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Old 01-20-2021, 06:09 PM   #1
Potato
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: Canada
Posts: 17
Exclamation Diagnosed with Cushing's

Hi! I have a long-haired female sable Syrian hamster going to be 2 in about a month and we brought her to the vet because of some concerning issues and she has been diagnosed with Cushing's disease. The vet is the most reliable/trustable vet I can go to currently, but I feel that they don't have as much experience with hamsters compared to cats and dogs (and unfortunately, there are only so many people who take their hamsters to the vet so it's not everyday they have a hamster as a patient). I gave them a list of anything I have noticed about my hamster and I feel only some of the symptoms match with Cushing's disease, with only 1 symptom that is convincing me. I am also left with a few questions and unfortunately, I was unable to be there in person and had to have someone else bring my hamster to the vet. I am not a vet though so I may just be paranoid ^_^; but any opinions would be appreciated!

Symptoms:
Sleep: -[Jan 16] She was sleeping all day and night. Sometimes, she wouldn't be sleeping but would just be sitting in the corner
-From then on, she has spent almost all her time in the corner except to go urinate, drink, or eat (sometimes I have to carry her to the water bottle in front of her so that she could stay hydrated)
-I stayed up till 2am once and the only activity she did was to eat
-I wouldn't say she is lethargic as if you pick her up, she will move her head around and walk around, but shortly after, she may sit still and look like she's spacing out
-Now that I think about it, one time while she was free roaming, I put her on my chair and she spaced out for around 20 mins (This was on Jan 12) and when I put her back down, she spent a good portion of her time where she built a second nest
===============================================
Food/Water Habits: -She is still eating food but I think she might've been eating a bit more starting from Jan 19 (or just eating for longer)
-[Jan 17] She has been drinking water more frequently

Urine/Stool: -Her stool is still solid and she has never had diarrhea
-[Jan 18] Her urine was a reddish-copper colour
-I haven't noticed that she was going to urinate way more often, but I cannot for sure say there hasn't been a minor change that was consistent (on Jan 18 she may have been going to urinate a bit more frequently, but on Jan 19 she was urinating a little less frequently than on Jan 1
-Sometimes there is a cloudy white substance on her bum when I pick her up

Weight/Shape: -[July 21 2020 to Aug 9 2020] She weighed around 118g-134g (there was one time when she ate a little too much) and her average weight within that time period was around 124g
-[Jan 18] This night, she weighed 167g which was really concerning
-[Jan 19] This afternoon she weighed 164g and this night, she weighed 166g
-[Jan 18] Her abdomen was looking more bloated The vet did an x-ray and has said that the bloating was more on her left side where her stomach is and commented on how it was probably due to eating more, though they have said that they haven't seen her eat while she was with them which was about 3 hours

Fur: -Her fur looks kind of disheveled but if you brush her gently, it will usually look almost smooth again
-The fur on her bum and bottom of her tail is a little yellow and sticking together
The vet has said that her fur looks a little less vibrant and more dull

Odor: -The urine odor is stronger

Anything that hasn't happened: -No discharge from nose or eyes
-No major fur loss (her back and sides look fine, if you flip her over, her belly is not very exposed but maybe there was a slight change and I have gotten used to it so I cannot tell the difference)

Extra: -Her left leg is crooked slightly because of a past injury
-She has gotten weaker (she stopped climbing to where her water bottle was previously, stopped running on her wheel <-- May be because of her leg) so I moved her bottle way closer to where she stays and have gotten rid of most of her toys and wheel
-[Jan 19, 9pm] She ran out of food so I had to switch
-Her nails look a little dull (?)
===============================================
I was told that her urine was copper-ish possibly because I changed her diet but her urine was that colour before the switch of food. I know that urine can be that colour because of kidney issues or UTI (if she did have an infection, it may be because she free roamed every night but I don't think she could've lived this long with the infection). Also, I read somewhere that if a hamster did have Cushing's, when they were awake, they would still act not that differently but my hamster hasn't been very active at all. Again, I'm not a vet and I have never had any experience with Cushing's, kidney issues, or UTI in hamsters before.

I'm not really sure what to do. She's already pretty old and maybe it would be best to let her live out her last days? I want to do what's best for her.. Any advice would be appreciated! (:

BTW, does anyone know if there's a healthier diet for her or anyway to make her be more comfortable, etc.. I was told I should just be careful of her weight and feed her less if her weight increases. Still, i'm a bit confused. Do I keep her at 160g then since a dramatic weight change may impact her negatively?
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Tags
bloating, cushing's disease, drinking frequently, false diagnosis?, red urine


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