Abscess on dwarf hamsters stomach

[Jessicahfd]

hi! I’m hoping that by posting here I can get some answers and support as I can’t find anyone who seems to have had a similar experience

Essentially my girl Beau is around 1.8-1.9 years of age now (not sure of exact age as we got her from P@H. And a couple days ago myself and my partner noticed some form of abscess on her stomach (see photo)

The abscess at this point was clean, no puss or visible blood but we knew we had to take her in to see our vets. She had a UTI around 6 months ago and the vets were amazing, understanding and we felt like they really helped however this time around it was nothing short of traumatic.

Her behaviour before her appointment was fine, eating drinking etc all normal the only thing that suggested this abscess was bothering her was that she would groom it every now and then.

She isn’t tame so the vets had to quite forcefully grab her with a glove and I could tell my poor baby was stressed because she immediately started to empty her pouches all over the vet which she didn’t do last time the vet proceeded to squeeze the abscess and a big ball of what he referred to as puss came out. This ball was hard and looked to me like a tumour to be perfectly honest but he didn’t think this was what it was.

He wiped the wound with water, prescribed us antibiotics and sent us on our way. Upon arriving home it was clear Beau was not herself. She sat behind her wheel completely flat and still as anything we honestly thought we had lost her. After around 5 minutes she managed to pull herself up into her coconut house and 20 minutes later she went back to her nest. The thing we’ve noticed is she now isn’t using her back leg next to where the abscess is and she’s clearly in a lot of pain why on earth we weren’t prescribed pain killers I will never understand!

She was also bleeding a good amount from the removal of this ball of “puss” and we have not been given any advice on how to treat the wound or manage it. Just to give her these oral antibiotics once a day and that was it.

We feel extremely traumatised by the whole experience and just don’t know what to do at this point. She’s currently what we think is sleeping in her nest and we aren’t disturbing her at all but I’m terrified with the blood loss and everything she might not make it through

I just wish we never took her to the vets because if she doesn’t make it through this I’ll never forgive myself. I just don’t want her last moments to be suffering

 

[Maz]

Oh my goodness I am so sorry you’ve had this experience and I would also be traumatised. I think you need to find a different vet (an exotic vet) and get some pain relief prescribed. Some Metacam or loxicom. It must have been terribly painful and you shouldn’t be left with a bleeding wound and no advice. After you’ve changed vet’s I would suggest writing a formal letter of complaint to the practice manager.

I’ve had upsetting experiences at a vet’s before but found a good one after that who knew about hamsters. I also got a bit more assertive and took various items with me to make it easier for the hamster to be picked up.

 

[Tulsi]

I am so sorry for this experience at the hands of a vet. I had something similar even though I had brought a glass jar for my hamster to be coaxed into the vet chose to pick him up which didn't go well. He bit her. She dropped him.

Maz has given you some good advice. Hope you are able to get some pain relief for your little girl.

 

[Jessicahfd]

Oh my goodness I am so sorry you’ve had this experience and I would also be traumatised. I think you need to find a different vet (an exotic vet) and get some pain relief prescribed. Some Metacam or loxicom. It must have been terribly painful and you shouldn’t be left with a bleeding wound and no advice. After you’ve changed vet’s I would suggest writing a formal letter of complaint to the practice manager.

I’ve had upsetting experiences at a vet’s before but found a good one after that who knew about hamsters. I also got a bit more assertive and took various items with me to make it easier for the hamster to be picked up.

Thank you! I don’t think there’s any specific exotic vets in my area as I live in quite a rural town in Scotland but I’ve found one with good reviews for exotic animals on Reddit and on their website it says they have interest in exotic animals. I’ve messaged them and explained the situation so I’ll see what they say. Thank you so much for your advice lovely

 

[Maz]

@Doodleham is in Scotland and may know a good place (although I realise Scotland is a big place!). I had to put exotic vet - my region - in google search and found there were two but they were both further away to travel - about an hour's journey. Even so I went with one of them. Some practices only have the one exotic vet and you can read the vets bios on the web page and see which one it is maybe. Any recommendation for a good one helps though

 

[Jessicahfd]

We’ve just checked up on her because I couldn’t bear waiting til morning to see if she’d been up and she got up, had a nibble of her food and some water and appears to be becoming more herself again which is so relieving. I still want to get some form of painkiller for her though

 

[Maz]

And she probably should have had a whiff of anaesthetic before that painful procedure as well. Hamsters can't talk so it doesn't seem right at all to me.

