Blood in urine not clearing up?

[Hiitsbry]

Hi, I'm new here so apologies if I get anything wrong.

Meri is a 2 year old syrian and I took her to the vets last week due to blood in her urine. She's been acting fairly normal, except she hasn't ran on her wheel in the past week. They couldn't feel any tumours and prescribed 7 days worth of baytril to treat a UTI. She's on 0.24ml twice a day. It's the 6th day now and it hasn't cleared up at all, the blood is a really bright red. I'm starting to think it's more likely a tumor in the womb or something similar but I'm not massively knowlegable on these things so I could be wrong. I'm not sure what the next step is though. The vet said I can take her in for an xray if it doesn't clear, however I'd rather not spend a huge sum of money on those scans when the outcome is just going to be to put her to sleep if they find tumors. Would asking for another week of baytril be pointless if it hasn't started clearing up yet? I see most people on here have it prescribed for atleast two weeks. I also wouldn't want to put her to sleep when she still has quality of life but I can't tell if she's in pain, I'm really conflicted on what to do.

[Ria P]

Hi and welcome to HC!

I was in a similar situation with my male Syrian hamster and decided against a scan because it wouldn't have changed the outcome. Baytril didn't clear up the blood in the urine and the vet suspected bladder stones. My hamster was too old and weak for surgery so the vet put him on permanent, daily Metacam.

A female dwarf with various health issues, including passing blood, was also put on permanent Metacam. Again, i decided against invasive tests like scans that required aneasthesia because i felt that it wouldn't have changed the outcome.

Both died peacefully at home a few months later.

One of my dwarfs is currently recovering (hopefully) from surgery so its not the case that i'm not willing to spend the money.

At two years old, i would also be inclined not to opt for invasive tests like scans for the very same reason you've mentioned. Yes, you could try another week of Baytril, something i tried as well or you could have a chat with your vet and put her on a pain relief/anti inflammatory like Metacam/Loxicom to keep her as comfortable as possible for as long as possible.
Hamsters like Metacam because it tastes sweet so its nothing like the struggle to get the bitter Baytril down them.

The decision is down to you in the end because you know your hamster best. I can only advise going by my own experiences.

[Pebbles82]

Female hamsters can get pyometra (link below). Infection in the womb - can be confused with UTI. Depending on the type, the treatment is either antibiotics or spaying the hamster. At 2 she is probably too old for spaying to be realistically in her best welfare, but a vet could advise on that (some may depend on her condition). I had a minor op/lump removal on a nearly 2 year old male syrian recently - but spaying is a more major op.

Spaying is usually for closed pyometra. Open pyometra (which is more likely in your case due to blood discharge) can be treated with long term antibiotics.

I agree that continuing the antibiotics longer seems sensible and I would suggest to the vet (and mention pyometra).

There is a very good article from a breeder on here (Vectis) about pyometra - it's for Chinese Hamsters but applies to Syrians as well.

It looks into all the dilemmas and may be helpful

Pyometra in the Chinese Hamster - Vectis Hamstery

[Hiitsbry]

Thanks everyone for the replies, it was reassuring. Unfortunately the antibiotics didn’t work and she has gotten worse and there is much more blood. She has also been wobbling when she’s walking, we suspect it is a tumor making her struggle. We explained this to the vet and said we don’t want to put her through scans since she’s so old and asked for pain relief which they refused and said we should just observe her for the weekend and bring her in again. I’m not a vet so I may be wrong but this seems like bad advice, I don’t want to watch her continuously get worse knowing she is in pain and not helping. Would it be reasonable to order metacam online and figure out the dosage myself? I know that she’s 150g.

[Pebbles82]

I think you need to see another vet and have another opinion quite urgently. She is suffering and pain relief won't be enough. They can diagnose properly and advise where to go from here. Google exotic vets in the area even if it means travelling a bit further than usual.