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Old 02-06-2020, 07:03 PM   #1
Periwinklepets
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 20
Unhappy Potential Cushings Dilemma...I’m stuck

Photos: please view after reading:


https://imgur.com/gallery/AxzUMqe


Age: 1 year 1 month
Gender: female
Species: roborovski

Hi everyone,
I’m new to this website, but I’ve done extensive online research on this forum and other websites in the last week.
I’m still really feeling quite lost about what course of action is best here, and I would really appreciate everyone’s opinions.

About a week ago, I noticed that my Robo, Bijou, has bald spots on her lower back and a little on her back leg. I didn’t notice it just the day before, so they seem to have appeared very suddenly. She also has a pinkish, welt-looking mark on her stomach. Bijou has always been very tiny and ever since I got her she’s always looked more disheveled/frail than her sister, but is still an active and curious lil gal. So far she seems to be acting fairly normal, but when I’ve put her back in her cage, she seems more relaxed and sits on my hand for a second, when usually she would be more frantic and jump off right away.

Her and her sister have only been to a vet once in the past for an unrelated foot problem. I consulted said vet 7 days ago through email, and they suggested that if she isn’t scratching a ton (a sign of mites) she may have Cushings Disease. They basically said there isn’t much of a point to bring her in if this is the case, because Cushings is almost impossible to treat and really hard to diagnose. That being said, Bijou is scratching the same amount, if not less, than her sister, who is in perfect health as far as I know. The amount of scratching does not seem at all excessive or abnormal, but when Bijou does scratch it is fairly hard. I responded to the vet’s message with this info, and was told they would get back to me, but didn’t receive a response. After a few days, I reached out again but haven’t heard back.
Based on the lack of scratching, I am thinking Cushings may be the case here? I am just very torn about bringing her to the vet, because the only small animal vet in my area is almost a 2 hour commute away, and requires 2 bus rides to get there. Last time I went, I could tell that it really upset and stressed Bijou out, and if she is terminally ill, I wouldn’t want to put her through that for nothing. Another reason, is that I am a student living on my own currently, and I feel like a bad owner saying this, but if Bijou is likely terminally ill, I wouldn’t want to/ am not in the best position to pay vet bills if there isn’t a “point” or if it won’t help her quality of life. The vet is 100 dollars just to take her in, not including if they were to run tests on her, which would be stressful for her, and may not even result in a diagnosis.

I have been taking Bijou and her sister out every night, and giving Bijou Grape Seed Extract, nightly in baby food via syringe. I read a couple forum entries saying that GSE can help with Cushings, and it sounds like a few people have been very pleased with the results. I’ve also been giving her a rotation of nuts, carrots, mealworms, apple, spinach, broccoli, etc as they have benefits, and gaining a bit of weight would definitely not be the worst thing for her right now. Both robos are not food motivated in the slightest, and prefer their basic bagged food immensely over any of the stuff I mentioned above. Not much of what I’ve introduced has been ingested, excluding the GSE which I’m basically having to force feed her. I haven’t yet noticed any visible changes from the GSE.

I’ve observed Bijou closely each time I bring her out, and noticed more balding each night. There is now also thinning/ balding on both front legs, as well as a tiny bit on the upper back. Bijou is still housed with her sister, but I do have a Crittertrail if they need to be separated. She is also still using her wheel, I haven’t monitored if her wheel-usage has changed though. They have carefresh bedding in their cage which is changed weekly.

Do you guys think this is likely to be Cushings, or is this something worth visiting a clinic for?

I have attached photos of her, in an Imgur link at the top of this post.
I am feeling a bit lost about what course of action to take here, as if she is terminally ill, and there is truly nothing that can be done for her, I would prefer to focus on maintaining her quality of life and enjoying her company for the time she has left, rather than unnecessarily stressing her out more.

Thank you guys so much for any help, I really just want to do what’s right for her.
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Old 02-07-2020, 06:01 AM   #2
Petite
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Default Re: Potential Cushings Dilemma...I’m stuck

Aw, poor mite. I'm afraid I've not have any experience with Cushing's disease in my own hamsters, but it does sound very much as though this is what your Bijou is suffering from.

