I haven't updated this thread in ages!
Bramble seems to be aging in reverse these days. The lump she developed overnight in May spontaneously disappeared a month or two ago.
She had some trouble with a chronic sore near her ear for a little while. She had to be treated with Metacam and topical Ivermectin (in case it was ear mites) a couple of times before it resolved and it hasn't come back for several months.
She has a cataract in one eye and sometimes gets styes on her eyelid. They don't seem to bother her and usually go away on their own but sometimes if they persist she gets a course of antibiotics. Otherwise she seems in great condition. She looks younger and has more energy than she did 6 months ago. She'll be 2 in March.
I adopted another Russian dwarf a few months ago, called Athena. She's 15 months old now and has the typical lumps and bumps that dwarf hamsters of that age often get but she's doing ok. I got her from an owner who was allergic to her and she was in a much too small cage with a 4 inch wheel. She was obese and extremely cage aggressive (would get agitated if you even stood near the cage, let alone put your hand in). The cage aggression instantly improved by about 90% once she was moved to a Hamster Heaven with a wheel she could fit in and the weight dropped off quickly (see the before and after photos). She still can't be picked up in her cage, like many dwarf hamsters, but she's happy to walk into a tube and outside the cage I can handle her fine.
Before:
After:
