Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Hamster Healthcare

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-26-2019, 08:00 AM   #1
kesaiserris
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 42
Default Pyometra Questionnaire

This questionnaire applies only to those who have had or currently have a female hamster with pyometra.

1. What breed was your hamster?
2. What type of nesting material/substrate did you use and how often did you clean her cage?
3. Did you use a water bottle or a water bowl?
4. Did you add vitamins or anything else to her water? If so what brand? Did she drink anything besides water?
5. What brand of food did you use? If your hamster's food was “homemade” please describe their diet including foods offered and general ratios.
6. Did you offer your hamster treats? If so what kind of treats and how often? Please include brand names if they apply.
7. Did you feed your hamster grains or Timothy hay in addition to their pellet diet?
8. What were your hamsters favorite foods?
9. Was your hamster a healthy weight prior to developing pyometra?
10. Did you ever feed your hamster dairy? Meat? Sugary substances? White bread? Soy products? Corn?
11. When your hamster was in their prime how active were they? How did your hamster get her daily exercise?
12. Did your hamster ever come into contact with potentially dangerous substances? Did your hamster ever escape? Where was she eventually located? Do you know where she created her nest and where she gathered her nesting material from at that time? Do you know what she was eating and drinking at that time? How long was she out? Is there anything about your living situation which might have exposed your hamster to something dangerous? Examples you have carpeting in your home, you have other pets, you have children, you have issues with mold, your home is given to drafts etc.
13. What was your hamster's personal hygiene like even before becoming ill? Did she keep up her grooming? Keep her teeth and nails trimmed? Did she keep her toilet away from her food and sleeping place? Did she use her sandbox as a potty and a bath? Did she sometimes have accidents in her bed?
14. Aside from pyometra was your hamster ever sick? If so describe. If any of these illnesses occurred directly before the development of pyometra please specify.
15. In regards to your hamster's heat cycle do you feel that it was more or less frequent than the average 4 days? If you have had female hamsters with and without pyometra do you feel that the hamster that later developed pyometra had a stronger musk during her heat cycle?
16. Was your hamster ever pregnant? If so how often? How many pups did she have? Were they healthy?
17. Describe your hamster's personality. Was she prone to stress?
18. How old was your hamster when she developed pyometra? Did she survive? If she survived what treatment method was employed? What treatment methods were made available to you or did you come across in your own research? Did the pyometra ever return? If she did not survive how long after the diagnosis did she die?
19. On reflection were there any warning symptoms of the disease both those caught and those that at the time might have been missed? Are there any symptoms your hamster experienced that you feel are related to the disease but are not generally listed in descriptions of the disease?

If you can think of any other questions that might aid research on pyometra please include.

Last edited by kesaiserris; 02-26-2019 at 10:50 AM.
kesaiserris is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2019, 08:16 AM   #2
kesaiserris
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 42
Default Re: Pyometra Questionnaire

So I will start by giving my data. I am trying to see if there are any common factors it has nothing to do with judgement of care.

