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Old 07-09-2005, 05:34 AM   #11
SnuggleHam
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Thanks for the update coco! I was waiting to hear what the vet had to say. Sounds like nibbles did kind of catch a cold, well upper respiratory, but when I get sick its usually sinus headache and that kind of thing anyway :P It sounds to me that nibbles has been diagnosed right, at lest from my point of view, not being a vet or anything, the symptoms you described made me think it was probably something like that.



I understand that Baytril is a common antibiotic given to hamster because it pretty much treats everything! So hopefully it will knock out whatever it is. I’m glad that nibbles is taking his medication, such a good little ham
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Old 07-09-2005, 07:32 AM   #12
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Yea, I did a search on baytrill as I hadn't a clue what it was and you're right, its one of those that treats a multitude of bacteria. Of course if this is not caused by a bacteria then its not going to help, and we won't know that until things either start improving OR get worse.

However, this morning I checked his cage and his food bowl was tipped up a bit with signs of munching! Bits of food scattered over the floor! Woo hoo! At least he's trying to eat something. I'm to give him his second dose in 30 mins. (10am, 10pm).



Thanks Candace - its so nice to be able to chat about this stuff, it really helps realieve the stress of it all!
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Old 07-09-2005, 10:16 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coco1



Thanks Candace - its so nice to be able to chat about this stuff, it really helps realieve the stress of it all!


I understand, Iv sometimes am a bit lazy with checking up on the forums and reading all the new topics, I get very busy with my life as a fantasy artist, managing my website amoung other things But I try and keep ontop of the important threads and add my input if I can



Glad there is signs of nibbles nibbling
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Old 07-09-2005, 10:43 AM   #14
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I understand, Iv sometimes am a bit lazy with checking up on the forums and reading all the new topics, I get very busy with my life as a fantasy artist, managing my website amoung other things But I try and keep ontop of the important threads and add my input if I can



Glad there is signs of nibbles nibbling





Well I think you do a great job! It DOES take a lot of time to check everything, all the posts etc and live your day to day life as well, but we all appreciate it!



And yes there are signs of Nibbles nibbling! AND as of five minutes ago he actually came out and had a drink from his bottle! This is the first time I've seen him drink for days!
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Old 07-09-2005, 11:03 AM   #15
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Even over eating, I feel that if the animal is still drinking water is an extremely good sign!
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Old 07-09-2005, 11:06 AM   #16
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Exactly! I was a little worried that I'd not seen him drink. They'll die without water before they'll die without food.

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Old 07-11-2005, 06:51 AM   #17
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Hi Coco,



I'm sorry to hear Nibbles is unwell but it sounds like he's getting the best treatment, and his appetite is starting to perk up .

Any kind of infection can make animals feel unwell (think how you feel when you have a cold - it's not just the runny nose, it's the lethargy and general yucky feeling you have too) so it's not surprising that he went of his food. Baytril has sometimes been linked to a decreased appetite too, although I don't think it's been proven. As he's poorly at the moment he's allowed to eat anything he wants - so you can offer him all his favourite foods and treats (although fresh food in moderation) to tempt him.

Adding vitamins to his food or water is a good idea like you've been doing. It's also a good idea to give a probiotic/prebiotic supplement in the water whilst he's on the antibiotics, even "safe" antibiotics can sometimes cause stomach upsets which will complicate matters further, and pre/probiotics may help avoid that.



Resp infections can sometimes be tricky to deal with, how long have you been told to give the baytril for? An extended course is usually needed to sort resp infections but if there's no improvement at all in a week then a change of antibiotics might be an idea. The vet could also do a culture/sensitivity test to see what the organism causing the problem is and what antibiotics it is sensitive to (these tests take a while though).



How are you getting on giving the medicine? It can be quite tricky! I usually scruff the animal and just do it quickly (pop the syringe in the gap behind the incisor teeth and squirt), apparently Baytril tastes horrible (never tried it myself!) so putting it on food etc doesn't tend to work.



Hope he continues to improve, keep us updated!



