Hamster Central - View Single Post

anet · 05-22-2017, 03:15 AM

My female Syrian hamster is about 14 months old and for the last few weeks has been deteriorating rapidly, and I'm at a loss as to what to do now, and very upset and disturbed at her suffering, so I thought I'd come here for any advice. It started with some strange looking reddish patches on her underbelly, with fur loss in these places only. As it was getting worse, and she was starting to look and act sick too, I took her to the vet, who took swabs and said it was an infection (possibly that had spread from an unnoticed wound), and gave me anti biotics and painkillers for her. Having finished the course, she is now looking even worse, and her underside looks like a horrible mess (I took a pic but it seems too distressing to post it). To be honest, every morning I wake up and except to find her dead, which would be a relief for her and me, as she can hardly walk without toppling over, and on the rare occasion she does she is bent up with a hunch, and her eyes are almost closed the whole time. But she is still eating and drinking (mainly with me bringing the food and water bottle right up to her).

I can't believe she has gone on like this for around 2 weeks now, and not died, so I am now at the point where I am thinking should I take her back to the vets? Is it worth trying more anti biotics, or having her euthanised? It may seem like a no brainer, but I am a single parent on a low income and the first vet visit cost me £60, which had to come out of my money for rent payment. So I need to think very carefully before spending any more money at the vets, which could be to no avail. If money were no issue for me I'd take her back to the vet in a heartbeat. And if I knew there was a chance that she could make a miraculous recovery with more medicine, I would use my money for rent again and deal with the consequences later. So I suppose that's why I'm posting this, to gauge opinion, and maybe shed some light on what's wrong.

05-22-2017, 03:15 AM
anet Newborn Pup Join Date: May 2017 Posts: 16	Very sick hamster, don't know what to do My female Syrian hamster is about 14 months old and for the last few weeks has been deteriorating rapidly, and I'm at a loss as to what to do now, and very upset and disturbed at her suffering, so I thought I'd come here for any advice. It started with some strange looking reddish patches on her underbelly, with fur loss in these places only. As it was getting worse, and she was starting to look and act sick too, I took her to the vet, who took swabs and said it was an infection (possibly that had spread from an unnoticed wound), and gave me anti biotics and painkillers for her. Having finished the course, she is now looking even worse, and her underside looks like a horrible mess (I took a pic but it seems too distressing to post it). To be honest, every morning I wake up and except to find her dead, which would be a relief for her and me, as she can hardly walk without toppling over, and on the rare occasion she does she is bent up with a hunch, and her eyes are almost closed the whole time. But she is still eating and drinking (mainly with me bringing the food and water bottle right up to her). I can't believe she has gone on like this for around 2 weeks now, and not died, so I am now at the point where I am thinking should I take her back to the vets? Is it worth trying more anti biotics, or having her euthanised? It may seem like a no brainer, but I am a single parent on a low income and the first vet visit cost me £60, which had to come out of my money for rent payment. So I need to think very carefully before spending any more money at the vets, which could be to no avail. If money were no issue for me I'd take her back to the vet in a heartbeat. And if I knew there was a chance that she could make a miraculous recovery with more medicine, I would use my money for rent again and deal with the consequences later. So I suppose that's why I'm posting this, to gauge opinion, and maybe shed some light on what's wrong.