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04-16-2021, 08:18 PM
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#1
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Newborn Pup
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 2
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Hamster not doing well - going downhill quickly
Hi. My dwarf hamster Zoey who is only 3 months old started showing signs of being sick this last Monday. We went to the vet and she diagnosed her with a GI infection and gave us antibiotics and subcutaneous fluids. At first Zoey seemed to be responding - was taking good from us and had a lot of energy. We thought she was going to make it. The only weird thing that was happening was that her stomach was really bloated but if I massaged it the bloat would go away. In addition to the antibiotic we have been giving her critical care (what I can get her to take) and a hydration solution.
But then this morning I woke her up and she was barely moving. I warmed her up and she got a little better but then seemed to go downhill again. Her breathing also started to become irregular.
We went to the vet and she examined her and told us that Zoey was not responding to the treatment and she recommended euthanizing her. I felt like she didn’t ask me enough questions to be making that decision. We decided against euthanasia since she was doing so well yesterday and the doctor prescribed an additional antibiotic.
Does anyone have thoughts on anything else we can do for her. We have a heating pad under her cage now which is helping with the body temp and the vet did subcutaneous fluids again and when we came home she was running around. She is picking up food but she has a lot in her pouches so we don’t know if she is eating. Any thoughts would be appreciated. We are trying to give her the best chance to survive this that we can.
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04-17-2021, 06:15 PM
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#2
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Newborn Pup
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 2
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Re: Hamster not doing well - going downhill quickly
In humans, people suggest probiotics to eat alongside antibiotics, as antibiotics commonly cause stuff like bloating.
"Probiotics are live microorganisms commonly known as “healthy bacteria.”
They can help to reduce some of the side effects of antibiotics, such as bloating and diarrhea."
I would suggest giving your hamster some natural yoghurt (unflavoured, plain) as this contains probiotics.
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04-18-2021, 01:27 AM
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#3
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House of Hamsters
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
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Re: Hamster not doing well - going downhill quickly
Excuse my ignorance but what is a GI infection and how was it diagnosed?
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04-18-2021, 09:07 PM
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#4
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Newborn Pup
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 2
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Re: Hamster not doing well - going downhill quickly
"The gastrointestinal tract (also called the GI tract) is a series of hollow organs that form a long continuous passage from our mouth to our anus. The organs that make up our GI tract are our mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus"
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04-19-2021, 12:51 PM
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#5
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Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Yorkshire, UK but my heart lies in Scotland!
Posts: 28,192
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Re: Hamster not doing well - going downhill quickly
Sometimes with these sort of infections even though the actual infection is gone the bowel wall becomes so badly damaged due to the inflammation that they never recover even though initially they seem to respond. They cannot process or absorb food through the damaged bowel walls. It sounds like something she came with often called 'wet tail' and it is very hard for such a little creature to get over. If she becomes worse and won't eat you need to ask her what she wants to do and look for a sign that she may need help from her pain to pass.
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