My male Golden Syrian hamster, Houdini, has a serious case of mange and has a growth between the webbing of his back right hip and tummy. I do not know if it is an infection or a tumor.
All I know is it is inflamed, angry looking, and roughly about the size of a penny. I was bitten when I was trying to handle him to take the photo's of what he looks like now.

What Houdini looked like before:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12558721/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12392070/

What Houdini looks like now:
(will be uploading these images shortly)

The local vets around here know more about cats and dogs so they cannot do much for this situation. I was referred to one of two places for exotic mammals which are respectively a 60 and 90 minute drive away from me.
Today I called up both places. I could not get any other additional information about pricing from either of them other than the cost of an office visit which is $55 USD. (+$20 USD for a half tank of gas since they are both located over an hour away from me). The distance is not a big deal as long as I have the gas money. What worries me is not knowing what it will cost to have him looked at, the growth lanced, biopsied, and antibiotics prescribed.

If I had the funds for the office visit and gas, the soonest I can get an appointment would be tomorrow for the one in Lexington and the one in Louisville I will have to wait until Monday.

This is my Christmas wish. All I want is for my hamster to be seen and feel better before the holidays.

*********************

I want to help but what can I do?

1) Spread the word!
It only takes a moment of your time to spread the word via FA (Furaffinity), DA (Deviant Art), Twitter, FB (Facebook), MS (MySpace), LJ (Live Journal), Inkbunny, Sofurry, Artspots, VLC, and so on.
If you do spread the word on other publicly viewable sites other than FA, please link be back to them in this journal. Thank you in advance. ^^

2) Leave a comment below or send me a note to show that you care about the situation.
Truthfully, I could use a hug and a few kind words of support right about now. *long sighs*

If you have owned hamsters before and this situation has happened to yourself, a friend, or a family member's hamster before please share your story with me.

If anyone is or knows a vet or a vet in training, and would like more details about the situation in order to offer some advice for what to do in the meantime, please contact me.

3) Commission me!
I am a jewelry designer and am offering all sorts of handmade items for men, women, and children.
I am open for custom pieces. I can ship in time for Christmas if payment is made by Thursday, Dec 18th.
Commission info: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6337491/
Samples of my work and pricing info: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6236508/

4. Donate!
Anything would be appreciated and to everyone that wishes to donate Houdini and I would be grateful.
Donations via Paypal can be sent to fabuliousfeline [at] hotmail [dot] com .
Please include only your username and "Help for Houdini" in a note on Paypal so I will know who to thank.

Thank you in advance for reading. Nya~! =^_^=