1. Syrian
2. Shredded paper and plain toilet paper for her nesting material and some sort of compressed paper/pellet substrate.
3. A glass water bowl because she chewed through everything pertaining to the water bottle. We changed the water daily and more if needed. As we have multiple glass bowls of the same type we washed them in the dishwasher.
4. Oasis Vita-Drops
5. Tiny Farm Friends Hamster food. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any good quality hamster food in Sweden not even online (they don't ship here). I have been so disappointed with the food selection that I have considered making my own hamster food mixes.
6. I offered fresh vegetables several times a week such as bok choy, kale, spinach, cucumbers, carrots, celery leaves. I offered fresh fruit 1 to 2 times a week such as mango, apples, grapes, kiwi, blueberries, cherries. I offered a nut once a week such as cashews, walnuts, peanuts, pecans, hazelnuts. I offered her a vegetarian doggie treat once a week Trixie brand. She also received Whimzees toothbrush chews to help with her teeth. Very rarely she had VitaKraft drops. Sometimes she got a tiny bit of carrot juice (only carrots, fresh).
7. I never gave her hay. She received oats several times a week. Quinoa and rice rarely, sometimes Paulun's sugar free cereals
8. Cherries, cashews, oats, mango, any leafy veg, carrot juice
9. Yes she maintained her weight very well
10. She has only tried kefir one time to help with tummy troubles (related to her current condition). She refuses to eat meat or meal worms. She has never eaten an egg but I will try today a little piece of boiled egg. I usually remove the corn from her mixes because I believe corn causes cancer (it has been shown to do so in rats) and quite frankly they use way too much corn in mixes. Sometimes she did get plain popcorn but not often. I gave her fruit which contains sugar of course and carrots. She does not eat bread.
11. In her youth Stella was very active. She could not eve sit still for a cuddle. As she got older she would sit for longer snuggle periods. She never ran on a wheel try as I might she adamantly refused. She ran around safe rooms in the house, her cage, a ball (though she didn't like confined running in general) and she loved loved climbing!
12. We don't have carpets. We don't have issues with drafts or mold. I have super sensitive skin myself so we can't use harsh cleaners and I don't use a lot of products. As a family we avoid aggravating scents like cedar etc. She did, however, escape a few times once for 3 days. She got into the insulation, chewed up some wrapping paper, seems to have just eaten the food I left, seems to have only drank the water I left but obviously I can't be sure what she might have picked up. She was not sick when we found her but she had cut her paws on the insulation where she was hiding. I do have a child and everyone in my family is prone to respiratory ailments. I have chronic year round allergies. We live in the country so pollen.
13. She used the sandbox as a potty for both peeing and pooping which was on the opposite side of her bed and opposite to her food dish. She did sometimes bath in the sand that she did her business in so she would sometimes smell like urine. She always kept her nails and teeth trimmed. She groomed herself but whenever ill that was almost always the first thing she stopped doing. She never pooped or peed on us and tried never to do it outside of her cage but sometimes she did potty in her own bed. She was usually excellent about keeping her water bowl clean and still is actually.
14. She had an accident at 3 months where she fell and knocked out 3 of her 4 incisors. They grew back and she was able to eat properly and to keep them trimmed so as much as we freaked out over it, she ended up being just fine. She has had 2 respiratory infections. One she recovered from in the normal length of time and the last one took her more than 2 weeks and occurred right before she developed pyometra. Prior to that my husband had suffered from a very vicious bout of bronchitis and although he did not handle her while ill we still believe she may have contracted it as their symptoms were so much the same and the recovery time was the same.
15. I believe hers was every 3 days. She smelled more strongly than another female hamster I owned for sure. From the very beginning we were very surprised by her musk. I have no idea if she might have been effected by my hormones because I had menorrhagia and had terrible hormonal imbalances. I have since had a hysterectomy but I worry that my hormones somehow might have affected her.
16. She was never pregnant.
17. My hamster is extremely loving, very curious, smarter than any hamster I have ever previously owned, and she listens surprisingly well to instructions. She is rarely grumpy. Does not bite when sick or when woken up. Is exceedingly patient. Is optimistic and highly determined. She does not startle easily and calms quickly. She will seek out her human companions for comfort and protection when possible. She is trusting so much so that when she injured her paws she actually offered them to me so I could inspect them and clean the blood for her. She will even choose to eat on my lap.
18. 20 months. She is currently alive. We were only given antibiotics. Nothing not even euthanasia was offered. I do not think the local vets have any clue about hamster care. Right now she is on a special diet containing foods to fight infection, reduce inflammation and hopefully pain, balance hormonal levels, and shrink tumors encase she has a uterine tumor instead of pyometra. The symptoms are so much the same I honestly don't know which diagnosis is the right one.
19. Because she was sick with another condition right before we were letting her recuperate and because my husband was so very sick we didn't want to expose her unnecessarily to anything so I feel sadly that in trying to protect her from one thing that we might have missed earlier warning signs like discharge. I do feel that her current symptoms match up with either pyometra or a uterine tumor.
kesaiserris is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2019, 08:33 AM   #3
souffle
Moderator
 
souffle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Yorkshire, UK but my heart lies in Scotland!
Posts: 28,184
Default Re: Pyometra Questionnaire

I think there are an awful lot of questions there and a lot of people won't have time or remember the details of their hamsters illness.
Could you reduce it down a lot? Are you conducting a scientific study or just trying to work out what happened to your little one?
souffle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2019, 08:52 AM   #4
kesaiserris
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 42
Default Re: Pyometra Questionnaire

