Hamster Central - View Single Post - Severe skin problem - could be fatal

smigsmag · 08-07-2013, 04:31 PM

My hamster has been ill for about a month now, with it getting much more severe every day. She is now at the point where I'm wondering if it would be more humane to put her down. She started off with dry patches appearing on her skin, with fur loss, under her chin. These got progressively more nasty and red, then became pussy and scabby. We took her to a vet to begin with who didn't really seem to know what it was and just prescribed antibiotics. These did not work. We took her to a specialist hamster vet who gave her some different antibiotics. It continued to get worse. The specialist vet suggested we get a biopsy, so we paid a lot of money to get that done, in the hope that it would tell us once and for all what it was. We waited 11 days for the results - all the time with the infection getting worse. The biopsy was inconclusive. The vet gave us different antibiotics again. I tried to give them to her tonight but she is now barely able to move and she would not take them, even though she has done before with no problem. She cannot even hold her head up to her water bottle to drink. She is still eating but has lost a lot of weight very quickly. Her skin is scabbed over, dark in colour, incredibly sore looking and hanging down from her. It could just be swelling but it looks a lot like there's a huge lump in one place. Whatever it is there is a very deep infection. The biopsy ruled out cancer and polyoma virus. I have no idea what this could be but I am seriously considering having her put to sleep if she continues as she is for a few more days. She looks like she is in a lot of pain and she is disorientated, seemingly unable to see or smell very well. She moves clumsily and slowly around her cage with her eyes half closed. She is only 9 months old. Does anyone have any idea what this could be or what I can do?

08-07-2013, 04:31 PM
smigsmag Newborn Pup Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 3	Severe skin problem - could be fatal - please help My hamster has been ill for about a month now, with it getting much more severe every day. She is now at the point where I'm wondering if it would be more humane to put her down. She started off with dry patches appearing on her skin, with fur loss, under her chin. These got progressively more nasty and red, then became pussy and scabby. We took her to a vet to begin with who didn't really seem to know what it was and just prescribed antibiotics. These did not work. We took her to a specialist hamster vet who gave her some different antibiotics. It continued to get worse. The specialist vet suggested we get a biopsy, so we paid a lot of money to get that done, in the hope that it would tell us once and for all what it was. We waited 11 days for the results - all the time with the infection getting worse. The biopsy was inconclusive. The vet gave us different antibiotics again. I tried to give them to her tonight but she is now barely able to move and she would not take them, even though she has done before with no problem. She cannot even hold her head up to her water bottle to drink. She is still eating but has lost a lot of weight very quickly. Her skin is scabbed over, dark in colour, incredibly sore looking and hanging down from her. It could just be swelling but it looks a lot like there's a huge lump in one place. Whatever it is there is a very deep infection. The biopsy ruled out cancer and polyoma virus. I have no idea what this could be but I am seriously considering having her put to sleep if she continues as she is for a few more days. She looks like she is in a lot of pain and she is disorientated, seemingly unable to see or smell very well. She moves clumsily and slowly around her cage with her eyes half closed. She is only 9 months old. Does anyone have any idea what this could be or what I can do?