is this the best way to look after my old ham?

[chavvy91]

Ive realised ive not got too long left with my syrian hamster Sammi, hes about 2 now, and he hasnt been very well, he is on baytril and has respiratry problems, the vet suggested a tumor, maybe he could have a secondry infection, but i want to take care of him now and keep a close eye on him. Some things ive done to try and make sammis elderly years the best i can is:

- Removed his bowl of charlie chinchilla sand (he violently sneezes alot, and i find it allways happens when he is in this especially)
- Changed fluffy wool bedding to shredded paper towl
- Encouarged him to eat live yoghurt while he is on antibiotics (contains sugar and rasperry)
- Checking on him a few times a day to see if he has any visible changes and to check he is behaving normal
- Checking his toilet to make sure he is weeing a few times a day
- Checking him bedding and carefresh for any signs of blood, diahoria ect
- Observing he is eating, gathering food, using both pouches and drinking plenty of water
-Changed Saw dust to Carefresh
- Stopped giving him human chocolate/cake/buiscuits
-Feeding him as much fruit and veg as possible
- Taking him out of his cage on a night time, to give him attension and to let him run about freely with my supervision
- Chaning his water daily, bedding weekly, carefresh fortnightly, food weekly, cleaning hamster igloo he uses as toilet daily

I have been using Johnsons Clean 'n' safe, a disifectant, cleaner, deodrant. Has anyone else used this? Is is safe for my ham, Ive stopped using it and ive been using hand wash to clean out sammis cage and equipment, whats best to use?

Have I made the right changes to help Sammi in his old age? Is there anything else or am i doing something wrong?

[souffle]

I think you have made some good changes and he will be more comfortable for having them
For future reference never use the fluffy bedding even if it says it is safe. It is not. Also hamsters must never have human chocolate as it contains a substance toxic to them and too much sugar is not good either.
Don't overdo the fruit and veg in case it causes looseness but a good idea is to give some porridge made from readybrek a few times a week. We add some debittered brewers yeast to this and some wheatgerm for extra goodness. They also like some baby food (no onions or citrus fruits type) and a little chicken, tofu or cooked pasta is soft and enjoyed.
Our Runty had a tumour which never bothered him much at all though we could see how bulgy his side got. He died aged over 3 yrs of old age. Unless the tumour interferes with something vital hammies can live happy and normal lives with them until you see something is going amiss.
There is an article here on caring for the elderly ham
http://www.hamstercentral.com/wiki/The_ ... y_Hamsters
I hope he graces your lives with his presence for a while yet He is obviously much loved.

[chavvy91]

Thanks for the link to that article, i didnt even know about all that infomation! but it looks useful!
He dosnt seem to like mushy stuff like you suggested baby food, but i may give the pasta a go or something, ive been struggling giving him his live yoghurt, but i found if i dip his dry food in it and give it to him he'll lick it off, but he wont touch the youghurt thats in a food bowl!
I didnt realise they could live a happy life with a tumor, i thought hed die soon just because the vet said its probably a tumor, so thats made me feel alot better knowing i can help him to keep going longer, ive literally been sat next to the cage all day every day checking him every minute and watching him sleep to make sure hes ok!
I do want to get him out of the cage and getting a bit of excersice and the chance to have a run about, and i saw on the infomation from the link you gave me a "play pen" is a good idea to have for them to run about in, do you knowa what type of play pen it means? Do you like need to make one or can you buy them or something?

[souffle]

We make a playpen out of a large plastic box like a storage box from Staples. You can add toys and a sand digging box. The best playpen is the sofa or a large bed though as they love investigating on there. Kep handling him as he will miss the contact if he has always had it.