Is she eating and behaving normally? Another sign of Cushing's is drinking more, so you could keep an eye on her water bottle. You say she is scratching hard, so is probably experiencing some itching. You could help her to feel more comfortable by obtaining a cream from your vet or pet shop.

I would recommend taking Bijou to the vet is you feel she is unhappy or suffering. In the meantime, perhaps just give her a little more bedding as she will be feeling the cold more.
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Old 02-07-2020, 10:21 AM   #3
Coco61
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Default Re: Potential Cushings Dilemma...I’m stuck

I am sorry that you have a potential diagnosis of Cushings.
There is a sticky thread in this healthcare section called Cushings and Treatment that I started after I treated my Syrian hamster for a year with vet help. A robo will be extremely difficult to diagnose as only a blood test can do that and it is hard enough to find a vet that can take blood from a Syrian let alone a tiny robo.
I hope the info on my post will be of a little help to you.
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Old 02-09-2020, 01:53 PM   #4
Periwinklepets
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Default Re: Potential Cushings Dilemma...I’m stuck

Quote:
Originally Posted by Petite View Post
Aw, poor mite. I'm afraid I've not have any experience with Cushing's disease in my own hamsters, but it does sound very much as though this is what your Bijou is suffering from.

Is she eating and behaving normally? Another sign of Cushing's is drinking more, so you could keep an eye on her water bottle. You say she is scratching hard, so is probably experiencing some itching. You could help her to feel more comfortable by obtaining a cream from your vet or pet shop.

I would recommend taking Bijou to the vet is you feel she is unhappy or suffering. In the meantime, perhaps just give her a little more bedding as she will be feeling the cold more.
Sorry for the late reply, Petite! She eats normally from what I know but has always been more frail and small since I got her, but probably more so now. Its hard to monitor her water consumption because she lives with her sister, and since that they're so small compared to the bottle. The other day I noticed she had a scab, but today it was gone. She does have some balding on her neck though. I have some thyme tea to soothe her bald spots, I’ll have to check around to see if I can find a cream too. I don’t think Bijou is unhappy or in pain, she’s definitely slower and looks disheveled but she seems to walk around a good amount in the playtime bin they have. She seems fairly curious too but is way less squirmy when you first pick her up; she just allows it. thank you for the bedding suggestion, I’ve given them more carefresh and tissues in their hut, and I’ve also moved them to the warm bathroom during colder nights. Ive been giving her grape seed extract in baby food via syringe, since she is so un food motivated. I heard it can help with Cushings if this is the case. Thank you so much for your response!
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Old 02-09-2020, 02:06 PM   #5
Periwinklepets
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Posts: 20
Default Re: Potential Cushings Dilemma...I’m stuck

Quote:
Originally Posted by Petite View Post
Aw, poor mite. I'm afraid I've not have any experience with Cushing's disease in my own hamsters, but it does sound very much as though this is what your Bijou is suffering from.

Is she eating and behaving normally? Another sign of Cushing's is drinking more, so you could keep an eye on her water bottle. You say she is scratching hard, so is probably experiencing some itching. You could help her to feel more comfortable by obtaining a cream from your vet or pet shop.

I would recommend taking Bijou to the vet is you feel she is unhappy or suffering. In the meantime, perhaps just give her a little more bedding as she will be feeling the cold more.
Sorry for the late reply, Petite! She eats normally from what I know but has always been more frail and small since I got her, but probably more so now. Its hard to monitor her water consumption because she lives with her sister, and since that they're so small compared to the bottle. The other day I noticed she had a scab, but today it was gone. She does have some balding on her neck though. I have some thyme tea to soothe her bald spots, I’ll have to check around to see if I can find a cream too. I don’t think Bijou is unhappy or in pain, she’s definitely slower and looks disheveled but she seems to walk around a good amount in the playtime bin they have. She seems fairly curious too but is way less squirmy when you first pick her up; she just allows it. thank you for the bedding suggestion, I’ve given them more carefresh and tissues in their hut, and I’ve also moved them to the warm bathroom during colder ž nights.
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Old 02-09-2020, 02:17 PM   #6
Periwinklepets
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Default Re: Potential Cushings Dilemma...I’m stuck

