# Please help! Hamster Tongue Swollen?!



## ConnorB123 (Mar 1, 2018)

My 1 year old Russian Winter Dwarf hamster has a swelling or growth on his tongue. This could've been caused by the old bedding I used (I changed it). But what is this condition called? Thanks, it really helps.

Images -


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## cava14 una (Oct 21, 2008)

I would say phone vet and get an appointment


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## Isotonic (Jan 17, 2018)

Dettol contains pine oil and a few other ingredients which may cause allergic reactions. Mild soap (like Dawn) or vinegar for tough spots is the best way to go for cleaning hamster cages.

a swollen tongue is very dangerous, because it makes it difficult for a hamster
to breathe, drink and eat.

a couple of things to do right now that she's feeling better:

1) check out her teeth and make sure they are all good; that they aren't 
broken or missing;

2) how do her cheekpouches look? do they look extra full of food? 
sometimes hamsters overload their cheekpouches and then they
can't empty them. this leads to the food slowly decaying, and the 
toxins find their way into their bloodstream. this would cause a lot of
the symptoms you saw, also. 

I'm going to suggest a very simple treatment that will help rehydrate
her and also flush out any toxins. all you need is water, salt and sugar,
as well as a syringe.

1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water

blend all well. this makes a rehydration solution that will get her glucose
levels back to normal, in a way that plain water will not.

take up 1.0ml of the formula into the syringe. see if she'll take it on her
own. if not, you want to give her 0.1ml every 5 minutes or so. you want
to get 1.0ml into her within an hour. 

Hamsters can have allergic reactions i assume so check to see what food they can and cannot eat. This could also be caused by an infection, take her to the vet asap since on another thread this was treatable but they failed to follow these listed steps.

if she takes it all on her own, we don't have to worry about the hour. but,
reload the syringe with the formula and see how much more she will take.


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## anachronism (Jan 30, 2014)

That isn't tongue, its the pouch. It has a pouch prolapse. Your hamster needs a vet, the pouch bottom looks to be going/gone necrotic


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## •HamsterOfficial • (Mar 2, 2018)

ConnorB123 said:


> My 1 year old Russian Winter Dwarf hamster has a swelling or growth on his tongue. This could've been caused by the old bedding I used (I changed it). But what is this condition called? Thanks, it really helps.
> 
> Images -
> View attachment 346663
> ...


A vet appointment should be made, that looks painful and can be dangerous as it would be affecting how your hamster eats and drinks. 
It looks like a type of infection, either in the cheek pouch or mouth.

If it's a growth, the vet would need to remove the mass and prescribe some antibiotics.

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