Diabetes Diet

Skwee · 11-27-2005, 02:47 PM

Ok, this is random but I am concerned about the amount of water Skwee is drinking and the amount of peeing he does a day. It was 50mls+ yesterday!!! Other than that he is healthy but some days he looks scrawney, especially after his last illness whatever that was...

But I have ordered some Ketostix online and will await those...

I wanted to see if changing his diet would help as well... he is a Syrian... not a dwarf incidently for those who don't know...

He is currently on Harry Hamster and lots of stuff such as chicken and plain Rice Krispies/Shreddies etc. other cereals or mashed potato or carrot etc. for veg, he doesn't tend to get any fruit as it makes such a mess and he doesn't like it as much and as soon as diabetes popped into my head (whether it is or not I dont know...) I gave away the box of yoghurt drops so neither of us would be tempted

But I need a good diet to stick to, I don't mind buying seperate stuff from a petshop to make my own mix but I need do's and dont's...

oops, forgot to mention that I'm trying to get hold of some fenugreek but would you believe it... bah, my local healthfood shop and supermarket don't sell it

Emma · 11-27-2005, 03:57 PM

I just wrote a nice long reply and then my rat Dexter stepped on a key and it all disappeared!

Syrians can become diabetic in old age, but other things could cause these same symptoms, if the urine glucose is negative it could be renal failure for example. A vet could do a quick test on just a drop of blood to check his urea levels to see if this were the case.

In either diabetes or renal failure diet can help. Are you aware of the Honeyhams Yahoo Group? If you're worried about diabetes that is a good place to look for information.

It's probably best to find out the cause of the symptoms before trying to treat them. Urinalysis sticks can also be bought from most chemists (I actually got some from the chemist in Tesco's).

What exactly happened to Skwee in his last bout of illness? What were the symptoms?

Skwee · 11-27-2005, 04:49 PM

Yeah, I was thinking about vets but I want to know more before I turn up and have nothing to show for it. My vets are not so competent with hamsters *sigh*

His last illness was diagnosed as Wet Tail which I said as soon as she mentioned it I was 99.9% sure it wasn't Wet Tail. Don't know about anyone else but my gut feeling is very reliable! that and I have seen Wet Tail so many times... about 15 times in my own hamsters and god knows how many times in other people's/pet shop's hamsters.

Symptoms:

-started getting sickly a week before hand but no real symptoms

-over 4 days he lost over 45g

-he had severe diarrhoea but not the 'Wet Tail smell'

-he was eating and drinking small amounts by himself

-he was very cold and limp

-bladder very full and wasn't peeing unless his bladder was pressed and very concentrated urine.

Vet decided he wouldn't live long and wouldn't look into it further... All they did was prescribe Baytril and AviPro. (for Wet Tail...) As I still wasn't happy with his diagnosis I did more research and at the weekend I was at work it hit me and I came home and did more research...

The farm where I work had severe problem with coccidiosis and it could so easily have come home on my clothes and have got to Skwee that way as I let him run round my room freely etc...

It would have cost me £40 to have a fecal sample done for something no one believed possible so I prayed for him and did everything I could... the AviPro and Baytril weren't working.. so some bright spark mentioned that if it was coccidia... then it would be living off his gut.. and AviPro was counteracting antibiotics BUT if it was coccidia then it was also giving it something to feed off.

So for 4 days he had Baytril and no AviPro and low and behold he got a lot better. For far too long he has had 'loose' poops, not diarrhoea but... not far off it... for this he has been given water and pedialyte. (Which I got off a friend but neither of us have any more and can't find it now..)

But yes, he has put on the weight he lost and some. he weighs 148g but it seems to be fluctuating a lot between 140g and 150g. Now he seems chunky and healthy and has done for a week now (apart from slightly looser stools than normal) but has been drinking excessively.

**babyboos** · 11-28-2005, 05:43 AM

http://www.hamstercentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=70

Has information on Campbells Russian Dwarf but the advise is equally aspplicable to all species of hamster. I would get the fecal exam especially as he has had runny poops for so long, and if it is diabetes the vet will be able to tell you there and then, and what type.

Emma · 12-06-2005, 10:52 AM

How is skwee doing - what were the urine results?

Skwee · 12-06-2005, 11:04 AM

I think the diabetes thought was from a random bad hamster dream i keep having LOL nothing more than my imagination *sigh*

i havent got the Ketostix yet *growls about ebay*

but the Diastix(glucose) reading has been 0 twice so im assuming that means his insulin? is fine so its probably nothing to do with diabetes.

Skwee is going down hill again i think

he is starting to lose weight again and he is still drinking about 30mls + a day but i have also found that he has really bad diarrhoea again

As for the diarrhoea... i cant think what to do to stop it, apart from that and the 'depression' he seems to be feeling he looks and eats fine...

i have tried an anti diarrhoeal medication from the vet (forgot what the name was and probably wouldnt remember it again... it was in a syringe when i was given it)

have also tried immodium etc...

have tried foods like rice and banana (only a tiny bit because it meant to help humans with diarrhoea) but have since discovered the Skwee detests bananna and wont even eat rice which he loves if there is bananna even near it!!

he has had both baytril and avi pro to no effect.

the last idea i have is charcoal

and i can only imagine the Skwee is NEVER going to like me EVER again if i try it *sigh*

Emma · 12-06-2005, 11:28 AM

Oh poor skwee

yes the 0 reading on the diastix means that there is no glucose in his urine - so he should not be diabetic.

So he is losing weight, drinking a lot and has chronic diarrhoea - is he peeing any more than usual?

The antidiarrhoeal from the vet was probably something like kaolin or diarsanyl? There are various symptomatic treatments around. Was the immodium on the advice of your vet? Generally please be careful giving human medications to animals - drugs act very differently in different species, giving something like this could be quite dangerous.

I would suggest feeding plain boiled rice and hamster mix - nothing else. You could try a very small amount of crushed charcoal mixed with water, and syringe feed, or you could try giving him a small bit of burnt toast - possibly less messy.

I would keep up with the Avipro at 1 scoop/100ml of drinking water - it can't be doing any harm and may be helping.

What dose of baytril has been having and for how long?

Skwee · 12-06-2005, 12:10 PM

my vets are hopeless and they didnt have a clue. and just said it was wet tail end of.

so i got 2mls of baytril and then went back and demanded some more and got another 2 mls and i was just giving him a drop every day from the syringe and then babyfood to make sure he had it, i dont want him to have more antibiotics because that 4mls is a lot for a hammy and it did last a long while and made no difference.

yeh the vet said to try immodium if the diarrhoea didnt stop but only a tiny tiny bit and so i did.

i just cant remember the name of medication i was given from the vets.. bah..

Skwee has been having hamster mix and plain boiled rice and toast since it started being ill ages ago... no veggies, or on occasion a tiny bit of brocolli.

at his worst he went down to 84g (from 148g) then with serious intensive caring and water ever 15 minutes day and night and hot water bottles galore and everything we got his weight up and he got a bit better and he went back into his cage (as oposed to travel cage which is easier to heat) and he went from strength to strength nd got podgy from all the rice and hmmy food and some babyfood and god knows what it was that made him fat but he went up to 160g but is slowly dropping again...

he is drinking a lot and has had diarrhoea for months but he is peeing normally. when he was really really ill he seemed to have trouble peeing but hes ok now. his pee is still very strong though was very opaque whitey yellow when i tested his pee...