ᐉ The hamster has a swollen belly: what does it mean and what to do

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10.20.2018 Rodent breeders must understand: when a hamster’s belly is swollen, it must be urgently shown to a veterinarian, as this is not an optimistic symptom. If such an opportunity does not present itself, you need to help him yourself and for this you need to know the main reasons that provoke an enlargement of the abdominal cavity. There may be several reasons.

Main reasons

Bloating in a hamster happens for various reasons. The most common of them are:

increased gas formation or flatulence;
abdominal hydrops or ascites;
cysts and low-quality tumors;
waiting for offspring.

All of them, except pregnancy, are dangerous to health. At the slightest suspicion of them, you must provide the hamster with all possible help at home, but if possible, take your pet to a veterinary clinic. The doctor will examine him and prescribe a treatment plan. Let's look at each reason in more detail.

Increased gas or flatulence

The accumulation of gas in the intestines is not a pleasant condition. It disrupts the motility of the digestive system and negatively affects health. In extreme cases, it can result in death. Why does flatulence happen? Due to the introduction of harmful or spoiled food into the animal’s diet. Therefore, you need to feed your hamster in a balanced manner, making sure to remove leftover food so that the food does not lie in the feeder and spoil. Some fruits and vegetables in large quantities also cause flatulence due to the fiber they contain.

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The main symptom is severe abdominal pain. But how to recognize it? The hamster doesn’t talk and won’t be able to talk about how he’s feeling.
The belly increases in size and hardens; when pressure is applied to it, the animal begins to break out and squeak. If he usually enjoys stroking in that place, now he is experiencing severe pain.
With excessive gas formation, the hamster loses its appetite, its behavior becomes anxious, and the animal strives to curl up in a corner of the cage.

Such an important rule - do not feed your pet what it is not allowed to eat! Food should be fresh and balanced. Read the composition of the feed you give to the animal and control the feeding process from start to finish. Then the animal will not suffer from pain and will be able to play and be active in its cage with pleasure.

If your Djungarian hamster has a swollen belly, then you can help him and relieve some of the acute pain. Take a decoction of chamomile or dill water and give it to your pet instead of water or along with it. They will relieve bloating and the pain will subside. Give medications to your hamster only after consulting a doctor! Some of them can be dangerous and cause harm rather than benefit.

Ascites or dropsy

Ascites itself is not a disease. This is rather a manifestation of latent diseases that occur passively. It often accompanies kidney and heart problems or cancer. If your hamster has a swollen belly, and you recognize this as dropsy, then it will be very difficult or impossible to help. Be sure to visit a veterinary clinic and consult with a veterinarian. If necessary or in doubt, he will prescribe additional tests for the animal. The hamster's belly remains soft to the touch, but increases in size. The animal does not react to the changes in any way and behaves as usual.

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Cysts and malignant tumors

Another reason why a Djungarian or Syrian hamster has a swollen belly is cancer or a cyst. This is one of the biggest concerns. Requires immediate medical attention and surgery. Let us note that malignant tumors most often occur in older animals, so owners of “young animals” need not worry. Tumors inside are easy to distinguish from other causes of bloating. They make the abdomen asymmetrical and are located locally, and not throughout the abdominal cavity.

The veterinarian can prescribe an ultrasound examination for the animal to make an accurate diagnosis, but in most cases this is not necessary; a simple palpation of the abdominal cavity is sufficient. Surgery to remove the tumor is possible, but only if after it the body has enough strength to recover and the hamster’s condition is stable. In other cases, it is no longer possible to save the pet and the doctor will advise sparing it from its suffering and euthanizing it.

How to deal with obesity in hamsters?

Obesity is the result of a sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition. First of all, you need to review your pet’s diet and change the amount of food it consumes per day. It is worth knowing that the animal should eat two heaped tablespoons of food per day. This amount of food is enough for him not to feel hungry. If you notice that your pet is constantly eating excessively, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

reduce the amount of grain consumed by animals;
diversify your diet;
reduce the number of nuts in the feed;
give more vegetables and greens.

In addition to reducing the amount of food, it is necessary to provide the animal with an active lifestyle, make sure that it sits in one place less and gets bored. To do this you can:

Buy a running wheel.
Buy a running ball.
Let the animal run around in the evenings, for example, on the sofa, since at this time of day the animal is most active.

It is worth remembering that the animal must be constantly supervised outside the cage, since even while walking on the sofa, the hamster can fall and get injured, or simply run away and die.

