Lump above hamster's eye?

[Nube]

Hi,

We got school hamster for the weekend (we had her for several weeks in summer) and she has this reddish/brownish lump above her eye. I have attached a photo although it is not very good quality. Since we sort of feel responsible for her am worried and could take her to vet's tomorrow. The lump is sort of shiny and she does not seem uncomfortable. Any ideas what it could be?

[racinghamster]

Hi Nube. Are you in the UK? It could be a cyst or a small wart/growth on the eyelid. These can be removed surgically and can sometimes grow bigger, so it might be a good idea to let a vet take a look at it. It may have grown due to bacteria from people handling her and not being hygienic or it may be genetic. Either way, I would keep an eye on it. What age is she? Are the school responsible for any vet care/bills or do you just want to get her checked out? x

[Nube]

We can afford a vet visit, not sure about a surgery - will have to talk to school if needed. We are in the UK. My daughter says the lump was there a couple of weeks and has not grown. She also says that it appeared after she (the hamster) had an eye irritation (sticky eye). Since she is a communal hamster she of course gets handled by lots of people so infection would be very likely.

Have no idea what age the hamster is, as I understand she was dumped onto school by one of ex-pupils. She is a lovely one though and very friendly so would not begrudge her a vet visit (well my husband will be screaming but then he is lower than the hamsters in house hierarchy :) )

[DrKMcK]

LOLOLOLOLOL! I love the bit about the house hierarchy. :-D I'd have her looked at. I always prefer to be sure when something like that pops up. She's a cutie. :-)

[racinghamster]

In that case it won`t hurt to have a vets diagnosis and then the school need to address things from there from a welfare point of view. If they feel she would be better cared for by you or someone else in a quieter environment now then that might be best. I suppose what the vet tells you will determine what is to happen. Maybe nothing. But if the cyst was to become bigger or problematic for her, I`m not sure a school classroom is the best living space for her. x

[Nube]

Hmmm... Have not considered adopting her permanently but it could be an option. Anyway, the vet said that as long as it does not grow or have any side effects it does not need an operation. Operation would cost between £200 and £300 :shock: Prices have certainly gone up since we had rats, we paid £70 for an operation then. Will pass the information to school.

[racinghamster]

That does sound a bit ridiculous on pricing but then some vets are cash cows. My vet would be around the £40 mark for such a removal. It`s true to say that this small growth may stay small and not pose any problems for her, but it`s worth considering that it could. Most of these eye cysts and stye type growths can rub on the eyeball if they grow bigger. It will be worth speaking to the school about her future and where she would be best placed now. She may well be fine staying at the school, but whoever is her caretaker there really needs to be aware of this and not ignore it. That`s why I suggested it might be a better idea for her to be adopted out to a private home if the school are not in a position to either have the time or the money to watch over her or be prepared to pay for future vet visits. They possibly would be, but I would make sure they do. x

Edited to add: In the photo she does look a wee bit on the thin side? Having this small growth could indicate that she`s older too, so make sure she`s getting some raw vegetables and chopped nuts and plenty of good nutrition to boost her immune system. x

[Nube]

Will talk to school of course, thanks. I am starting to think that our vets are not as good as I thought, had a bit of a bad experience with rats too. Might get a second opinion next time we have her again (maybe in half term we could take her for a week or so) - and a second quote. Have no idea how old she is.

What sort of raw vegetables are we talking about? Our both hamsters do not seem to be too keen on raw. They like cucumber, pepper and apple - do these count? As for nuts - am feeding both sunflower seeds as a treat, does this count as well?

[Nube]

Just rang another vet practice in Coventry who have lots of small animal specialists. Thought ours was a rip-off, but they want £36 just to register and then £35 for a consultation! :shock::shock::shock:

Will keep looking. Most of them not open today anyway so will have to be either next Saturday or half term

[racinghamster]

The best/safest raw vegetables to feed are:

Carrot
Garden pea
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Corn on the Cob (the nibblets) but not from a tin. Frozen cobs can have the nibblets broken off and then a few corn nibblets placed in cold water to thaw them. I do this all the time, it`s easy and only takes a few minutes to thaw in the water.

Small inch piece of lettuce, carrot and a few others she may like. All of the above apart from the carrot as carrot doesn`t freeze well, can be from frozen packets of veg and thawed, or bought fresh in those mixed bags from supermarkets.

Only offer small fingernail pieced sizes one at a time and see what she likes. Apple is usually loved by hamsters too, so that`s fine. I feed all of the above to my Russian hybrid daily and rotate what he gets. He always eats them. Raw veg is the best way to get vitamins and nutrients into their diets so it`s good to start small and experiment with small pieces. The school should know this as well as it`s no good feeding her these and then the school don`t have anyone to continue with it. Obviously classrooms are not the best place for a small hamster, but they should be taking her dietery needs into account and making sure they stick to the portion sizes or they could feed too much or not remove any that isn`t eaten. Dry hamster mix provides them with some nutrition, but depending on what that is and whether the hamster consumes it all can lead to deficiencies and skin problems. Hope this helps. If you look to the upper left hand side of this screen, you will see a box which sais Navigation? Click on the WiKi link and this takes you to some pages on what is safe to feed and what isn`t. It`s a listing of safe veg, foods and nuts hamsters can have. But I would always stick to basic things and not try anything exotic on the lists as it may cause gut upset. x

[racinghamster]

Vets down there seem expensive compared to the Scottish vets, but I suppose it depends where you live and what a practice charges. I imagine the small cyst will be okay for a wee while, but it needs watching. x

[Penguin]

Finding a good vet can be difficult! Best of luck.
I'm lucky that the vet who checks the animals at the local zoo has a clinic a good 10 min drive away from me. Can't imagine what I do when he retires and sells his clinic!

It's sweet of you to care so much for the little one. Most people, sadly, wouldn't bother and would expect someone else to, or have the opinion that it's 'just an animal'.
We need more people like you!

[Nube]

Most people, sadly, wouldn't bother and would expect someone else to, or have the opinion that it's 'just an animal'.

That's my husband! But then he is the one who did not want any pets (although he does play with Fluffums a lot). And as I mentioned he is at the end of the food chain in the household and he knows it :wink: Mind you I am only one step above

[cypher]

The vet does sound expensive, even compared to mine which is saying something.
I don't mind paying for a vet I can trust but if you're not entirely happy it's well worth hunting out a better & maybe cheaper one!

What sort of raw vegetables are we talking about? Our both hamsters do not seem to be too keen on raw. They like cucumber, pepper and apple - do these count? As for nuts - am feeding both sunflower seeds as a treat, does this count as well?
There's a huge range of veg you can give them btw, they all seem to have different tastes so you just need to experiment, cucumber is good but not too much, same goes for lettuce & cabbage only tiny bits, peppers & apples are fine too, broccoli is usually a favourite, raw is best for them except things like potato or sweet potato which need to be cooked, mine quite like courgette cooked too but otherwise they get fresh raw veg, if you're not sure what is or isn't safe just check here (http://www.hamstercentral.com/wiki/Safe_and_Unsafe_Food_and_Plants).
There are lots of nuts & seeds you can give as treats too, sunflower seeds (in the shell) are fine but you can also try monkey nuts, pumpkin seeds (preferably in the shell) brazil nuts, walnuts or almonds (definitely no almond shells!) all in moderation though.

[Nube]

I wonder if my daughter will notice hamster eats better than her... Husband already knows

[cypher]

lol! she might just :)
I think mine probably eat better than me too, they get all the freshest stuff!