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Old 02-17-2019, 12:05 PM   #11
Coco61
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Default Re: Hamster with Cushing's came down with a cold and isn't recovering

What an anxious time you are having with your lovely boy. I don't know if you had a look at the thread cypher linked you too earlier on Cushings and treatment. I had to give my boy meds for a year. On the thread I detail how I used baby foods and porridge for this. All hammies seem to love porridge- just half a teaspoon made with water and microwave for 20 seconds. With baby foods,veggie ones are best. No onion or garlic or tomato. I used veg mixes, chicken or turkey with veg, rotating the flavours. As each jar can only be open for a couple of days, I froze the rest in ice cube trays and popped out a different cube each night to ring the changes. You may not need to do this but I had a long time to deal with!
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Old 02-17-2019, 12:27 PM   #12
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Default Re: Hamster with Cushing's came down with a cold and isn't recovering

Thank you SO much so responding! I did read the thread. I can't seem to get the vet to put him on vetoryl...I don't know what he was prescribed or if it was vetoryl but she said that he had adverse reactions to it. I had called when he was on it that he was crazy sleepy for a few hours after taking it (but hey opiods can do that too) and his urine output increased. He went back to being alert and urinating less when he stopped the medicine. I'll figure out what medication that was. It started with an m I believe but maybe it was a generic name for vetoryl. This boy is gonna get so much fleece and padding. He should be super comfy. I turned the heater to 73 since going any higher could likely cause problems with heatstroke for my chinchillas. He used to like wandering the room and smelling where they had been and tasting some of the wood left out and using their tunnels and hideways that in for playtime. He also has such cute little hands I've always been holding them between my thumb and index finger when I can't take the cuteness anymore. If you think it's not too late to start the vetoryl then I may take him to my alternate vet to try and get the vetoryl. IF it was vetoryl then should I give it another try? Imo the increased urination was the only thing that really worried me. He would eventually sleep on the sedation that it caused.
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Old 02-17-2019, 12:35 PM   #13
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Default Re: Hamster with Cushing's came down with a cold and isn't recovering

So pleased it was more positive at the vets xxx Metacam - my vet was adamant it couldn't be given with Cushings. I almost begged saying surely it will give some pain relief and she said no it will make the disease worse. Vets vary - some don't even know it's contraindicated in Cushings. I was upset more that there was no alternative to Metacam. But if your hammy seems improved and acting fairly normally and isn't sitting hunched (a sign of pain) then maybe he doesn't need it.

The other issue with this is - diagnosing Cushings. The only way to have a categoric diagnosis is via a blood test and most vets won't do the blood test - in the Uk anyway - it seems to need a very specialised or experienced vet as it is so difficult to get blood from a hamster.

There are many misdiagnoses of Cushings without a categoric test - based on hair less, swollen belly etc. And those can also be symptoms of old age and general deterioration. It is apparently not that common for hamsters to actually get Cushings.

When they do have it the hair loss is usually a quite distinct sort of pattern - eg a large patch on one flank first. It can grow back again but they still have the disease. In later stages of Cushings hamsters get very nasty sores that won't heal up.

So if your hammy doesn't have much fur loss (other than general thinning) and no sores then maybe it isn't Cushings. Unless you had a blood test to have it diagnosed?
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Old 02-17-2019, 12:44 PM   #14
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Default Re: Hamster with Cushing's came down with a cold and isn't recovering

My only observation regarding the advice on changing bedding is - I wouldn't make any sudden changes if he seems comfortable and is managing as he is. Clean outs and removing their familiar scent can be very stressful for them. And they are very fussy about their nest.

What is usually recommended here is, if they have difficulty walking about then just a thinner layer of substrate that is well pressed down. But I wouldn't remove the nest. How much substrate does he have now and what type?

Maybe you could add fleece in one half of the cage furthest away from his nest, instead of the substrate and see how he takes to it.

Because one thing that makes hamsters happy, even when old and doddery - is being able to have normal behaviours and they love messing about with bits of bedding and taking the odd bit to their nest.

Our last Syrian lived to 2 years and 8 months and still liked to use his wheel for a few seconds each day right up to two weeks before he died - even though he was quite distended and waddled when walking. And even up to a couple of days before he would still grab the odd bit of bedding on his way into his house to take for his nest - just habit.

I think of it like old people. They are happier left in their own homes with their own things around them - as long as it is safe.

So as long as there are no levels he can climb onto and fall from then I would just press down and compact his current substrate and just have it an inch deep maybe and leave his nest as it is.

But you can maybe go with your instincts on this as you know him. Fleece can also be chewed by hamsters and cause blockages and just because he 's old doesn't mean he might not decide it would be good to chew some nice soft fleece off to put in his nest!

So would suggest - thinking before making too many changes.

Rule of thumb is - remove any levels - maybe hang a hammock above then so they don't feel exposed with the levels removed. But high enough he can't climb up there into it and fall. To avoid him climbing and falling.

