Henry and Gordon - Page 17

LunaTheHamster1 · 07-29-2020, 03:03 PM

Lots of people seem to worry that taking their hamster to the vets will stress it out and cause wet tail.

Yes, Star was on antibiotics twice a day and metacam once a day.

I know how stressful it can be, but do remember you are doing the best you can, they are such tiny creatures it is very difficult sometimes to work out what is going on with them. As my friend pointed out to me, they probably don;t even know what is going on or worried about it themselves, it is us that does all the worrying, like you state, they just carry on doing hamstery things.

I gave baytril in the morning and 12 hours later at night, I gave the metacam in the evening, a few hours before the baytril.
I think with Star as she was a tiny hamster she was on 0.05 of baytril twice a day but had to up it to 0.1ml when she hit a bad patch. Luna was on 0.1 as she was a bigger hamster and I was allowed to increase it in small increments if needed but not to exceed 0.25 i think it was, but i never got to 0.2. I do not recommend increasing without a vets supervision. (These increases were done over months,not days or weeks)

Re the metacam Star was on 0.1ml every day.

Hope this helps.

As I said before do keep us posted on what is happening, hugs to you and Henry.

Ria P · 07-29-2020, 10:54 PM

That was very helpful Luna, thank you and i will keep in mind that the Baytril may take longer than a week to work.

I tried the babyfood this morning but didn't work because Henry took a couple of licks and left the rest.
I then drew it all up in the syringe and syringed it into his mouth.
Not ideal but the antibiotic is too important to miss.

LunaTheHamster1 · 07-30-2020, 02:58 AM

I found leaving the baby food or oats mixed with the baytril in their hide let's them eat it in their own time.
But I do agree with you if you are concerned that they are getting the medicine into their system, I would maybe do the syringe method for the first few days to a week and if you see improvement you could maybe risk doing the babyfood in his hide way and see what happens.

Ria P · 07-30-2020, 08:06 AM

It's not as bad as i thought and the method suggested by the vet works. I get everything ready and draw up Baytril and Ribena, then without much hooha, lift Henry out of his nest, tilt him slightly back and slowly syringe it into his mouth making sure he swallows it. He holds the syringe with his paws, gets the Ribena first and gobbles it up. Afterwards he gets a dandelion leaf as a reward while still on my desk because i want to make sure that its gone down the right way and then i put him back in his nest.
Henry is such a good hamster even though he gives me that "what the ...." look.

Coco61 · 07-30-2020, 10:18 AM

Sounds good Ria! Henry is very good ham indeed and Ribena has been mentioned before as a vet recommendation. Baytril needs the taste disguised. Metacam is not so bad.

Ria P · 07-30-2020, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coco61

Sounds good Ria! Henry is very good ham indeed and Ribena has been mentioned before as a vet recommendation. Baytril needs the taste disguised. Metacam is not so bad.

The vet suggested to draw up 0.1ml Ribena after the Baytril, said its fine undeluted like syrup but i mix it with a little water.
I think in other countries Baytril is available already mixed with syrup in strawberry and banana flavours. Wished they would have it here so hamsters could just lick it off a spoon.

Ria P · 08-02-2020, 12:24 PM

Update on Henry: he seems to start to respond to the antibiotic because there aren't so many traces of blood now.
His patience is running thin though and he's fed up getting lifted out of his nest to take the meds. This morning he even squawked at me and last night i was up half the night waiting because he refused to leave his coconut. I can get him from his house by lifting off the roof but i can't get to him when he's in the coconut. He eventually succumbed to a heap of looroll strips strategically placed for me to make a grab for him.

Wee Gordon honoured me with his presence on my hand last night after spending more time sniffing my fingers and checking for handcream no doubt than sitting on my hand.
Still, i was happy to see the elusive little fellow.

Ria P · 08-02-2020, 01:30 PM

Another update on Henry. I just lifted him out for his meds and thought he felt light so weighed him and got a shock. He dropped from 205g on Monday down to 186g in less than a week. I have noticed that he sleeps a lot and has started to use the en suite toilet again. He's gone off his food a bit and doesn't hoard so much but still likes his fresh food, linseeds etc. Tried him with all sorts of babyfood but he doesn't like it. I put it down to the infection but with this drastic weight loss there may be something more sinister going on. I'll wait till he's completed his course of antibiotics and then take him back to the vet, maybe get a scan done to see what's going on inside.
He doesn't seem to be in pain though and goes about his hamster business, currently cracking a monkey nut.

LunaTheHamster1 · 08-02-2020, 02:31 PM

Sorry to hear that Ria, it could be just things starting to get worn out on the inside due to his age, have you tried oats, mushed up pellets or mushed up science selective?

Ria P · 08-02-2020, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1

Sorry to hear that Ria, it could be just things starting to get worn out on the inside due to his age, have you tried oats, mushed up pellets or mushed up science selective?

He gets porridge so that's oats but his teeth are fine and he can chew. I think he just lost his appetite. I'll look into science selective, thanks. Do i need to order it online?