Ladies and Gentlemen,

My hamster suddenly has a swelling on her underside on the left side behind her left front leg. The swelling is about the size of a hazelnut. She was ok two days ago, I did not see her yesterday and discovered the swelling this night.

She seems to be as active as usually, I cannot see a change in her behavior. She takes and stores food in her pockets as usually.

She wanted to take a walk outside her cage as usually but when I noticed the swelling I put her back into the cage.

It does not seem to hurt her, though, she crawled readily into my hands and doing this I felt the lump which I had already seen before.

She is only one year and two months old.

She is a mixture between a normal hamster and a teddy-hamster.

I will try to find a vetenary doctor tomorrow. Before I call there I will check here. If you have any advice or any explanation I would appreciate it very much and would be very grateful.

Thank you for any advice. I am deeply worried and very shaken and sad.

Bettina

[ 24 March 2002, 21:40: Message edited by: Bettina ]

Hi Bettina,
It would be helpful if you could further describe the swelling, such as firm or soft, painful to touch or not, round or egg shaped, sits flattened against her or can you feel a "stem", hot to touch. Also, is there any opening noticeable at all as if she may have had a puncture of some sort? Does she normally want to be held in your hands or does she seem to want more comfort than usual? Have you noticed if her urine output is reduced? Thirst lost or increased? Seeking warmth or cooler place? Is there anything different about her in any way? If the size of a hazelnut, it would be quite large for a hamster and I can understand your concern.

I think someone with more experience will probably respond to your query soon but the above might be helpful. If all else seems alright with her and she wants attention, I'd suggest you let her do her normal things like being out of the cage. If you have Apis in 12 or 30, you may want to give a dose if she seems to have lost her thirst, seems to prefer cool, there is any pain or reaction to touch or the swelling looks/feels like a bee sting might. You can dissolve a pellet in about 4 ounces of water, give in water bottle or if not drinking use a syringe.

Or, you may best wait for a homeopath for a more quailfied suggestion. If she seems normal otherwise, I don't think you should be too worried. I'm sure she will be fine.

__________________
Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

Dear gpm,

thank you very much for replying.

By this morning (10 hours later) the swelling has doubled in size. It is now the size of half a walnut.

I have barely touched it, only felt it when the hamster walked accross my fingers - I do not want to hurt her and she is not used to any examination.

In answer to your questions:
I would say the swelling feels soft.
It is most probably not painful to touch because she still climbed accross everything in her cage which involves pulling herself over edges with her frontlegs and thus sliding accross the edge with her underside and therefore also the swelling. I also saw her cleaning (brushing) herself like always and she even cleaned herself over and accross the swelling.

The swelling is more round than egg shaped and does not sit flattened against her. Like half a walnut shell with the egdes a little steeper , almost 90 degrees.

There is no opening on the swelling noticeable, I cannot detect any puncture. She never wanted to be held in my hands and now does not want more comfort than usual. I can really not detect any change in her behaviour or urine or thist. But this is very hard to judge. She has a huge cage, not a hamster cage, and it is full of different material to climb on and to hide under. I never, never checked her house, only when cleaning it. I hardly ever woke her up to clean the cage, she usually appears when I start to talk to the cage and she did so this morning so I could see that the swelling incrased. I took her out for a few minutes and she behaved as always before - looked for a way to escape my hands to rund around freely.

The swelling does not feel warmer than the rest of the hamster but this also is hard to tell because she has so much hair (teddy-hamster).

She is a very small hamster, her brother who lives at a friend's house is much larger.

I do not think the swelling was caused by an insect-bite. Our flat is protected with screens on every window (I hate any kind of insect in my flat) and the weather is still pretty cold and we have not seen many insects in this year, yet.

I do not know what to do. I do not know weather a vetenary doctor could help her in any way. I do not want to take her there only to hear that nothing can be done. She is not used to being transported and I could not transport her inside her huge cage, it is too big for me to carry so I would have to put her into another container and I fear this would mean a lot of stress or fright for her. Also I fear a doctor might not take me seriously - even my friend said I should stay calm "it is only a hamster".

I see in this hamster a living being for whom I have the responsibility because she is confined and does not live in a natural surrounding (where sick animals would not suffer for a long period of time).

Please, if you or anyone have/has any idea what I could do, please let me know.

Thank you very much for any advice, and thank you again, gpm, for replying.

Bettina

Hi Bettina,

The swelling is probably cystic from a blocked duct of a gland that is mildly inflammed. Not familiar with Hamster anatomy. But going by GPM's suggestions, it could probably be realted to the genitals.

The remedy here for a painless, growing swelling probably due to mild infection would be a dose of Sil 200.

Warm regards,
Doctorleela

PS; Thuja 200 would be a second choice.

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Dear Doctorleela,

thank you so very much for informing me about the remedies. I found a doctor who will look at her this afternoon, I just very much hope that he will see a chance for a cure. At the moment I cannot imagine what I would do if he would state that there is no cure.

If the hamster and I survive the doctor's appointment I will give her a remedy as soon as we get home.

Presently I do not know whether I already have Silicea C 200. I know that I have C 30 - would that be ok, too?

I thought I would dissolve it in water and put it on oatmeal - she usually eats this instantly and does not store it in her pockets.

(I am very surprised that Thuja would be your second choice - it is my remedy and I have it in C 200.)

Would Thuja C 200 be better than Silicea C 30?

Thank you very, very much for helping.

