her with mobility? Thank you again for your advice and kind words, I carried them with me today x
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Old 10-12-2020, 04:26 PM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Tumour removal.

Hi. I had a similar situation with a roborovski with tumours. Surgery would have involved such a large part of his body it seemed too much. He lived a good six months after the lumps appeared, and they got bigger and affected his mobility but he was quite happy and still using his wheel and enjoying food.

What I did was to make everything a level surface by putting hemp mat over the top of the substrate. He couldn’t walk on the squishy surface of substrate. By putting the hemp mat on the top the level was still right in his cage (hemp mat just in the cage base would have been a bit hard too.). It also allowed to have the surface slightly undulating in places but still flat. I cut holes in the hemp mat to fit his food bowl and sand bath in so they were pushed down in the substrate and the top level with the hemp mat and had hemp mat “steps “ pieces up to his wheel so he could get straight in without needing to climb in.

Yes I would remove the level . You can add more floor hideouts etc to make up for it. An upturned Sputnik or cardboard box hide eg.

Our Robo kept going on Metacam pain reliever for some time. In the end I had to have him pts as he lost so much weight and had started to chew at his lumps. So he was suffering and in pain. The vet saI’d he was trying to amputate them himself.

It is a hard decision. I often thought I should have tried the surgery but it was too late by a certain stage. So you just make the best decision at the time to let them live out their lives one way or the other. I learned from that that Metacam helps but isn’t enough for the pain of cancer later on.

How old is your hamster? What I would say is a hamster can do fine with three legs. Depending on how old now. Many hamsters have amputations - sometimes due to injury. But before deciding that I think you would want to know if the lump is malignant or not and if it is malignant, whether the cancer has spread. I think that would mean a biopsy and a scan. Which is also putting the hamster through quite a few processes.

Another option may be to just have the surgery without knowing and hope for the best. You said “at her age” so I’m guessing she is not young. In which case just keeping her comfortable is probably the best thing.

I have some photos of Nugget’s “disable friendly “ set up. Can’t post them right now as I’m in my phone but if you look at “Nugget’s thread” linked below, they’re in there. He got the lumps age 18 months and lived to the age of two which is a good age for a hamster.

Nugget's thread

Last edited by Pebbles82; 10-12-2020 at 04:42 PM.
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Old 10-12-2020, 04:33 PM   #5
sarahhhh
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Posts: 32
Default Re: Tumour removal.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Hi. I had a similar situation with a roborovski with tumours. Surgery would have involved such a large part of his body it seemed too much. He lived a good six months after the lumps appeared, and they got bigger and affected his mobility but he was quite happy and still using his wheel and enjoying food.

What I did was to make everything a level surface by putting hemp mat over the top of the substrate. He couldn’t walk on the squishy surface of substrate. By putting the hemp mat on the top the level was still right in his cage (hemp mat just in the cage base would have been a bit hard too.). It also allowed to have the surface slightly undulating in places but still flat. I cut holes in the hemp mat to fit his food bowl and sand bath in so they were pushed down in the substrate and the top level with the hemp mat and had hemp mat “steps “ pieces up to his wheel so he could get straight in without needing to climb in.

Yes I would remove the level . You can add more floor hideouts etc to make up for it. An upturned Sputnik or cardboard box hide eg.

Our Robo kept going on Metacam pain reliever for some time. In the end I had to have him pts as he lost so much weight and the vet decided he was suffering.
Thank you, I'm so sorry about your ham. You clearly cared very much for him and he was lucky to have you. My concern for the hemp mat is that she LOVES burrowing, she has all 3 chambers; poop, food and bed (even though she gets them confused and poops in her food). How is this possible with a hemp mat? And how would you clean it? Would you just buy a new one?
Thank you so much, she's had a really stressful day so I'll make the necessary changes tomorrow or the day after to give her some space.
Also, she seemed off when we got back from the vets, usually she's very aggressive and hisses and bites as soon as a hand comes near her outside of her usual cage (shes a rescue), but she let me pick her up (I was checking she was ok because she seemed dazed) and didn't make a sound. She just seemed out of it. Is this a normal reaction to stress for hammies?
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Old 10-12-2020, 05:12 PM   #6
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Tumour removal.

They can react in all kinds of different ways to stress. If you look at the photos I had cut overlapping pieces. One good thing about the mat is you can see when/where it’s been pee’d on! So I would just replace that piece with another piece but he used his toilet mostly. The other thing is there are areas of substrate showing so if he wanted to dig he could. But I found he didn’t bother. You could leave one corner open without mat so she could dig in substrate if she wanted but would be able to get about easily in the rest of the cage. It made a huge difference to our Robo who could zip about easily on the level surface and not lose his balance.

Sometimes if you give them a large house they stop bothering to dig as it mimics a burrow. Nugget had a labyrinth house. That was sat on the base of the cage with just a bit of substrate inside so it wasn’t hard underneath. Which is why I had the substrate/hemp mat gently sloping down to the house entrance. He could easily get up the slope because the surface was flat. I had the house low down like that do the flat roof was level with the rest of the hemp mat. A shoebox house could be good as well. If they have a large house they can build a big cosy nest and have room for hoards and a toilet corner. You could put a corner litter tray inside the house. If she’s a Syrian she would probably use it as they usually do.

You cut out the base of the shoe box and keep the lid as a lift off roof (so you don’t need to take the house out so the nest stays in tact). And cut a door in one of the long sides near one end. They like to nest at the end furthest away from the door where it’s darker, so a good place to put the corner litter tray is at the door end at the back corner. I just put chinchilla bathing sand in the litter tray.

If she uses the toilet then the hemp mat should stay clean for a long time and you just take the house roof off to empty the toilet a couple of times a week. They like having an en-suite bathroom! With a smaller house it often ends up being a mess of pee hoard and nest all mixed together but with more space in the house they pee away from
The nest (usually!)
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Old 10-12-2020, 11:00 PM   #7
cypher
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Default Re: Tumour removal.

It does sound as though her behaviour after the vet trip was most likely just a stress reaction, they can react in different ways.
I’ve only had one ham with mobility issues & not really had to make adjustments for most of mine but I just kept the normal substrate & tried to keep everything more or less on one level or have gently rising levels of substrate to walk on rather than bendy bridges or anything that needed climbing, you may need to make more adjustments as time goes on, just keep an eye on how she’s managing & change things as & when you need to.
I think meloxicam is the same as metacam (not 100% sure though) if it is then it’s easy to give as they really seem to like the taste & it can easily be given on some soft food like baby food or porridge. Hamsters are very good at hiding signs of pain so it’s better to give it sooner rather than later if you think she may be in pain or discomfort.
It was a hard decision for you to have to make but I think you’re doing the right thing & what’s best for her, I hope she can continue to manage comfortably for some time yet.
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Always loved, never forgotten, forever in my heart
T'ycor, Ziggy, Zephyr, Flynt, Mickle, Little Whisp, Zen, Zeki, Tinwë, Zylvan, Míriel, Calyanwë, Gusto & Meri
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