red lump on syrian's belly but behaving as usual

[gorou]

hello, this is my first post so i hope i am doing things right.

my Syrian hamster is named Dio and i got him from a pet store which i know is not the greatest but not my choice, unsure of his age though he seems young. ive had him for almost a year. he's been doing fine, he is still wary of me and because of the holidays i just now found this red round lump on his underside, other than that he behaves as he does and acts healthy.

any help identifying the problem and cause and maybe what to do? also maybe projection of cost, i want to make sure i am prepared for all of it.

sorry for any difficulties i am autistic and very emotional over this i do not want him to die.

for any extra context he is in a large bin cage, has a wheel and whatnot and eats science selective hamster food

[lovehamsters01]

hi!
yes, you posted it corrrectly.
this never happened to me but from what I've read it can be a few things but most probably it's an abscess. whatever it is you'll have to take him to the vet where they will probably either drain it, give him antibiotics, or both.
I don't know how much it will cost, but you can ask the vet when you make him an appointment.
I'm glad to hear he's acting normal in other aspects; this means it's not super super urgent, but these things can get very bad very quickly so the sooner you can make him an appointment the better.
good luck, and I hope he has a speedy recovery!

[gorou]

thank you, it didn't quite look like a tumor so i was confused, we should be taking him to the vet real soon, thank you. im worried about his recovery but the forum is very helpful with organizing information that ive found some tips.