Off to the vets tomorrow :( Poorly dwarf **Sad Update**

[Widowmaker]

I'm concerned about one of my dwarf Russian girls :(

Over the past few days she's lost a lot of weight and seemed to be struggling to eat. I brought her out and sat with her for ages last night stroking her and encouraging her to take nibbles of things but she seemed disinterested in it all. She did manage to eat a little bit of apple which I crushed up for her and that was about it.

She's running about the cage still and washes herself, plays with bedding and generally does hamster type things, but compared to her sister (they came as a pair) she's lost so much weight in a short space of time that she's now half her size :(

This morning she had trouble opening one of her eyes properly though my boyfriend's called me to say both eyes are now fully open and she's trotting about in the cage.

I'm not taking any chances with her though so she's off to the vet first thing tomorrow morning.

Does anyone have any ideas for anything I can do between now and tomorrow for her? In herself she seems OK, she comes to the door to climb out when she hears me and she's drinking and playing OK but she's not wanting to eat :?

They're 18 months old which I realise is a good age for a dwarf hamster. Could it just be old age?

She doesn't seem to be in pain and doesn't squeak or pull away when handled and I can't feel any lumps of anything but she looks, for want of a better word, tatty. Her coat doesn't seem to be in as good a condition as it was a couple of days ago. No urine/faeces or anything stuck to her underside but in general she looks a bit dishevelled and run down.

They've been with me for 16 months and I want the best for my girls.

Sarah xx

[souffle]

Poor little lass. I imagine she is eating enough to keep her going but she sounds a bit run down. Have you tried a little baby food or porridge to tempt her. It could be a tooth problem with her being reluctant to eat. Does she wee a lot. Possible something hormonal or an infection somewhere. It is difficult to pinpoint for you with her having no specific symptom. I hope she gets the all clear at the vets. It may just be old age creeping up on her now. :? Let us know how she goes on tommorrow.

[Widowmaker]

Thank you for the reply :)

What sort of baby food? Just the pre-mixed stuff you get in little tins? I have no experience of human babies so I have no idea on this front :x

I have plain porridge oats in at home so I could make a tiny amount up and let her try some when it's cooled down?

Yeah, she doesn't have any specific symptoms so I really am at a total loss with her. Her sister is doing fine; strong and healthy so whatever's wrong with her it certainly isn't infectious :?

[suga]

I make porridge for my breakfast in the morning and just give a small baby spoonful to the hammies. As you say just let it cool down and she will probably take it from you very quickly. I make mine with milk and water.

Baby food wise - I also am human baby free :-) but do buy the small jars from the supermarket. At the moment we have open a chicken and veg one (veg is carrot, potato and sweede). As long as the choice you make has no onion, garlic or spice in it it should be okay. I keep it in the fridge once open and tend to put a small baby spoon full in a pot and place the pot in warm water to take the chill off the food and then give a small spoonful to the hamsters. Again - gets eaten on the spot and disappears very quickly :-)

[souffle]

Exactly what suga said widowmaker. We use ready brek. One teaspoon readybrek, half a teaspoon of wheatgerm (from the organic section in Sainsbury's!) mix with boilingwater to a paste then thin with a little milk. Cool and munch.
Ours like the little jars or tins Chicken and pasta is popular and also chicken and veg.
If she has a sore tooth she may lap it up more easily and get some nutrition.

[Widowmaker]

Thank you so much :) xx

I have a little jar of baby food now and will try and encourage her to get some into herself later when she comes out. She's sleeping next to her sister at the moment and she's definitely breathing so that's a relief!!

[suga]

Hopefully she will pick up. Crossing fingers and toes for you guys.

[Holly]

Sorry to hear she's ill, hope she's feeling better as soon as possible.

[Widowmaker]

Wow, she pratically pounced on the spoon when it was offered. She really licked up the baby food so she's at least getting some nutrition today.

I only gave her a little as if she hasn't been eating a lot, I don't want to upset her little tummy by giving her a lot to digest in one go. Her sister barged on in and demanded some as well :x

She really perked up after that and looked a little happier. I'll just have to see what the vet says tomorrow. If it's a problem with her teeth or pouches I take it she'll be on mushy food for a while longer?

Thank you all for your good wishes :)

xxx

[souffle]

Could be a tooth or pouch abcess or uneven teeth. Antibiotics will see her right if it is.
With a poorly animal we tend to feed whatever they will take. All ours especially the oldies get some babyfood and porridge every few days. It gives them a wee boost.
The vet may be able to give you some Avipro probiotic which is good to help them back to health.
Hope all goes well tommorrow.

[Widowmaker]

OK, so we took Silver to the vets this morning and it's not great news.

The vet found a little lump right under her right eye and isn't 100% sure whether it's a tumour or an abcess :( Either way it isn't great, but an abcess might at least sort itself out whereas a tumour won't.

She gave her a pain relief injection and I came away with Baytril and a little syringe to give her twice a day. I'm to take her back in on Tuesday (obviously earlier if she goes really downhill) and we take it from there.

She's absolutely fine in herself and is sleeping, moving about and doing things she always did, but I hate the thought of her being in pain. I have no idea how much she is hurting, if at all, though I can't imagine it isn't giving her some discomfort as there are times when she can hardly open her eye.

I'm to keep her on nice soft stuff rather than hard food for the time being as well. Even though her teeth are fine, the position of the tumour/abcess seems to be giving her a lot of problems and I want to make sure she builds her strength back up after her weight loss.

They're both adorable little girls and I'd be devastated if I lost her but I'm preparing myself now just in case.

