946. Hamster nose wart enquiry from overseas

E-MAIL TO DR SING DATED APRIL 18, 2012

Dwarf Hamster Tumor or Wart

Haven for Hamsters havenforhamsters@gmail.com
12:13 AM (3 hours ago)

to judy


Hi Dr. Sing & Associates.

You helped me several years ago with a hamster who had a eye condition. I am in Albuquerque, NM and run Haven for Hamsters Rescue. Last night I discovered a large rough lump on one of our dwarf hamsters. It is blood red in color, firmly attached to her nose, does not seem to cause her any pain or discomfort. It has no hair on it and seems to be the consistence of a human wart. Do you have any suggestions on what to do. Our vet is afraid if they remove it she will bleed excessively and not survive. Can she live with this on her comfortably?

Any help you or your staff can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,


E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING DATED APRIL 18, 2012


Pl send two images of the nose wart if possible. Bleeding can be controlled by the vet using pressure, ligation, electro-cautery or powder depending on the size of the wart and the situation. You may need to find a vet who knows what to do.


E-MAIL TO DR SING DATED APRIL 19, 2012


I have attached some pictures of the little hamsters wart/tumor. Any information would be great. Thank you,

E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING DATED APRIL 19, 2012


Thank you for pictures. Surgery is the only option if you want a good clinical outcome.

Electro-surgery is preferred. General anaesthesia and stitching are required. One anaesthetic method is zoletil sedation IM + isoflurane gas and then into electro-excision and stitching.

You may need to find a vet who does hamster surgeries.

E-MAIL TO DR SING DATED APRIL 19, 2012


Do you have any idea what it is?



E-MAIL FROM DR SING DATED APRIL 19, 2012

It is a large skin tumour. How old is the dwarf hamster?


E-MAIL TO DR SING DATED APRIL 19, 2012


I'm thinking about 6 months old or so.


E-MAIL FROM DR SING DATED APRIL 19, 2012


Your vet may need to do a skin biopsy or fine needle aspirate to check whether the growth is malignant or not and whether it is inflammmatory. This may not be feasible economically. Excision seems to be the only option. If it is inflammatory, your vet may try intra-lesion injection of antibiotics and steroids but this is not a guaranteed to work treatment. It does work for cases of lick granulomas (inflammatory) in my dog cases. E-MAIL TO DR SING DATED APRIL 21, 2012

Thank you so much for all your great advice. Our vet has determined there is just not much she can do. Here vets are very nervous about treating hamsters, no one really has the skills or knowledge. We are just getting them to learn about guinea pigs and rats. For now she is doing okay, but I can see her going down hill pretty quickly. Once again, thank you for all your help and advice. It is greatly appreciated.