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Old 07-11-2005, 08:30 AM   #18
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Thanks Emma for all that usefull advice! I've not heard of a pre/probiotics before, where do you get this from? I also feed him Hazel Hamster, does that not have something like that in it from what I've heard before? I am continuing to give a few drops of vitamins to his water also.

Well, here's a run down of this weekend - Actually he's taken it all pretty well this weekend. I'd put him in the "nape hold" for the first few days but he doesn't like that much of course, although it does work if I have to do it, so I also tried just putting it in front of him and he actually went to chew on it so I pumped in the "drop" and he lapped it up! Sometimes its a pain, but mostly he's being pretty cooperative and this morning after I pumped it in (its only like one drop!) he licked off the oustide of the sryinge too! after taking it this weekend he is not so noisy breathing (I also put a small cotton ball with some vicks vapour rub ontop of his cage at one point on friday and that did seem to help. I had no Eucalyptus oil left). But what I was very happy about was that he is back to normal drinking now. THATS what I was worried about, him not drinking. So he's drinking now and has also started eating again. In fact, last night he pigged out, loaded most of his food bowl into his pouch, dumped it in his house, came back out, loaded up some more then disapeared for the night! This morning I could see him throught he top of his house and he was munching away! Piggy! I think he did a couple of spins on his wheel too last night as that was in a different position this morning! Looks like he's starting to get back to normal although not totally out of the woods just yet. After seeing him moving around last night he just looked more like his old self a little and his eyes are bright. It was the first time I saw him move around his tank - he checked out his little potty box corner (which he just cleans himself in, doesn't potty in) and he checked out all the corners and his wheel. He was also searching for more food bits and rooting around his cage! lol. It was SO good to see! Almost like "Hey, theres my jam jar, and theres my potty still in the same place, and OH, a bit of food I missed"! LOL. All I could do was smile I've not put the sand back in his jam jar yet, as now his feet are cleaning up. He's doing a good job of keeping himself groomed. His feet were SUCH a mess, all dark grey with the fur matted up. Seems like he's sorted them out now and removing the sand helped, at least till his nose clears up more.

So it seems it probably was bacterial (where from I have no idea?) and hopefully this antibiotic will clear things up. He has two weeks to go so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

For those interested (and because this forum is a place for knowledge!) this is a run down of whats probably a typical bill for a check up for a hamster.

His main office visit and exam cost $41.50

They gave him "Pediatric Mylicon" (?what is this?) which was just $2

And finally the Baytril Suspension Antibiotic for 2 weeks was $33. Total - 76.50!

He'll have a follow up visit in two weeks and whatever other treatment he'll need.

The only reason I've given this is for anyone who is either wanting to get a hamster, so they have an idea of what to expect expense wise if the need arose, or for those who just wonder "what would a vet visit cost?" .

For me I don't care how much it costs, my animal is worth it

I'll keep you posted
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Old 07-12-2005, 12:54 PM   #19
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How is Nibbles now Coco? Hope he is on the mend. We are having a VERY hot spell here and our hams are not used to it. Poor old Runty seems tp feel it badly and we try to keep him in a shaded room as cool as possible, He keeps scraping all his sawdust aside and lying flat on the bare plastic to try and cool himself. Poor little man!
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Old 07-12-2005, 01:50 PM   #20
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Hi Pophammy, all,

Well Nibbles is hanging in there! He's eating at night, stuffing his pouches, and comes out a few times during the day to drink. His breathing seems much better and he's not making all the "blocked-up" sounds with his nose like he was! I don't know how energetic he is at night or if he spins on his wheel all that much but does ocasionaly go in there and does like 1 or 2 spins and comes off.

He also pushes bedding aside but then I also leave one of those corner potties in there which he likes to sit and clean himself in and sometimes just crashes in there also!

To help with high temperatures I use one of those Chinchilla stones - its a small slab of marble tile, about 10" long by 7" wide and I place that under his nest. It always remains a few degrees cooler than the surrounding air temp. as it doesn't conduct the heat. He seems to like it. Otherwise he can move his bedding under him. Usefull for those who live in hot climates.

So - he's still doing OK, improving daily I hope, a little at a time Well - he's not getting any worse!

Thanks.
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