Does this sound normal?

[Nene]

Skrump went to the vet this morning with his scent gland problem, and the vet popped it, and this gross yellow stuff came out, then the vet said "hold on a minute, Let me give him some gas and drain(?) this out." He said it was an abscess because it popped, but then again I'm not sure if these vets know what they're doing some of the time. Anyway, I am thinking by "drain", that he meant that he was going to flush/irrigate it and get out all of the germs and stuff. (Like with a syringe full of a saline solution maybe?) On the bill, it said that they did a "wound flush" so I don't know what that means. Anyway, he seems to be doing fine..the first thing he did was run in his box and eat, lol. When we got home, I cleaned out his cage and gave him all new stuff so that it'd be nice and clean for him. His belly looks sort of bloody, but I think there might've been blood mixed in with the pus and stuff in his scent gland. He's sleeping right now. I hope he is okay I just thought I'd post this story and see what you guys thought about it. Is that what most vets would've done for that problem? He also gave him smz-tmp antibiotics, which aren't on the "bad list", so I'm assuming he knew to give him hamster safe antibiotics. Oh - and what are probiotics? And can you buy them in the US? Thanks

[hammydude]

Hey I'm not too sure about any of the vet terms.But I do hope he gets better.

[SnuggleHam]

I cant say myself if what was done was right, But from the sounds of it , it seems right to me, anyway it makes sense to me, but then I’m not a vet :P



I hope that your ham is fine too, I think its a good sign he was eating and stuff, id just keep an eye on him and make sure he’s not acting lethargic or anything and take a look at how the gland seems to be healing each day.

[babyboos]

Glad it turned out to be an absess and nothing something more serious, although you will need to keep an eye on Skrump as some hamsters are prone to absesses and either get them in the same place or different areas

The vet sounds like he did a thorough job to treat an absess, which is encouraging.

You get a few brands of probiotic in US - I haven't used any though so sorry I cannot personally recommend any. Check out the larger petshops, or online stores such as PetCareCentral, or FerretStore.

[Emma]

A wound flush is just like you thought - basically we'd use a scalpel to burst the abcess if it hasn't burst already, drain all the pus out and then use sterile saline solution in a syringe to squirt all over and through the wound to give it a thorough rinse and clean, perhaps stitch if it was necessary but you'd need to allow drainage for any further pus.



I'm not sure what you mean by smz-tmp (terms are so different between countries!!!) is it trimethoprim/sulphonamide?



Probiotics may be available from your vet so you could always ask there, or ask at your local pet shop. Brands I have used here in the UK are Protexin (their rabbit/small animal probiotic is called BioLapis) and AviPro from VetArk - which was initially designed and marketed for birds but is now used in a wide range of species. Basically any probiotic which says it is designed for rabbits or birds may also be suitable for small animals, but if in doubt why not give your vet a ring and ask for some advice.



Even "hammy-safe" antibiotics can sometimes cause gut problems in hams, especially stressed or sick hams, which is why giving probiotics is a good idea as it decreases the likelihood of this happening.



Skrump sounds like he's doing well, coming home and eating straight away! I hope the wound heals up quickly.



Em x

[Nene]

Thanks Emma

I think the medicine is trimethoprim/sulphonamide.

I'm having a hard time getting him to take it =( He will take one drop of it (he is supposed to have 2-3, 2x a day) And then realize it's yucky and not take the other drop. I am afraid to pick him up by his scruff, thouhg, because I think it might pull on his belly and at his stitch. (I noticed he has one or two.) I just know it's pink-bubblegum flavored and he don't like it.



I believe it is the same medicine that they gave Nikita for her tumor (they looked up hamster-safe meds when I took her in), but since it was most likely cancerous, I don't think it ever helped her. Since Skrump just had and absess, I'm hoping it will work for him.



It's good to know that what the vet did was what most vets would do. They don't have a very good track record with my family as of lately =X But, our vets here in Kentucky are mostly dog/cat/horse type vets, and don't know very much about hamsters or other exotics. (They killed my chinchilla when "filing" his teeth, gave my dog the wrong shot, put tubes in my pomeranian's neck for anesthesia (I am guessing the tubes were too big because she has trachea damage)...lots of things, so saving Skrump is one of the best things they've did in awhile..heh. When they took him back, I was so scared they were going to try and put little hammy tubes in his throat or something, lol..I got teary eyed in the vet office.



We have a farm supply store place here, that carries a lot of rabbit stuff, so I will look and see if they have the probiotic stuff.



Anyway, thanks a lot

[babyboos]

Oh Nene I am so sorry you have had such a bad run at the local vet. Hopefully Skrump is feeling better now, and there certainly are a lot of probiotics for rabbits that are also often suitable for smaller animals.