Scared

[sarah]

I'm so worried. Last night little Ico didn't seem to be getting up at all so I checked on him in his bed and found him really wet underneath. I instantly paniced fearing the worst - wet tail. It didn't seem diaorhea like just wet and smelly. THere was mushy orange stuff but I'm wondering if that was just soaked food. His house is plastic and had a floor.

We got him out to assess his behaviour on the sofa where he seemed a bit dazed or frightened but not ill. Certainly not hunched. He had a run from one end to the other but after he moved away from a couple of spots we noticed he'd left behind a watery red patch. Now I'm wondering if it is a urine infection

We cleaned his underneath with a damp warm cotton pad and dried him off. He had some water and and baby food to eat and we put him back in his cage with fresh bedding and a wooden house that doean't have a bottom (so hopefully better ventilated).

This morning when I checked on him there was only one area of the cage where there was a watery bloody wee or something. Nothing unusual in his wee house and he appears dry and fine underneath. I've handled him and he seemed okay and there has been no discharge when I had him out. He was cleaning himself and hoarding food as normal.

I'm taking him to the vets at 11:00 to get him checked out. I'm still so worried as I don't want to lose him I love him to bits.

[zara825]

Honestly, I couldnt say what was wrong, but good call on getting him in at the vets.
Might be an idea to take a sample of the offending 'urine' just so the vet can get a better idea.
It can only be a good sign that he is returning to normal, but I'm sure the vet will put your mind at ease.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Nice choice of name by the way-suits him

[sarah]

Thanks Zara,

We're heading off shortly. I'm taking pictures of the staining on the sofa and one of his floors that has urine on it. I'll let you know how it goes. Praying all will be well.

[souffle]

Sarah I wonder if it might be the food you are giving him. Is it the same as Babyboos food? Sometimes the dyes in the biscuits pass through and stain the urine red. Beetroot dye and strawberry can also cause staining. He is bound to be strange and frightened as he is so new. They often wee in bed for a while and if they wee on a pink biscuit then sit it in it can look scarey. Keep him as stress free at the vets as possible. Baby hammies often also do not eat all the 're-eat' poops as they are too young and busy to notice the signal so you often find some mushy poo around especially on the wheel. Hope all goes well and let us know how he is. Get some Probiotic at the vets if they give you antibiotics to keep his bowel healthy.

[sarah]

Hi,

We've just come back from the vets who doesn't think it's wet tail as his bottom area is clean and dry. I think she was also happy that Ico seemed quite lively.

Hopefully the problem isn't the poos although I'll keep a check to see if they remain well-formed. I showed her pictures of the staining on the sofa from last night. It looks more like wee stained with slight blood. So she thinks it could be a urine infection but he's also quite often making a high "chuff chuff" sound which she says is sneezing, so it could be a respiratory infection.

She seemed happy with what I was feeding him .... Harry hamster. Other than that he's only had a fingernail piece of apple on sunday and 1/2 teapoon of buckwheat porrige on the tuesday.

She's given me some antibiotics - Baytril so I can give him 1 drop a day for the next week. She gave him a wee injection today for the first dose.

Bless him, he's coped enormously well with the disturbance and the trip to the vet. He let her handle him and she thought he was so good and friendly. I thought he might be provoked to bite with all the tipping on to his back and the injection but he never seemed to consider it.

He's all wrapped up now in his new wooden house and having a peaceful day in our bedroom where it is warm and quiet. I really hope this all clears up. Does anyone else have any experiances like this or can give advice?

Many thanks
Sarah

[zara825]

Cant really offer any advice, but I am so glad he is ok!
Hope he has a speedy recovery

[souffle]

Well I'm glad to hear he is still bright and chirpy sarah. He may have caught a bit of a cold and it has gone to his chest. When we first got Lola she got a chest infection and was making a sneezing sound and she was puffing up her pouches with air. Apparantly this can happen when they get a chest problem. The Baytril should sort him out in a couple of days. Lola was fine on Bayrtil though you have to make sure you get the syringe in the side of the mouth so it goes in. I hope they gave youa syringe as putting it in the water means they never get the right dose so I would advise you give it straight into the side of the mouth. I hope he gets well soon. Moving home stress does make them prone to infections as their immune systems are not fully mature yet. No matter how wonderful the home it is a big step for a little hammy to be without its littermates and I'm sure they must miss them at first. It might be worth letting Babyboos know so she can be sure to check the other babies for chestiness.

[suga]

hope that the little one is showing signs of improvement. I agree with souffle's method of administering baytrill. Get it in the mouth and then hang on the the little one just for a little time, as i have seen hammies spit it back out.

[sarah]

Hi everyone,

I'm feeling a lot happier now with little Ico's health. He is still quite bright and chirpy, eating, drinking and coming out .... a small amount. I tried to give him the dose of baytril in the syringe with a drop of ribena but he wasn't having any of it. I couldn't get it near him. Later today I measured the dose (1 drop / 0.2 ml) in the syringe but pushed it out onto a very small amount of baby food on a tea spoon. My goodness he lapped up every drop and proceeded to lick the spoon clean. What a relief!!

I'm only handling him a small amount so he remains tame so as to give him lots of "bed rest". I am a little anxious about saturday as we are driving from Edinburgh to Birmingham for xmas. I hope he has a stress free journey and will settle back in his roomy carrier and just sleep.

There has been no signs of blood in his urine although I'm having a hard time finding any urine spots at all since Thursday. His droopings are all well-formed and his bottom area has remained dry and clean. He is still making the "chuff chuff" noise, it could be sneezing but my gut doesn't feel like it is. Is it possible he's just a vocal hammie?

I'd better go finish packing his stuff up. I can't wait for my family to see him, I'm so proud of him. He's growing more gorgeous by the day

[souffle]

Glad to hear is doing well Sarah. He sound good now. I wonder if he might have a sight bedding allergy? It might be worth changing him to carefresh on a trial to see if he stops chuffing. We find our chatter their teeth more that chuff if they don't want to come out. Hammies usually only 'call' if there is a hamster of the opposite sex nearbye! Babies can be more chatty mind you. I hope you have a good journey and you, your family and young Ico enjoy Christmas