People can pick and choose whichever questions they like or can answer because I know it is a lot and requires details which might be forgotten if time has elapsed. I couldn't remember the brand names and I have the products currently! It is a bit of a both really. Both illnesses are so awful with such poor outcomes and so few vets are educated about hamsters that many people have no choice but to do their best at home for their little friends. I am not sure what I might find if people are willing to answer even a few questions or what I could do with those findings but I would very much like to know. I studied Nutrition and Dietetics in school but for humans.
kesaiserris is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2019, 02:38 PM   #5
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Pyometra Questionnaire

I can't answer any of the questions as haven't had a female hamster. And it is normal to try and work out what you could have done differently to have prevented such a thing as Pyometra. But I think it is just something that can happen in female hamsters - just as hamsters are prone to all sorts of conditions as they get older. It is the same with humans - women who are infertile or get ovarian cysts or cervical cancer at any age - it is just one of those things. With humans it is sometimes thought there can be a genetic predisposition with some conditions, but not all. And humans also have deterioration and organ failure in old age!

I think genetics can play a part but it is a condition that can affect pedigree hamsters as well. Hamsters are small and low to the ground and as with female humans who have a short urinary tract and can be prone to bladder infections, it may be similar.

I don't think adding vitamins to water will make any difference and it's not usually recommended to add things to the water. Immune boosting may help prevent infection - via certain foods eg, but an infection of the reproductive system is a tough infection and so it isn't just about having a healthy immune system.

I think of it in the same way as women who get cancer of the reproductive system, at any age - it is just something that can happen. There was an unpleasant theory many years ago that cervical cancer may be linked to how many partners a woman had had - but that was quickly knocked on the head when studies showed that virgin nuns also get cervical cancer.

Sorry if that is a bit heavy, but there are so many variables to disease. It's specific to females of course because they have a womb - without meaning to state the obvious - and reproductive systems go wrong sometimes.

Last edited by Pebbles82; 03-01-2019 at 02:44 PM.
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2019, 02:51 PM   #6
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Pyometra Questionnaire

After our last Syrian Charlie, was diagnosed with Cushings disease towards the end of his life (still not sure if the diagnosis was correct but he did end up having to be helped on his way), I wanted to see if diet could be a factor there as I was aware most hamster mixes are hugely soya based, for the protein, and thought maybe too much of that may be a factor. Our current hamsters have had completely non soya based diets, but I really don't think it makes a lot of difference. Diet and protein levels can affect general condition and fur condition but that's about it I think. Cushings isn't supposed to be that common in hamsters either.

Having said all that, there was some suggestion (but you can't believe everything you read on the internet) that soya could cause infertility in rodents. Now if that was true hamsters wouldn't be breeding like they are! But it could be one factor that affects the reproductive organs - but it wouldn't cause infection.

It is just nature I think. And a female thing. Thousands or millions of women have reproductive organ complications -ectopic pregnancies, eclampsia, etc - some from birth defects, some from just unknown reasons.

Don't let it put you off. There are many female hamsters who have never had pyometra. SKB has had many female syrian hamsters, and so have others on here. It is one factor in female hamsters, but not in all female hamsters. With boys it can be other things - and both sexes can get prolapses or impacted pouches and other things.

We just do our best to care for them and treat them in sickness and in health xxx
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2019, 02:54 PM   #7
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Pyometra Questionnaire

I think your comment about vets not knowing enough is spot on and is a complaint in all sorts of areas with many members. Finding a good vet is like finding a good doctor maybe. And many aren't trained much in hamster specifics which is why an exotic vet is better with hamster related things. Sadly there are vets who don't even bother to think much about hamsters or their treatment and take the view that if they're over a certain age and unwell think about putting them out of their misery. Which doesn't account for the bond and trust. But thankfully there are also good caring vets.
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2019, 02:55 PM   #8
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Pyometra Questionnaire

My Mother currently has terminal cancer and also had many questions, to which there are no concrete answers. The main one being - why? What caused it? She is very elderly and elderly people do succumb to disease - some do, some don't.
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2019, 03:25 PM   #9
Vectis Hamstery
Moderator
 
Vectis Hamstery's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Southampton, UK
Posts: 4,577
Default Re: Pyometra Questionnaire

I can't answer most of the questions as I've had quite a few girls with pyo over the years, and such detail is no longer in my mind about the girls.

Here's what I recall.

Bella
Syrian, rescue.
Diagnosed age 17 months. Spayed. Died over 2 years of heart failure. No known litters.

Tia
Syrian, rescue.
Diagnosed age 2. Put to sleep. No known litters. Had mites on arrival, but otherwise healthy. Nervous.

