Koala Bear

[Thin Lizzy]

Hey CB, it may be a long process but, all that matters is Koala getting this continued treatment until he's on the mend. Make a fuss of koala and be sure to praise him after the treatments with a tasty treat.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Thanks TLizzy, today is day #23. Still scratching. He has almost 2 weeks left to recover. I don't know what to do if he doesn't recover. The vet I was going to next verified that Koala is getting the best treatment right now for his mites. Should I just let him live with mites?

The vet said right from the beginning that the treatment might not work if he has a weakened immune system

[Cinnamon Bear]

Vet said to discontinue ivomec cause he's not better & it's been 23 days. She said it's quality of life so let him have his bin cage & wheels back

She said I'm a hamster hospice now for the Bears.

I'm going to discontinue the Ivomec tonight.

He's back in his bin cage with his 2 wheels.

I don't know if he's cured but 23 days is long enough.

I have it in my heart to stop

[Thin Lizzy]

I know all vets are different when it comes to advice.
I wouldn't have stopped but, that's my feeling. Maybe Koala is finding it difficult beating this along with having diabetes.
I have heard that when you suffer from a serious illness like diabetes, dealimg with other health problems can take longer to recover from.

[Cinnamon Bear]

That's what they think that diabetes is the main problem and these mites stem from the diabetes? There is the probability that he is cured? I haven't seen him scratching since I moved him into his new cage and even saw him chewing on a foam chew toy in the middle of the cage. He seems more peaceful when he sleeps.

He likes the flax & hemp seeds, he seems to like cauliflower the best out of all the veggies

So i'm hoping he's cured, if not I'll try to help him have a happy life. I don't know if it's just diabetes that's causing the mites or some other health problem?

No way to know unless you get into the expensive tests.

[Thin Lizzy]

The mites don't stem from the diabetes. But, I know that something as serious as diabetes can result in other illnesses taking longer to get rid of.

[racinghamster]

CB, given that the vet has tried Ivermectin and then suggests stopping it because his immune system may be the cause....that to me speaks volumes. Ivermectin is a good product for mites/lice, but looking at the lovely images you posted of Koala, his coat looks full and not thin or patchy. The diabetes will no doubt be an ongoing dietary concern, but most hamster foods don`t contain what we call sugar. Corn or maize for example will have naturally occurring sugars (starch) but depleting those completely from the diet means removing one of the elements. I have a Russian dwarf male and he`s never had anything removed from his diet. In fact, I add things to it like dry porridge oats, mixed chopped nuts, small piece of wholemeal bread and he used to enjoy broccoli and some other veggies, but seemed to become bored and didn`t enjoy them as much, although I still offer them every now and then.

My lad has a kind of dangling wart-like tumour under his chest which my vet seen last week while looking at his teeth and he won`t remove it for obvious reasons. Age and the fact that he`s active and he`s managing okay. As I`ve said many times, I think applying too many treatments and fuss can add to the stressors, so from today, I would advise not to do anymore full cage cleans. Keep his cage familiar and allow him to deal with this. You may find he has good days and not so good days, but you can manage this with diet.

He will possibly pee more, but so does my lad. He `goes` in a large cardboard tube which whiffs of pee....but I empty it each day and apply fresh handfuls of substrate and he can retain that smell that`s familiar to him, reducing any stress.

Let him sit on your hand, rub his fur up to check for any raw or bald patches, but if he`s only itching while he`s washing himself, that just routine. A small animal who has visible irritation and seems very erratic when they are normally not, could possibly be a sign that an irritation of some kind has sprung up. But keeping the environment sound without too many changes is the key. My lad bangs around in the evenings scratching like a banshee! But he doesn`t have mites. He`s an old gent now and these issues tend to spring up as their bodies change hormonally and sometimes too, in line with weather changes.

Keep an eye on the diet side, but my advice would be, sit back and watch from the sidelines and allow Koala to settle now and just hold back on more treatments. x

[Cinnamon Bear]

Thanks TLizzy & Racing Hamster
Will keep an eye on him for a couple more days to determine whether its normal scratching or mites still?

Vet said from the beginning that this med might not help if he has un underlying health issue where further testing would need to be done. Vet didn't recommend the tests due the cost vs the hamsters life span.

It's hard to know what to do? I have the medicine and he might need it but something tells me that it would be a waste of time, as he won't recover. So I'll just make life as comfortable as I can.

He was visibly a scratching mess when I originally took him in. His fur never fell out nor did he have bald spots or scabs anywhere on his body. Yet the mite was there, just one mite we saw, one mite too many

[racinghamster]

If the vet actually diagnosed these demodex mites and then applied the correct treatment protocol and after a time said it hasn`t worked? You now have to decide whether enough is enough, or to continue with the treatment. The mites could have been introduced or become a burden that`s proving difficult to shift. There are two types of mange I know of. Demodex and Sarcoptic. Sarcoptic is extremely difficult to cure in dogs. I have no idea whether either/both affect hamsters. Your vet would need to identify the mite species in question. But presuming they have and applied the treatment and it hasn`t worked, then the immune system being affected could be a factor. It`s difficult to know what to do. I would let Koala do the talking. Only he knows how he is affected. His coat looks good to me, so you just want to be looking at his behaviour and keep a diary for the next week. See if there are any changes or whether Koala is okay in himself. x

[Cinnamon Bear]

I felt it was time to stop when I did, my gut feeling was to stop. Now I'm second guessing myself. That's a good idea to monitor over the course of a week before going back into another 2 weeks of treatment. That might not work either & then I've put Koala through all that stress for nothing