Hamster hair loss and open skin sores - PLEASE HELP - Page 2

souffle · 03-02-2014, 12:47 PM

There is another really good article here on the WIKI:
Cushings Disease in Syrian Hamsters - Hamster Central WIKI

It will help guide you as to when you need to consider your hamsters quality of life. This is often when the hammy develops these sore, infected patches and means the immune system cannot cope anymore.
Your hammy has trusted you to see when he has had enough and when his life is a burden. Cushing's hamsters can linger a long time in some distress with their illness and it is the greatest gift to know when the time has come to release them from the disease.
Have a read and try and relate his condition to the advice given xx

racinghamster · 03-03-2014, 04:09 AM

I`ve never dealt with Cushings disease because I keep dwarf hamsters and have only had the one Syrian so I can`t really give you any personal experiences of it.

Saline is gentle even though it contains salt. But if you don`t feel it`s required you don`t need to apply it. Hope your Syrian is at least still comfortable with life. x

Figaro91 · 03-04-2014, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by souffle

There is another really good article here on the WIKI:
Cushings Disease in Syrian Hamsters - Hamster Central WIKI

It will help guide you as to when you need to consider your hamsters quality of life. This is often when the hammy develops these sore, infected patches and means the immune system cannot cope anymore.
Your hammy has trusted you to see when he has had enough and when his life is a burden. Cushing's hamsters can linger a long time in some distress with their illness and it is the greatest gift to know when the time has come to release them from the disease.
Have a read and try and relate his condition to the advice given xx

He has developed what look like infected sores :/ I just can't tell if he's in pain. He still eats, drinks, mooches about etc. It's so hard to know when the right time is.

TraceyH · 03-04-2014, 01:24 PM

I'm sorry to read that Figaro has cushings. I've just recently gone through this with the hamster pictured on my avatar.

He battled it for three months, but the last two weeks of his illness he really went downhill fast. He lost all of his hair except for a few tufts, had really scabby sore skin. Also, he lost so much weight and his joints seemed really stiff. His urine stank and I saw him asleep standing up with his head on the floor.

I had him pts two weeks ago, he was 22 months old. I'm just glad he's painfree now.

You will definitely know when the right time is to end his suffering when it becomes too much.

Figaro91 · 03-04-2014, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TraceyH

I'm sorry to read that Figaro has cushings. I've just recently gone through this with the hamster pictured on my avatar.

He battled it for three months, but the last two weeks of his illness he really went downhill fast. He lost all of his hair except for a few tufts, had really scabby sore skin. Also, he lost so much weight and his joints seemed really stiff. His urine stank and I saw him asleep standing up with his head on the floor.

I had him pts two weeks ago, he was 22 months old. I'm just glad he's painfree now.

You will definitely know when the right time is to end his suffering when it becomes too much.

Oh bless him Tracey, sounds like he deteriorated quickly. Can I assume that if I'm using antiseptic cream on his external cuts and sores, they won't be causing him pain? At the moment his mobility is fine, a little stiff perhaps, but still able to run around really. I took out his house and other sharp objects so as not to exasperate the sores on his stomach. They don't look to be healing but they're at least not getting any worse, I don't think. Is there any chance they'll heal eventually, if I keep applying the cream, or is it just a case of steadying his condition? Do hamsters with cushing's experience any internal pain, or anything like that? I wish he could talk so I knew if he was suffering at all. He looks awful, but he still seems to be getting some enjoyment out of life - he demolished a nutty bar that I put in there a couple of days ago.

racinghamster · 03-05-2014, 01:50 AM

Once a hamster stops eating/drinking and looking well, that`s usually a sign they don`t have very long, especially if they have an illness like this. It`s good that Figaro is still eating and seemingly wanting to carry on regardless, so it will probably be a case of daily palliative care until such a time he tells you he`s fading. x

Figaro91 · 03-05-2014, 03:37 AM

Well he certainly looks awful, but he's drinking grooming and eating, and as I said before, still enjoys his treats. I just had him on my bed and he seemed curious and quite perky, sniffing the laptop and doing the "meerkat" pose. His mouth hangs open but the muscles in the rest of his body seem to be doing ok. He hasn't been on his wheel or anything like that in while though. I'm amazed he's moving so much actually considering the wounds on his stomach, I would have thought he'd want stay still but perhaps the cream is doing something? I'm going to bathe his wound in saline solution today and see if that helps with the infection at all. I've notified the vet that I may be bringing him in to be euthanized but I'm hoping that he will go in his sleep before his quality of life really goes down hill.

I will upload pictures of him later.

Figaro91 · 03-05-2014, 04:20 AM

Here are the pictures. You can see the sores on his belly, but there are more which his head is covering. He is wet because I just used saline solution on him.

souffle · 03-05-2014, 04:26 AM

Aww the little sweetheart. It does look to be Cushings sadly.
Only you can decide Figaro but don't let him get to the stage when he suffers and the vet is not available. Personally in view of the fact that he is still looking quite perky I would be seeing the vet and getting some antibiotics in the hope that these might heal up and make him a bit more comfortable. The infection would also not get so deep in to the skin and he may well heal.
If you feel he is not ready then tell the vet you want to try antibiotics before any more drastic measures are required.

Figaro91 · 03-05-2014, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by souffle

Aww the little sweetheart. It does look to be Cushings sadly.
Only you can decide Figaro but don't let him get to the stage when he suffers and the vet is not available. Personally in view of the fact that he is still looking quite perky I would be seeing the vet and getting some antibiotics in the hope that these might heal up and make him a bit more comfortable. The infection would also not get so deep in to the skin and he may well heal.
If you feel he is not ready then tell the vet you want to try antibiotics before any more drastic measures are required.

Souffle, do you think antibiotics will work? As I said, I can't really afford to go to the vets too often and with consultation fees and the cost of medication it starts getting pricey. What antibiotics do you think they will prescribe? What are the side effects?