hamster surgery - share your experiences (especially spays!)

[Yeti]

I'd like to hear about some hamsters who've had surgeries and how it went. I am especially interested to hear from anyone who has had a hamster spayed.

If you've had any experiences like this please share the details. Here's an idea of some details that would be good to know :

-hamster species
-hamster age
-hamster health condition
-what surgery they received
-how was recovery? any complications?

I am currently debating having my hamster spayed. She is a Russian dwarf hamster, apprx. 1 year 4 months old. She weighs 41 grams. The vet says her body condition is "ideal" though she is definitely on the lean side She's been having some bleeding from her genitals which the vet thinks is from some kind of mass / pyometra in her reproductive system. The bleeding has stopped for now after some antibiotics. My concern is that the vet says there's a risk of death from the surgery itself or complications afterwards. They also said rodents will try to chew their incision site which can cause risk.

She's still pretty upbeat. She forages enthusiastically and likes to come out of her cage to free roam. She's not running on her wheel though so I am worried this is a sign of some kind of pain/lethargy.

I'm trying to decide if the risk is worth it, obviously it would be amazing to cure her, if it were a low risk surgery I'd definitely do it. But I'm not sure if it's worth the risk right now, since she still seems pretty active. But I know hamsters are good at hiding pain so maybe she is suffering more than I know.

Anyway, I'd love to hear other experiences with hamster surgery. Thank you.

Here's a picture of the cutie pie.

 

[Maz]

Such tough decisions aren't they. The first thing I would suggest is getting another opinion from an exotic vet - if your current vet isn't an exotic vet. It is generally female Syrian Hamsters who are prone to pyometra and I thought it wasn't really something that female dwarf hamsters get. I may be wrong there, and maybe it is just rarer.

Bleeding could also be from a uti. However I assume the vet has examined the hamster and ruled out various other things. Has a scan been done to see what is going on inside? I don't think a spay is a particularly major surgery, but if they happen to find a tumour and that needs removing, it could be a much larger operation.

I think if it was me, I would want to know what the problem is inside, before deciding on the surgery. Hence suggesting a second opinion and possibly a scan? It may be that your current vet is an exotic vet though and you are happy with them.

So experiences: I've only had surgery done on a Syrian Hamster for tumour removal. It was nerve wracking, but it all went well. He came round well from the anasthetic.

Vets tend to give you post surgery sheets with info on keeping them warm (they are much more prone and sensitive to cold following anaesthetic) but it doesn't usually mention anything about cages.

So post op, you want a hospital tank setting up without a wheel, and a fairly minimal set up. This is mainly so they can't overstrain themselves or damage their stitches. Generally it would be a bit smaller than their regular cage - but not too small. A plastic bin would do. In it you would just have bedding and a house and maybe a chew stick.

They usually need to be in it for about 5 days or until a post op check. Keep the room temperature a steady 20 degrees for a few days.

Pain is the thing to watch for. They will usually be given pain relief after the op and then you'll be given metacam to give daily for a few days.

When my Syrian had surgery, it was very clear that the pain relief didn't quite last the 24 hours and he improved dramatically within half an hour of having that day's dose. I was supposed to give it for 5 days but his behaviour showed me he was clearly in pain after stopping it so I carried on it with for another few days. He had his post op check at 7 days and the wound and stitches were fine and healing well. Normally a post op check is after about 5 days but my vet wasn't available until day 7.

So stitches and wounds. I was very impressed after my hamster's surgery. The vet seemed to have implied a kind of invisible skin dressing over the would and stitches, and that kept it clean. It looked like a very long line/wound which appeared to be bright red with fresh blood - but that was actually under the invisible dressing. Stitches are usually self disolvable.

My other reason for suggesting a second opinion was the vet's comment about chewing their stitches, because this shouldn't happen if they are on pain relief and there is no infection. My hamster didn't fiddle with his wound or try to chew it at all. If they are in pain they will try to chew it as that is their instinct. And if they are in pain when on pain relief, that suggests infection - which makes it much more painful. So the first sign of any chewing of stitches and they should really have antibiotics in case it's infected.

So I think it the wound has the right sort of dressing like mine did, and the dose of pain relief is correct, there shouldn't be any chewing of stitches.

So my experience.

