Betsy

[Ria P]

I forgot to start a thread for Betsy the rescue dwarf mentioned in my Foster Hamsters thread. The one my OH wanted to keep as well because she's so friendly and hops onto his hand.

Betsy settled in instantly, made her home in her Hamster Heaven and lives in our bedroom. I still can't open the right wardrobe door but find the sound of her little paws on her wheels so relaxing. She loves her wheels and sitting in her food bowl. She rolls in her sandbath and runs around in the playground when she's not busy eating or wheeling.

Betsy is a happy little hamster and today she discovered bobble millet sprays.

[RolyRocks]

Ahh what a little cutie Betsy is. She sounds like one very happy little hamster!
I have been trying to get a good picture of Loki but most turn out blurry!

[Ria P]

I take about 10 photos and then i'm lucky to get 1 that's not blurry. My hamsters are usually eating when i manage to catch one on camera aside from Rory, who loves to pose.

Try a monkey nut in the shell. Cracking it open may occupy Loki for long enough.

[Littlefriend]

Ah Betsy is a cutie & sounds like she’s living her best life.

[FlamingPiper]

She's so cute and adorable. How kind of you to rescue her. I noticed she has a flying saucer, does she like that better than a h wheel?

[Ria P]

Thank you all.

Betsy has a flying saucer and an upright wheel in her cage. She uses both equally. In fact, all our five dwarfs have two wheels in their cages and they all use both.

Our two Syrian boys have upright wheels in their cages and a 30cm flying saucer in the hamster playground of the freeroaming area of the house. They both enjoy running on it.

[Ria P]

Quick update on Betsy who seems to be enjoying life. Sometimes she's keen to come out for free roaming time and at other times she comes to her door, looks at us then turns around and goes off wheeling.
She's a bit of a homebody, never stays out for very long and always climbs on our feet when she wants to get picked up to go back home.

[Charlie Dunn]

What a cutie! It’s lovely she has a home where she can live as she wants x

[Ria P]

Saw a different side to cute little Betsy today. She is very very grumpy when woken up while in her nest inside her house.

I took Ozzy to his follow up vet appointment and had made one for Betsy as well. She loses fur each side of her tail and then it starts to grow back again. This happened twice within the last month. The skin looks normal and she doesn't scratch excessively.

Ozzy was very grumpy last time but he may have been uncomfortable and today he was quite calm.

Betsy went to sleep in the transport box until the vet woke her up. She was furious! I don't think that she was that scared but she was hissing, kicking, wriggling and she was snappy. Soon as she was back in the box and the car she went back to sleep.

Vet couldn't see anything obvious and skin looks fine so suspects it to be hormonal. Going by Betsy's behaviour, she could be right......

[Engel]

Saw a different side to cute little Betsy today. She is very very grumpy when woken up while in her nest inside her house.

I took Ozzy to his follow up vet appointment and had made one for Betsy as well. She loses fur each side of her tail and then it starts to grow back again. This happened twice within the last month. The skin looks normal and she doesn't scratch excessively.

Ozzy was very grumpy last time but he may have been uncomfortable and today he was quite calm.

Betsy went to sleep in the transport box until the vet woke her up. She was furious! I don't think that she was that scared but she was hissing, kicking, wriggling and she was snappy. Soon as she was back in the box and the car she went back to sleep.

Vet couldn't see anything obvious and skin looks fine so suspects it to be hormonal. Going by Betsy's behaviour, she could be right......

How odd Ria. Glad Betsy is ok though. How'd Oz do?

[Charlie Dunn]

That is very odd! Rabbit is our first female ham and she is definitely a character shall we say. Absolutely adorable but very different to our male hams! I hope Ozzy got on ok x

[Ria P]

How odd Ria. Glad Betsy is ok though. How'd Oz do?

Yes, it is very odd. Ozzy's skin is a lot better but hasn't completely cleared up yet.

[LunaTheHamster1]

That photo of Betsy - :)

[Ria P]

Following on from the moths saga, i've moved Betsy back in her Hamster Heaven but used more dishwasher washable plastic, ceramic and glass in a slightly different set up.

