Pets.ca - Pet forum for dogs cats and humans 

-->

Growth on hamster's foot!

Ania
August 17th, 2004, 02:53 PM
Hi,
I noticed just recently that my hamster has a growth on one of his feet. It is soft and has grown. Is this cancer? Is there any way that I can tell? I am really worried about him and cannot really afford to see a vet at the moment unless I'm sure that something is wrong!

Ania

heidiho
August 17th, 2004, 03:11 PM
CALLLLLLLLLL your vet..............

heidiho
August 17th, 2004, 03:12 PM
How could anyone here tell you if it is cancer???? You must be kidding..

Lucky Rescue
August 17th, 2004, 03:54 PM
cannot really afford to see a vet at the moment unless I'm sure that something is wrong!

So you actually CAN afford a vet?

Yeah, this could be cancer, or it could be a lot of other things.

Ania
August 17th, 2004, 05:52 PM
How could anyone here tell you if it is cancer???? You must be kidding..

Umm, I dunno, maybe if they had a hamster who suffered from it?? Maybe they could tell me some characteristics of the growth that distinguish it from a benign one?? Duh. Plus, apparently real vets come by to read these posts as well. I did not make you answer my post, so why be so rude??

Ania
August 17th, 2004, 05:56 PM
So you actually CAN afford a vet?

Yeah, this could be cancer, or it could be a lot of other things.

Well, the truth is that I'm a university student who's just about to pay for her second year. Every time you go to the vet you pay, as I'm sure you know. If there's any way that I can find out whether or not the tumour/growth is benign without actually going to see a vet and paying for maybe a minute or so of consultation time for a hamster, then obviously I'll take that route out. Obviously if I find out it's cancer or things get more serious, I will ask someone to help me pay.

P.S. I really thought people would be nicer at this forum...

heidiho
August 17th, 2004, 06:11 PM
I am not trying to be rude,but if you have the slighest fear it could be cancer ,why cant you CALL your vet and ask him or her???

Ania
August 17th, 2004, 06:25 PM
I am not trying to be rude,but if you have the slighest fear it could be cancer ,why cant you CALL your vet and ask him or her???

I guess I could try that out, but for some reason I highly doubt a vet would want to give me his advice and opinion without telling me to bring the hamster in and hence without making some money off of it. But we'll see...

heidiho
August 17th, 2004, 06:28 PM
See the vet i had was not after the money,would give advice because he loves the job..That sucks,sorry

dimplz
August 17th, 2004, 06:57 PM
Ania, Sorry to hear that your hamster has a lump on his leg. :( I have never owned a hamster, but I have had mice as pets. Unfortunately, with every mouse I owned, they each eventually ended up with a lump somewhere on their body which would keep growing in size. I took my first mouse to the vet when this occurred and they told me it was a tumour, but couldn't tell me if it was cancer. Unfortunately, I eventually had to take my mouse to the vet to be put to sleep. :( I don't want to upset you by my story, Ania, but rather I am trying to suggest that you should take your dear little hamster to the vet to see what is wrong with him. Hopefully, it will be nothing to worry about. ;)

moontamara
August 17th, 2004, 07:01 PM
My vet would never give a consultation over the phone, but apparently many do offer advice and you might as well try! Anyway, people on this forum are very touchy about things like people not being able to afford to go to see the vet. I understand why your feelings are hurt, and you're probably disappointed you didn't get helped out more, and I have the feeling you're one of the good owners, so you probably don't deserve to be scolded at all. But if you've seen some of the questions people have asked on this forum, you'd understand why people get upset like this. One person asked whether or not it was serious that her dog's head was collapsing!!!

I would definitely CALL your vet to make sure they even treat hamsters. If s/he says that you have to come in, maybe you could mention on the phone your financial restrictions and see if they can compromise with you.

I can TOTALLY understand why you're hesitant to go to the vet. Being a student is expensive, and you probably thought that a hamster wouldn't bring you much financial strain! I hope that your vet can help you out without costing you too much.

Good luck to you and your hamster!

badger
August 17th, 2004, 07:09 PM
http://www.hamstercare.co.uk/

Ania, here's a British website. They ask you to not email them about sick animals but there's a forum like this one - someone out there may have some ideas. AND you can send them a pic of your hamster for their gallery. Yeah, hamsters!

Lucky Rescue
August 17th, 2004, 07:51 PM
I highly doubt a vet would want to give me his advice and opinion without telling me to bring the hamster in and hence without making some money off of it

They don't do this to "make money off it". They do this because diagnosing over the phone could lose them their license. If they told you it was something minor, then it turned out to be cancer, you could sue them. "Duh."

We are nice here, but when people tell us in the first post that something is wrong with their pet but they won't take it to the vet, we do get irritated. Sorry about that.

Yes, I am aware that vets cost money, because I take my pets to one when they are sick or injured. Costs me money every time!;)

moontamara
August 17th, 2004, 08:08 PM
That makes 100% perfect sense, Lucky, but not that long ago there was a thread that started one way, but ended up being about the fact that people should just call their vets instead of posting here. Some people definitely said their vets were willing to give advice over the phone. I'm a little confused....

Didn't some of you say that you could get advice from your vet over the phone?

Lucky Rescue
August 17th, 2004, 08:31 PM
Didn't some of you say that you could get advice from your vet over the phone?

I can't imagine what kind of vet would do this. It's very unethical and could have disasterous results.

The ONLY thing I could do without taking an animal in to the vet was to get tapeworm pills for one of my cats.

My vet has known me for many years, and knew my indoor/outdoor cat regularly got tapeworms and would give me the pills.

MEEKA
August 17th, 2004, 08:47 PM
Basically If You Can't Afford To Take Your Pet To A Vet When You Know Something Is Wrong, You Shouldn't Own A Pet. How Do You Know Your Hamsters Not Suffering?

Writing4Fun
August 17th, 2004, 09:30 PM
Didn't some of you say that you could get advice from your vet over the phone?

Hi Moontamara! Yup, my vet would give out certain advice over the phone BUT ONLY if I was calling with a follow-up question about a condition she's just treated (i.e. My pup was treated for kennel cough and still has a runny nose, should I be worried? Answer was "No, give her a couple more days on meds"). If I were to call with a question similar to this one, she'd definitely say "Bring her in". BUT, she's also in it for love, not money :D , and is always willing to help out if one of her patients needs to go on a payment plan or something. Besides, a first consultation is usually only $25 or something, isn't it? IMHO, it's worth it to find out for sure what you're dealing with. ;)

Cactus Flower
August 18th, 2004, 01:07 AM
My vet has given me the following advice over the phone:

How to clip Raj's black nails without hitting the quick. (And if he were in it just for the money, he would have just said "bring her in and I'll clip them for ten dollars")


And that is ALL. He is a wonderful man and a true animal lover, therefore he would not endanger my pets by making recommendations over the phone about a condition he is not looking at or can't identify. If I was asking something that was of no risk to my pets, he'd save me an office charge and advise me over the phone.