The first night the hamster was happy enough in the smaller hospital cage and looking a bit sorry for himself but pottering around and eating. It's important to check they are eating and drinking the next day as if they're not there could be a problem and they need to go back. Also to check they have pooped within 24 hours.

It was noticeable he did feel the cold. I had the heating set at 20 degrees day and night in that room for the first few days.

However by the 2nd or 3rd day he was going stir crazy! In the smaller cage with no wheel. I ended up having to get up in the middle of the night for 2 or 3 nights and letting him out in the playpen. He was in a tank but he was hanging by the roof bars by his teeth and chewing as he was feeling cooped up I think and I was worried he would split his stitches doing that so it seemed a better option to let him out in the playpen and supervise so he didn't do anything too strenuous.

By the fifth day his wound had shrunk a lot and seemed to be healing and he was going so crazy in the hospital cage I decided to put him back in his regular cage. He was very happy about that! I think I left the wheel out for a couple more days though until after the post op check.

The vets don't really mention anything about hospital cages even if you ask, but I think it's too risky to leave them in their usual cage where there are so many things they could catch the wound on.

So my experience was very good. They always say there is a risk of death during the procedure - I think they have to. I asked my vet about this and she said all she could say is all the ops she had done they had all survived. So it might depend on the op and depend on the vet as well perhaps. If they are confident about operating on a hamster then that should give you confidence as well.

So your decision

Do you have an exotic vet?

I would want a much clearer diagnosis before deciding to have surgery done. It was an easy decision for me as it was clearly a lump on the scent gland externally and easy to see and feel. It wasn;t known if it was benign or malignant until after surgery - I had a biopsy done and it was malignant but the vet thought she had removed enough tissue around it that it wouldn't spread. Unfortunately it did seem to have spread already and he ended up with secondaries - probably in the brain, maybe 3 months later, and had to be put to sleep in the end. In the few months after the op he had been happy and healthy however.

It may be the vet can't give a clear diagnosis until they see inside. But that is why I was mentioning the possibility of a scan. That should show whether it is a tumour or not and how big it is.

So considering your hamster is only a year and 4 months and in good condition, I would probably go ahead with surgery, IF it was absolutely necessary. Eg if it was a small tumour. Or if the vet was fairly sure if was pyometra. If it was a large tumour, involving extensive surgery, I probably wouldn't. Because even if the hamster survived the surgery they may suffer and not regain their health, with such a large operation.

It is always difficult if there is a tumour but they can manage for some time with pain relief.

However your vet thinks it might be pyometra. I think I would want to find out as much as possible about what it is before making the decision to have surgery. The fact there was bleeding and antibiotics stopped that, does suggest it is infection of some kind.

I don't think that is much help really!

I suppose another option could be to say to the vet that you want to go ahead with the operation to spay, but if, when they open her up, they find a large tumour, you don't want the operation to go ahead and just close her up again.

The theory is that hamsters sometimes don't survive the anaesthetic. After what my vet said I don't think it is a major issue with most hamsters, but I think they can die under anaesthetic if it is too big an op for their little bodies to handle. Eg removal of a large internal tumour and various tissues surrounding it.

 

[Maz]

Just to add, my main concern would be that pyometra is so rare in dwarf hamsters that I would probably want another opinion and maybe a scan if needed. Or to give it a bit of time. Did the blood come back again after the antibiotics?

Also I believe there is another treatment for Pyometra - a breeder had antibiotic and galastop prescribed instead of surgery. Has there been any pus or just blood? If it's blood, then usually a uti is suspected first. Or any abdominal swelling? I am not a vet though obviously!

I forgot to add - she is very cute And yes she may be having some pain or discomfort if not using her wheel so she might be needing some pain relief like metacam. But then you want to know what is causing the pain .........

I read back and if the blood stopped after antibiotics, that is positive. You said the vet said she thought there was some kind of mass - hence a scan might help.

I wouldn't rush to get the surgery right now but think about getting another opinion. However if she's in pain or discomfort then maybe ask about some metacam while you're deciding.

Are you sure she's not using her wheel at night? Do you have a nightcam? If not, try putting some bedding on top of the wheel and see if it's gone in the morning.

 

[Yeti]

Thank you so much for your detailed answer!

