Fluid Build Up, No Cause Found

Skeekers · 02-23-2020, 06:36 PM

I'm pretty sure PetSmart is going to be giving me this ham, Peaches. When they got her they thought she was pregnant because she was so round. They waited and waited but she never gave birth. She was taken to 2 different exotic vets and neither knows what's wrong. There's a ton of fluid build up. She's had the fluid drained twice, exams and xrays. The vets can't find ANYTHING wrong with her. They have NO idea why fluid builds up in her abdomen.

It doesn't hinder her at all and she's doesn't seem to have any pain at all. Has anyone seen this before?

Dalis_mum · 02-23-2020, 09:15 PM

I've seen this in other animals, including humans. It can be a sign of a compromised cardio vascular system, normally right sided heart failure from various primary instigators. The CVS transports fluid from around the body to be excreted by the kidneys. When compromised it cant move the fluid and it build up.

The heart issue could be bacterial, viral, parasitic, congenital. Even if you treated the cause, there could be irreparable damage to the heart. All of this is just my speculation speaking from experience as a biomedical scientist whose worked with vets in the past. At the very least I would ask for further testing. (Bloods especially).

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Pebbles82 · 02-24-2020, 02:52 AM

All I know is that any swelling and fluid build up is usually not good news and serious. It can be caused by a number of things. Heart defect as Dali's Mum say - it can be from some other organ failure - eg kidneys, ascites from a malignant tumour or with a female it could be a sign of pyometra or other infection.

Poor hammy - she sounds to be having a rough time with the swelling and all those tests and it must be causing discomfort. If you do take her, then be prepared for her possibly not living too long - you'd need to take her to an exotic vet. They are more likely to be able to pin down the cause. Although the vets can't find anything wrong, there are things that perhaps wouldn't show up on an x-ray - a tumour eg,or kidney or heart problems. An analysis of the fluid may give some answers but it may not lead to an effective treatment.

Skeekers · 02-24-2020, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

All I know is that any swelling and fluid build up is usually not good news and serious. It can be caused by a number of things. Heart defect as Dali's Mum say - it can be from some other organ failure - eg kidneys, ascites from a malignant tumour or with a female it could be a sign of pyometra or other infection.

Poor hammy - she sounds to be having a rough time with the swelling and all those tests and it must be causing discomfort. If you do take her, then be prepared for her possibly not living too long - you'd need to take her to an exotic vet. They are more likely to be able to pin down the cause. Although the vets can't find anything wrong, there are things that perhaps wouldn't show up on an x-ray - a tumour eg,or kidney or heart problems. An analysis of the fluid may give some answers but it may not lead to an effective treatment.

She's been to 2 exotics so far. They did a culture on the fluid but apparently nothing came of it?

I'm prepared for her to not live very long if they can't figure out what it is. I'm also prepared to take her and have the fluid drained every 2 weeks like the store has been doing. She seems like a perfectly happy little ham and she's SO friendly. The lady who approached me about her in the store knows I take care of special needs animals and thought I'd be Peaches' best bet if they couldn't help her

I'm so proud

Pebbles82 · 02-25-2020, 07:28 AM

If the culture didn't show anything then that probably rules out cancer and infection and it's more likely to be organ function - kidneys, liver or heart eg. If so they might not be able to treat it possibly, but it would then be a case of living out her life and making sure she isn't suffering. That would be hard having to have it drained every two weeks. I hope they can find a solution.

Pebbles82 · 02-25-2020, 07:34 AM

This article may be of interest. The vet in it decided to do surgery to find the cause and it was a non malignant liver tumour. So there is hope! But it might need a good exotic vet to do investigative surgery.

https://www.petethevet.com/an-unusual-hamster/

Littlephodopusmom · 02-26-2020, 04:17 AM

What a sweet hamster. I hope she can cope with her condition and you will have her for some time. Could she maybe have some diuretic type foods or herbs to help her with the fluid drainage? It helps bunnies but I don't know about in hammies, maybe someone would know or have ideas?

Pebbles82 · 02-26-2020, 05:33 AM

Dandelion is a diuretic but I think it would be good to establish the cause as in the article above maybe. I don't think Dandelion would resolve it completely. I am not sure how diuretics work but mainly on kidneys I think and the fluid could be peritoneal.

Personally, after reading that article, I think surgery may be the way to go, to establish a cause and resolve it. There are some risks with surgery but it's usually successful and could improve her quality of life for the rest of her life.