Blk 1002, Toa Payoh Lor 8, 01-1477, Singapore 319074.  Tel: +65 6254-3326, 9668-6468, judy@toapayohvets.com, 99pups@gmail.com
Focus: Small animals -dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, pet rats and mice, birds and turtles      
October 03, 2020 
 

He was two years old, huddled in the sanctuary which was a corner at the bottom of the stair case whereas most hamsters of his age would be active. Occasionally, he scratched himself. He just wanted to be left alone. 

"He has lost so much weight in the past few weeks," Mr Turkle said.  "Seriously, he is a light as a young hamster. He has no more energy even to groom himself." The hamster was becoming emaciated. Yet his feed bowl was filled to the brim with seeds including corn and pellets. 

"There's a big lump near his left thigh," Mr Turkle turned the lethargic hamster upside down to show me the small skin lump.  "He used to bite me whenever I tried to hold him, but now he does not resist." 

"He is aged," Groomer Ken said. He had transported the hamster and the owner to the clinic.  "Hamsters live up to around 2.5 years and yours is already two years old." Mr Turkle nodded his head sadly. This must be the end of his old companion, a fighter who would bite whenever he handled him.

Ken continued: "He must be dying of old age and old hamsters, like old people, do get tumours which affect their health badly. The British researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has just found a gene called BRAF which is mutated in 70 percent of skin cancer melanoma and causes uncontrolled cell growth and division. Your hamster's skin lump is a melanoma." 

Ken read a lot and considered himself better than some veterinarians in the knowledge of pets. He liked instant diagnosis and this big skin lump was definitely skin cancer. Otherwise why should it grow so big in a short period of weeks? Therefore, the hamster must be suffering from tumour and not putting on weight, despite being given a bountiful bowl of food.

I palpated the lump. It was soft. "It could be an abscess," I said. "Was he bitten by another hamster?"

"No, he had been living alone for the past year since he fought with the other hamster," Mr Turkle said.

"I would need to put the hamster under gas anaesthesia to examine further and lance the abscess," I advised. "However, your hamster may die as he is already so weak and is not fit for anaesthesia. Do you want to take the risk going back with a dead hamster?"  I hope Mr Turkle would not want to take the risk as some owners would say to friends that the veterinarian killed the hamster. 

Was the abscess the cause of weight loss? Mr Turkle said: "My hamster had an appetite. If he eats normally, he should be putting on weight." 

"The hamster used to bite me whenever I hold him," Mr Turkle lamented, shaking his head. He was proud of this indomitable creature. Could there be something wrong with his teeth?

Mr Turkle lifted up the hamster from his sanctuary corner and held him with two fingers. The hamster struggled a bit as I pried open his mouth with a pair of forceps.  He did not like his mouth to be opened.  I could see only one upper front tooth when there should be two. One of the upper tooth must have dropped off. There were two lower front teeth which were of the normal length of about 3 mm. However, the lone upper tooth was 10 mm long and curving inwards cutting into the lower gums.

I clipped 7 mm off the upper front tooth while the hamster tried his best to close his mouth.  After that I put him inside his cage.  Nothing happened for a minute or two. Then he went to the exercise wheel and feebly tried to exercise. He was exhausted and left the wheel as he could not run.

Then he went straight to the water bottle and drank as if he had been deprived of water. I could see that his tongue was deep red in colour, as if he was severely dehydrated.  The normal colour of the tongue would be pink. Hamsters don't get cracked lips when they are dehydrated but the deep redness of the tongue was one sign of dehydration.  

He used to have problems drinking. But now, the overgrown upper tooth had been cut short, he could suck water from the nipple in the water bottle, as he used to do so. As for his skin lump, nothing would be done till he had recovered his weight and strength.
 
Mr Turkle was most happy to see his hamster lively once more. "He favoured the soft seeds," Mr Turkle now elaborated when I asked whether his hamster could crack open the shells of the bigger melon seeds.  Now he should be able to do so. 

This was certainly not a case of instant diagnosis. The skin lump or abscess might be a red herring to distract my attention from the real cause of the problem of weight loss. I would need to review his case next week as Mr Turkle rushed into his friend's car to avoid the imminent pelting June thunder shower. I doubted that there would be a second visit as most Singapore hamster owners don't do it unless they need to consult the vet again.

In 2002, most of my hamster clients are Singapore hamster owners are young adults and females. They do care for their hamster's poor health. The older generation - the baby boomers who are parents in their 60s now think that it is a waste of money getting hamsters treated when a new hamster costs only S$8.00. 

Why not euthanase the sick hamster and buy a new one instead of paying veterinary fees which may be 10 times the price of a replacement? Such thinking do not gel with the younger internet generation. As the younger ones are concerned about the health of hamsters, I get more cases and therefore, I am able to document more interesting cases for readers.

For More Information:  Tel: +65 254-3326, 9668-6468, 9664-0404 
Email: judy@toapayohvets.com, 99pups@gmail.com

Toa Payoh Vets