LMK Magenta
Syrian, pedigree.
Had 2 episodes of pyo. I can't recall the ages, but over 1 year. Treated with Galastop, metacam and antibiotics. About 6 months remission first time, and 2-3 months second time. Died over 2 years old (put to sleep due to fitting). No litters.

Delilah
Syrian, rescue foster.
Diagnosed around 3-6 months old. Spayed. Had small lump on wound line which settled. Was rehomed. Not sure of age of death, but lived at least 1 year post-op. No known litters.

Bobbi
Syrian, rescue foster.
Diagnosed on arrival in rescue as a stray. Age unknown. Spayed. Lived 6 -9 months after surgery. Had bowel complications, but surgery was complicated. No known litters. Nervous.

Luna
Chinese, rescue
Diagnosed age 1 year 5 months. Had diabetes also and was put to sleep. No known litters.

Lotus
Chinese, pedigree
I can't recall when she was diagnosed. Treated with antibiotics, metacam and galastop. Put to sleep aged 1 year and 8 months for diabetes complications. One litter.

LMS Olympia
Syrian, pedigree
Diagnosed age 6 months. Spayed. Onset after mating and a phantom pregnancy. Died age 2 years. No litters.

Oceana
Syrian, pedigree
Diagnosed age 2. Treated with antibiotics, metacam and galastop. Died age 2 years and 2 months. One litter.

Arcadia
Syrian, pedigree
Diagnosed 1 year 10 months. Treated with antibiotics, metacam and galastop. Died 1 year 11 months. No litters.

Erzulie
Chinese, pedigree
Diagnosed 1 year. Spayed. Died 1 year 6 months. One litter.

Alabaster
Syrian, pedigree
Diagnosed 1 year 5 months. Spayed. One litter. Still alive and 2 years old.
__________________
Vectis Hamstery is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2019, 03:52 AM   #10
kesaiserris
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 42
Default Re: Pyometra Questionnaire

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vectis Hamstery View Post
I can't answer most of the questions as I've had quite a few girls with pyo over the years, and such detail is no longer in my mind about the girls.

Here's what I recall.

Bella
Syrian, rescue.
Diagnosed age 17 months. Spayed. Died over 2 years of heart failure. No known litters.

Tia
Syrian, rescue.
Diagnosed age 2. Put to sleep. No known litters. Had mites on arrival, but otherwise healthy. Nervous.

LMK Magenta
Syrian, pedigree.
Had 2 episodes of pyo. I can't recall the ages, but over 1 year. Treated with Galastop, metacam and antibiotics. About 6 months remission first time, and 2-3 months second time. Died over 2 years old (put to sleep due to fitting). No litters.

Delilah
Syrian, rescue foster.
Diagnosed around 3-6 months old. Spayed. Had small lump on wound line which settled. Was rehomed. Not sure of age of death, but lived at least 1 year post-op. No known litters.

Bobbi
Syrian, rescue foster.
Diagnosed on arrival in rescue as a stray. Age unknown. Spayed. Lived 6 -9 months after surgery. Had bowel complications, but surgery was complicated. No known litters. Nervous.

Luna
Chinese, rescue
Diagnosed age 1 year 5 months. Had diabetes also and was put to sleep. No known litters.

Lotus
Chinese, pedigree
I can't recall when she was diagnosed. Treated with antibiotics, metacam and galastop. Put to sleep aged 1 year and 8 months for diabetes complications. One litter.

LMS Olympia
Syrian, pedigree
Diagnosed age 6 months. Spayed. Onset after mating and a phantom pregnancy. Died age 2 years. No litters.

Oceana
Syrian, pedigree
Diagnosed age 2. Treated with antibiotics, metacam and galastop. Died age 2 years and 2 months. One litter.

Arcadia
Syrian, pedigree
Diagnosed 1 year 10 months. Treated with antibiotics, metacam and galastop. Died 1 year 11 months. No litters.

Erzulie
Chinese, pedigree
Diagnosed 1 year. Spayed. Died 1 year 6 months. One litter.

Alabaster
Syrian, pedigree
Diagnosed 1 year 5 months. Spayed. One litter. Still alive and 2 years old.
Thanks so much for the info you were able to provide.
kesaiserris is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
hamster, pyometra, hamsters, water, describe, brand, food, feel, disease, time, treatment, substances, healthy, feed, home, survive, long, developed, dangerous, cycle, female, heat, research, treats, diet

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 03:14 AM.