Slightly swollen sides

[Lemon]

My hamster icicle recovered from an abscess in June but now seems to have slightly swollen sides

It’s not that noticeably bigger, but I see her and handle her every day and I’ve noticed a difference, and that it probably happened gradually

I’m worried about maybe some kind of uterine problem or fluid buildup or scent gland problem?

She has been licking her scent glands a lot lately but that’s something I’ve seen her do lots of times in the past. She also has no discharge of any kind

But otherwise at the moment, she is happy and active and excited to play with me outside the cage and is not showing any unusual behavior

I’m going to call her vet on Monday morning, but I can’t find a place open on sundays or Saturday nights that will take her

[Lemon]

I should also mention she just turned 2 years old last month

[Ria P]

It is always so worrying when we notice physical changes in our hamsters.
The vet will be able to reassure you. At that age we have to take every day as it comes and make the best of the time we have left with them.
I'm sorry that i can't offer advice on the swollen sides. It can have so many reasons but i'm thinking along the same lines you do of possibly a build up of fluid.
Let us know the outcome of the vet appointment please.

[Lemon]

Update: I’m getting a little more worried because she already looks visibly bigger than she did last night, so the swelling might be increasing faster than I thought

But she still doesn’t seem to be bothered by it enough to change her behavior

She lets me touch the swollen areas and doesn’t react badly.

In June, the vet left me with enrofloxacin antibiotics in case she ever got an infection again, but I don’t want to give her medicine if I’m not sure of the problem

I hope she’s ok by tomorrow morning when the vets open (

Until then, I guess I’m going to keep letting her relax and sleep, and try to make her day as happy and comfortable as possible when she wakes up

[Ria P]

Hmm, if she's gotten bigger overnight then i'd be inclined to phone the out of hours vet. I'm not trying to worry you even more, i'm only stating what i would do.

[Pebbles82]

I’m so sorry to hear this. It does sound like fluid build up. This is quite common in older hamsters - it could be heart or kidney failure or fluid from a tumour - many reasons - but part of the ageing process. I don’t think there will be much they can do except perhaps drain it, if you want that. Do you have a photo of her today? One of our Syrians became extremely bloated towards the end and it was when he started to have his ears down all the time I knew he was suffering and took him to be pts. Just in time as I was worried he may burst.

If she seems happy enough in herself and the swelling isn’t too great I think you would be ok waiting to see the vet until tomorrow. But if you think she seems so large she could burst or her ears are down a lot I would call the out of hours vet.

I wouldn’t give antibiotics at this stage. Hopefully it is something simple and resolvable. Where was the previous abscess?

[Lemon]

Thank you guys for your advice,

I called the emergency vets near me but none of them had a vet that sees hamsters, and I called a few others that are too far to drive to, and they said it’s impossible to know what to do without seeing her in person

As of 2 hours ago, she went back to sleep and was acting normal still. While I noticed the swelling increase, she’s not enormously big. My last hamster had swelling that was far more severe than this, and she was still active and happy on her last day

I don’t think I’m concerned about anything rupturing or exploding, because she’s not very large at the moment. I just hope she doesn’t start to feel uncomfortable and behave sickly

Edit: the abscess was at the base of her cheek pouch, but is totally gone now

I’m going to try a couple more vets for advice on the phone, otherwise I think I have no choice but to wait until tomorrow

[Lemon]

Also yes I can send a picture when she wakes up. I don’t want to wake her bc she looks very happy sleeping rn

[Pebbles82]

I think it sounds best to wait until tomorrow. No don't disturb her if she's sleeping - it is daytime after all! Our bloated Syrian was bloated for quite a time before he got really bloated, and carrying on happily until the day his ears were down a lot.

Did they decide if the cheek lump was an abscess or a tumour? If she is not showing signs of abnormal behaviour, it's unlikely she has an infection.

By two years old, almost all Syrian hamsters start to show signs of ageing kidneys - by way of drinking and peeing more, and that can also cause a build up of fluid.

[Pebbles82]

Is it bloating rather than swelling? ie does it feel fluidy? Bloating, unfortunately, is almost always a sign of something serious going on with the organs (or a tumour) so it may be a time to accept that Icicle is in her twilight time now. But she may go on for some time happily.