Like humans, animals are also affected by many diseases. A tumor is one of those diseases. If your hamster has a tumor, it might be scary for you as a pet owner. It is a difficult time for your hamster as well as you. So, like any disease, it is best to identify and cure the tumor when it is still small. But tumors aren’t easy to identify since they can occur within a hamster’s body. So, how can you identify tumors in hamsters? How can you treat them? How can you prevent them?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions yet, do not worry. This blog post will help you find out everything you need to know about tumors in hamsters – Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention, etc. So, keep reading.
Disclaimer: This blog post is only supposed to be used as an information source. It is not meant to serve as a substitute for a visit to a veterinarian. If you think that your hamster might have a tumor, please consult a veterinary doctor.
What is a tumor?
Before we find out how to identify the symptoms of tumors in hamsters, let’s find out what a tumor is.
A tumor is an abnormal tissue (Source: National Cancer Institute, USA). It forms when the cells in the body do not die when they should and/or grow and divide much more than they normally would.
Tumors can be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign). Benign tumors can grow large. But they do not invade or spread into tissues or other parts of the body. On the contrary, malignant tumors can invade or spread into tissues and other parts of the body.
What causes tumors?
The body controls cell creation, growth, and division. It creates new cells either to perform new functions or to replace older cells. Cells, which are not needed anymore or get damaged, die and make room for healthier cells. A tumor forms when this balance between cell creation, growth, and death gets disturbed, i.e., old cells do not die, but new cells are created anyway. Immune system problems can also cause tumors.
In humans, several factors increase the risk of tumors. These factors include excessive drinking, smoking, genetic problems, obesity, exposure to radiation or too much sunlight, viruses, environmental toxins, etc. (Source: Medline Plus).
But hamsters don’t drink or smoke. So, what causes tumors in hamsters?
Unfortunately, it is not 100% clear as to what causes tumors in hamsters. It could mostly be due to environmental factors and inherited genetic factors (Source: PetMD).
Are tumors common in hamsters?
Unfortunately, tumors aren’t rare in hamsters. Many hamsters will have a lump or tumor in their body at some point in their life. Older hamsters are more prone to tumors.
Can hamsters survive tumors?
Even though tumors are common in hamsters, malignant tumors are rare. Indeed, only 4% of pet hamsters will ever get a malignant tumor. And even that can be removed if diagnosed at an early stage. So, yes, hamsters can survive tumors, especially if they are diagnosed early.
Tumors and cancers in hamsters
Which body parts of hamsters are prone to tumors?
The body parts/organs of hamsters that are most prone to tumors are skin, reproductive organs, adrenaline glands, digestive tract, and kidneys.
As we discussed before, there are two types of tumors – Benign tumors, which do not spread to other parts of the body, and Malignant tumors, which spread to other parts of the body.
Tumors that grow in the adrenaline glands, thyroid glands, and reproductive organs often tend to be benign. On the contrary, tumors that affect hamsters’ skin and the immune system (Lymphoma) are mostly malignant (cancerous). Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in hamsters. It accounts for up to 90% of all the cancers observed in hamsters.
Dwarf hamsters are more prone to tumors than Syrian hamsters.
At what age do hamsters get tumors or cancers?
Studies indicate that laboratory hamsters (Syrian hamsters) become more prone to tumors after the age of one year. Some vets also agree that the incidence of cancer in pet hamsters increases with age (Source: Bishop Stortford veterinary hospital). Moreover, in a Japanese study on 85 pet hamsters suffering from tumors, the mean age of the affected hamsters was 19.8 months (Source: Web of Science).
But in contrast, a German study on 177 pet hamsters suffering from tumors found the mean age of the affected hamsters to be 12 months, i.e., even hamsters less than one year of age had tumors (Source: British Veterinary Association). But the same study also agrees that the sample taken for the study may not represent the actual frequency of occurrence of tumors in pet hamsters. So, we can infer that hamsters may get tumors at any age, but they become more susceptible to tumors after their first year.
Both the Japanese and German studies also found that dwarf hamsters, especially Djungarian hamsters, were more susceptible to integumental tumors. Integumental tumors affect the integumentary system, the outermost layer of the hamster’s body, which includes his skin, hair, nails, sweat glands, etc. On the other hand, Syrian hamsters were more susceptible to lymphoma, tumor/cancer of the immune system.
Until now, we looked at what tumors hamsters are prone to and which stage of their life they become most susceptible to them. Now, let’s look at how you can find out if your hamster has a tumor.
How do you tell if your hamster has a tumor?
Hamsters can be affected by different types of tumors. But the most common types of tumors are Lymphoma and skin tumors. In this section, we will find out how to find out if your hamster has either of these tumors.
How to tell if your hamster has lymphoma?
Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system. This type of cancer can affect several internal organs and lymph nodes. Since lymph nodes are located throughout the body, when they are affected, they cause swelling across your hamster’s body. This causes lumps to form.
If you notice lumps on your hamster’s belly, it is most likely lymphoma. This is the type of tumor that many young hamsters are prone to. It is caused by a virus called hamster Polyomavirus (Source: Wikihow).
Lymphoma can also cause lumps to form on your hamster’s neck and armpits. In female hamsters, it can also affect the mammary glands and cause mammary tumors.
How to tell if your hamster has skin tumors?
The same virus that causes lymphoma can also cause skin tumors. While lymphoma causes lumps to form on your hamster’s body, skin tumor often causes wart-like structures to appear. So, if you find wart-like growths on your hamster’s body, it could be a skin tumor.
But looking for lumps and wart-like growths is not the only way to tell if your hamster has a tumor. You can also observe your hamster’s behavior. Your hamster will often show one or more of the below symptoms if he has a tumor.
Symptoms of tumors in hamsters
If a hamster has a tumor or cancer, then one or more of the following symptoms can be observed (Source: My animals).
- Increased consumption of water (Common in cases of adrenal gland tumors)
- Reduced consumption of food
- Weight gain/loss despite eating the same quantity of food (Also common in cases of adrenal gland tumors)
- Abnormal stools/diarrhea
- Abnormal hair loss
- Reduced/increased interest in grooming
- Depression
If you observe any of the symptoms mentioned above, take your pet to a veterinary doctor. He will be able to determine if your hamster really has a tumor or if these symptoms were just the result of hormonal changes in your hamster.
The vet will also be able to tell if the tumor is cancerous by taking a small sample of the tumor and inspecting it under a microscope or sending it to a laboratory and inspecting the results. If the tumor is in an internal organ, an ultrasound and/or an X-ray may be required.
What to do if your hamster has a tumor or cancer?
If your hamster has a tumor or cancer, you have three choices:
- Let him live with it
- Opt for medical treatment
- Opt for Euthanasia
As a pet owner, it is difficult to decide what you should do. The decision cannot be taken lightly either. But I will try to help you make a decision. So, continue reading and find out when taking each decision makes sense.
1. Letting your hamster live with the tumor
Pet hamsters live only for 2 – 3 years at the most. So, if your hamster is already more than a year old when he gets a tumor, opting for surgery may not be such a good idea. After all, even after spending a lot of money on surgery, it might not be possible to extend your little buddy’s lifetime by more than a few months. Instead, you can also choose to let nature take its course and decide not to do surgery.
Moreover, removing a tumor from a tiny animal like a hamster is no easy feat. Blood loss could occur during the surgery and prove fatal to your hamster. That is why surgeries on Syrian hamsters are more successful than surgeries on dwarf hamsters.
If your hamster is already old, then he may not be able to survive the surgery or recover that well after the surgery.
In addition to that, only 4% of hamsters get malignant tumors. So, if the tumor is benign and doesn’t affect the lifestyle of your hamster that much, you can opt not to do surgery.
2. Opting for medical treatment
Medical treatment is the right choice to make in the following cases.
- Your hamster has a benign tumor that has grown big and/or affects his quality of life
- Your hamster has a malignant tumor that is in its initial stages, and your hamster is young
Okay, now you know when to opt for medical treatment. But what type of medical treatment should you go for?
There are different types of medical treatments. The type of medical treatment your hamster can get will depend on the type, location, and stage of the tumor.
For example, if the tumor is benign and remains small, it doesn’t have to be removed. But if it grows big, it can interfere with the functioning of other body organs. In this case, it needs to be removed surgically.
On the other hand, malignant tumors (cancers) must be removed, preferably in the initial stages. If the malignant tumor is in an advanced stage and has already spread to other parts of the body, treatment will be difficult. For example, if skin cancer is in its early stages and hasn’t spread yet, it can be removed surgically. But if it has already spread to other areas, radiotherapy (Using radiation to kill cancer cells) or chemotherapy (Using medicines to kill cancer cells) might be prescribed. But both chemotherapy and radiotherapy can have long-lasting effects on the healthy cells of your hamster’s body. So, it will take several weeks (radiotherapy) to several months (Chemotherapy) for treatment and recovery. This time will be painful for both your hamster and you. On the other hand, if you choose not to do surgery when cancer has reached its final stages, your hamster might have only a few months left to live. So, the decision (whether to opt for surgery or not) is not an easy one to make.
But whether you should opt for surgery or not also depends on the type of tumor. After all, surgery doesn’t have the same effect on all kinds of tumors/cancers.
How long can a hamster live after a tumor/cancer surgery?