If you provide the animal with proper nutrition, your fat hamster will lose weight after a while, and the condition of his body will improve significantly.

During the daytime, it is better not to disturb your pet and you should not wake him up in order to make him run. This is due to the fact that hamsters are nocturnal animals and are accustomed to sleeping during daylight hours.

Pregnancy

The most pleasant reason for an enlarged belly. If you have a male and a female living with you, then the first thing to suspect is the expectation of offspring. It happens that pregnancy makes the female look like a pear, and not like a hamster. But this is a reason for joy, not for sadness. If you notice that the abdomen is swollen, but the appetite and stool remain as usual, and the animal’s health is good, then there is no need to worry.

There can be many reasons for bloating; this article only talks about the main ones. Most often, the problem lies precisely in the animal’s improper diet. An examination by a doctor in such cases is not necessary, but is advisable. After all, when visiting a clinic, completely different diseases may be revealed, and not just flatulence. To treat them, more radical measures will be needed.

Digestive problems

A hamster's belly may bloat due to digestive problems. You may have given him a product that is contraindicated for him. For example, cabbage. First, you can try giving him dill water - a couple of drops. As in the case of infants, it will reduce gas formation in the rodent’s stomach, and its health will improve. Poisoning can also be accompanied by a bloated stomach.

You need to feed your hamster with caution. You must know all the foods that are good for him and avoid those that are harmful to him. The diet should be balanced - only in this case there will be no problems with digestion.

Other reasons

The fact that a hamster's abdomen is swollen may indicate both an accumulation of fluid (or ascites) and an enlarged internal organ.

The cause may also be neoplasms in the abdominal cavity, cysts of internal organs. And cysts are very often associated with cancer, at least in hamsters. Perhaps the animal has liver cancer or something similar. We won’t say this with certainty, but often the cyst is accompanied by other formations in the abdomen. All this requires surgical intervention, which is not always possible. The operation is indicated only when the animal’s general health is stable and its body is able to recover.

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There is only one conclusion that suggests itself from the above: a hamster’s swollen belly is a very serious indicator of the pet’s ill health. The help of a specialist is needed - only he can determine the specific cause. Take immediate action: your little friend is in danger!

Fluid accumulation (ascites)

If the abdomen is moderately and symmetrically swollen and soft, ascites can be suspected. Dropsy of the abdominal cavity is not an independent disease, but a symptom. Accumulation of fluid in the abdomen occurs with cirrhosis or liver cancer, heart problems, and kidney failure. Ascites is accompanied by severe depression and shortness of breath. The diagnosis is easily confirmed by abdominal puncture or ultrasound.

Even if it is possible to identify the underlying disease that caused dropsy, treatment at this stage no longer exists.

Flatulence

This term means nothing more than bloating of the intestines due to increased gas production. A symptom of flatulence is severe pain. The motility of the digestive system is disrupted. Flatulence for a hamster is a rather dangerous condition that can result in the death of the animal. The reason that a hamster's stomach is swollen may be poisoning or eating junk food. For example, cabbage should not be given to hamsters, since it provokes fermentation processes in the intestines.

The rodent's belly is hard, inflated, like a drum. The hamster behaves restlessly, he is clearly disturbed by painful sensations, and he does not eat.

First aid for the animal is drinking chamomile decoction, espumizan solution (0.2 ml), and dill water. Drugs such as enterosgel or smecta also help. You can do a light abdominal massage.

If your hamster has a swollen belly and a wet tail, this could be a sign of diarrhea. If the stool is foul-smelling, the disease is called “wet tail.” Urgently isolate the animal (the disease is very contagious!), disinfect the cage and show the animal to a specialist.