Quote:
Originally Posted by Coco61 View Post
I am sorry that you have a potential diagnosis of Cushings.
There is a sticky thread in this healthcare section called Cushings and Treatment that I started after I treated my Syrian hamster for a year with vet help. A robo will be extremely difficult to diagnose as only a blood test can do that and it is hard enough to find a vet that can take blood from a Syrian let alone a tiny robo.
I hope the info on my post will be of a little help to you.
Thank you so much for your reply, Coco! I’m sorry for my late response. I’ll definitely take a look at that thread. Someone on another website suggested it could be demodex mites, which would be possible For bijou to have and not Rosemary. The mites are prevalent when they’re an underlying condition, like a tumour or cyst. and yes, Bijou is super tiny and frail looking, I fear there’s only so much a vet could do for an animal that delicate.
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Old 02-09-2020, 09:03 PM   #7
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Potential Cushings Dilemma...I’m stuck

Hello. I would separate the two robos and see if she improves. It is very common for one hamster to be dominant and the other be under a lot of stress and that can also cause all sorts of physical symptoms and balding. They will be absolutely fine living apart in separate cages. There are also many other conditions that can cause hair loss and skin issues. Our robo had a kind of skin cancer.

Do see if she improves if they are separated - it might really make a difference. It is very common for pairs to need separating even if they have lived together for a long time - either due to falling out and fighting, or bullying or just dominance leading to one hamster failing to thrive.

If she doesn't improve then you would need to decide what her quality of life is, regardless of what illness it is, and if it is deteriorating and she is not enjoying normal hamstery behaviour then you may need to think about helping her on her way.
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Old 02-10-2020, 12:08 PM   #8
Periwinklepets
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Default Re: Potential Cushings Dilemma...I’m stuck

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Hello. I would separate the two robos and see if she improves. It is very common for one hamster to be dominant and the other be under a lot of stress and that can also cause all sorts of physical symptoms and balding. They will be absolutely fine living apart in separate cages. There are also many other conditions that can cause hair loss and skin issues. Our robo had a kind of skin cancer.

Do see if she improves if they are separated - it might really make a difference. It is very common for pairs to need separating even if they have lived together for a long time - either due to falling out and fighting, or bullying or just dominance leading to one hamster failing to thrive.

If she doesn't improve then you would need to decide what her quality of life is, regardless of what illness it is, and if it is deteriorating and she is not enjoying normal hamstery behaviour then you may need to think about helping her on her way.
Thank you so much for your help, I took your advice and separated Rosemary and Bijou last night, I will update on here if I see any improvements. They have fought in the past, I can usually tell because they’ll make squeaking noises and I’ll run over and break it up. I haven’t heard or seen them fighting in quite a long time, but Bijou is so delicate while Rosemary is very sturdy and doesn’t really know her own strength. I have seen her walk over bijou or accidentally push her over, so separating might help Bijou relax a bit if nothing else. Bijou is definitely very small and slow, but she doesn’t seem to be in pain or suffering from what I can tell. When I took her out last night though, she seemed to be scratching quite a lot, which just confused me more, as she wasnt doing it before, which was the whole reason for why I assumed this was Cushings. 😣
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Old 02-10-2020, 07:20 PM   #9
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Potential Cushings Dilemma...I’m stuck

According to things I've read, Cushings is actually quite rare in hamsters. It's also difficult to diagnose. Vets tend to just go by various symptoms (which could also be symptoms of other things). As mentioned above, a highly specialised vet could take a blood sample to diagnose it, but most vets aren't that specialised and it may not be possible at all in a tiny robo. What you could do to eliminate causes, is have a skin scraping done at the vets to rule out mites or diagnose mites. It would be a bad idea to treat her for mites though, without a confirmed diagnosis after a skin scraping, because the treatment is quite toxic and she sounds to be not in a great state to start with.

It may well be stress related if there has been dominance and/or bullying. Give her a few fresh treats as well as her hamster mix - the occasional blueberry or half a walnut eg - to perk up her interest in food. For weight gain the occasional pecan nut helps and sunflower seeds as treats.

I would also try giving her a pinch of linseeds every day and carry on with that indefinitely (hamsters seem to really like them and lick them up). It works wonders for skin and fur condition and I've had bald patches grow back using them. It's not expensive for a bag of linseeds that would last a few years! Brown linseeds are supposed to be best. They are full of healthy oils and vitamins as well so it'll be good for her generally and help boost her immune system. I put the linseeds in a separate place to the regular mix - on a little jar lid or on a house roof near the food bowl.

