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Originally Posted by Peanui
Thank you so much for your suggestions as well. I ordered some dried cranberries from Oxbow as well. Where I live, I don't find fresh cranberries. I do give dandelion roots as chews for my hamster. But, should I make a paste and feed it to him? My baby was on an anti-inflammatory (meloxicam) while he was recovering from his broken bone, which is now looking much better. He still has the UTI issue and I am giving him antibiotics as prescribed by his vet. However, fortunately, the plugs that came out from his urinary tract aren't stones, as tested by his doctor.
I couldn't find any links where side effects of glucosamine were listed, for hamsters. Thus, I wrote to the company again to seek clarification. I will await their response before giving it to him. I will run by both of you once more as to what they have to say.
Many thanks for the care.
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I just gave her whole pieces of dandelion root for her to eat or not eat, as she chose. I wouldn't want to force feed anything unless it's definitely necessary (e.g antibiotics for an infection) I think they helped with her specific issue which seemed to be related to very concentrated/sludgy urine but it may not be suitable for your hamster's issue (it was more of a general example than a specific recommendation). Anything with a diuretic effect is going to put some strain on the kidneys so you need to weigh that up with any expected benefit.
My gerbil has some complex issues that vets didn't understand, and prescribed medications weren't always enough to help with, so I tried various things for her after consideration of the possible risks etc. I think if you're using supplements it's important to research how they work and what effect they have on the body first so that you can make an informed decision on whether to use them. A lot of things are marketed quite generically as for "urinary health", "general health" etc but they work in different ways and some might help and some might harm, or they might do nothing at all and just cost you money.
I bought the cranberries frozen and defrosted them individually in a cup of boiling water but I wasn't feeding many so I'm not convinced it made any difference. However fresh cranberries are fairly benign (not likely to worsen most health conditions or interact with most medications) so it was a case of "it might help but it almost certainly won't harm" and fruit helped to stimulate her appetite anyway!
Have you watched him pee recently? I was wondering whether a deformed or painful leg could affect the way he crouches or squats to pee which could affect how well he empties his bladder. Inadequate bladder emptying can cause infections