The last days of the hamster | Women's magazine online - EVA.RU | Animals

Almost 2.5 years. He has become quite old. He used to quickly run around the cage at night, but now he can barely walk. They rented him a second floor and put the house on the ground floor. Today I looked and he was lying in the feeder with his paws up, twitching his paws, I thought, well, that’s it, it’s over. It turned out he climbed into the feeder, turned over on his back, but didn’t have the strength to get up. Sorry to the point of tears. But apparently the time has come ((((Where do they go after death? Can they be buried?
As I understand you (((Last year, 2 dzhungarikas left us for the rainbow one after another. They lived for three and a half years. I loved them so much, cute little fur balls. They are aging rapidly, withering away just before our eyes. It seems that recently there was a round a lump, and today you look - the back has become a sharp hump, you don’t have enough strength to climb the bars... If this is important to you, of course, bury it. In a beautiful little box, in the country, in the park, in the yard.
When I was a very young child, there lived Djungarians (they lived for about 1.7 - 1.9 years). It’s so strange, but I noticed (suddenly they stopped biting) that in the end (maybe 2 weeks) they had no teeth at all (or ground off, or fell out) and I used it to grate the carrots on the finest grater.
Exactly, thanks for telling me, his teeth were broken off, only small ones remained (((they made him porridge. And that’s probably why his stomach is swollen, it’s become bigger than usual lately, probably because he can’t chew food, but he swallows.
author, I started a similar topic not so long ago. “The hamster is going bald.” About the funeral. We took a box, put clean bedding inside, sawdust, a lot... We put Khoma on top. Near him were all his “cookies”, which he loved very much, about 5 of them remained. We sealed the box with tape. They wrote the year and month of birth and the gift of death, and the name. They took us to a forest not far from us. We dug a hole near one tree. Buried. They cried, of course...Hold on. Comfort yourself with the thought that he had a good time with you.
You have such a long life. How do you get used to them, they seem tiny, but still.
Tell me, are hamsters always biting? I remember when I was a child there was a very angry hamster, that’s why I never got one again
I had dzungarians (both boys and girls).. they lived in a rectangular aquarium (each has their own)... and when I reached out my hand to take him in my hand - at that moment he bit (once), and then did not bite again ( they don’t sit still, they constantly run somewhere).I.e. at the very first moment when you take it, it bites you, but when you take it, that’s all - it doesn’t bite anymore. Damn, but they bit sooo painfully. I once saw when they were yawning that it turned out that they also had molars... where do they fit? Other breeds don’t seem to bite..
And we lost our Margosha (((She was such a redhead, tame and not biting. In a week, a tumor grew on her neck, we didn’t have normal rodent doctors, no one knew how to operate (((But she was cheerful until recently , ate well, and then one evening she didn’t meet us from work (((We also put her in a box, in sawdust, and buried her in the park. I will never have any more hamsters. I feel so sorry for them, they live so little ((( Hold on!
Thanks for the answer, no, I didn’t have a dzhungarik, but a smooth-haired big one, I don’t know what it’s called, but it was very angry(
Thank you. our dad said we'll do it
ours bit, yes. It really doesn't hurt very much. Moreover, the teeth were long.
It is very painful and pathetic to look at him. He hardly walks, he rather crawls. Today we pulled him out of his cage and laid him on the floor. He’s also limping, it’s clear that something happened to his front leg, he doesn’t step on it at all (((I don’t know, maybe he can take him to the doctor? Will he look at the old hamster? Shouldn’t he get an x-ray? And will he make it there alive? He eats almost nothing. He never ate porridge, today I finely grated a carrot, stuck it there with his nose, turned away, didn’t eat ((((how cheerful he was, how he rushed around the cage like a hurricane. He climbed on the roof, learned, first he kept falling, then he quickly clung on with all four paws like a monkey and moved quickly. At night he spun the wheel and rattled the bedding, they sent him to the toilet because it was impossible to sleep. Once we left for several days, we arrived, he was hanging on the corner of the cage, shaking it and practically screams “Ah! we’ve arrived!!! how could you leave me here alone???” )))) what a pity... I’ve already buried a cat and a dog, now I’m a hamster...
Those. You sit and watch how bad he is, and at the same time you think about taking him to the doctor or not?
If he doesn't eat, he doesn't have the strength to walk.
and what, does the doctor have a cure for old age? You see, if he were younger, of course they would have taken him away a long time ago, if suddenly there were problems. And now, I’m afraid to disturb him again, I’m afraid that we won’t get him to the doctor, thereby shortening his last days. And will the doctor look at the old hamster? And I, by the way, asked, is it worth it?
He most likely doesn't drink yet.
I had 2 hamsters as a child, both lived a long time (one 3 years, the other 2.5). They died of old age. Yes, according to the description, it’s about the same as yours, everything seemed to be cheerful and full of strength, and then overnight it seemed as if the strength began to disappear, he began to walk less, and then just crawl, his belly began to swell (the doctor said that dropsy had begun, because the internal organs began to fail, and this death throes lasted for 2-3, not long... They buried both of them, put a soft cloth in a box so that the hamster would be “comfortable”, and in a forest park under a tree they dug a hole and buried it. And the neighbors threw theirs straight into the garbage chute. Everyone has a different attitude towards animals... How is your hamster alive?
died today((((he was still crawling in the morning, yes, exactly as you say, he didn’t walk, he was just crawling. Then he lay there, still breathing, after a few minutes I looked and he was no longer breathing, I touched him, that’s all... They took him, by the way, On Friday, we finally went to the vet, they looked, they did an ultrasound, they said there was gas and a little fluid in the tummy, possibly from old age, the paw was fine - all the bones were intact, not swollen. They prescribed him espumizan and ascorbic acid. It seemed to be even better after espumizan, his stomach was deflated. But... nothing helped. They buried him today, put bedding and food on him. The children cried... It’s a pity for the very fluffy little ball...
I sympathize... You were very good hosts. He felt good with you.
We recently had 2 dzhungarikas die at once... on the same day. It was 1.5 years old. Why - who knows... they weren’t buried... I cried so much, my husband took them somewhere, I didn’t even ask, well, I’m not a child anymore. No more mice, hamsters... there is a return from the dog, And here... and then still suffer

