My senior hamster has a tumor. Should I operate or provide comfort?

Your hamster, by now, is a very old hamster and practically at the late stage of his life. You need to weigh up how his recovery from the first surgery was and how long it took. It may be more humane to not put him through surgery again and let him live his last months of life as well as possible, There is pain medicine that can be given for a while if you think he is in pain. Finally, once he stops eating and/or you feel he is suffering, you can give him the best gift by euthanasia to stop his suffering. Should you have the tumor removed, it very likely will come back again, and it is also not a given that he makes it through anesthesia. I am sorry about the situation, you are taking good care of your baby and diseases like this always are traumatic to the animal as well as the owner.

Hello. Unfortunately, cancer in a 2 year old hamster is very common. If it smells , it means the tumor has probably outgrown its blood supply & the tissues are beginning to die. Unless you have the tumor removed, the kindest thing to do is euthanize Poppy. This will not get better on its own & will just continue to fester & smell worse. Poisons will get into her system making her sicker & sicker. I am so sorry, but this is a common thing to happen with hamsters. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and welcome back. If Hazel is running around and eating and is happy, you can ignore the tumor. At some point it will cause her distress and discomfort, at which point you will have to make the hard choice to put her to sleep, but if she is happy now then you can wait. Ideally the tumor would be removed, but if that is not possible I wouldn't recommend euthanasia if she happy and eating and acting normally. In terms of time-line, there is no way to say. some cancers grow very slowly and some grow quickly, so we cannot know how long it will be until the tumor affects Hazel. Best of luck with her.

These types of tumors are very common in old hamsters, they do tend to grow fast too. it's not possible to know how long he has left, but probably not very long. if the problem is affecting him locally only, there is a surgical option to have it removed, which is the only thing that can help at this point.

I think as long as Snowball eats and drinks and appears happy and not in pain, you can just monitor her and make sure she stays happy. Make the holes bigger or remove the small holes, so she does not get stuck. Listen to your mouse. She will tell you when it is time to let her go. Also should the tumor start to ulcerate or bleed, she will be prone to infections, and that may also be time to let go. But until then you can spoil her with treats and pets and a good life.

Unfortunately you are correct in assuming this is probably a cancerous mass, especially if it has grown quickly. Keep in mind that the life span of a hamsters is only about 2-3 years. This may help in your decision making process. If you are unwilling or unable to have surgery performed to remove it then just keep Crackers as comfortable as possible. If her energy level and appetite decrease then you would have to consider that the cancer is likely spreading. I hope this helps. Best of luck.

At 3 years old, Buddy is very old for a hamster. Just as in other pets, old age brings the risk of conditions such as cancer or organ failure. Ideally, Buddy should be physically examined by your veterinarian. Aspirates can be done on the lumps to collect samples for pathology. If your veterinarian diagnoses a serious condition, you can discuss treatment, prognosis and quality of life concerns.