If she has a nice cage environment of her own now she may flourish. I think good staples for a cage environment are - plenty of substrate, a good sized house that is part submerged (if it has a lift off roof you don't need to take it out and disturb the nest). Plenty of floor toys, cardboard tubes and tissue box hides etc. And their wheel of course.

Let us know how she gets on. Maybe give her a week or two to adjust to the cage change, and if she's still scratching, ask for a skin scraping at the vets.
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Old 02-11-2020, 01:12 PM   #10
Periwinklepets
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Posts: 20
Default Re: Potential Cushings Dilemma...I’m stuck

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
According to things I've read, Cushings is actually quite rare in hamsters. It's also difficult to diagnose. Vets tend to just go by various symptoms (which could also be symptoms of other things). As mentioned above, a highly specialised vet could take a blood sample to diagnose it, but most vets aren't that specialised and it may not be possible at all in a tiny robo. What you could do to eliminate causes, is have a skin scraping done at the vets to rule out mites or diagnose mites. It would be a bad idea to treat her for mites though, without a confirmed diagnosis after a skin scraping, because the treatment is quite toxic and she sounds to be not in a great state to start with.

It may well be stress related if there has been dominance and/or bullying. Give her a few fresh treats as well as her hamster mix - the occasional blueberry or half a walnut eg - to perk up her interest in food. For weight gain the occasional pecan nut helps and sunflower seeds as treats.

I would also try giving her a pinch of linseeds every day and carry on with that indefinitely (hamsters seem to really like them and lick them up). It works wonders for skin and fur condition and I've had bald patches grow back using them. It's not expensive for a bag of linseeds that would last a few years! Brown linseeds are supposed to be best. They are full of healthy oils and vitamins as well so it'll be good for her generally and help boost her immune system. I put the linseeds in a separate place to the regular mix - on a little jar lid or on a house roof near the food bowl.

If she has a nice cage environment of her own now she may flourish. I think good staples for a cage environment are - plenty of substrate, a good sized house that is part submerged (if it has a lift off roof you don't need to take it out and disturb the nest). Plenty of floor toys, cardboard tubes and tissue box hides etc. And their wheel of course.

Let us know how she gets on. Maybe give her a week or two to adjust to the cage change, and if she's still scratching, ask for a skin scraping at the vets.
Thank you so much for all your advice, it means a lot to me during this time! Yes, I’ve heard that Cushings is pretty rare, so I was kind of surprised that my vet immediately suggested Cushings if she wasn’t scratching. The vet she’s been to in the past doesn’t seem very willing to treat an animal that small or to bother doing many tests on her. They’re very professional and kind, but don’t seem to be extremely knowledgeable or thorough about hamster ailments if I’m being honest. There is another small exotics vet in my area that I recently discovered online, I’ve never been in but they may be more willing to actively do tests to look more into a diagnosis if she doesn’t improve. I’m sure either of them would be able to do a skin scraping if needed. Someone suggested she may have demodex mites, which apparently present themselves if there’s an underlying problem like a Tumour or a cyst. Demodex mites aren’t contagious, which may be why Bijous sister is unaffected, if mites are the case here. Bijou seems to have more visible balding every night when I bring her out, I’m going to keep her separated and see if the daily balding ceases at all, because it was progressing pretty rapidly and has been alarming to see each night.
That’s very interesting about the Linseeds, thank you for recommending them! I’m definitely going to pick some up today, as well as introduce more high protein treats and fresh food. I was thinking about giving her some egg as well now and then for a high-protein treat. Her cage environment has everything you mentioned in your response, I cleaned her cage last night as well so it doesn’t smell like her sister and she can have a fresh start in her own environment. I take the two of them out nightly for a run in a large bin; I’m thinking of continuing to do that with both of them, so they can still see each other once a day, but I wouldn’t want to stress out Bijou. I agree with waiting a bit longer for the vet and just seeing if anything changes. With the sudden scratching just the other day and her new housing situation, it seems like a good idea. If it goes on longer I’ll seek help though, I wouldn’t want to feel like I didn’t do everything I could for her. I’ll keep you updated on here in the next few days and see if anything develops. Thank you again so much, I appreciate the help immensely. ☺️
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