Clarissa - Page 6

Pebbles82 · 08-23-2021, 11:48 AM

I read your other post as well about the thyroid removal. Try not to worry. She is bound to be feeling a bit ropey (and disorientated for a while. I am sure she will start to pick up. Maybe lots of tasty treats and some baby food. If you think she still needs Metacam after 5 days, I would keep giving it a bit longer. I did that. Pickle seemed to go off a bit after the metacam stopped and was clearly not in a happy way so I carried on giving it for another few days and that did the trick.

I am sure a hamster can manage well without a thyroid gland - it may be she is less energetic but that’s not the end of the world.

Ria P · 08-23-2021, 12:36 PM

Thank you for the reassuring words, Serendipity.

Clarissa is eating and getting treats but feels a bit thin. Of course i have to give neighbour Betsy a treat as well and she's a right pudding as it is. Betsy has settled down again.

Clarissa's stitches are fine and not inflamed but she seems to want to cool her throat. She lays her throat on ceramic or sleeps against the plastic. I wonder if that's hormonal. I've put a couple of miniature clay pots in the fridge. Maybe she wants to lay her head inside one. They are so tiny that they wouldn't cool the area. Worth a try.

Clarissa is very territorial even in the hospital cage. I try to sneak my hand in to tidy something thinking she's dozing just for her to come rushing over and have a go at my hand.

If she'd ever stop defending her territory, that's when i'd have to worry.

Yes, i'm also planning to use the metacam for longer if needed.

Pebbles82 · 08-23-2021, 01:08 PM

Other signs of hypothyroidism can be weight gain and feeling colder - so she seems to be doing ok

. The cooling on the throat area is probably discomfort relief (IMO) - like an ice pack maybe numbs and relieves pain. She is maybe being quite clever and instinctive in speeding up the healing

Ria P · 08-25-2021, 07:55 AM

First time out of hospital cage but only for a very short time.

Clarissa's still a bit unsteady and nervous when i pick her up in a flannel to check her stitches.
She goes into that "playing dead" mode which is concerning but maybe a natural reaction following trauma. Soon as i touch something in her cage she snapps out of it.

Poor little thing. I don't know is more upset, Clarissa or me! Oh well, she's in her food bowl now and having a good scratch.

Pebbles82 · 08-25-2021, 08:31 AM

Probably you x. It hasn't been long and I'm sure she'll start to improve and get more confident. Things will probably improve more when she has her old cage back as well - familiarity. It's all very disorientating for them. Did the vet say when she could go back in her cage? Assume you need another wound check before she can have her wheel back. Does she seem better in the playpen? Pickle was more normal in the playpen than in the hospital cage.

Ria P · 08-25-2021, 12:45 PM

The vet advised to keep her in the hospital cage for 10 days.
Clarissa got quite stressed at the vet's so we agreed to only attend the second check up appt if there's reason for concern.

Clarissa appeared more normal in the playpen but looks so fragile in the hospital cage. I probably spend too much time sitting beside her, watching her.

Her wound isn't infected but looked a little weepy tonight unless she dipped it in her water bowl. I wonder if i should take the bowl out for now. She drinks from her bottle as well.

She keeps scratching and grooming which doesn't help. The stiches must be annoying her.

There's never been much of her but there's even less now.
I'm still not convinced that she's going to make it.

Pebbles82 · 08-25-2021, 01:42 PM

Oh that must be such a worry. Stress can really affect them. Yes I’d take the water bowl out. Maybe distraction by hiding treats in different places? Maybe she needs a boost as well - hemp seeds are supposed to be like a bit of a tonic - contain all vitamins, minerals etc. In case something is depleted with the stress. I prefer that to multivitamins as more natural. They seem to like them as well.

Yes keep an eye on the would. If it is a bit weepy she might need antibiotics and if she does have an infection then she will be a bit ropey.

Playing music can help too. I used to play soft children’s songs like over the rainbow and Mozart

. It seems to relax and lift them. Soothing maybe.

Ria P · 08-25-2021, 02:28 PM

I give all our hamsters a pinch of brown linseeds daily. Is that the same as hemp seeds or do they have different nutrients?

Not sure what Clarissa is up to. When i sit by her watching her she looks more dead than alive but just now i walked into the room to see her running around her cage, meerkating and eating her greens.

Maybe she's trying to get me to feel sorry for her so i put her back in her Hamster Heaven.
Sounds a bit far fetched but she is an intelligent hamster who communicates very well.

Pebbles82 · 08-25-2021, 02:45 PM

Hmm. Yes they can behave differently when you’re there. Yes maybe she was playing dead to get attention! So she’s back in the hamster heaven then? That should make her a bit happier. Hope the wound is ok. I’d be tempted to ask the vet for antibiotics if it seems to be weeping. Although then they may want to see her again.

Ria P · 08-25-2021, 03:39 PM

Oh no. She's in the hospital cage. It's far too early for her HH.

The wound seems ok now and i took the water bowl out. I check her daily and would take her back to the vet if i needed to, stress or no stress. In fact, the wound looked dry earlier in the day and i put the bowl in about an hour later which probably wasn't a good idea.