Possible bloated belly.

[Tosan]

Hi, I've been here a few times asking questions. I got a new hammy about 2 months ago, she's been great so far, but recently I noticed her getting "chonkier". At first I thought she's just growing, but her behavior has changed a bit, she comes out to drink and collect food, but instead of coming out every to free-roam like usual, lately she only wakes up and asks to come out every 3-5 days. The chonkiness didn't seem really obvious at first, but now she's more pear shaped so I'm almost certain it's belly swelling.

I've had a hamster before who got really bad cancer, and it was similar to this, but this isn't so large and obvious yet. The one that got cancer, her belly got noticeably large pretty quickly, but I noticed she stopped coming out of her nest except for food and water - same as how this girl is behaving Comes out just for food and water, she also SEEMS to be drinking more water than usual, it's not by a ton so I can't be 100% but it definitely feels like her water bowl empties faster than my other hammies.

I'm really worried, I'm going to take her to the vet anyway but it's the weekend so the good vets aren't open. But my question is, is there any hope for her? Are there any belly-bloating ailments that are curable? My first hamster with cancer, I paid a lot of money to get her surgery because they said often it's uterine cancer and they can just spay her and she'll be fine - but upon operating they found it was very aggressive cancer all over her body and they couldn't save her.

I guess I'm just looking for hope, I've only experienced this one time and it did not end well, she's a very young baby, I've only had her maybe 2 months. I don't want this precious little life to leave so soon. I've read it could be tumor, cysts, kidney failure, heart failure (unlikely for her age but you know, animal mill breeding practices cause a lot of genetic defects). Are any of these hopeful for treatment or is she doomed? :'( I hate animal mills, these poor creatures often get short lives because of their greed and neglect.

 

[elusive]

I’m sorry to hear this & I can easily imagine how worried you must be.
There are quite a few things that can cause the belly to appear bloated & you’re aware of some of them, are there any other symptoms at all?
It’s impossible to say what it may be & even with young hams there can be genetic issues. Some things will be treatable though so try not to imagine the worst, easier said than done I know, until you’ve managed to get her to the vet.
Pyometra is one of the first things I would think of in a female hamster but I would expect other symptoms unless it is a closed pyometra, this can be really serious but may well be treatable if caught early enough.
I don’t want to list depressing possibilities but just want to say don’t lose hope yet & I hope it goes well at the vet, let us know how you get on.

 

[Frida]

Hello, sorry to hear your hamster is ill. I hope all goes well at the vets. Thinking of you both and sending hugs

 

[Member ID2]

There is hope because you are acting quickly by taking her to a vet today.

Like you say, there can be so many causes and i wouldn't want to speculate because it's impossible to say.

I know a hamster who lived on happily after pyometra surgery and i knew one who died soon after surgery because she had cancer that had spread. She was one of my own.

Please keep us updated and keep in mind that the on call vet may be a very good one.

Like you, we are hoping for the best possible outcome for your little girl.

 

[Maz]

Hello again and I am so sorry to hear about the worries about your little girl and at such a young age. If she is looking pear shaped then she will be quite swollen. I assume you’ve had her long enough that it can’t be pregnancy?

As she is so young my first thought would be closed pyometra as well but it’s difficult to know and if she is not seeming to have infection and particularly unwell it could be fluid - which can have a number of causes.

I’m also sorry you had a not great experience at the vet previously with surgery. It’s important a vet knows about hamsters (it’s surprising how many don’t really know much about them). So an exotic vet is the best person to see - they do specific training in hamsters and know a lot more about them than most vets, so can often diagnose well.

Only coming out every few days doesn’t sound too abnormal unless she is appearing unwell as well as swollen. Are her ears down all the time? That can be a sign of pain. Although ears down is normal when they first wake up - it’s only if they’re down all the time.

Not sure what region/country you’re in but as Beryl says, there is usually an off duty vet number for week ends. But you have probably gauged how she is behaving and if she seems ok generally then I can understand waiting until Monday. It could be an idea to phone the vet off duty number though - they will sometimes do a video call and see if any urgent treatment might be needed. Or at least reassure you to monitor until Monday.

 

[Maz]

Sorry - I just saw you had her two months so it won’t be pregnancy. And she is only coming out for food and water.

The answer to is there anything they can do - if it’s pyometra they can treat with antibiotics. Or it can mean a Spey but they can do a scan rather than opening up. Another possible cause is an intestinal blockage if she has ingested something. Assume you don’t use any fluffy bedding type products or kapok nesting material?

Does the good vets have an out of hours number? I know it’s tricky - the exotic vet at the vet practice I use os only part time and hard to get hold of. But if they do have an out of hours number they may be able to help

 

[Tosan]

Sorry - I just saw you had her two months so it won’t be pregnancy. And she is only coming out for food and water.

The answer to is there anything they can do - if it’s pyometra they can treat with antibiotics. Or it can mean a Spey but they can do a scan rather than opening up. Another possible cause is an intestinal blockage if she has ingested something. Assume you don’t use any fluffy bedding type products or kapok nesting material?

Does the good vets have an out of hours number? I know it’s tricky - the exotic vet at the vet practice I use os only part time and hard to get hold of. But if they do have an out of hours number they may be able to help

Thank you all for your replies!

I don't blame the vet who failed the surgery because they are exotic and they said they've done many successful hamster surgeries, it was just that the cancer was so aggressive it invaded every organ, and removing all the tumors would have killed her anyway, poor baby.

I have a really good vet nearby, one that I have used for a while and is very good - it's not the same as the vet that did the surgery (they seemed knowledgeable about hamsters but I trust this other Vet a lot more). Sadly none of the exotic vets near me are open on weekends so I have to wait until monday.

The good news is she just came out again today, that's 2 days in a row. Her ears are not down, she doesn't appear to be in any noticeable pain.

Hopefully vet can see her immediately Monday and I can put my worries to rest.

Thank you all!

 

[Maz]

Do let us know how you get on. Glad to hear she seems reasonably ok. Agree sometimes they can't tell what something is until they start surgery. I had to have surgery on one hamster for lump removal, hoping it wasn't cancerous (it was) and hoping it hadn't spread. Unfortunately it came back. There isn't anything they can do about cancer really. They are difficult decisions. So sorry you lost your hammy that way.

 

[Member ID2]

How is your hamster doing?

 

[Tosan]

How is your hamster doing?

Hi! Thanks for your concern! She started waking up and coming out to play every day again, which was relieving, because of this I am also able to inspect her body and monitor her more. I wasn't able to take her to the Vet due to extreme workload, but from further inspection I am not totally convinced she's actually bloating and just chonkier than average (maybe due to less activity, she doesn't seem to like running on her wheel and she wasn't coming out to roam for 4-5 days straight). She's definitely heavier than previous hamsters I've had, but from past experience when a belly starts bloating it becomes much more obvious within mere days, and I've seen no signs of increased belly size.

I still plan to take her to the vet soon when I can (kind of broke and waiting for next paycheck) but I am less worried now that I've gotten to inspect her several days in a row, and her behavior has been more active lately. No squinted eyes or pushed back ears showing any signs of pain, her behavior seems normal again so I am very hopeful!

I hope I'm not wrong!

 

[RainbowBrite]

This is such good news. It could be she is heavier then your previous hamsters hence you thinking she may be bloated.

 

[Member ID2]

I'm glad to hear she's better now. It may be a good idea to weigh her from time to time.
I bought a cheap set of kitchen scales i keep on the bathroom floor to pop a hamster in.