Lump in cheek

[Danibear18]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could help. I noticed our lovely hamster - Peanut has a lump in her cheek that been there a couple of days. At first I thought she had food in there but have seen her fill her other cheek and empty it.

It doesn’t seem to be bothering her or causing her any pain. She is eating and drinking as normal and still very active. Tonight I had a feel of it and it’s hard and bumpy, doesn’t really move although I was a bit worried to prod it too much incase it hurt her.

Has anyone had this with their hamsters before? She is about 15 months old and very well in herself other than this.

 

[Maz]

Hi there. So sorry Peanut has a lump in her cheek. It's something that will need looking at by the vet really. It could be an impacted cheek pouch or some kind of abscess possibly. I hope it's something simple that the vet can help with. They should be able to tell you what's what from an examination and if they're not sure, they might prescribe antibiotics to see if it's infection and goes away again.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Poor Peanut I hope it is something easy to treat. I hope her vet appointment goes OK

 

[Danibear18]

Ok so we’ve been to the vet, and whilst assessing the lump they seem to have ruptured it as her mouth and neck were soaking after They’ve prescribed antibiotics which we add to her water every 12 hours and hope she drinks it

Has anyone else had this before? Wondering what her chances of recovery are like.

The vet couldn’t assess Peanut very well as she was terrified and wouldn’t stay still and kept trying to nip her in fear. I was hoping they would have a way to look inside her mouth and see if there is a laceration causing it.

We got her one of these huts for Christmas and she spends a lot of time pulling the roof apart one stick at a time. They seem quite sharp and I’m wondering if that has cut her pouch. I’ve now removed it from the cage incase.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Oh dear Yes, the straws could have caused an injury, wise to take them out out. It isn't a very safe toy for hamsters it seems. Is your vet an exotic vet? An internal exam under sedation might be needed. Perhaps there is a piece of straw still in her cheek. Getting the sedation right can require experience. I doubt if a hamster would drink consistently enough to consume a dose of antibiotic, and if it makes the water taste funny, might, like my guinea pigs, refuse to drink any water until the bottle has been washed out thoroughly. Maz has excellent strategies to get hammies to consume their meds I think it's hiding the meds in some little balls made of Hunters dog food. There have been other recipes for meds delivery that have worked well too. I hope everything improves, it sounds so scary and unpleasant ❤

 

[Magpie]

Oh that sounds like a stressful day for you both.

I’m far from an expert- and all still quite new to hamster ownership but I would be wary of putting antibiotics into water and expecting them to get a full dose.

I had to give antibiotics to my hamster for an UTI and was very helpfully advised to drop this into the middle of a pea sized amount of a certain brand of dog food or corned beef. (I used corned beef as it’s what I could get at short notice)

editing to add- the antibiotic tastes horrible and they can smell it so can’t imagine them drinking water with it in. My boy wouldn’t even eat it in mashed banana! The corned beef worked well though as a strong enough flavour and too tasty to resist. As long as it’s a small enough portion that they eat it in one go. My vet had prescribed a larger dose (0.05ml) over fewer days so I had to split this into two portions to be able to disguise it

Hope peanut is feeling better very soon and the antibiotics do the trick. If it was an abscess ant it’s been ruptured then she should hopefully be feeling a little better already now the pressure has been released.

 

[Socks' Mum]

On the other hand, the straw bits are quite thick, so might have slid out without too much difficulty ❤

 

[Rescued One]

Oh dear Yes, the straws could have caused an injury, wise to take them out out. It isn't a very safe toy for hamsters it seems. Is your vet an exotic vet? An internal exam under sedation might be needed. Perhaps there is a piece of straw still in her cheek. Getting the sedation right can require experience. I doubt if a hamster would drink consistently enough to consume a dose of antibiotic, and if it makes the water taste funny, might, like my guinea pigs, refuse to drink any water until the bottle has been washed out thoroughly. Maz has excellent strategies to get hammies to consume their meds I think it's hiding the meds in some little balls made of Hunters dog food. There have been other recipes for meds delivery that have worked well too. I hope everything improves, it sounds so scary and unpleasant ❤

Liquid antibiotics, gabapentin and meloxicam have all been well-tolerated by my hammies when mixed with a small amount of fruit/veggie blend baby food

 

[Rescued One]

Best wishes on your Peanut's recovery I have placed her on the prayer list.

 

[Maz]

I am also slightly alarmed at the idea of putting the antibiotics in water, and also that your vet doesn't seem to know what to do with hamsters (sorry!). I would get a second opinion from an exotic vet, because normally they would give a small whiff of anaesthetic gas to inspect. It's possible they realised something had burst so no need for that however. But the antibiotics are important - if they don;t get the full dose, then the infection can get worse - it needs to be a consistent dose. And putting medication in the hamsters water is not advisable at all. Firstly the hamster won't get a proper dose regularly and secondly the hamster could stop drinking the water and die of dehydration.

Sorry but I'm really surprised a vet advised putting it in their water. Is it Baytril? Enroflaxin is the other name. It's the usual one given to hamsters. And as mentioned above, it does taste nasty. There are only really two ways to give it. One is to syringe it into the hamster (and they might spit it out again) and the other is to disguise it in a tiny pea sized amount of strong food - meaty food tends to disguise it.

Or you can draw up a bit of runny honey into the syringe after the antibiotic dose and see if the hamster will take it from the syringe. The honey disguises the taste. Some hamsters will happily lick it from the syringe as you administer it that way.

The hide with the straw roof is best left removed just in case.