bleeding from penis - app bladder infection

Katarina · 06-09-2011, 02:53 AM

I woke up this morning to find a sand bath with the usual wee-corner bright red. I took Thumper (syrian) out and put him in a bin cage to observe and he seems to be passing bits of bright red wee - in the same spot so I know its deliberate and not a spotting. he also seems to pass urine with difficulty (not seems in pain but it takes him ages and only about a third of his usual amount comes out. then he clean him self and does it again). The Vet said its most likely a bladder infection and I got baytril to give 1ml of.

I need some healing vibes! please! I'm really worried for him as the amount of blood seem huge (apparently because on sand and mixed with wee, but still...)

Anything else I can give him to help him? I'm giving him fresh water and gave him a slice of apple (just to keep his fluids up), and some pro-bio yogurt, but can I give him something else to help flushing his bladder out? (Like I take Nettle tea for this - can I give a week one to him? perhaps soaked into some porridge oats??)

racinghamster · 06-09-2011, 03:25 AM

Hi Katarina. Blood in his urine could well be a kidney or bladder infection that baytril will help, but don`t rule out Urolithisasis. This is where small crystals/stones form in the bladder and block the urinary flow. The only real solution to Urolithiasis is surgery to remove the stones. However an x-ray would probably be needed to diagnose this condition, but it is mentioned in the Hamsterlaopedia book as being something syrians can suffer from. I`ve had a male rat with this and felt helpless to treat him as my vet was`nt all that clued-up at the time.

Your doing all the right things as far as keeping him hydrated are concerned. Making the urine more acidic (rather than alkaline) can also help. Cranberry extract can help but I think this can only be found in health food shops? Cranberry juice might be too sugary, but there are sugar-free drinks, or real cranberries. Vitamin C is ascorbic acid aswell, but I`m not too sure about how this should be administered to a hamster. perhaps your vet could give you a powered form to place in his drinking water?

Keep us posted and sending healing vibes your way. x

souffle · 06-09-2011, 03:44 AM

If he is straining to urinate it does sound as if there are possibly bladder stores irritating the bladder. The urethra can get blocked if one moves down there. Hopefully the baytril will help if it is an infection but I would try and ensure he drinks to flush things through. Try some diluted cranberry juice. A little sugar wont harm him if he is ill so I think I'd just give this. Sloppy porridge and babyfood may help increase fluid intake.
Other things to consider are tumours and something in the reproductive tract that is causing the bleeding into the bladder.
How is he with eating and activity? Hope the meds help and he is better soon.

Katarina · 06-09-2011, 06:08 AM

thank you both so much for your help! I'm really worried, Thumper is my first ever male hamster and I fallen for him as soon as I laid my eyes on him. He is only 6 months old, I didn't think I would have any health worries like this this early

I've noticed that he was sleeping more (longer) last night but he drunk some water and he's been eating fine too. Up to last night he has been absolutely fine, without any strange quirks or anything out of normal.

I think you might be right about the stones as after I researched it it sounds more and more likely. He is dribbling bits of bloody urine - he has a drop of it on his penis now and again and seems to be straining when urinating.

I soaked some of the pellets from HHfood with some boiled water wich had a shaving of vit.C tablet in it and I have mushed peace of over-ripe apple into it and chopped up 2 dried cranberries. He scuffed about a tablespoon of it down (couldn't store it as it was too mushy) and went back to bed. I've now got some fresh dandelion leaves from our near-by woods soaking in some cold water which I'll put into his cage. + I've got some baby-food defrosting - chicken and veg medley (home made by me so I know there is no onion or garlic and is all organic)

Shall I put the cranberry juice instead of water, or attach another water bottle with it in? or feed it in a syringe?

souffle · 06-09-2011, 06:48 AM

Oh heavens is he only 6 months

At least he seems to be eating though. Take care not to overdo the 'strange' foods to him in case of tummy upsets.
Is his penis actually out becuase this isn't normal. There could be a prolapse causing him to bleed. They shouldn't leak urine either so I'm wondering if it could be a discharge from a prolapse. Is there any abdominal swelling, testicular swelling, canyou feel any lumps?
I might give him two bottles one with water and one with cranberry but you can't really force them to drink.
Usually a urine infection is a bit smelly. How does his wee smell? It usually takes up to 3 days for the meds to take effect and these must be given by mouth. Fingers crossed for him x

racinghamster · 06-09-2011, 07:23 AM

I would give the Baytril three-four days and if the blood he is passing is still a strong red blood and not so much a dilute/watery blood (that you might see if he had a urinary tract infection) I would ring your vet Katarina and express your concerns about bladder stones and see what your vet thinks? The rat I had with this was young also and that`s what upset me because I did`nt expect to see this in a younger animal.

Your doing fine though and try not to stress yourself. Just keep an eye on his behaviour and yes, do try the cranberry in a seperate bottle. It won`t hurt to try. If he does`nt like it then it won`t matter.

Katarina · 06-09-2011, 11:03 AM

ok, so I made sure he was in a nice and quiet house today so I invited my self and my two daughters into my friends house so only just got back.

Thumpers sandbath has wee in 3 corners and the sand is only light pink in colour rather then the bright red it was this morning o/O So I am hoping that it was something like a small crystal passing and now it is healing?? Is that possible?

His willie is not hanging out or protruding, his tummy is soft and not bloated, his spine is nice and straight, his ears are up and his eyes fully open, although he slightly shuts them when urinating (looks like he is squinting). His balls don't look any different then usuall, either so I don't think its a tumor or a prolaps.

He ate the dandelion leaf and I'll offer him the baby food tonight when he wakes up. He picked some seeds from my hand and took him to his bed so I think that is a good sign too, I mean that he seems to think he'll be eating them soon.

I gave the antibiotics by mouth with a syringe - he didn't like the taste so had to swaddle him in a muslin like I used to my daughters - so much harder to do that on a hamster, thou! but he looked cute - like a hairy hot dog.

Thank you guys for your support, I'll keep you posted! If he looks worse, I'm definitely going back to the vet!

laura · 06-09-2011, 11:14 AM

owch, sounds painful. get well soon thumper! x

**Hamtastic** · 06-09-2011, 11:19 AM

Wishing Thumper a speedy recovery, poor little ham

Katarina · 06-10-2011, 12:14 AM

OK, an update:

Thumper didn't bleed like he did night before, althou there is not much wee in the sand, either. there is some, but not as much as I'd expect to see, either. I gave him some cranberry juice (he didn't touch it thou) and I made him some porridge with it too (which he loved), now he's got the baby food in there which I defrosted yesterday. I don't think he drank more then 5 ml of water last night, but I think he gets plenty of fluid from the foods. He had the dandelion leaves, I've put another one in now (is one and a half a day too much?)

I've googled it out and I found out that this condition is caused by rich diet on calcium, and I realized he does get loads in his food/treats! I give him one of the Milky bones every 3 days, + I've got the kitten pellets mixed in my normal food which have calcium and protein in them. And he gets a tiny peace of cheese once a week, too. :/ So it is my fault, and I'm beating myself about it.

I've decided not to offer any more calcium to any of my hamsters appart of an occasional treat like 1bone every 10days or so (after my mixed hamster food is finished, which I mixed with more hamster food just to make sure there is not too much kitten pellets in there)

I hope he pulls through for me!