I replaced most of the long wooden and bendy bridges with plastic tubes because Betsy doesn't nest in them and likes running through them.

Looks all a bit mix and don't match.

She wasn't upset though, had a good sniff around, tried out her wheels, got some food and disappeared into her house.

[Pebbles82]

Looks great to me! She'll probably explore a bit tonight. She might need a few settling in days now. Pickle did after a week out of his cage after his op. A bit disorientated and reclusive but back to normal within a week.

[LunaTheHamster1]

I think it looks great.

[Ria P]

Thank you both.

Betsy was her usual cheerful self this morning and hopped onto my OH's hand for some out of cage time. Raced around for a while then climbed onto his foot to let him know that she wants picking up to go back home.

[Ria P]

Betsy looked very content just now but totally ignored me and the open HH door.

[Pebbles82]

She looks like she’s more interested in nom nomming :-). Pickle often comes to the door abd gets indecisive about whether to come out or not. Usually not - and then I get whisker kisses :-). He doesn’t back off when I put my face right up to his.

[Ria P]

She looks like she’s more interested in nom nomming :-). Pickle often comes to the door abd gets indecisive about whether to come out or not. Usually not - and then I get whisker kisses :-). He doesn’t back off when I put my face right up to his.

Aww, that's really sweet. How does Pickle respond to your OH? I find that hamsters respond differently to different humans and Betsy is very much my OH's girl.

I'm just watching Robo Monty in the hall playground chucking sand all over the blanket. The smallest hamster always makes the biggest mess.

[Petite]

Betsy went to sleep in the transport box until the vet woke her up. She was furious! I don't think that she was that scared but she was hissing, kicking, wriggling and she was snappy.
Vet couldn't see anything obvious and skin looks fine so suspects it to be hormonal. Going by Betsy's behaviour, she could be right......

Sounds like a teenage tantrum!

[Ria P]

Sounds like a teenage tantrum!

At 14 months she's more likely to be menopausal.

[Pebbles82]

Lol. I have not yet had the experience of a menopausal hamster! My OH doesn't have much to do with Pickle but when Pickle is on the sofa he always likes to sit next to OH - but that may be because OH is creating a dark corner between himself and the edge of the corner where Pickle likes to sit and wash.

Looking forward to having a robo making a big mess!

[Petite]

Looking forward to having a robo making a big mess!

Ah - if robos make big messes, that would explain why my Holly flings the sand from her sand bath EVERYWHERE! My dwarf, Engima, is a much tidier ham.

[Ria P]

Ah - if robos make big messes, that would explain why my Holly flings the sand from her sand bath EVERYWHERE! My dwarf, Engima, is a much tidier ham.

Robos are like mini tornedos. Boom!!

[Ria P]

Betsy is going into hospital tomorrow as an outpatient.

I observed some behaviours yesterday and today that indicated towards a dental or oral problem. Her teeth didn't look right so took her to the vet today.

One tooth is too long and seems to be catching her tongue. It could possibly be misaligned as well. They'll sort it under anesthetic tomorrow and give her a thorough check up.

Betsy zoned out a bit caused by stress or discomfort so the vet had to stop examining her.

Anesthetics always worry me in a creature that small.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Hope it all goes ok for the little one. Keep us posted Ria.

[RolyRocks]

Poor Betsy, will keep everything crossed for her. Please let us know how she gets on.
Thinking of you both. X

[Ria P]

Glad to report that everything went well with Betsy. She recovered from the anesthetic very quickly and is now home in her own nest.

Two incisors needed trimming but aside from that no other dental issues.
The vet isn't too worried about her thinning belly fur because the skin looks healthy.
Her regular vet suspected a hormonal issue before but nothing that's causing her any problems. Betsy's fur on her hips thins and grows back periodically.

I'm glad that her teeth are sorted but i have no idea why they grew too long. She has chews and wood, attacks her nibble stick with vigor so its just one of those things to keep an eye on.

Betsy is 16 months old and literally getting a bit long in the tooth.
Glad she's back. It's very unsettling when one is missing from the house.

[Ria P]

Got a bad feeling about Betsy. She is not well.

