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Old 08-30-2021, 04:34 PM   #11
charlottibiscotti
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Join Date: Mar 2020
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Default Re: dwarf with protruding eye + cancer?

Hi, I’m Glad you managed to find a good vet!!

Sadly I’m only 18 & have to rely on parents for lifts, so they wouldn’t travel more than 20 minutes because of their busy days & lack of investment in my hamster’s health. One of my parents is a doctor who looks up hamster medication briefly and suddenly thinks they’re a vet, and the best course of treatment is a quarter of an ibuprofen tablet. Lol.

I love the idea you had about using a shallow container, I’ll have to look for one that’s suitable as that’s sure to make him more comfortable. The only problem would be if the vet tries to handle him too roughly, or tries to scruff him/flip him to examine his underbelly, because he would get scared and bite at that point… eek.

All I’m doing right now to check his belly is putting him on my hand in a position that makes him expose his belly for a few seconds at a time, so I can feel it, but he freaks out after more than 20 seconds. I also use the power of mealworms to get him to reach up against the bars of his cage. His belly is more full of flabby bumpiness rather than a single lump. His scent gland looks very bumpy & swollen, but not super red or visibly irritated.

His eye looks the same.

Vet appointment booked for Wednesday btw
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Old 08-30-2021, 05:28 PM   #12
Pebbles82
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Default Re: dwarf with protruding eye + cancer?

Glad you have an appointment booked The lumpiness in the belly sounds similar to what our robo had (without seeing it). He had a few lumps - but one that got quite large. It didn't seem to bother him for a long time - he was on metacam the last few months though. It is possible he has tumours. But the eye may be something else. Hope the vet can help. I would say to her when you go in, that he is very nervy. I don't think a vet should scruff a hamster tbh - I believe that is out of fashion and considered not good for them. If your hamster bites her because she's not gentle enough - tough! At least it'll be over with fairly quickly. They can take a few days to settle afterwards but I'm sure he'll get over it.

This was the box I used. Not too big to take with you but big enough for a hamster to have a little hide and a wheel and a tunnel in.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 09-01-2021, 10:19 AM   #13
charlottibiscotti
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Default Re: dwarf with protruding eye + cancer?

Update! The vet let me hold him whilst she looked at his eye, i also showed her pictures.

She said it was most likely to be an infection, and if it isn't an infection, he'd have to be sent off for testing, which is obviously a big no-no given my hamsters age & temperament & the fact that the problem would likely be untreatable anyways.

as for ginger's belly, she thinks from my description that it could just be that he has blocked scent glands, which never crossed my mind!! silly me!! she said the meds may help unblock them, plus i can clean them up manually.

he's been put on antibiotics & anti inflammatory baytril and loxicom so hopefully that should help him! although, i was an idiot and unpackaged the baytril syringe, thinking he only had loxicom. i went to use the syringe to extract loxicom and in doing so accidentally squirted out HALF of the baytril medication. aaarghh! silly me! big facepalm. Now he only has 5 days worth of baytril. Hopefully it won’t cause too much of a problem. I can always ask for more I guess.

Last edited by charlottibiscotti; 09-01-2021 at 10:31 AM. Reason: Mistake with dosage information
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Old 09-02-2021, 06:21 PM   #14
Pebbles82
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Default Re: dwarf with protruding eye + cancer?

That's good I hope the antibiotics clear it up. Yes I would ask the vet for more baytril now, well before you run out. 5 days isn't enough really. The Loxicom isn't essential if they miss a dose or don't get the full dose, but it's really important they get the full dose and full course of baytril or the bugs can become resistant to the antibiotic and the infection get worse. Same with humans - its why they say don't miss a dose and take the whole course.

Trouble is baytril tastes foul - it either needs disguising in some strong tasting food that will all be eaten, or some people draw a bit of runny honey into the syringe after the baytril so the hamster licks it from the syringe (they get the honey first and the nasty bit goes in as well).
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Old 09-03-2021, 01:32 PM   #15
charlottibiscotti
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Default Re: dwarf with protruding eye + cancer?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
That's good I hope the antibiotics clear it up. Yes I would ask the vet for more baytril now, well before you run out. 5 days isn't enough really. The Loxicom isn't essential if they miss a dose or don't get the full dose, but it's really important they get the full dose and full course of baytril or the bugs can become resistant to the antibiotic and the infection get worse. Same with humans - its why they say don't miss a dose and take the whole course.

