Hamster Hematoma

hamsofrome · 12-11-2016, 09:18 AM

Friday morning, I found a soft lump about the size of an almond on Remus. Fearing the worst I took him straight to the vet, where he had about 1.5 ml of dark blood drained. The vet said it's most likely a hematoma from an injury. Yesterday he was fine, no sign of the lump, but this morning I checked him and it's starting to return. Has anyone had hamsters with hematomas before? I'm really hoping for stories of positive treatments but... if it went badly please tell me too. Remy is a dwarf hamster, at least a year old but his real age is unknown since he's a rescue ham. He's perfectly healthy besides the lump, he's running around, eating, drinking. Kept trying to escape his transport box even after being anesthetized and drained of blood. I'm going to phone the vet once they open, but any advice or warnings are welcome. Thank you all <3

peasypea · 12-11-2016, 09:30 AM

Whereabouts on him is it?

Haematomas will continue to refill if you repeatedly drain them as now there is a space (unless the space is closed down but that would require surgery or a really tight bandage which would be impossible in most situations) so the best thing to do is just leave it and once its full it will start to breakdown itself, this will take a while so be prepared for it to take a couple of weeks. If it continues to get bigger rather than reach the same size and stop then I'd worry more. Hope hes ok!

hamsofrome · 12-11-2016, 09:37 AM

It's just underneath his right arm. That's what I was afraid of, that and him getting exhausted from repeated blood drainings. The vet seemed to imply that if it returned, he'd drain it again. He's supposed to be qualified with hamsters but this makes me nervous. I suppose I'll see what he says when I phone in... Have you had a ham that had one peasypea? Did it all turn out ok when left to heal itself?

CMB · 12-11-2016, 10:13 AM

Antibiotics can help. There are illnesses that lay dormant within the body and then cause haematoma when the immune system is low, such as when suffering with a cold etc.

The build up blood/liquid makes the area swell and become uncomfortable. Your hamster may rub or scratch the area. A vet visit is a good idea.

It can take more than one coarse of antibiotics to totally clear up the problem.

Hope your hamster gets better soon..

peasypea · 12-14-2016, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hamsofrome

It's just underneath his right arm. That's what I was afraid of, that and him getting exhausted from repeated blood drainings. The vet seemed to imply that if it returned, he'd drain it again. He's supposed to be qualified with hamsters but this makes me nervous. I suppose I'll see what he says when I phone in... Have you had a ham that had one peasypea? Did it all turn out ok when left to heal itself?

I've never seen one in a hamster but seen them loads in dogs and cats - they get them in their ears quite commonly and the space between the layers just fills up with blood. If you drain them without doing surgery they just keep refilling. So its hard to know how you'd treat that in a hamster becuase I don't think it would be very easy in a hamsters armpit! Very strange, I wonder how he's done it, maybe he got his arm stuck somewhere?

My worry if you keep draining it is that he's going to lose quite a lot of blood each time, whereas if it is left to breakdown naturally his body can re-use some of the breakdown products to help replenish his blood.

How's he getting on over the last couple of days?

hamsofrome · 12-15-2016, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peasypea

Very strange, I wonder how he's done it, maybe he got his arm stuck somewhere?

My worry if you keep draining it is that he's going to lose quite a lot of blood each time, whereas if it is left to breakdown naturally his body can re-use some of the breakdown products to help replenish his blood.

How's he getting on over the last couple of days?

I know, it doesn't make sense! He's in a one level bin cage, so there aren't any bars or ladders to get stuck in. I've no idea now it happened

That's my worry too. It was a lot of blood last time, and it filled right back up a day later. The vet said the blood isn't in circulation in there, but if it's drained then more blood has to come OUT of circulation to refill it. And he's so tiny it's not like he's got a lot to spare. My worry is whether it will heal if left alone? Or if he'll be stuck with the lump forever? Or if it could clot inside him and cause issues?

He's still normal, no changes in anything I can notice. Other than he started going nuts last night out of boredom so I gave him his flying saucer back (I took it away Friday because the vet suggested it as a possible cause. But while I've seen other hams fly off their wheels I've NEVER seen mine do so. I'm terrified of him rupturing his lump while I'm not around though, so I'm not sure maybe I should only let him have it while I'm around...) The lump doesn't seem to be getting any bigger, I'm hoping it's at max size.

The vet I took him to last week was talking about draining it again when I phoned Monday. I don't know I'm slightly wary of him, I'm not sure how many hamsters he sees. I chatted with a different vet yesterday at work and he didn't seem super into the idea of draining them. He said he'd maybe try prednisone or something, but that otherwise draining leads to refilling unless you do surgery, and that surgery on little hams is always risky. Ugh I'm not sure if I should maybe try a different vet, maybe one of the ones I've seen recommended on rat forums as good rodent vets. I'm afraid of action and inaction harming my Remy right now

hamsofrome · 12-16-2016, 01:36 AM

Definitely bigger now and the skin is taut. I'm going to try another vet in the morning, hopefully one with more experience with hamsters. Remy is still acting so NORMAL though. He kept climbing up to my shoulder when I was holding him, and he's clearly been digging around in his bedding all day, and chewing his alligator chew.

hamsofrome · 12-17-2016, 11:47 PM

Took him to one of the vets recommended on the ratshack forum yesterday. This vet doesn't think it's a hematoma but rather a tumour. But he said either way, Remy needs surgery to get rid of it. So he's scheduled for Tuesday. The vet gave him a good chance of making it through the procedure since he's (probably?) still only middle aged and other than the lump is quite healthy. Well. Except that the fecal floatation test shows he has hookworms. So Remy and Rom both got their first doses of anti-hookworm medication and a B-Complex tonight, which was surprisingly easy to give them. I thought they'd fight it but they were happy to put the syringe in their mouths, and what dribbled onto my hand they licked right up. Such good hammies <3

BluerayDarkes · 12-18-2016, 06:27 AM

Sounds like you got your hands full, hope all goes well for your hams x

hamsofrome · 12-19-2016, 01:39 AM

Thank you, I really hope it all goes ok too. My tiny furry romans have wriggled very deep into my heart.
Definitely full. I spent half of last night disinfecting their bin cages and main toys. Still have to do their other accessories and their transport cage. That and washing every scrap of fabric my hams've put their little paws on. I want every hookworm DEAD. Though gods only know how long they've had them. For all I know they've had them since before I adopted them, I have no idea if the shelter checked them for parasites.