My hamster has a tumor!

Hey everybody! My hamster is getting old (he is 2 years now.) and he has a large tumor on his neck, it doesn't seem to bother him but it makes me very sad to see him this way. So could you please pray for me and my pet. Thank you. P.S. his name is Ralphie.

 

Yes I'll pray for you and him. I've had a hamster a while back that also got cancer. Cancer has taken out two pets for me, I really hate it. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I'll definitely pray for you.

 

My best to you and Ralphie. I'm happy to hear that it isn't bothering him.

 

thank you guys! I really appreciate it, I love my hamster so much and it will be hard to say goodbye.

 

Hamsters make such nice, sweet little pets. Sorry to here he has a problem. Alison

 

I agree hamsters are the sweetest, thanks.

 

Just thought I'd post a pic of my hamster, Ralphie.

 

I suggest that you go to a veterinarian! I had 2 gerbils one died peacefully while the other had to be put down since it had a huge tumor on its lower arm to stomach. Here are the 3 options you have: 1) consult with a veterinarian and perform surgery (surgery isn't always sucessful since they are small creatures) 2) euthanize 3) let it die naturally but it will be a painful long death. Trust me none of these options are easy. My gerbil that I had for 3 years I tried to avoid the truth about his tumor. I notice it and then avoided the truth for 1.5 weeks. After those days I notice it was growing bigger and actually was splitting the skin since it was that big. I consulted the veterinarian which offered me the 3 options. Trust me the 3rd is not the way to go. During that week my gerbil was starting to have a harder time moving and his whole cage smelled due to the open wound. In the end we put him down using asphyxiation with co2. I watched him die but at least he died sleeping! I had a big container added bedding and his hut. That way he wouldn;t really notice anything and won't be trying to get out. We started the co2 (we had a tank) and he slowly started to slow down and then died. My other gerbil was lucky and died of old age in his sleep at night. However both deaths were sad since I spent 3 years of my life bonding with them. However the last gerbil which had a tumor got me the most especially watching him die but it was better than having the tumor growing and his skin splitting.

 

Option 3 is not a certainty. It depends entirely on the type of tumour he has. At 2 years of age I wouldn't stress him out with a vet visit unless his quality of life is impacted.
CROWNTAILBETTA, make sure he's comfortable and can reach everything he needs easily. Keep an eye on how he's moving and make sure he's eating and pooping normally. If he stops doing normal, hamstery things then you may have to consider whether to help him along on his journey but it may not come to that.

A couple of years ago I took on an unwanted elderly hamster who turned out to have enormous tumours in his abdomen. I was going to have him pts but in the end I decided that he was not in any pain so I made his last days as interesting as possible. I had him for only 34 days but I miss him most of all my past hams.

Stay strong and be there for him if he needs help x

 

Agree! If the tumor is not that bad then definitely keep it alive. But for me the tumor had created a long scar that was getting ozzy. It was really hard to see how he could still be alive to experience it.

 

I honestly would recommend an exotic vet. I've had a rat with a non cancerous tumor. Yes there was surgery, and yes the rat lived. In fact Squeakers lived another year healthy and happy, she died of old age at six years old.

Also it may not be a tumor, have you had a vet say it is? On it's neck it could be an absence which would need to be drained before it pops and causes permanent painful damage.

 

no I'm not sure if it is a tumor. However he is almost 3 years old, so if it is a tumor I don't want to have him go through the stress of surgery at such an old age. looking at pictures, it really doesn't look like an abscess or a cyst though.

 

That is a really good age for a hamster, you've obviously taken extremely good care of him

 

Surgery is always risky with small animals. Sometimes its a sucess but it can also be a fail. Usually the animal might die of shock since even for humans surgery is a hard thing to recover from. Small animals are smaller thus more delicate. Even if they survive the surgery they might die afterwards through stress. When ever a small animal gets a disease or tumor/cancer it is always hard. We all wish are pets would just die of old age and in their sleep but usually most people don't realize small animals are susceptible to tumors at old ages.

 

I'm gonna miss him, :'( his body is starting to shut down a little as he gets older.

 

We lost a cat in surgery so, I fully understand not wanting to go through the stress of surgery for anyone that can be hard on the body. Just try to make him comfortable, maybe give him some extra special treats.

 

I lost my hammie of cancer, I ended up having surgery to remove the tumor, It came back two weeks later and he died during the second one. I'm convinced that if he hadn't had the first surgery I wouldn't have had those last two weeks with him. I would consult with an exotic vet and see what they say. I'm so sorry you and Ralphie have to go through this, it isn't something I would wish on anyone.

 

Just wondering how much does surgery cost?

 

For my rabbit who had stones(Alfa, never let your rodents/rabbits eat it.) it was around 600? In really sorry Crown, I have had two animals pass by cancer. It is one of the most dreaded things you can hear from a vet or doctor, but perhaps your hamster doesn't have cancer. I'd try like the others have said and take him to an exotic vet. I'm so sorry.

 

The cost probably depends on the vet and the state. For my rat Squeakers at a good exotic vet it was little over $300 with pain meds.

 

he will be two and 1/2 years old in September and is getting weaker as he ages, I don't want his last weeks/months to be spent having surgery but thank you everyone for being so encouraging. I really appreciate it, it means a lot to me.

 

R.I.P Ralphie, who sadly passed away on Oct. 4, 2016. :'(

 

Noooooooooooo! Sorry for your loss!

 

I'm sorry for your loss It's never easy, even when it's expected x

 

However the best way is to think: did you give the hamster (or whatever animal) a good quality of life? Was it happy and healthy for most of its life? If so then you will get over the death or at least the sadness part. Remember the good times knowing that you gave or at least try to give your pet a good life! There are many animals that sadly don't get a good life but if yours did that's all that counts. In the end even when we die or someone else just look back and see if you or they had a good life and accomplish what you wanted to accomplish!