And have everything all at ground level but still with some interesting toys and tunnels for stimulation. Changing things, moving things, and cleaning out can really stress them. So if he can walk around the floor of the cage ok as it is I would hang fire on using fleece. He may like things just as they are
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Old 02-17-2019, 01:36 PM   #15
WorriedMom
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Default Re: Hamster with Cushing's came down with a cold and isn't recovering

She did blood and what I think I remember her saying is that there is no yes or no diagnosis test for Cushing's but that the liver levels are looked at and the levels were off. He started with fur loss on his head actually and then it spread to between his shoulders, that grew back mostly, and then his legs and a bit on his chest, and now his hindquarters at the scent glads. He also has those.dark pigmentation spots. His water intake had increased a couple months back before all of this and his urination amount picked up too. My first chinchilla gets pyometra and my second hamster gets Cushing's AND my youngest cat was born with faulty kidneys and lost one at 2 yrs old and ia now in the beginning stages of renal faliure 6 yrs later. Do sickly animals flock to me?

Forgot to mention but after getting home and getting fluids he's grooming himself for the first time since this started.
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Old 02-17-2019, 02:21 PM   #16
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Default Re: Hamster with Cushing's came down with a cold and isn't recovering

Excellent that he is grooming . Cushings is an over-production of the stress hormone, cortisol. There are two types - it can either be the pituitary gland that is giving out the increased cortisol, or the adrenal glands. The Vetoryl Coco mentioned works well for one type but not the other type (can't remember which though).

So the blood test should test for cortisol levels and if they are raised above a certain level that gives a clear diagnosis. I've linked an article about it written by an exotic vet if it helps. It does sound like it may be Cushings, but it can be so hard to tell without the cortisol levels being known, as ageing hamsters also drink a lot more and pee a lot more, as one of the first things to start wearing out is their kidneys.

Maybe it was cortisol levels the vet was referring to? If she was actually referring to liver function than that could be again just general old age. The liver detoxifies and if it isn't functioning well then it's harder to detoxify things which can lead to unwellness. It could also explain why drugs affect him if he isn't detoxifying them well.

Are you in the US. You mentioned not being to keen on your vet earlier. Is it an exotic vet? Because if not, try and find an exotic vet in your area - they are experienced in hamsters. General vets often really don't know much about hamsters and generalise a lot.

My last vet wasn't an exotic vet and I won't be using them again! I found it incredibly stressful not knowing if it was Cushings or not and the vet said it wasn't possible to do a blood test (which it is but clearly they didn't feel able to do it or weren't knowledgeable enough). For me it was important to have a clear diagnosis so I knew whether I could give him Metacam or not as he was a bit arthritic as well. But he didn't seem in pain or to be suffering until near the end.

I hope he picks up - he sounds like a grand little hamster.

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Old 02-17-2019, 10:26 PM   #17
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Default Re: Hamster with Cushing's came down with a cold and isn't recovering

I do see an exotic vet. She's taken super good care of my chinchillas. She wasn't in so I saw the other vet at the clinic and she was wonderful. I will call and ask about the test results. I'm wondering if maybe it wasn't helping due tohim having the other type. Thank you, he is a very good boy. The vet and techs would always comment about how gentle and sweet he is. Poor baby always uses his little hands to try and push and wiggle free. He isn't a biter. He's bit me a couple times since he got old confusing my finger for food but I'm more careful with that now that he's having a harder time telling the difference. Before he would lightly grab my finger in his mouth and would realize it wasn't food. And it's heart breaking but when he gets startled cause someone touched him and he wasn't facing them or was sleeping he'll twist around with his belly in front and put his hands up. Reminds me of someone having a gun pointed at them. I could go on and on about how crazy good he is, but he is basically a saint. I've never had an animal SO gentle, kind, and passive where he can do no wrong that I don't think I'll be getting another hamster in the future. He spoiled me rotten. But yea everyone who has interacted with him at the vet has stated that he is special and different from a normal hamster.

Oh! Forgot to say. He drank a few licks from his water bottle and actually walked the the other side of his cage! He would only take a few steps before to get to the corner to pee. I'm floored how much dehydration can do to the body. He's not walking perfectly but he's not tripping anymore.

Does anyone know how long the baby food can out for. He's barely had any but he does like it. I'm gonna take it away and maybe replace it simce it's been out for 3 hrs. I don't feel safe leaving it out any longer.

Last edited by WorriedMom; 02-17-2019 at 11:31 PM. Reason: Forgot some stuff
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Old 02-17-2019, 10:34 PM   #18
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Default Re: Hamster with Cushing's came down with a cold and isn't recovering

I set the cage up like the vet told me to so perhaps that's what made it easier for him to walk all the way over to that other side of the cage.



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Last edited by WorriedMom; 02-17-2019 at 10:37 PM. Reason: Spelling error
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Old 02-18-2019, 08:44 AM   #19
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Default Re: Hamster with Cushing's came down with a cold and isn't recovering

He had been doing crazy great last night and now when I went to give him his medicine and baby food he's now having a hard time breathing and is sneezing a ton and making clicking sounds when breathing! I've called the vet and of she can't see if very soon after she gets in at 11 am then he's going elsewhere.
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Old 02-18-2019, 09:50 AM   #20
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Default Re: Hamster with Cushing's came down with a cold and isn't recovering

I have often found that ill hamsters are given a little twilight time where they seem to rally. I think they are given this so you can see that they will be fine and that you can say goodbye if you need to and that you love them. I hope you get an answer when you see the vets.
What is his name?
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