Source: https://eva.ru/animals/messages-3255955.htm

Pregnancy

An enlarged abdomen in females often indicates pregnancy. If the pregnancy is multiple, the female “gets better” so much that she becomes like a small pear. At the same time, she feels great, and even eats “not for two,” but for “several.”

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If the female has not had contact with the male, the uterus (and at the same time the abdomen) may enlarge due to purulent inflammation. Pus with an extremely unpleasant odor is released from the loop. The belly may also become enlarged due to an ovarian cyst.

Types of tumors

Depending on their location, bumps can be external (on the skin and subcutaneous tissue, limbs) and internal (uterine, intestinal tumors).

Based on how neoplasms develop, they are conventionally divided into 3 types:

Benign. Caused by unlimited cell division, which can be triggered by injury, a virus, or a malfunction of the genetic program. Such neoplasms are usually stable and look like small subcutaneous balls. If you lightly press on the lump, it moves to the side. The density of a benign tumor in hamsters can be anything: hard, soft, or cartilage-like. Such lumps must be removed before they develop into mixed and then malignant neoplasms.
Malignant. They can develop immediately or gradually change from benign. Malignant cells divide extremely quickly and in all directions; they are not localized, so they metastasize to various organs of the animal. Due to metastases, it is almost impossible to defeat the disease. The occurrence of malignant lumps may be due to viruses, poor nutrition (the carcinogenic effect of fats) or violations of the genetic program.
Inflamed tissue. The swelling is not caused by cell division and tissue proliferation, but by other factors. This may be an accumulation of pus (abscess) or lymph in certain areas of the body.

In hamsters, inflammatory processes and benign neoplasms are treatable. A malignant tumor manifests itself already in the later stages of the disease, when the “frenzied” cells have already spread throughout the body. Therefore, cancer for a hamster is a death sentence.

This is what a cancerous tumor on a hamster's stomach looks like.

Hydrocele of the abdominal cavity

It is accompanied by a moderate increase in the abdomen; the tummy feels soft to the touch. Dropsy (ascites) is not a disease in itself. This is a manifestation of cancer problems, heart and kidney diseases.

Dropsy can be detected by ultrasound or puncture. What to do if your hamster has a swollen belly? Of course, show it to the vet. But the prognosis is unfavorable: if the underlying disease is accompanied by dropsy, then it cannot be cured.

Eye diseases in hamsters

Conjunctivitis is a fairly common eye disease in hamsters. The development of the disease in hamsters can be provoked by particles of sawdust or hay that get on the mucous membrane of the animal’s eyes, or by failure to comply with hygienic conditions of detention. Characteristic signs of conjunctivitis are discharge from the eyes, sticking of the eyelids. The animal experiences severe discomfort and scratching its eyes with its paws only aggravates the situation.

Treatment involves rinsing the eyes with saline solution or lotion and using specialized drops prescribed by your doctor.

Neoplasm

Malignant internal tumors can also cause an increase in abdominal volume. A sign of cancer is asymmetric swelling. A tumor can be determined using an ultrasound examination.

The main cause of bloating in hamsters is digestive disorders. For young animals, this is most often due to eating the wrong foods or poisoning, for older animals – neoplasms. As a rule, the prognosis is unfavorable, and the animal quickly dies. Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to disease prevention.

Sources:

https://veterinariya.com/u-homyaka-vzdulsya-zhivot.html https://homjachok.ru/u-khomyaka-vzdulsya-zhivot.html https://moy-homyachok.ru/bolezni-homjakov/u- xomyaka-vzdulsya-zhivot.html