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Hello and thanks!Hello and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your first hamster.
I have not had a Syrian before but just wanted to welcome you.
Yes he is eating, drinking and pooing normally. He seems normal in every other way really.Im sorry to hear this but luckily you have been very observant to notice and take him to the vet. Hopefully the medication will kick in soon. Is he eating and drinking okay?
Hi no that was discussed specifically. He moved the lump between his fingers and said he could get his fingers completely around the lump?Did the vet rule out a testicular torsion? This is when the testicle twists and the blood supply is cut off.
Sometimes a bluish or dark tinge to the testicles can be a sign of a heart or lung condition causing cyanosis but at his presumably young age, that does seem quite unlikely. I would recommend keeping an eye out for any breathing problems, lethargy or weight loss/gain though, just in case.
It's also possible that he just has some natural pigmentation there. I think that would be unusual but possible. If he remains well over the next few weeks and the dark patch stays the same, I'd assume it's normal pigmentation.
Yes it’s been 24 hours on the antibiotics and the redness has decreased but the dark area is larger. I am wondering if it’s scabbing over and healing maybe.If I am seeing that correctly it is quite a large dark area and looks a bit like a sore. Good to hear he is eating and drinking ok and behaving ok. Keep an eye on things. Was the vet an exotic vet?
Did he say it’s actually his testicle or a lump - because normally his testicles wouldn’t be protruding all the time.
Thanks for your thoughts and advice. I’m checking it regularly so will see how it looks tomorrow.It sounds like the vet knows what he’s talking about then. It does make you think of blood supply being cut off like Daisy mentioned. I guess you could always get another opinion. If it’s infected then antibiotics are the right thing by the sound of it, but if it is out all the time and restricting the blood flow then that won’t have been resolved. Apologies I don’t want to alarm you but if it doesn’t seem much better by tomorrow then it could be an idea to see another exotic vet for a second opinion.
It’s reassuring he checked he could get his finger right round the lump - but it doesn’t look right to me. Did the vet say what could have caused it?
Thank youHe’s lucky to have a caring owner. Is he taking the antibiotics ok? They taste nasty. Some people suck a tiny bit of runny honey into the syringe with the meds to disguise the taste. The anti inflammatory is probably Metacam (aka Loxicom) which tastes nice and they will sometimes lick that from the syringe. If not you can drop it onto a tiny bit of food. Eg a bit of mashed banana or bread - but only a pea sized amount of food. Good doesn’t disguise the taste of baytril (antibiotic) unfortunately - unless it’s something strongly meaty flavoured. Or the runny honey in the syringe.