Trouble is baytril tastes foul - it either needs disguising in some strong tasting food that will all be eaten, or some people draw a bit of runny honey into the syringe after the baytril so the hamster licks it from the syringe (they get the honey first and the nasty bit goes in as well).
thank you! because my hamster is a crazy food monster, he is LOVING both the baytril & the loxicom provided that the baytril is diluted 50% with water! i feel very lucky to have such an easygoing hamster, lol.

no change so far but no worsening of symptoms.

okay, I'll contact the vet to explain what happened and ask for more baytril!!
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Old 09-03-2021, 01:37 PM   #16
Pebbles82
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Default Re: dwarf with protruding eye + cancer?

Glad to hear it’s probably nothing serious
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Old 09-10-2021, 03:21 PM   #17
charlottibiscotti
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Default Re: dwarf with protruding eye + cancer?

update - the meds have done nothing and his eye is looking much worse today. I don't know what to do. The vet said that the next step would be to send him off for tests, and I know that would kill him with stress. I am somewhat distraught & his eye looks like it's completely ballooning. I have no idea what's wrong.
He is happy and very active & eating well but his poor eye just looks like it's about to burst or come out of the socket
I am considering euthanasia as the only option if his eye gets really bad, which feels absolutely awful to type out.
sorry for the bad news.
please offer advice, all I know is that I can't let him get to a point where I wake up one day to find an eye has detached, or worse.
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Old 09-11-2021, 02:17 PM   #18
velma
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Default Re: dwarf with protruding eye + cancer?

Hi Charlotte. I'm sorry to read about poor Ginger. I really do think you need to take him back for another vet appointment from the sound of things. They really are going to be the best ones to talk through your options with you and another look at his eye may give them more clues for what's going on. You know Ginger best and what he could tolerate and the vet is there to talk through those options with you, not decide for you. Whatever decisions you need to make, you're making them out of love & with Ginger's best interests at heart so whatever happens you'll be making the right decision for him.
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Old 09-12-2021, 05:25 AM   #19
Petite
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Default Re: dwarf with protruding eye + cancer?

So sorry to read this about Ginger. Something similar happened to my (now deceased hamster, Theo) at just 8 months old. Like Ginger, it happened seemingly out of the blue, we went through all the antibiotic business as you have done, similarly to no effect. I was told that it could be glaucoma, and they couldn't rule out the possibility of her losing an eye. Then one day she came out of a hide and her eye was a hideous mess, having ruptured. I rushed her to the emergency vet straight away where I was advised to have her put to sleep as the odds were stacked against her surviving anaesthesia and surgery.

However, you say that Ginger is eating and drinking normally, is happy and active and not in any visible pain (whereas it was obvious that our Theo was in pain and clearly wasn't herself). Only you can make the decision about what course of action is in Ginger's best interests. I do hope you get some good advice from your vet, too. Please keep us updated.

Thinking of you and Ginger.
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Old 09-12-2021, 05:36 PM   #20
charlottibiscotti
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Default Re: dwarf with protruding eye + cancer?

thanks again for the replies.

I'm trying to reach a decision about whether to go back to the vet or not. each appointment costs £39 and in the last appointment the vet said that if his current meds don't work, the only option would be to send him off for tests. there are no more medications they will prescribe without sending ginger to a specialist, which I know will kill him with stress. it feels sort of pointless to take him on a stressful vet visit when I know the answer I'll be recieving.

if he was a young hamster I'd be more prepared to take him to the vet, but he really doesn't seem like he has long left, it's traumatic for him, and I already have painkillers which I can continue to give him until he goes. I would of course take him to be euthanised or take him if he developed an obvious infection anywhere, etc.

I've been examining his belly daily and it's not looking good, he's now got two lumps, each the size of a broad bean, and a few small bumps that resemble under-the-skin acne & his skin also looks really saggy around his outer belly for some reason, perhaps just old age.

no fur loss past what I'd expect of his age, very minimal, no sign of mites or anything.

he honestly just looks old. he sleeps a lot, but is still very happy with a mealworm. he will do anything for a mealworm (even lets me wipe his eye with cotton swabs dipped in saline solution, no complaints, as long as he gets his mealworm! homemade saline solution is my final resort)

his eye looks the same as when I last posted, brighter red than usual (he has dark red eyes) and swollen, but no discharge, no squinting, nothing. makes me think something is pressing on it rather than swelling it...

my lingering suspicion is that he has some kind of progressive malignant tumour on his belly which has spread to other regions...

as I type this he's digging around in his food bowl looking for extra food he might have missed!

I always worry quite a lot with my hamsters now, since my last dwarf hamster, Cinnamon, who was Ginger's sister & lived separately, died suddenly and unexpectedly and with no previous symptoms at all, when I found her she had been dead for a day & was covered in mites, I'd just cleaned out her cage as well

sorry for the rambling post, overall my opinion is that I'm going to wait and see how his condition goes, and take him to the vet if he starts to experience any obvious pain.

please let me know your opinions!

thank you ❤️
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