Ear infection?!

[Gemma_xo]

Hello all,

I'm currently banging my head against a wall with Charming and his ear.

In Januaray (yes, that long ago) I noticed one of his ears looked super unhappy. I took him straigh to the vets, they gave him some generic small animal antibiotics which were put into his water, they worked great for a while then the infection came back. I took him back and all they could say was "use the antibiotics again!"....

So, I did. They weren't exotic vets but they never told me this at the time despite reception saying yes when I asked before the very first appointment (helpful, right?) So I've been taking him back and forth since March time and finally someone told me they just didn't know anymore because no one there was trained!

So I eventually managed to track down an exotic vet the other week whilst getting my cat treated for an ear infection (the irony!).. He told me to *carefully* use the drops she has on his ear once a day because there isn't any products licensed for hamsters or their ears.

He also mentioned CT scans of his ear to see inside and all that fun stuff... I'm not being funny but there is no way in hell can I afford a CT scan... for a dwarf hamster?! If I had the money, believe you me, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Anyway, I don't think these drops are helping and I'm already at financial breaking point because of Effy being on round FOUR of ear drops for an ear infection (I think they're passing it to and from each other by now!), she's literally cost me over £300 in the past three months alone. I haven't got another £30 right now to get him back into the vets, she's back in in a week but her insurance is going to cover that.

So, his ear stinks, it doesn't look pretty. he's got no fur around his ear where he's scratching at it, I'm beyond financial breaking point and even my local exotic vet is absoltuely useless, and to top it off, there isn't another one within an hours ride on public transport - I can't really justify dragging him too far on public transport, I only have 'travel carriers' for the hamsters.

Is there anything I can do for him at home? Obviously I can't (and wouldn't even if I could) get a cotton bud down there with salt water but I can and I am dabbing the outside with cooled boiled salt water but I'm not seeing any real change anymore.

I am not willing to discuss euthanasia right now, he's fine (behaviour, eating, drinking, toileting is normal) apart from his ear, I just want to be able to help him. He's not even a year old yet.

Any and all advice and help is greatly appreciated for a floof mum who is genuinely at the end of her tether, mentally and financially who just desperately wants to help her handsome Charming.

Thank you.

[cypher]

Really sorry to hear Charming is having such a bad time with his ear Gemma.
I'm not sure there is anything you can do at home to help really, they can be a bit prone to ear infections & they can often recur after the initial treatment seemed to work.
Do you know which drops you have? When mine had an infection the vet gave me Aurizon which is a combined antibiotic & steroid, due to the steroid you can only use them for five days but can repeat after a break, they seem to work well & I just wondered if Charming had just had antibiotics without the steroids which could make a difference.
Sorry I can't be more help.

[Gemma_xo]

I can’t think of the name of the old drops because the exotic vet basically said they’re as good as in the bin and threw them away there & then.

I’m probably going to take him back in a couple weeks when I’ve got another £30+ to pay for it or when Effy’s insurance refund comes back to me, until then I really am financially stuck. I’m going to take a note of the item you mentioned and see if they’ve got any idea there because I can’t do nothing.


For now I’ll just keep up with the salt water and just try to keep it clean and hopefully him comfortable!

Thanks for the help though! It really is much appreciated x

[souffle]

It is possible this is not an infection but a tumour in the ear canal that is now breaking down and causing the smell. They can get infected and fail to heal due to the area they are in. Viral warty tumours and malignant tumours are not uncommon in the ears of dwarf hamsters and can cause the scratching you are seeing. Even though you cannot see it it could be very deep down. If it is this and it is breaking open and infected it is unlikely to be operable and may be causing him some pain I'm afraid. If possible can the vet look in to the ear? I think it would be worth risking a whiff of gas and an examination with an auroscope to get a diagnosis. If it is a tumour you need to think very carefully about the pain and his quality of life. I hope you can sort things out financially x

[Gemma_xo]

Thank you Souffle, I'll admit I never even considered the idea that it may have been something more sinister! The exotic vet I saw said the only way they'd be able to look into his ear would be a CT scan because there is no tool made to do it.

When I can get him in again (which I'm working on being the next time the exotic vet is in- he's not at the practice locally all that often) to discuss options and prices etc I think. For now all I can do is salt water what I can to keep it clean at the very least. I'm willing to explore the possibility of them doing a scan but it all depends on the price. I know these things aren't cheap.

Have spent most of today phoning vets farther afield too looking for another exotic vet, with enough notice my stepdad may be able to drive me... fingers crossed!!

[Gemma_xo]

Just wanted to post an update here.

Almost as if overnight, Charming’s ear is much better in itself.
I think ramping up the salt watering to three times a day and using Effy’s ear drops (one in his ear) just before bed has done the trick (for now!).

Hopefully him and Effy will be clear of ear infections very soon. I will be maintaining the current routine until his next appointment (27th, couldn’t get one sooner) for good measure, but for now, it seems to be working. He’s not overly fond of the idea of it but it’s in his best interest. If after a week I see fur regrowing I’ll lower the salt water to twice a day for his benefit, but for now I am hopeful I might just soon be able to see the back of ear infections in my furbabies!

[cypher]

That sounds promising, fingers crossed Charming does just have an infection & it will heal soon.

[Gemma_xo]

Another update, things haven't improved as much as I initally thought.
I've booked an appointment with a different vet, I phoned them today asking if I could send them what I've written for the appointment but with it being 2 A4 pages long, I felt it would be better to ask if they'd like it in advance, I also print screened the comments from here (without names) because I said I'd spoken to long term hamster owners for advice, so hopefully that helps!

The vet actually asked the receptionist to ring me back and ask me to stop the salt water washes, so now I feel guilty for doing that, although another vet did recommend it for the sake of keeping Effy infection free, but they said today that it's possible that they can give it to each other but it would be if I was touching his ear and then touching hers straight after and considering I don't have either hamster out of their room if she's not shut into the bedroom- and even then no one else has been allowed to handle him when I know he's got the bad ear -my hands have to be washed, anti bacterial gel'd and thoroguhly air dried before I even let her out, it's not likely that they are passing it to and from, it's probably more just bad timing with her getting one around the same time.

I've got to stop the salt water washes (not hugely happy with that, but, I'll do as the vet says because they're trained, I'm not) and just let his ear be- I already stopped the "cat and dog" ear drops a couple days ago.

He is booked in on the 27th (earliest my stepdad could do considering he works and is 45 mins drive from me). The receptionist seemed optimistic about the appointment when I said all I wanted to do was whatever was best for Charming, and I have been given a 30 minute slot because of the chance of euthanisia, they didn't want to rush the appointment if that's where it was headed. Already this vet is 100 times better then the last one I saw, these are also exotic vets luckily, so hopefully, everything crossed that Charming stands a chance from now, if not, I genuinely don't think there's a better vets out there for him to be going to for that appointment given the way the new vets have helped me today alone.

[cypher]

I'm glad you found a vet you can have more confidence in Gemma, it's a worrying time for you but I'll be hoping for a good outcome for Charming when you take him in.

[livedinhogwarts]

I'm so sorry to hear about Charming's ear problem. I hope that with the new vet's advice it will improve soon x