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Murmel · 11-07-2018, 12:56 PM

I think I maybe should give another update on Murmel's condition.
The Antibiotics didn't actually do a lot to help him. I gave them to him for the prescribed 7 days and nothing really changed. So I started researching for (it suddenly came to me) allergies. It had not really crossed my mind as I was using Carefresh and had only just changed the bedding, but while I was looking at him on monday morning (meaning 2 am monday morning because I am a hella night owl) I was wrinkling my forehead to the fact that his wet nose was clear. So it didn't seem bacterial or anything like that. He was also excessively scratching himself and throwing himself on his cage decorations more than usual. And that's when I suddenly got the idea to look up allergies. I also hopped onto a German hamster group on facebook, and one of them told me that their Carefresh was actually very very dusty when they got it, maybe because it had been stored for months. They didn't know. But what they did know was that changing the bedding had helped getting their precious furball back to health.
Well, the next day I was hardly able to concentrate during lectures, and afterwards ran right to the next petshop, bought hemp bedding and immediately changed his cage's Carefresh to Hugro Hemp. The rest of the night before was just a nightmare, I could hear him sneezing, but the antibiotics weren't working and it was 4 am in the freaking morning by then. I wanted to go out immediately to get the new bedding, but at 4 am where you gonna find an open pet shop? In the end I slept maybe two hours and now I am sick myself. But, after changing his bedding (it was really dusty, which shocked me because my room is fairly dust free and the bedding hadn't seemed that way when I had just put it inside his cage), he has now stopped scratching himself and his nose has not been runny. It's damp around the edges, but I read in another thread that that is normal as long as the dampness is clear and not runny, which it is.
Yesterday he was sneezing really loudly like 7 times in a row which made me jump up from my sofa and nearly get a heart attack (I think I'm gonna be really paranoid about sneezing from now on), but he was really going at gis grainless vegetable/ hay snack and shredding it to tiny tiny pieces, so he most likely just got something in his nose, because after that he didn't sneeze like that again. Plus I looked at his nose right after, it wasn't runny, it was clear.
Forever gonna be paranoid though, really, I was so worried I actually had a really bad stomache ache and couldn't eat.
I hope he is doing better now! I have been watching him closely. Just about half an hour ago he was falling asleep on his platform (he does that a lot) and I noticed him twitching around while falling asleep, but that's probably because his body was relaxing and he was only balancing on one foot, so he was losing his stance like when we sit in a train, fall asleep and our head falls onto our chest, kinda like that.
So, I think he is actually doing a lot better, he is eating and drinking normally, runs in his wheel for like 20 minutes straight, he takes treats energetically and doesn't make any noises while breathing, so it doesn't seem like he has respatory problems. My vet asked me to report tomorrow one more time so I will do that, but I hope he keeps continuously getting better and better.
If I just think about the fact that I left him in that dusty bedding for two weeks, I feel so bad, damn! Will use hemp from now on!

11-07-2018, 12:56 PM
Murmel Newborn Pup Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Germany Posts: 16	Re: What should I do? I think I maybe should give another update on Murmel's condition. The Antibiotics didn't actually do a lot to help him. I gave them to him for the prescribed 7 days and nothing really changed. So I started researching for (it suddenly came to me) allergies. It had not really crossed my mind as I was using Carefresh and had only just changed the bedding, but while I was looking at him on monday morning (meaning 2 am monday morning because I am a hella night owl) I was wrinkling my forehead to the fact that his wet nose was clear. So it didn't seem bacterial or anything like that. He was also excessively scratching himself and throwing himself on his cage decorations more than usual. And that's when I suddenly got the idea to look up allergies. I also hopped onto a German hamster group on facebook, and one of them told me that their Carefresh was actually very very dusty when they got it, maybe because it had been stored for months. They didn't know. But what they did know was that changing the bedding had helped getting their precious furball back to health. Well, the next day I was hardly able to concentrate during lectures, and afterwards ran right to the next petshop, bought hemp bedding and immediately changed his cage's Carefresh to Hugro Hemp. The rest of the night before was just a nightmare, I could hear him sneezing, but the antibiotics weren't working and it was 4 am in the freaking morning by then. I wanted to go out immediately to get the new bedding, but at 4 am where you gonna find an open pet shop? In the end I slept maybe two hours and now I am sick myself. But, after changing his bedding (it was really dusty, which shocked me because my room is fairly dust free and the bedding hadn't seemed that way when I had just put it inside his cage), he has now stopped scratching himself and his nose has not been runny. It's damp around the edges, but I read in another thread that that is normal as long as the dampness is clear and not runny, which it is. Yesterday he was sneezing really loudly like 7 times in a row which made me jump up from my sofa and nearly get a heart attack (I think I'm gonna be really paranoid about sneezing from now on), but he was really going at gis grainless vegetable/ hay snack and shredding it to tiny tiny pieces, so he most likely just got something in his nose, because after that he didn't sneeze like that again. Plus I looked at his nose right after, it wasn't runny, it was clear. Forever gonna be paranoid though, really, I was so worried I actually had a really bad stomache ache and couldn't eat. I hope he is doing better now! I have been watching him closely. Just about half an hour ago he was falling asleep on his platform (he does that a lot) and I noticed him twitching around while falling asleep, but that's probably because his body was relaxing and he was only balancing on one foot, so he was losing his stance like when we sit in a train, fall asleep and our head falls onto our chest, kinda like that. So, I think he is actually doing a lot better, he is eating and drinking normally, runs in his wheel for like 20 minutes straight, he takes treats energetically and doesn't make any noises while breathing, so it doesn't seem like he has respatory problems. My vet asked me to report tomorrow one more time so I will do that, but I hope he keeps continuously getting better and better. If I just think about the fact that I left him in that dusty bedding for two weeks, I feel so bad, damn! Will use hemp from now on!