Henry and Gordon

[LunaTheHamster1]

Hi Ria, not saying this is the same thing, but just thought I would mention it. With Star, everytime I stopped the antibiotics the bleeding came back, which is why she ended up on it for life. Once she was on it for life, I didn't see any more blood until near the end and that was a good 6 or 7 months later. Hope you can get things sorted with the vets. Goodluck.

[Ria P]

Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1

Hi Ria, not saying this is the same thing, but just thought I would mention it. With Star, everytime I stopped the antibiotics the bleeding came back, which is why she ended up on it for life. Once she was on it for life, I didn't see any more blood until near the end and that was a good 6 or 7 months later. Hope you can get things sorted with the vets. Goodluck.

Yes, i remember you saying that. In fact, earlier this morning i decided to administer another course of antibiotics myself and contact the vet if he starts bleeding again. I want to check on that first and have enough Baytril left. Henry is around 20 months old now, things start to go wrong as we get older and he'll have to learn to live with taking medication. He's fine within himself and hamstering about but he's grumpy.

[Ria P]

Originally Posted by cypher

I get the 50ml as that lasts me ages even giving it to four hams, the shelf life is quite good but not long enough for a 100ml bottle to keep.

I have now received a 50ml bottle of the Potent Brew but the instructions are vague. It states 1 drop per 30g of hamster which would work out to 6 or 7 drops for Syrian Henry and it says daily for a sick animal and weekly for a healthy one.
It doesn't say anything about timing or how to take it as in with or without food. It's not something controlable anyway because a hamster eats when he wants to.

I haven't taken Henry to the vet because i'm administering Baytril leftover from the last course at the same dosage. I want to find out if its a reoccuring, permanent condition he has like Luna's hamster had who was then put on permanent maintenance antibiotics.
Or maybe one 7 days course wasn't enough to fight the infection and a second one was needed, we'll see.

I had heard that my local vet was good with small animals but the vet on duty (ex vet of a pet shop notorious for giving out wrong information) wasn't and refused to prescribe the correct treatment. The locum i saw a couple of days later was fine but i'm reluctant to take Henry back there.

I have found an exotics vet in a town near me who i had thought accepts patients via referral only but after checking their website properly i realized that i can book a consultation myself so will make an appointment there if its an ongoing thing and he needs to see a vet.

Oh, its so worrying for us humans when they're sick, not that Henry seems too bothered by it.
He used to be a rotund 230g hamster but now he feels a bit bonier and lighter. Poor Henry.
That's him this morning at breakfast while i was at work. I keep telling my OH to only give him a tiny bit of scrambled egg but he doesn't comprehend the word tiny.

[cypher]

I do tend to forget how big Syrians are! It says one drop per 30g or 3 drops per 100g which does seem a little vague but it isn’t something you have to be precise about so I wouldn’t worry too much about getting an exact dosage.
I give it weekly to all of mine but have given it daily to a ham that is sick or on antibiotics.
The when doesn’t matter if they aren’t on meds, it only matters when they’re on antibiotics as you don’t want to give a probiotic with an antibiotic so a few hours apart at least.
I always give it on fresh food because I know that way it will all be eaten so you could give it on his egg or porridge or whatever he’s having if he’s having his antibiotics with that then maybe give smaller amounts of whatever food you’re using twice a day.
Good to hear you managed to find an exotics vet, I would make an appointment if it doesn’t clear up soon, UTI’s do sometimes need more than one course of antibiotics to clear completely but it might still be best to get it checked out.
He looks really sweet there with his scrambled egg.

[Ria P]

Thank you cypher.

Yes, i can work round the antibiotic and will put on the porridge he leaves in the bowl because he always comes back for the rest later.

Yes, if i don't see an improvement in the next couple of days, i'll make an appointment with the exotics vet. It took four or five days last time for the bleeding to stop completely. It isn't much but any sign of blood is too much for a tiny creature like a hamster.

[LunaTheHamster1]

I found with both Luna and Star that it could take 3 weeks or more for the antibiotics to kick in.
So you may want to bear that in mind, but yes taking Henry to the new vets you found sounds a good idea, if only it puts your mind at ease that you are doing the right things with him.

[Ria P]

I wanted to register Henry with an exotics vet and a consultation fee is £59 but because Henry had already been treated by a different vet it would be classed as a referal or second opinion consultation and the charge for that is £162!!

I have a good vet fund but that kind of fee is extortion in my opinion. If i would have found the exotics vet first and not gone to my local vet i would pay the £59 fee which is still high compared to other vets.

I'm going to phone around various vets in my area tomorrow to see if there is one with small animal knowledge.

I've changed the top layer of Henry's substrate to white Kaytee (looks like it snowed) so i can spot traces of blood easier, have seen some small pink spots and he dribbles but he is an old man now.

The vet he's registered with now has the facility to do a scan so i'm undecided what to do for the best. Take him back there or try a different vet.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Wow, that is extortionate, I thought my vets was expensive!!!I don't get the price increase, they would be doing nothing different whether it was a referral or first time, did you ask what was included in the charge of £162????
My only thinking is if they were including an xray or a scan in that price.
How old is he Ria?
With Luna there was a lot of blood to start with but I got it under control for the most part, there were 2 bad cases in the months that it was mostly under control till when she died. She had an x-ray and ultrasound and they could see that something was wrong with her kidneys/liver but part of it could have been old age. I'm trying to think back, she was ok within herself I think I just let her have 10 mins at a time out of her cage. (I could be muddling her up with Star)

Star due to her age she was not x-rayed or scanned but had her on antibiotics and metacam, she would have been over 2 years old when all her problems started. Again, there were a couple of times I saw blood with her and I upped the anitibiotics (under vets supervision) then dropped it down again when all seemed ok.

I have no idea if me sharing this helps, what I am trying to say is, sometimes the bleeding is just a case that they have got old and their organs are starting to fail, so there is nothing much a vet can do.

I would maybe ring that new vets and ask what is included in that price or go back to your first vets but don't see the vet you saw the first time around.

[Ria P]

Thank you Luna. It does help to share. Henry is 20/21 months old now and fine in himself. He doesn't seem to be in any pain and hamsters about as per normal. The second course of antibiotics has helped and reduced the bleeding. He seems to use the loo more often and actually rushes to the toilet.
It could well be that his kidneys aren't functioning like they used to but i would like him to have a scan to rule out a tumor. The vet couldn't feel anything. I rarely see Henry drink water unless he drinks when i'm not around and compared to the other hamsters he drinks very little but he's always been like that. Always eats his fresh veg though.

The first vet refused to prescribe antibiotics but said that they could do a scan and the second prescribed the antibiotics but told me if they don't work after seven days he's got cancer!
There is a third vet so maybe third time lucky.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Umm, it sounds like you need to mix the two vets together and make a 3rd super vet When I saw they weren't drinking much or not at all I used to give them cucumber and they would nibble away on that.
Goodluck Ria with whatever you decide to do.