Scent gland look normal or not? (photos included)

Hammy21 · 12-20-2009, 07:58 PM

I think it may have been back in August when I posted about a dwarf hamster who's scent gland wasn't right. The hamster was somewhere I volunteer. I got a large lump out of it, which was perhaps pus, not long before I posted that thread - and it looked red and inflamed. It was then being cleaned regularly. The hamster recently has a new home with my Mam, of which I posted about on here with photos of him (Harry the 3-legged hamster).

I'm still not 100% certain what a "normal" scent gland looks like, so I'm posting the photos below to see what you guys think.

This was his scent gland back in August:

This is how it looks now. Apologies for the strange lighting - taking a photo was proving difficult and this was the best I could get!

I'm collecting him from his new home and taking him to the vets on Tuesday to get him checked, as I'm there with one of my rats Spike as he's now got a 4th tumour

. Some input from those that are knowledgeable about hamsters would be great beforehand though, as I know my vets are good with rats but I don't know their experience with hamsters.

souffle · 12-21-2009, 02:56 AM

It does not look infected or discharging so the slight puffiness is likely some scar tissue from the original problem. I'm sure the vet will give it a good check over. Hope he and your ratty get a good prognosis.

Hammy21 · 12-23-2009, 02:52 PM

The vet yesterday said to bathe it daily, but apparently it looked like I'd done a good job with it. He had his nails trimmed while there too, as the ones on his front paw were very long (it's one of his front paws that is missing). He's very chilled out for a hamster though - he just sat perfectly still on my hand while his legs were pulled out to the sides for his nails to be trimmed

I asked for a steroid injection for Spike, as I've heard it can sometimes help reduce any inflammation in the tumour therefore reducing the size. He was given one that lasts 14 days. It's worth a try anyway. After his last op the vet said he wouldn't want to do a fourth operation, so I don't really think that's an option.