 

[Jessicahfd]

And she probably should have had a whiff of anaesthetic before that painful procedure as well. Hamsters can't talk so it doesn't seem right at all to me.

I completely agree. You could tell she was freaking out and in pain because she started mouth breathing and emptying her pouches it was honestly one of the most terrifying experiences seeing her like that. It’s so upsetting that so many people have no idea how to properly treat hamsters and that includes those who are supposed to care for them in need. We just didn’t think it would be an issue as the first person we saw at the same vet for her UTI months ago was amazing

 

[Socks' Mum]

I really feel for you. As you say, a vet should be someone you can trust. Scruffing is an outdated practice not recommended as it can injure the hamster. If you complain, you could point that out to the vet practice. I agree with Maz, a bit of gas would have helped. Poor girl Larger animals are easier to hold, but vets should be trained on how to hold hamsters safely. Abscesses can be complicated, so it might be a good thing if you can to find a more knowledgeable vet and discuss the abscess with him or her. Rodents often heal really quickly, but it might be good to keep an eye on the wound site. I hope Beau will heal nicely and you will be able to find a good exotic experienced vet. ❤

 

[Maz]

So glad she's come round a bit

 

[Jessicahfd]

I really feel for you. As you say, a vet should be someone you can trust. Scruffing is an outdated practice not recommended as it can injure the hamster. If you complain, you could point that out to the vet practice. I agree with Maz, a bit of gas would have helped. Poor girl Larger animals are easier to hold, but vets should be trained on how to hold hamsters safely. Abscesses can be complicated, so it might be a good thing if you can to find a more knowledgeable vet and discuss the abscess with him or her. Rodents often heal really quickly, but it might be good to keep an eye on the wound site. I hope Beau will heal nicely and you will be able to find a good exotic experienced vet. ❤

Thank you lovely, I think I’m definitely going to make some form of complaint to the vets because the vet we saw should’ve never taken her on in the first place. Even if she was prescribed pain killers along with the antibiotic I wouldn’t be so mad. It just baffles me because you wouldn’t treat a dog this way so why is it okay just because it’s a hamster. Our little babies deserve proper care just as much

 

[Maz]

It's difficult if another vet at the same practice was fine before. When I had a traumatic experience it was to do with a hamster being put to sleep and I was completely distraught at how awful the vet was with me and more, which I won't go into. The way he was brought back to me. To the point I had to get support from the Blue Cross pet bereavement service. They were wonderful and said I should do a formal complaint and I am very glad I did. The head vet at that practice was ok, but I just decided to change to another practice completely. It was the right thing to do because their response to my complaint was full of excuses and ignoring the faults. There was an apology though but it seemed not very genuine due to the excuses. Technically it didn't make much difference making a complaint but it was cathartic and I wanted it recorded.

Unfortunately some vets aren't very caring with hamsters. Just like some Doctors aren't very caring with human patients. It takes finding a good one. And trying to use the same particular vet each time. Vets actually don't do much training at all in hamsters or small animals. Exotic vets do quite a lot of training into hamsters and know a lot more and are more skilled with them.

 

[Jessicahfd]

Oh my god I’m so sorry you had to go through that, it sounds horrible losing a pet is never easy and I can’t imagine how much more difficult that experience would’ve been made for you with all that going on aswell. I can totally hear how switching vets was the best decision and I’m so glad you did.

I just find it so interesting how hamsters are such a common household pet yet so little is known about them. I could name 10+ people who have hamsters throughout their lives but very little who knew about proper care and the same obviously extends into the vetinary world.

I’m glad you were able to find a good vet you and your hammy deserve it <33

 

[Maz]

Yes it's something we could maybe start a rant thread about! Most people I know in other walks of life don't get anything much about hamsters even today.

 

[Doodleham]

Sorry I missed this thread. My vets isn't classed as exotics either, although the male vet ive seen with my last 2 hamsters who needed a vet was excellent with them, handled them no issues. I've heard a lot of people recommend "the ark vets" in Coatbridge. Mainly for guinea pigs though. But Madonna the vet specialises in small animals.

*The "abscess" the vet squeezed sounds more like a cyst to me. If it came out in one solid lump. The contents of a cyst are like a toothpaste type consistency. Whereas an abscess tends to be more like a liquid type of stuff and it stinks . I only know this from 9 years experience of volunteering at the guinea pig rescue. **I am not a vet or vet trained.