# My hamster's tongue is swollen....Help! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2005, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735 "2005-04-17T06:26:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/1 "2005-04-17T06:26:36Z")
Sable, my 10 month old hamster is very sick. Her tongue is purple and extremely swollen. It’s so swollen that it’s protruding from her mouth. She can’t eat or drink and her top and bottom teeth are cutting into it. She also has some pus in her eyes. She’s been like this since last night. I have been giving her water with a dropper, but it’s difficult to even get the dropper past her tongue. There’s no way I’d be able to get food into her. I can’t imagine what’s wrong. There hasn’t been any change in her habitat or diet and her cage is always clean. Does anyone have any ideas? ☹☹☹ Honey ---
**Author:** ![libwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/76d3ee/32.png) [@libwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/libwen)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/2 "2005-04-17T17:08:39Z")
I have no idea what’s wrong with her. Please take her to a vet (if you haven’t already)! They’re the ones to rely on for animal diagnoses. ---
**Author:** ![DoperChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@DoperChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoperChic)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/3 "2005-04-18T03:27:15Z")
Have you taken her yet? I too have a hamster and would hate to see a little one in distress like that. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/4 "2005-04-18T13:00:22Z")
Thank you for the replies. Sweet Sable passed away soon after I wrote the OP. She was safe and warm, curled up in my hands at the time. We’ll miss her. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/5 "2005-04-18T13:02:41Z")
Sorry to hear that **Honey** , it’s always sad when a pet dies ☹ ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/6 "2005-04-18T14:11:12Z")
I’m so sorry! My condolences. It’s great that you were with her! ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/7 "2005-04-18T17:57:21Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > Sable, my 10 month old hamster is very sick. Her tongue is purple and extremely swollen. It’s so swollen that it’s protruding from her mouth. She can’t eat or drink and her top and bottom teeth are cutting into it. She also has some pus in her eyes. She’s been like this since last night. I had a hamster (about that age, incidentally) that died because it failed to keep grinding its teeth to come them short. It sounds as if youyr hamster may have had the same problem. Did you open its mouth to check after it had died? In my experience, such problems will affect a very small percentage of hamsters, the least fit. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/8 "2005-04-18T18:24:28Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > I had a hamster (about that age, incidentally) that died because it failed to keep grinding its teeth to come them short. It sounds as if youyr hamster may have had the same problem. Did you open its mouth to check after it had died? In my experience, such problems will affect a very small percentage of hamsters, the least fit. Her teeth were actually fine. Her tongue was about 10 times normal size :eek:, which caused her teeth to dig into it. The swollen tongue made it impossible for her close her mouth since it was protruding out of her mouth. Poor thing. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/9 "2005-04-18T22:33:52Z")
Ooh, sorry about that. She’s in a place with all the sprouts and pellets she can eat now. Poisoned, perhaps? Could she have chomped on a philodendron or some other houseplant? It’s so scary, with animals poisoned by totally different things that we don’t often have a clue about. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/10 "2005-04-19T00:32:22Z")
Perhaps she got a wood chip on her tongue; that would cause inflamation and infection. ---
**Author:** ![stephaniespc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@stephaniespc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stephaniespc)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/11 "2011-06-01T20:21:00Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > Sable, my 10 month old hamster is very sick. Her tongue is purple and extremely swollen. It’s so swollen that it’s protruding from her mouth. She can’t eat or drink and her top and bottom teeth are cutting into it. She also has some pus in her eyes. She’s been like this since last night. > > I have been giving her water with a dropper, but it’s difficult to even get the dropper past her tongue. There’s no way I’d be able to get food into her. > > I can’t imagine what’s wrong. There hasn’t been any change in her habitat or diet and her cage is always clean. Does anyone have any ideas? > > ☹☹☹ > > Honey doctor told me it was allergies and gave me tiny sheringe and benidril.. 5 100ths cc w is the teeniest bit and now i am waiting for him to get better..hope u little guy is ok..they think my clover has allergies from pine ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hamsters-tongue-is-swollen-help/299735/12 "2011-06-01T21:07:29Z")
I can guarantee that Sable is a zombie by now…