Bettina

Hi Bettina,
Sure glad Dr. Leela answered your post! If you get this before your appointment, I'd like to suggest you not allow the vet to do much more than diagnose what he thinks the swelling is. It's good to have a professional opinion but take the information he gives you and then report back to Dr. Leela. What I'm trying to say is, my opinion would be to not let them remove the growth. I have had such terrible experiences with vets wanting to just plunge ahead with procedures that I know are not right according to homeopathic laws but they can frighten you into doing things that you wouldn't under normal conditions because of concern for the animal.

If you have a cat carrier, you could put her in a small box with nesting material inside of that. Either a small wooden box with air holes or a heavy cardboard box. If she chews her way out of the smaller box and then starts on the carrier, hopefully the smaller box will have taken enough time to break out of and you will be at the office before she gets out. I think they sell little carrying boxes for hamsters. Another thought is a small hard plastic box, like a shoe box, with tiny air holes. I don't think hamsters cause as much havoc as the squirrels I have to transport, so I may be overdoing the advice here. I've found with the squirrels it is best that there be nothing they can grip to try to gnaw their way out. She could just hide and sleep through the entire trip which would be very nice. She may even enjoy the adventure! You may want to give her some Bach Flower Essence called Rescue Remedy (you can dilute it and just put some on her ears or feet) before leaving and maybe put a dab on the inside of the box she is in. Aconitum is sometimes used before events like this. If she will eat moistened oatmeal, that sounds like a good way to give the remedy. If she refuses it wet, you could powder the pellet and sprinkle it on the oats, mixing it in. Just give a tiny amount of oats so you know she got the remedy, then take away what is left.

It sounds to me as though this experience will be harder on you than the little hamster girl! I'm sure you will both do fine and your beloved pet will be back to normal soon.

__________________
Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

Dear gpm,

thank you so very much for your reassuring post.

I found it in time - I will be leaving for the doctor in a few minutes.

During lunch-break I was able to buy a plastic box which is big enough to hold her spare-house. So she will have a place to hide and a box she will not be able to escape.

I will give her a little Aconitum LM 18 on oatmeal before we leave, unfortunately I do not own any Bach Flower Remedies and there is not enough time to obtain any.

Till I read your post I was very frightened that the doctor would try to persuade me to kill the hamster. From what I heard doctors here easily do that if an animal quits functioning properly and needs extra attention or care.

Doctorleela's and your posts have given me hope, really.

The situation is so very difficult for me because I have to decide for another being. I do not want her to suffer and at the same time I am not looking for the presumably easy escape lane.

I will, as you said, do my very best to come back with the diagnose. As small as she is, I think I should be able to tell wether the swelling is hurting her or not.

And thank you soooo much for your words, I hope it will be an enjoyable adventure for her. And you are right, the situation presently is very hard for me.

I will report when I get back home.

Bettina

Dear gpm,
dear Doctorleela,

we both returned home this minute. She has a tumor, the doctor said.

He said she is on a way with no return. The tumor will increase in size and I should think about redeeming/saving her (I do not even know the word in English and the dictionary suggested these two, he means 'kill' her).

He said theoretically she could be operated but this operation would not make much sense because hamsters do not have a long life-expectancy.

He said he saw small animals that had tumors that were bigger than the animal.

Would you confirm that it is time to give up and just wait till I can see that she suffers and then have her 'saved'? Or is there any chance for improving her situation again = making this tumor leave? Would it be ok to wait till she suffers visibly? If there is no chance, would it not be kinder not to wait for her to suffer?

If there still is a chance, would Silicea C 200 still be the best remedy? I could give it to her right away, I just discovered it in my cupboard.

Please let me know what to do? I am so very sad.

Thank you very much for your help.

Bettina

Hi Bettina,

200 would be preferable, but 30 will do. MAy need a repetition though.

Do keep us updated on what the vet says.

GPM, you're marvellous as usual!
Warm regards,
doctorleela

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http://www.homeopathy2health.com

So sorry, Bettina. It's always harder when it's a child or an animal.

Dr. Leela will have some advice for you. In the meantime, try not to panic. Homeopathy will surely be able to help. If not to save her life, at least to make her comfortable. There may not be much an allopathic vet can do but I'd be willing to bet homeopathy has something up it's sleeve! If she is eating and acting normally, she doesn't feel badly so you don't have to consider relieving her pain.....since she doesn't have any just now.

I had a little dog who came in with a horrid, huge mammary tumor. I had been treating (without benefit of any knowledge of my own and no help was then available like this forum or a homeopathic vet anywhere to be found) with homeopathy. It was an absolutely grotesque tumor that about dragged on the floor and oozed everywhere. She felt great the entire time. I used a baby diaper to cover the tumor to protect her from outside irritation. I got so many comments from family members like "how can you let her be like this" or "you have to have that *attended* to, that finally I gave in and took her for an exam. Of course, surgery was recommended with the prognosis of her having at least one good year after surgery. She was bouncing and full of joy when I took her in for the surgery (the "right" thing to do) and lived only one week, a week of agony, before I had her put to sleep. She had been doing just fine for a year with that horrible, ugly growth. Don't give up.

Did the vet put a name on the type of tumor/cancer like encephaloid, colloid, etc? It's hard to think when in the office but give him/her a call back and ask for the correct terminology like is it pediculated, pedunculated, etc. and that may help Dr. Leela or anyone in prescribing though it seems Dr. Leela is already on track with Sil and Thuja in her thoughts.

Hang on........you may be surprised with the results.

__________________
Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.