I checked her mouth which looks fine so no infection there but there's something not right about her mobility.
She's wobbly and not using her back legs properly. She can't have had a fall because she lives in a Hamster Heaven and there are no fall risks. She keeps one eye closed when the other is half open and doesn't want to eat or drink. I tried baby food and allsorts, give her water from a syringe.
She mostly stays in her ceramic hide.

She's not a healthy hamster and i wonder if she had a stroke or maybe the anesthetic was too much for her system.
I'm not sure of her age but was told that she's six months when i bought her from a woman in January. The woman had to ask her kids when i asked the hamster's name so maybe the age was a guess.

She's on metacam and i can't see what else a vet could do so have to let nature take its course and try and keep her as comfortable as possible.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Sorry to hear this Ria. Have you checked her over to see if she has any lumps. It was just a thought, as Twinkle suddenly went like this with his back legs and balance. At first I thought he had arthritis like Star did but then suddenly thought it can't be as it came on too suddenly. It was most likely a tumour, I guess pressing down on everything and causing his symptoms. I was waiting to see the exotic specialist vet but it was too late.

[RolyRocks]

Oh Ria, I am so sorry very to hear this, poor little Betsy.
Thinking of you both.
Take care. X

[Lilafernim]

I’m really sorry to hear this news, I hope everything turns out alright but just know whatever happens you’re an amazing owner and doing all you can for her. Thinking of you both, I hope she does get better x

[Ria P]

Thank you all for your kind words.

My first thought was also arthritis but it came on too sudden. It's almost like the treatment on her teeth under gas was too much for her system to handle and she's shutting down.
She also has fur loss on her belly which happened very quickly and would be another visit to the vet but the teeth took priority.

I gave her the metacam and water this morning but then had to go to work and leave her in the care of my OH who is very close to Betsy.

Couldn't cancel my shift because of the nature of my work so had a chat with Betsy before i left. Betsy was in her ceramic hide with her eyes closed and just wanted to sleep.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Just re-reading your thread again re Betsy. Sometimes when their teeth grow it can be a sign of something else wrong with them. I don't know if you remember with Sunny who I didn't have for long I took her to the vets as an emergency on New Years eve due to one of her teeth being too long, but it turned out she had an unoperable tumour, which was causing eating and then teeth issues. Obviously, I am only guessing but it does sound like she has had an underlying issue, that is not always apparent. Thinking of you both.

[Ria P]

Just re-reading your thread again re Betsy. Sometimes when their teeth grow it can be a sign of something else wrong with them. I don't know if you remember with Sunny who I didn't have for long I took her to the vets as an emergency on New Years eve due to one of her teeth being too long, but it turned out she had an unoperable tumour, which was causing eating and then teeth issues. Obviously, I am only guessing but it does sound like she has had an underlying issue, that is not always apparent. Thinking of you both.

Yes, i remember Sunny, you only had her for about a month.

Betsy does have underlying health issues and come to think of it, the teeth grew too long astonishingly quickly. I was quite shocked. In fact, everything happened so quickly. Her appearance changed quite drastically within the last week. It's like she aged overnight.

She looks more like Ozzy than the plump dwarf girl she used to be.

There is something sinister going on, i can feel it.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Yes, I had a feeling something was going on with Sunny so I was keeping an eye on her and I can't quite remember the dates now but it was a day or two before xmas I think, I had checked her teeth and they were fine, then on New Years Eve one was way longer than the other- so in a week and few days at most it had grown, at first I couldn't work out if she had chipped one, making the other look longer but no one had shot up. They can grow fast.

[Ria P]

Betsy deteriorated further overnight so i had to have her pts when i came back from work. My OH cared for her so she wasn't alone that night.

The vet said that she was very unwell and it didn't take much to put her to sleep.

That's the first time i had to pts a hamster and was reassured that the vet surgery i go to was so professional and sensitive about the whole process.

I phoned and they sourced a vet from the wards so i could take her in immediately as an emergency. We were shown into a quiet room with a sofa and box of tissues and the vet explained everything before i signed the form and said good bye to Betsy. Betsy was returned to me wrapped up and in her transport box.

The fee was £22 and i had expected more.