According to the German study (mentioned under the section, ‘At what age do hamsters get tumor or cancer?’ of this blog post), hamsters with integumental tumors survived for 350 days on average after the surgery. In contrast, hamsters that had lymphoma were euthanized just 67 days (on average) after their first veterinary consultation (not surgery). Moreover, for around 10% of the hamsters, the surgery was a failure, i.e., they died either during the surgery or were euthanized immediately afterward.
But you should understand that these studies were made on pet hamsters whose records were collected by vets in Germany. So, the studies were made only on a small subset of hamsters suffering from tumors and cancers. Hence, their findings may not hold true for your hamster. Therefore, you should take your pet to a vet and ask for his opinion if you suspect your hamster has a tumor. He can explain to you the different treatment options available and the chances of success in each option.
Let’s assume that after carefully considering all the available options, you have decided to opt for surgery. Your hamster undergoes surgery in the next few days. What is the next step to take?
The next step is to prepare your hamster’s cage so that he can recover as quickly as possible after the surgery.
Post-surgery care
The time after surgery is a delicate and difficult time for hamsters. So, you should make sure that this time is as peaceful as possible for your little pet. The following suggestions can help you in this regard (Source: Just Hamsters).
- Keep everything he needs nearby, including food and water, nearby so that he doesn’t have to walk a long distance to get them.
- This is the time when your hamster should rest and recover his strength. So, remove everything from the cage that can tempt him to play and injure himself – Hamster wheels, levels, etc.
- Clean your hamster’s scar (If necessary, based on the instructions from the pet) regularly and find out if it is healing properly.
- Check your hamster to see if new lumps grow (in case of integumental tumors). If they do, consult the vet immediately.
3. Opting for Euthanasia
If you’re a hamster owner, there’s no doubt that you love your hamster. And if you find out that your hamster has a tumor, you might want to do everything in your power to help him get cured of the illness, recover, and get back to being his old self.
But sometimes, it may not be possible. Especially if the tumor is a malignant one and has already spread to other organs, it might be too late to save your hamster. In this case, surgery may not be possible anymore.
So, you can either let your hamster live his remaining life (maybe two or more months) and pass away when the time comes. But if your hamster is in too much pain, and if you can’t see him suffer, euthanasia is an option you can consider. It might be difficult for you to see him go away. But putting him down might actually be merciful for him than letting him continue living a painful life. If you do decide to go for Euthanasia, take your hamster to a vet. Don’t do it at home.
Now that we have found out everything we need to know about tumors in hamsters, let’s take a look at the most common questions that hamster owner have regarding tumors.
FAQ
What does it mean if my hamster has a lump?
A lump may not always mean that your hamster has a tumor. An abscess can also look like a lump. Hamster owners often mistake an abscess for a tumor. So, let’s find out what an abscess is and how to differentiate it from a tumor.
An abscess is a medical condition where the area under your hamster’s skin gets infected and filled with pus. It is often caused by injuries (cuts) on your hamster’s skin, which are later infected by harmful pathogens. An abscess can be cured by draining the pus inside it. But a tumor has to be surgically removed.
But there is an easy way to differentiate between an abscess and a tumor.
An abscess is a condition that is caused by infection and inflammation. So, an abscess will appear red, may be warm to the touch, and may drain. But a tumor (mostly) won’t have any of these characteristics. Moreover, a tumor will also grow fast and become big quickly.
The above method can help you find out at home if your hamster has a tumor or an abscess. However, it is always better to take your hamster to a vet, who can determine with surety if your hamster’s lump is an abscess or a tumor.
How long can a hamster live with cancer or tumor?
It depends on the type and stage of the tumor. If your hamster has a benign tumor that is small and doesn’t grow, then your hamster can lead a normal life. However, if your hamster has a malignant tumor in an advanced stage, he might have just 2 to 3 months left.
When should I put my hamster down?
If your hamster is suffering from a malignant tumor that is an advanced stage, and if your hamster suffers from a lot of pain every day, it might be merciful for him to put him down. Even though it might be a painful decision for you, it might actually save your hamster from further suffering. If you do decide to put your hamster down, take him to a vet. Don’t do it at home.
How to prevent tumor/cancer?
A tumor is a complicated medical condition. Unfortunately, nobody is 100% sure as to what causes tumors in hamsters.
It could mostly be caused due to inherited genetic factors and environmental conditions. Some types of tumors can be caused by some pathogens as well. So, keeping the surroundings clean is a great start. Moreover, providing healthy food to your hamster can also help him lead a quality life. But even if you take all these measures, there is no assurance that your hamster won’t get a tumor. So, as a pet owner, you’ve to monitor your hamster all the time. If he shows any symptoms of tumor, you should take him to a vet as soon as possible.
