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Anonymous
Would you actually bother having an operation done on a hamster?
>> Anonymous
I've heard of some people taking hamsters to vets and whatnot - only on /an/ mind you. If I ever owned them, I'd probably gas them the moment they looked a little off.

Having said that, the homejob cone thing is cute. Probably did it so the hamster would stop biting itself.
>> Anonymous
Yes, especially since one of my hamsters died because my mother wouldn't take it to the vet.
>> Stabby
absolutely not worth it.
>> Anonymous
its like what.. $3 for a new hamster. and $60+ for a vet visit. Down the garbage disposel he goes and off the the pet store.
>> Anonymous
I wouldn't even bother having a hamster. The only good pets come from Carnivora.
>> Anonymous
I like how the image's name is "dog07.jpg"
>> Anonymous
I wouldn't. Not because it's a cheap animal or whatever - if an animal in my care gets sick, it will go to the vet, no questions.

However.. something like surgery on a hamster is a lot to ask from something so small. When you get right down to it, you're looking at an animal that will live anywhere from one to four years, depending on what kind it is. There's the stress of the vet visit, the innate dangers of surgery, and the difficult recovery in the hamster's future. Doesn't seem fair when all of that pain and discomfort could end up being over half of their life. Sure, the hamster's not going to understand that, but I sure wouldn't want to live like that.
>> Anonymous
>>302417

... Do you honestly think your hamster died because your mother wouldn't take it to the vet, as opposed to your hamster dying because it's a friggin' hamster?
>> Anonymous
I wouldn't take a hamster to the vet because they're annoying bitey assholes in my experience. Rats are a different story.
>> Anonymous
>>302483
Not all of them are like that.
>> Anonymous
>>302449
Yep. Ultimately, while a visit to the vet is worthwhile, you have to weigh your desires versus reality, which is often a cruel thing.
>> Anonymous
As much as I love them, I realize that its just not reasonable.
>> Anonymous
yes, but the end result would be euthanasia 99% of the time. not really possible to do surgery on such a small animal, and not really worth the investment when they live such short lives. ive had a lot of hams too, somewhere around 10 or so. not that i go through them fast, they lasted an average of 2.5 years, but i had them several at a time. on lived about 4 years though, that was schweet.
>> Anonymous
I take my mice to the vet. As far as operations go, the only common one mice need are tumor removals, and tumors in mice have a VERY strong chance of reoccurring... often before the stitches healed from the first surgery. In cases of tumors/cancer, it's best to let them live until the tumor is affecting their quality of life then put them down. If a small surgery can fix something that's not tumor related I would.

Definitely take them for colds, parasites, etc. Since those are easily fixed ^_^!
>> Anonymous
Depends on how much it would cost really.
>> Anonymous
I bred lab mice, 8 out of every 10 developed cancer and died. It was genetic, they told me I had a bad strain. i just wanted to breed them to be a jerk. I have one left, it has thyroid cancer. :)
>> Anonymous
>>302409
$1,000 could buy an awful lot of hampsters...

I say save your money, throw that rat into the frying pan and serve him on toast. After you're done eatting, go the petsmart and buy 300 more with the money you'd spend on the surgery.

HAMPSTER MANIA!!!
>> Anonymous
>>302715
That smile made me lose my shit laughing.
>> Anonymous
I think it depends on what's wrong, how much it costs, and how not treating it will impact your pet's quality of life.
When my bunny went blind from cataracts, my vet told me that they could surgically remove them. For around $2,000. Don't get my wrong, I loved my bunny, but that's a little steep. The cataracts didn't impact his quality of life as much as the fact that he was nearly 10 years old. (that's really old for a bunny)
>> Anonymous
>>304237
Bunnies can deal with blindness better than people can.
>> Anonymous
I'm not a rodent person, but I still can't see it making much sense. Asking them to perform surgery on something so small is kind of pushing it. The recovery is probably worse than what they were initially trying to cure and the chances of them even being able to fix something in a creature so small isn't very good.
>> Juba, The Baghdad Sniper !1EVr3uyPJI
>>302965
Hamsters taste terrible.
>>302715
you're a horrible person.
>> Anonymous
I'm a med student, and I breed mice. I do the operations myself if they need them. It was actually a good way to get past the whole "holy shit I'm cutting into something that's alive" part. Good practice too. Not that dissimilar from people, really.
>> Anonymous
>>304611
Do you use pain killer? I hope you do. T_T