I'll update tomorrow to let you know how she's getting on :)

Sarah xx

[souffle]

Aww poor wee Silver. I hope the Baytril will sort it out. At least she is more comfy now and eating so that is a good sign. It is so hard when they are ill but you can only do your best. I dont think Baytril tastes very nice so give her something niceaftershe has had it like her babyfood or a little mashed banana.

[suga]

Aww hopefully she will start to improve and the baytrill will help - (I think it's magic as it can do so much for little ones). A treat after baytrill is definitely a good idea. I know initially i can get it accepted in a hamster mouth but after they start to feel a bit better the fight can become quite intense. I find it amazing how strong a little creature can be when it doesn't want something (probably as we would be in the same situation).
Crossing fingers and toes for an improvement over the next few days.

[racinghamster]

Oh no. Lets hope it`s a wee abscess and can be burst and drained. Abscesses can have a wee spot or mark on them as if where the initial bite or scratch came from. If it`s a small cyst, it may not get much bigger. I had a mouse who took a cyst on one of his toes and although he looked as though he was walking around with a pom pom on his toe, it never did spread and my vet suggested just to leave it alone. It never did get any bigger and he lived happily with it until his death from old age.

I don`t know if Amoxicillin can be given to hamsters (don`t know if it`s toxic to them without looking it up) but Synulox is said to penetrate abscesses really well. It`s a pink powder that the vet will mix up for you and it smells sweet. x

[Widowmaker]

Quick update: Silver's perked up a lot and her eye was fully open this morning and her coat looked healthier than it has done the past couple of days :)

I've been taking her out to feed her separately with the drugs mixed into some baby food to make sure she eats all of it. She's being really good about the whole thing bless her, and is letting me pick her up and look at her without any fuss :)

Fingers crossed for her; I really want to do the right thing by her and I want her to be well. She'll be having her next lot of drugs later tonight.

[souffle]

Well that is great news. Heres hoping it is an abcess that will be cured by the antibiotiic. Thank goodness for babyfood. One ours like is the baby spaghetti hoops with sausage which is good for hidiing nasty tastes. They look so cute holding a tiny hoop!!!! Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. :)

[Widowmaker]

OK, we went to the vets for a progress check up today and she seems WAY better than she was last week. She's gained a bit of weight, her coat looks glossier, her eye looks perfectly fine and she was dashing about like a mad thing this morning :?

I'm not complaining! The vet just said to keep her on Baytril for this week to make sure whatever the issue was gets cleared up but I'm pleased to report she's getting back to her old self :D :D

[souffle]

Lovely to hear that good news. Keep up the good work and back to normal progress. :lol:

[Widowmaker]

One thing I did notice is that she seems to be passing much more liquidy stools which I take it is becuse of all the soft food she has been having? That'll even itsef out when she goes back to having the normal hamster stuff, will it?

[racinghamster]

The Baytril could be causing this too. Antibiotics can kill good bacteria aswell as bad, so it may be worth adding a powdered probiotic to her water like Avipro, even after she`s finished the baytril course. Your vet should be able to give you a probiotic sachet, or you can ask them to order to in some Avipro. It`s made by vetark and is around £8.50p but worth having in the house incase you have an animal who is below par. It tasted nice and has glucose in it too, so it must be changed daily because of this.

Here is vetarks website: http://www.vetark.co.uk

Avipro comes in a 100g tub with a little scoop. The main website for ordering or getting more information on Avipro plus is: http://www.noahs-cupboard.co.uk/

Hope this helps. x

[souffle]

It definitly is good for all small animals and cats and dogs as it does boost the immune system too.

[Widowmaker]

:( Little Silver got a lot worse over the weekend. She had been picking up a little, but I think the stress and pain got to her and last night she was staggering around the cage, falling over and she kept curling up as if in lots of pain :(

She wouldn't eat anything, even baby food, and she wasnt able to reach up to the water bottle so I had to take it into the cage itself and hold it next to her; even then she didn't have the energy to drink much :(

So, I had to take the horrible decision to take her to the vet this morning to be pts. I know it was the best thing for her as she would only have got worse and it isn't fair to prolong any animal's suffering, but I still feel so bad about her being in pain and not being able to do anything about it until today :(

Her and her sister have been my companions for the best part of 16 months, and she was just over 18 months old when she was pts so I know she's had a good long life.

I really will miss her: they both have / had such personalities and I hope her sister carries on for a good while yet. She looks fine and healthy so at least nothing contagious was passed onto her.

Sarah xx

[souffle]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. You knew when the time had come and helped her to peaceful rest. That is a very brave thing to do. I hope you memories will comfort you.
RIP Silver and play happily at the bridge :cry:

[suga]

Sarah that's so sad but you have done your best by her all this time and given her a loving and caring home in which she was able to be a part of. I hope if the time comes that I am able to show the courage you have in this situation. Have fun at the bridge little one. :-(

[Widowmaker]

Thank you both so much xx

It really wasn't an easy decision and I was in tears as we came out from the vet's. The vet herself seemed genuinely moved as well and spent ages stroking her. Even my boyfriend was in tears and he's not a massive fan of hamsters! He also sat up half the night to keep an eye on her in case she passed away while I was asleep.

I've always said that I'd never prolong any animal's suffering and it would have been so selfish of me to keep her going when she clearly wasn't able to even eat or walk by herself. I have wonderful memories of her and they'll stay with me always.

I still have her sister, and Frank, my Winter White dwarf to care for :)

I think I'll always have dwarfies as they're just so adorable and have great litle personalities.

RIP my little darling xxx

[Holly]

I'm so sorry, RIP little Silver :(

[Christine Yule]

So sorry your wee one didn't make it. I am sure you did everything you could to help.

hamstermama