Please help!! Poorly girl!!

Sophiesophs14 · 07-08-2014, 02:26 PM

Hiya I was wondering if anyone could help. My female Syrian hamster aged 9/10 months old, Angel last night displayed what we thought were symptoms of a cold - coughing and sneezing and a clear discharge from the nose - she was taken to the vets today and to be honest the vet seemed slightly nervous and didn't really know what to say/do. I suggested a cold/ infection of some sort but she seemed to think it was something to do with her teeth as one of her cheeks has swollen. She has prescribed her baytril and has had her first dose however she seems to be getting worse - her eyes are running she is coughing more, she is sleepy (however still bright if woken) and as far as I know she hasn't eaten really since last night. I tried to hand feed her her favourite food just now and she tried to open her mouth but she couldn't. It seems she possibly has a mix of two things I'm not sure. I'd really appreciate any information or suggestions! I'm really worried for Angel now! 😔

souffle · 07-08-2014, 02:49 PM

Can you see another vet? Did they check her teeth at all? It sounds as if she might have maloccluced teeth that are piercing the roof of the mouth because they are overgrown. Another possibility is a pouch abscess which is very painful an needs to possibly be drained. How does her breath smell? Is it rotten food smell? An impacted pouch is when the pouch fills up with good which gets stuck in there and goes rotten. It doe sound as if there is something going on in her mouth /throat if the cheek is swollen. Where are you so we could try and find a hamster savvy vet for you?

Sophiesophs14 · 07-08-2014, 02:55 PM

Hiya Thankyou so much for replying. I can go to another vets yes. The vet tried to check her teeth but was struggling as Angel was squirming. I offered to hold Angel whilst she checked her mouth but she said no it's fine. There is no funny smell that I have noticed. Her teeth look the same as usual to me, I think it's the abscess from the symptoms she has. I'm just very nervous for her to have it drained due to previous bad op experience with pets and also I've heard bad things about hamsters having ops :/

souffle · 07-08-2014, 03:32 PM

Hamsters have 4 front teeth and some smaller molars for chewing at the back but these don't tend to cause any problems as they don't grow like the front ones. I can't find anyone in Reading and am not in that area sorry. Try looking here Vet Index Online Directory - Avian & Exotic Referrals
She should have checked the mouth really. It takes a few days fo the meds to kick in but she needs to eat. You may need to syring feed her babyfood but do give some soft food like cooked veggies and chicken for now.

Sophiesophs14 · 07-09-2014, 04:13 AM

We've just got back from the vets. Angel was given gas to make her sleepy, they examined the lump and thought it was an abscess/tumour and were concerned about how much the lump is pushing her eye out. They said they could take a sample of the lump to send of and see if it was pus inside of nothing. Then my mum and I didn't know what to do they suggested putting her to sleep or seeing a specialist. We asked them to try the needle and see what the lump was and then if it's pus to drain it. Suddenly they didn't want to do this even though they had suggested it and then another vet came out to talk to us and suddenly it was 100% a tumour and suddenly there was nothing they can do. We've brought her home and her lump has gone down a lot and her eye isn't buldging as much. She's on pain relief, antibiotics and critical care food. She is still so bright and happy - so were just praying for a miracle.

Sophiesophs14 · 07-09-2014, 04:14 AM

*pus or nothing*

Azula · 07-09-2014, 04:20 AM

Well I had a situation where the vet examined my Suki and said it was a tumor 100% but ended up being an abscess after all. After a week or so it broke (a hole was created) and I ended up squeezing the puss out for 3 full hours. The abscess was also on her her under hear ear and was also pushing one of her eyes.

**kyrilliondaemon** · 07-09-2014, 04:30 AM

I'm sorry you're having such a bad experience with vets, even the second one didn't sound great

I'm glad the lump has gone down a bit and am sorry she's having so much trouble at the moment. We had a syrian develop a solid lump just back from her cheek, she never had any other symptoms but she lived with it ok for quite a while (she was knocked out to confirm it wasn't either her teeth or a lump that could be drained). I hope your girl lives ok with her lump for a good while too

Sophiesophs14 · 07-09-2014, 04:30 AM

Hi Azula, Thankyou for replying! my last hamster was called Suki!! How lovely!!

Oh really?! So was she okay in the end? And was she on antibiotics? How did you get the pus out? Because Angels is in the cheek if it makes a hole I think all the pus will make her poorly as it will be in her mouth and I've no way of getting it out.

Sophiesophs14 · 07-09-2014, 04:34 AM

Hiya kyrilliondaemon, Thankyou for replying! We always seem to have problems with vets to be honest!! That's the same place Angel has her lump. I think Angel is struggling with hers however because it's gone down a bit I'm hoping she may get a little better and live for a little longer!