Hamster Central - View Single Post

GhostsInSnow · 03-01-2021, 12:19 PM

I don't know if would offer comfort to hear the perspective from a veterinary professional I'm a student veterinary nurse as well as a hammy owner so have both perspectives.
Nowhere I've worked would ever inject directly without making sure they're properly anaesthetised first and I find it alarming that some practices still do this.
The process is (or should be) that anaesthetic gas is used to ensure they're in a deep sleep before the injection is given. The injection is usually into the heart, unfortunately, their veins are so tiny it is impossible to administer that way (the way we would with a dog or cat for example) which is why anaesthesia first is so important.
As has been mentioned, due to the dangers of anaesthetic gas, you're not allowed in with them for this stage, we have strict protocols surrounding who can be in the room when using the anaesthetic agents.
You can request that the little one is brought back to you for the injection, however at the moment, different practices have different covid protocols so that may not be possible.
On the subject of the eyes being open, it's extremely rare for any animals eyes to close when they're euthanised, I'm not sure why. They generally don't close when they're under anaesthetic for surgical procedures either (we have to frequently lubricate the eyes during surgery to ensure they don't get too dry). Often they do come back open if we try to close them so for the purpose of not causing trauma to the face, we tend to leave them open.
If they're going back to the owners, I always try to ensure they're nicely wrapped up all snuggly because I've been on the other side and know how much nicer it is that way. (Before I worked in veterinary, one of my hamsters was brought back out to me with their entire body buried in substrate and their head sticking out which was a little traumatising to say the least!).
If anyone has any questions about the veterinary side of this, I'm more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability and I hope having the perspective from the other side might help

03-01-2021, 12:19 PM
GhostsInSnow Moderator Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: West midlands, UK Posts: 3,248	Re: Euthanasia I don't know if would offer comfort to hear the perspective from a veterinary professional I'm a student veterinary nurse as well as a hammy owner so have both perspectives. Nowhere I've worked would ever inject directly without making sure they're properly anaesthetised first and I find it alarming that some practices still do this. The process is (or should be) that anaesthetic gas is used to ensure they're in a deep sleep before the injection is given. The injection is usually into the heart, unfortunately, their veins are so tiny it is impossible to administer that way (the way we would with a dog or cat for example) which is why anaesthesia first is so important. As has been mentioned, due to the dangers of anaesthetic gas, you're not allowed in with them for this stage, we have strict protocols surrounding who can be in the room when using the anaesthetic agents. You can request that the little one is brought back to you for the injection, however at the moment, different practices have different covid protocols so that may not be possible. On the subject of the eyes being open, it's extremely rare for any animals eyes to close when they're euthanised, I'm not sure why. They generally don't close when they're under anaesthetic for surgical procedures either (we have to frequently lubricate the eyes during surgery to ensure they don't get too dry). Often they do come back open if we try to close them so for the purpose of not causing trauma to the face, we tend to leave them open. If they're going back to the owners, I always try to ensure they're nicely wrapped up all snuggly because I've been on the other side and know how much nicer it is that way. (Before I worked in veterinary, one of my hamsters was brought back out to me with their entire body buried in substrate and their head sticking out which was a little traumatising to say the least!). If anyone has any questions about the veterinary side of this, I'm more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability and I hope having the perspective from the other side might help __________________