Hamsters make great pets. Their adorable faces and tiny bodies endear them to young and old. However, hamsters are susceptible to abscesses and growths that can have deeply harmful effects on their health. If your hamster is impacted by an abscess, how long can it survive?
Hamsters suffering from an abscess can live a full lifespan of up to two years if it’s caught and treated promptly. The infection is easy to treat and only turns fatal if allowed to fester and become a blood infection.
To ensure your hamster lives the fullest life possible, you should understand what an abscess is, the physical symptoms of the infection, how to diagnose it, and when to treat it.
What to Expect if Your Hamster Has an Abscess
Fortunately, most hamsters make a full recovery from abscesses, allowing them to live their full lifespan. However, if the infection enters the bloodstream, it could kill your hamster in a matter of days.
It’s difficult to say when exactly the infection will enter their bloodstream, which is why you should take them to the vet as soon as you notice a suspicious lump.
What Is an Abscess?
An abscess is a lump on a hamster’s skin, organs, or cheek pouches. These ailments occur when a hamster is hurt. The open wound draws in bacteria and germs. The hamster’s system attempts to fight the infection by sending white blood cells to the area to counteract the bacteria.
Abscesses occur when the puss collects under the skin. These buildups swell or inflame, creating bumps that invite further infection into a hamster’s system.
The growths are an attempt to fight an untreated illness. Puss is a fluid comprised of white blood cells, bacteria, and blood. The blood cells develop to fight infection and dead tissue.
Abscesses causing illnesses are usually bacterial. Most abscesses are topical, but they can also form on organs, cheek pouches, or in a hamster’s mouth.
Don’t beat yourself up if your hamster develops an abscess. It doesn’t mean you failed to care for your pet—even the most diligently cared-for hamsters still form abscesses. However, once you’ve determined your hamster has an abscess, you must act quickly to cure the affliction.
How to Detect an Abscess in a Hamster
Abscesses present as red, raised, and swollen skin beneath your hamster’s fur. Newer abscesses are soft, while older ones feel hard to the touch.
Look for unexplained wetness on the fur. Abscesses periodically release a discharge that covers the coat and causes the fur to matt.
Hamsters are normally very clean, but an abscess releases more fluid than they can hope to groom away. Additionally, the puss may end up in unreachable places. If you notice areas of stinky fluid on your pet, take them to the vet.
Other signs of an abscess include:
- A putrid aroma coming from the bump
- Fur has puss and blood
- Lethargic behavior
- A loss of appetite
These are all indicators of external abscesses. However, hamsters can suffer from internal abscesses as well, which are harder to diagnose.
Abscesses can occur anywhere on a hamster’s body, but they occur most frequently around the head. Lumps developing around the legs hinder your pet’s movement. If your fuzzy friend is less active, it may be because a leg abscess makes movement painful.
A ripened abscess pits when you apply gentle pressure.
To check for abscesses in your hamster, check the lymph nodes around the neck. These tend to swell when an abscess is severe.
Carefully observe your hamster’s cheeks. It’s possible to mistake food stored in its cheek pouches for an abscess. If you’re not sure, monitor the size of the lump. Food will dwindle, making the lump smaller, until it vanishes. Meanwhile, an abscess doesn’t change size.
Internal abscesses often cause lethargy and dwindled appetites, as hamsters stop playing and feeding to avoid the pain of the abscess.
Causes of an Abscess
Open wounds allowing bacterial intrusion are the main causes of abscesses. Scratches, open wounds, and gauges allow germs under your hamster’s skin, creating ideal conditions for abscesses. Tooth decay frequently can also cause facial abscesses.
Parasites or invading foreign substances create the blood and puss buildups responsible for abscesses.
Frequent bacterial culprits include:
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Pasteurella pneumotropica
- Streptococcus species
Abscesses can be caused by brawling with cage mates or infections from sharp objects like wood shavings.
Generally speaking, Syrian hamsters should live alone. The furry rodents pick fights with each other and scratch, bite, or gauge. These open wounds attract bacteria and infect your pets.
Diagnosing an Abscess
Abscesses have common symptoms with other skin conditions, like cysts and hematomas. A veterinarian will often puncture it to attain a puss and blood sample to determine the root of the infection.
A lanced abscess will ooze puss, while a tumor or other condition won’t.
Veterinarians analyze the fluid pulled from the lump to determine the cause and diagnosis of the malady. They may take a sample of the abscess itself to customize the perfect treatment for the infection.
Treating an Abscess
Treating an abscess is a job for a veterinarian. They need to fully assess the extent of the infection before proceeding with treatment.
Ultimately, the abscess needs to be drained. However, a vet can determine whether treatment is topical or requires surgery.
Surgically removed abscesses tend to heal more fully than those that are lanced, drained, or flushed.
Once drained, your veterinarian irrigates the area with saline and prescribes antibiotics to fight off further infections.
It’s essential to treat an abscess promptly. The disorder is mild if handled quickly, and a hamster will recover. However, if allowed to fester, the infection can spread into the blood and kill your pet.
Post-Abscess Treatment
Once an abscess has been removed and treated, adhere to your veterinarian’s treatment plan.
You’ll want to prevent the hamster from attempting to groom the area where the abscess was removed. These rodents are very clean by nature, so monitor them closely.
Your veterinarian will provide adequate guidance for dressing the wound area. Follow their directions and administer any antibiotics they recommend.
Preventing Abscesses in Hamsters
While abscesses are highly treatable, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It’s better never to need to cure an abscess than to manage one once it occurs.
Remove sharp edges or other dangerous objects from a hamster’s cage. Keep anything that might result in an open wound away from your pet. Abscesses only occur via exposed blood, so keeping the skin intact removes the possibility of infection.
Separate aggressive hamsters. If they get into fights, it increases the chances of infected wounds. Dwarf hamsters generally co-exist better than other breeds. However, the males of the species are more aggressive and may still need to be separated.
Every variety of Syrian hamsters displays fighting behavior and should be housed alone.
Conclusion
Abscesses are entirely treatable and won’t cut your pet’s life short as long as you treat it promptly. Look for lumps and behavioral changes in your hamster and take them to a vet as soon as you notice anything suspicious.
An abscess is a collection of blood and puss attempting to counteract infection. These build up under the skin and cause a bump.