Hamster help please?

[Polgara2]

Our hamster seems to have developed a little lump on her tummy area - does anyone what this might be? The girls are worried about her but she seems happy enough, it doesn't seem to be bothering her.
If I have to take her to the vet will it cost very much? I know that makes me sound harsh but I have to take it into consideration .

Can you tell if the lump is 'in' the skin rather than more internal to that? What you do might depend on how old your hamster is. If for example it turned out to be a tumor, then the hamster may be able to manage for a while quite happily before anything became necessary, which if it already a good age might be the best thing in the long run than subjecting it to stressful treatment.

Or I guess it could be an abscess type thing in the skin that could be easily treated with antibiotics.

You need beautifulgirls for this really.

Other than that then a diagnostic trip to the vet might be your best option - when you know what you are dealing with then you can make the most appropriate decision.
But difficult where the dc are concerned I know.

Hmm not really sure about whether lump is internal or in skin - will have to check her later. She is 11 months old (I think - feel sure she was a bit older than the 8 weeks the guy in the pet shop told us when we got her as she was so big!)
DD1 pressing me to call the vet.

Call the vet. Advice is free and it will still be your decision what to do. When my first hamster was 3 he got a lump on his eye. We got some drops to treat it and the appointment and drops were £15. This was about 3 years ago. HTH.

Do hamsters get cysts do you think?

Maybe I should ring tomorrow then.

.?

Could be. Have you phoned the vet?

Right have phoned - they said as she isn't bothered to just keep an eye on her for now as there's not much the vet would do.

However, it got me to thinking - how exactly would I transport a hamster?

Margarine tub with air holes punched out?

We had one with a lump that must have irritated her as she bit it until it was raw , then it abscessed . Tried ab's and the vet operated but she didn't recover from the shock of the anaesthetic.

Some vets charge a smaller fee for seeing hamsters etc as they are so small other still charge the full amount. Margarine tub with holes is a great idea.

Brilliant idea - would never have thought of that. Thank you.
I did ask how much it would cost for the vet to check her out - £16! (DD1 was most unimpressed with DH's remark that you could buy several new hamsters for that!)