Okay ill give the whole diagnostic story, but the TL; DR is yes we're pretty confident the bleeding is being caused by a reproductive issue. Urinary issues have been ruled out & this diagnosis is actually the second opinion (both from exotic vets).

I know she's not using her wheel because she's a heavily surveilled hamster lol. I have a pedometer on her wheel and a camera in her cage.

But here's the story...

In October MamaBear started bleeding from her genital area. Our normal vet couldn't see us for a few days so we went to new exotic vet, who shall be referred to as Vet #1. They did an xray but didn't see anything, though they said tumours can sometimes be very small and not show up. They started treating her for a UTI with baytril. The bleeding stopped quickly but returned a few days after finishing the antibiotics. They gave her another round of baytril and then the bleeding stopped.

Everything seemed good for a while but in December I noticed that MamaBear had lost weight. I brought her back into Vet # 1. They did an xray but didn't see anything. They suggested it was amyloidosis based on her age + the weight loss. They did a urine sample which showed protein in the urine (more than trace amounts) and said that suggested she did have amyloidosis. They also did a stool sample which tested negative for parasites. I started feeding critical care and she began to gain weight again. A week later, she started bleeding again. I brought her back to Vet #1 and they said she had a bladder infection and prescribed baytril. She bled the entire course of antibiotics. They gave her a different antibiotic, the bleeding only stopped at the very end of the 7 day treatment. She was also on metacam for pain during the antibiotic treatment and I didn't see activity levels improve, she never ran on her wheel. Vet #1 was telling me the recurring infections were being caused by the amyloidosis and they wanted to just keep treating infections as they arose with antibiotics.

I decided to take her for a second opinion.

Vet #1 sent her records over to Vet #2.

Vet #2 reviewed the records and said they didn't think a reproductive issue had been ruled out. On our first appt with Vet #2 they did a physical exam and a quick ultrasound. They didn't see anything on the ultrasound but said masses can be very small and therefore not easy to detect on ultrasound. They also said they disagreed with the amyloidosis diagnosis based on the urine sample. They said there are other explanations for that level of protein in the urine that had not been accounted for.

They said my description sounded more like a reproductive issue. They said sometimes with masses causing bleeding the antibiotics can stop the bleeding but it recurs, sometimes after a cycle. I also mentioned that I never find bloody urine. Her pee area is all yellow soiled bedding, so it's not like she's bleeding while she pees. I find the blood in different areas of her cage. The bleeding could also fluctuate a lot in intensity.

We returned for a follow up visit a week later, when she'd been off antibiotics for 1 week. I took a urine sample from her after she'd been off antibiotics for 1 week. I was handling her a few minutes before getting the sample and found small amounts of blood on my hands afterwards.

The urine sample was totally clean. No red blood cells in the urine to suggest any infection - considering I did find blood around the time I collected the sample, if it had been from her bladder/urinary tract that should have shown up in the sample. The vet once again did a physical exam and ultrasound. She said her bladder felt normal. This was how the bladder infection was ruled out, which left a reproductive issue.

The vet didn't say for sure its pyometra, but said there's something wrong with her reproductive system. Possibly a bleeding mass or maybe pyometra, but they wouldn't know for sure until they did the surgery.

If I don't want to do the surgery they said I could use metacam for pain, and if there is an episode of heavy bleeding try antibiotics again to control it.

The vet says they've never done a spay on a hamster before, but have on other small animals such as rats or leopard geckos. There's 1 or maybe 2 other exotic vets in town I could contact to see if they have experience spaying hamsters.

Anyway, that's the story.

 

[Maz]

Thank you so much for explaining all that and I can see you've obviously already done everything I was thinking of! She is a lucky hammy to have such a caring owner.

When you did the urine tests, did that include for sugar? Protein in the urine can be diabetes sometimes, and dwarf hamsters are prone to diabetes.

Not that that would explain the bleeding. So it sounds like it's been narrowed down to either a possible tumour or reproductive issue. And they won't know until they open her up.

