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Pebbles82 · 01-19-2022, 05:17 PM

She might be scared of the syringe. I tend to give the meds in food so as to minimise stress for them. Some hamsters hate the syringe coming towards them. It’s easier if it’s soft food like baby food, porridge or even a bit of mashed banana. But just a tiny amount - pea sized. You can either put it on a teaspoon and leave it in the cage (but then the metacam can run off a bit as the spoon slopes). Or put it on a separate dish - I use a jar lid. That’s fine for the Metacam/anti inflammatory. You can just leave it in the cage and let her eat it when she wants.

As Ria said, the baytril is trickier - I do the same with that - put it in food but it needs to be something that disguises the bitter taste. You could try a blob of honey. One member used to mix it with runny honey.

I just wanted to say though that she is a very old lady and we need to balance things sometimes. Any bloating is never a good sign and at her age is not likely to be curable. You’re really looking at palliative care - keeping her comfortable.

As they get old their organs start to gradually fail and bloating could be fluid - either from kidney or liver failure, or heart failure or ascites from a tumour. The diagnosis almost doesn’t matter as it’s old age.

The Metacam is important as it’s pain relief in case she has any pain. But the last thing we want to do in their twilight time is stress them out with lots of procedures.

If she’s crying that’s not good. I try and make the meds something to look forward to by giving them in food they really like!

It’s a fairly standard thing for vets to give Metacam and Baytril mom the hope it fixes something because there’s not much more they can do at that age without adversely affecting their quality of life.

I do hope the meds help. But you may need to prepare yourself that she is now in her twilight time. When you described the swaying and the noise it did sound fairly terminal to be honest. If it’s a chest infection the antibiotics will sort that, but she has the bloating as well. And heart failure can cause respiratory issues too.

Main thing is keep her comfortable, give her nice things - even unhealthy treats like a bit of cake! (within reason).

01-19-2022, 05:17 PM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Bloated tummy / possibly coughing? She might be scared of the syringe. I tend to give the meds in food so as to minimise stress for them. Some hamsters hate the syringe coming towards them. It’s easier if it’s soft food like baby food, porridge or even a bit of mashed banana. But just a tiny amount - pea sized. You can either put it on a teaspoon and leave it in the cage (but then the metacam can run off a bit as the spoon slopes). Or put it on a separate dish - I use a jar lid. That’s fine for the Metacam/anti inflammatory. You can just leave it in the cage and let her eat it when she wants. As Ria said, the baytril is trickier - I do the same with that - put it in food but it needs to be something that disguises the bitter taste. You could try a blob of honey. One member used to mix it with runny honey. I just wanted to say though that she is a very old lady and we need to balance things sometimes. Any bloating is never a good sign and at her age is not likely to be curable. You’re really looking at palliative care - keeping her comfortable. As they get old their organs start to gradually fail and bloating could be fluid - either from kidney or liver failure, or heart failure or ascites from a tumour. The diagnosis almost doesn’t matter as it’s old age. The Metacam is important as it’s pain relief in case she has any pain. But the last thing we want to do in their twilight time is stress them out with lots of procedures. If she’s crying that’s not good. I try and make the meds something to look forward to by giving them in food they really like! It’s a fairly standard thing for vets to give Metacam and Baytril mom the hope it fixes something because there’s not much more they can do at that age without adversely affecting their quality of life. I do hope the meds help. But you may need to prepare yourself that she is now in her twilight time. When you described the swaying and the noise it did sound fairly terminal to be honest. If it’s a chest infection the antibiotics will sort that, but she has the bloating as well. And heart failure can cause respiratory issues too. Main thing is keep her comfortable, give her nice things - even unhealthy treats like a bit of cake! (within reason).