And your only options are

1) Metacam and antibiotics when needed
2) Surgery

These are not easy decisions. I had a robo who developed a lump under his belly and had two or three other small lumps as well. My exotic vet was experienced in operating on very tiny rodents and would have been happy to have operated but she said it was up to me. She said it is a rather large area of his small body. I decided not to go ahead as it was such a large area. I had a lot of angst about it. He stayed on Metacam. The lump got bigger but he seemed fine and active. I had to give him a special cage set up because the lump was getting in the way - it was kind of floppy but it caught on things. And he managed like that really well and still used his wheel every day. He did start to get very thin though, despite eating well and I was advised to have him put to sleep due to his condition - he was losing weight despite eating - anyway that's another story!

So back to your little hammy.

Obviously you don't want her suffering - and if she's not using her wheel it does suggest she has some pain or discomfort. But she is happily getting on with life.

I think if you do decide to have the surgery, then yes I would contact other exotic vets and ask if they have done a spay on a dwarf hamster before. They may not have but they may have operated on a dwarf hamster before.

There is no easy answer here.

The fact she has bleeding does suggest reproductive issues. Whether there is a tumour as well causing the reproductive issues is another matter.

What you want is her to live as long a life as possible and comfortably, without pain.

You have clearly tried a few things and she's not improving. The average life of a dwarf hamster is about 18 months, but some only live for a year if they develop a condition or diabetes.

So you could maybe keep her going with metacam and antibiotics when needed. But that might not be for too long if she still has discomfort at times.

It would be easier for you to decide if you knew what it was! Sometimes we don't know what things are and just treat palliatively.

But on balance it could be a bit of both - it could be a uterine tumour causing reproductive issue symptoms and the tumour could be enclosed and spaying remove it.

If it is going to be hard to keep her comfortable then maybe trying the surgery is the thing to do. If it is simple spaying that is needed, she should recover well and live out her life more comfortably.

As you probably know, hamsters are very good at hiding pain. My little robo seemed just as active and doing all the normal things but if he tried to climb on his wheel I could almost see him "wince" and he avoided catching the lump on it. I got round that by having hemp mat on top of the substrate so the wheel was at substrate level, wouldn't get blocked up and it was a comfortable entrance and exit for him.

What is your gut feeling? You mentioned a possible mass earlier I think? It's a shame the scan didn't show more.

I think if it was me, I would find someone I felt was confident about the surgery in a dwarf hamster and say if it's just a spay needed, go ahead. If you find a tumour that will mean more extensive surgery, close her up again. Because then you'll know she has a tumour and can treat palliatively.

You would basically be saying to the vet that there should be a limitation to the surgery performed. If it would mean more drastic surgery then to just close her up again.

It's so hard for you - I'm sorry. I hope I have helped a little!

Keep talking - it helps reach decisions Rats and Leopard Geckos are quite a lot bigger than a dwarf hamster, but the vet sounds experienced at surgery and may be is the best person for the job - she sounds confident to do it. My vet hadn't operated on a tiny robo before but was confident about doing so, so your vet sounds ok for the job.

If they won't know till they look during surgery then maybe that is the way to go. In the hope that it simply needs a spay.

My inclination is to think it may be a tumour, because there was no pus or bad smell - although it's possible it's pyometra/womb infection or some other problem with the womb. And unfortunately tumours do seem to be common in hamsters.

What did the scan show exactly?

 

[Maz]

What helped me decide with my syrian was the chance that it might not be malignant. He was already 21 months old but I hoped the surgery would "nip it in the bud" if the small lump was malignant. Sadly it didn't. I didn't regret him having the surgery because it was a chance. My logic at the time was - if he dies during surgery, then at least he won't suffer rather than a longer painful decline if it's malignant.

That is not such an easy logic for you as your hammy is younger.

If you don't have the surgery, and treat her palliatively, it's likely you will need to have her put to sleep at some point when medication stops helping, and that is not easy either. So maybe surgery is a chance.

Big hugs - such hard decisions. Please keep chatting

 

[Yeti]

So the x-rays were normal, i guess? They didn't show any kind of mass/tumour. But both vets agreed that a mass/tumour could be small enough that it doesn't get picked up on an x-ray.

So, she was very active yesterday, ran on her wheel a little bit but was out puttering around her cage & asking to free roam. So, yesterday I was thinking that I wasn't going to schedule the spay, but would keep a close eye on her quality of life, activity levels and weight. And the re-assess as needed. If we do try the spay I want to do it while she's still in pretty good shape to give her the best chance.

However, I checked her burrow today and found blood. So.... I guess now I'm thinking about scheduling the spay. The blood is just such a clear sign that something is wrong, and I imagine it is painful, and affecting her quality of life.

 

[Maz]

It's difficult isn't it? It's good she is still active, but yes ongoing blood isn't good. If it is pyometra it can keep coming back after antibiotic treament and sometimes they are quite strong doses on antibiotics given for longer periods. Which isn't great for them either, although you can give probiotic at the same time or after the course. But if the bleeding isn't from infection but from a small tumour then antibiotics aren't going to permanently fix it.

The fact she is well and active though sounds positive for surgery. What is her weight?

Although I said it is considered rare for a dwarf hamster to have pyometra, it may be that it is just not recognised/diagnosed enough. I think a large mass or tumour would show on a scan. If there is a small one, you can hope that it's "enclosed" - eg within the uterus - and get removed cleanly at the same time as the spay.

 

[Yeti]

She weighs around 40 grams right now. The vet said "she's still in ideal body condition, but definitely on the lean side" and said a healthy weight for her would be between 40-50 grams.

About 5 weeks ago she was at 34 grams! But I started offering omnivore critical care several times a day that's been working really well for weight gain.

 

[Maz]

Try giving a pinch of shelled hemp seeds daily as well. Hamsters like them and lick them up and they taste nutty. They are high calorie and full of all the vitamins and minerals needed. Unshelled hemp seeds are ok but harder to chew so she might not get as much of it.

I usually use them for older hamsters with a bit of weight loss and just put them out on a separate dish from their food or veg - eg a jar lid.

Also does she like pecan nuts? They are the highest calorie nut. But I'd only give a half of a half pecan maybe once or twice a week maxium.

These are the shelled hemp seeds. They are light and fluffy and easy to lick up/eat

Linwoods Shelled Hemp

It is one of only a few complete protein foods, which means it has the full spectrum of Amino Acids; the building blocks of Protein. Protein is important for the growth and maintenance of muscle mass and helps maintain normal bones.

linwoodshealthfoods.com

You could maybe book the surgery for a weeks' time and try to get her weight up a bit. Although she is still a reasonable weight for a dwarf hamster.

Actually, one of our food gurus @elusive recommends pine nuts for dwarf hamsters. They are high calorie and quite small and would be appreciated as treats. So maybe give her a pine nut or two each day and a half of a half pecan once a week, plus the hemp seeds

Pine Nuts - click here

 

[Yeti]

Thank you for the suggestions, I will definitely try out those foods.

 

[Yeti]

It's happy update time.

I found a clinic with experience spaying and, more importantly, using anesthesia on hamsters. I was told the surgery is very simple and the majority of the risk is from the anesthesia.

So I took her to see Vet clinic #3. They wanted to do an exam themselves to make sure they agreed with the diagnosis before agreeing to do a high-risk surgery (fair enough). They agreed the bleeding was reproductive but floated the possibility it was caused by some kind of vaginal polyp, which they would not be able to treat. The only way to say for sure was to try the surgery and see if her symptoms resolved.

The only other treatment option would be palliative care. They prescribed metacam for pain, which we tried but she didn't seem to be doing well. So I decided to try the surgery.

We are now almost 2 weeks post-op and I'm happy to say the surgery went well. She healed well with no complications, and the bleeding has stopped!

Here's a picture of her enjoying a treat a few days post-op.

 

[Maz]

Aw that is great news I'm so happy it went well and it sounds like you found the right vet for the job. So it was just a spay then and they didn't find anything ominous? She's lucky to have such a caring Mum

 

[Yeti]

Oh yeah, missed a few details there.

They said everything looked normal, but some diseases can be "diffuse" and not cause any visible abnormalities. They did find blood in her uterus, so maybe that's where the bleeding was coming from but not exactly sure how/why. They could have sent her uterus to be tested but it would cost extra $, and there were not going to be any other treatment options, regardless of what they found, so I decided against it. Figured we'd just wait and see if her symptoms resolved and they did!

 

[Maz]

That's great there was nothing obvious, and she clearly needed the spay.

 

[Tulsi]

Wonderful update. You have been amazing and thorough. So so many hamsters never receive this level of care. Well done.