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Pyometra

Symptoms: Pyometra is an infection of the womb and thus only affects females. A pyometra can be 'open' when the hamster will show a discharge which can be yellowy or blood stained and sometimes foul smelling, or 'closed' where there is no discharge. In both cases the abdomen is swollen and the tummy feels hard and tense as there is pus inside the womb. It can be difficult to detect in the early stages as hamsters often appear quite normal until it is quite advanced. They often drink more and appear lethargic as the toxins invade the bloodstream. Appetite is lost also and weight loss occurs.

Causes: Pyometra is caused by bacteria entering the womb and usually there is no cause identified though it can be from a respiratory or urinary infection or following birth, if all the pups and placenta have not been delivered successfully.

Treatment: Antibiotic treatment will only bring about a temporary remission of this disease. Most vets will prescribe Baytril but unless the infection is low vaginal it always returns and the hamster will invariably die unless surgery is performed.

The only cure is to spay the hamster by removing the womb and ovaries surgically. This, in itself, is risky however it is the only option for a cure in a young, otherwise healthy animal. Baytril can be useful in reducing the infection prior to operating and also post operative. With careful nursing the hamster is usually up and about within a few hours post operation. It is important to keep the hamster feeding after the op and painkillers should be given for the first few days. The operation can be quite expensive in some areas and it is important to find a good rodent experienced vet to operate.

References:
Hamsterlopaedia – Peter & Chris Logsdail & Kate Hovers
Hamsters in Sickness and in Health – Sheila Adby & Dan O' Neill

Acknowledgements:
souffle for the main write-up, missPixy for compilation and ashleighhhhh for the suggestion to add this topic.

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<span style='font-size:13pt;line-height:100%'>Respiratory / Breathing Problems</span>

Symptoms: Clicking breath (clicking noise due to mucus in nose/lungs), difficulty/laboured breathing, runny nose, closed eyes, cold body.

Causes: Pine/cedar bedding as they contain a type of oil known as phenols which irritates the hamster's respiratory system. Another possible cause is allergy to other scents such as perfume or soap.

Hamsters can also get respiratory infections and, because of a hamster's accelerated metabolism, these infections can kill a hamster overnight. Once you observe the symptoms listed above, you must take action immediately.

Remedies: If pine/cedar bedding is used, discard immediately and change to aspen, recycled paper or recycled paper pulp-based bedding. Use the following Thyme Tea Remedy to help relieve breathing problems.

What is thyme and where to obtain it:
Thyme is a herb and is a natural antibiotic and decongestant. Fresh thyme herb can be obtained from supermarkets, usually in packets. Refer to <span style='font-size:11pt;line-height:100%'>[H]</span> Herb - Thyme for more information.

Thyme Tea Remedy (summarized from missPixy's post here)

• Take about 10-12 sprigs of the fresh thyme and put them in a mug.
• Boil some water.
• While keeping a close watch on the water, make a little emergency nest for your hamster. Get some more thyme leaves by stripping them from the sprigs and mix them into the bedding.
• Hold your hamster and massage him or her to keep them warm. Hamsters are usually cold to the touch when they get respiratory problems.
• Crush some thyme leaves under your hamster's nose to help start the decongestion process.
• Once the water boils, pour it in the mug to cover only over the thyme. Stir it occasionally, and let it sit for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, put some paper towel over another clean mug, and pour the tea into this new mug. The paper towel will filter out the leaves.
• With your eyedropper or syringe, take up a couple of hamster mouthfuls' worth. Let this sit for about 30 seconds or so until it is not hot (you don't want to burn your hamster's mouth). Test by a few drops on your hand first.
• Give your hamster a few drops of the tea. Continue massaging and crushing the thyme leaves under his/her nose for about an hour to ensure adequate recovery. This is an important step since the hamster needs to warm up before recovery can set in. Do not skip it.
• Massaging is beneficial to the hamster rather than just letting him/her rest during this period. Since the hamster's metabolism is very fast, as quickly as they get sick, they can recover just as quickly if encouraged to metabolize it out of their systems. Remember to do this only in conjunction with the above steps.

If you can't find fresh thyme, HH member Josh has recommended the following:

An easy way to do it all is buy ground thyme at the store for about 5.00 or less, and do the following:

- In place of boiling water on stove, use a microwave and the ground thyme (nuke water then add thyme).
- In place of a dropper for the tea, put a straw a ways in, put your thumb on the end, and pull it out. Some tea should remain in the straw. Let your hamster lick out the tea from the other end.
- In place of crushing the leaves, place hamster's nose next to container of ground thyme.
- To help warm hamster, alternate massaging and slowly blowing hot breaths of air into the fur.

This worked well for me.

Related topics / References:
- Why not Cedar or Pine?
- Help for Respiratory Emergencies
- Looking for Fresh Thyme

Edited by missPixy, 25 December 2011 - 01:29 AM.
changed 5 minutes to 30 minutes for stronger tea

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Surgery

Useful pre-operation/surgery tips

Related topics / References:
- Should I send my hammie for surgery?!
- Right cheek pouch very swollen
- monique got all bloated
- monique made it through surgery!

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Tooth (Missing, Chipped, Loose, Misaligned, Overgrown)

Symptoms:
Misaligned, Overgrown Teeth: Hamster's mouth lopsided or unable to close properly. Hamster does not deshell sunflower seeds anymore, refusal / unable to eat some food, leading to loss of weight.

Chipped, Loose, Missing Tooth: Front incisors (Two top, two bottom) are important to a hamster. Sometimes, a tooth may be chipped or missing.

Note that it's normal for hamsters to have yellow teeth.

How to Check: Scruffing your hamster. (Video on how-to coming soon).

Causes: Nutritional deficiency, accidents.

Remedies: Trim incisors so that they are of the same length. Consult a vet to do this. If one of the teeth is missing, the one that is facing it in the opposite direction has to be trimmed down every other week, else it would grow too long without the earlier tooth to grind against. This is because a hamster's teeth grow continuously throughout his life.

In the meantime, feed your hamster deshelled sunflower seeds (Vitamin E from sunflower seeds is beneficial for teeth growth but note that too many a day is fattening.) Break other food into small pieces. Softer foods such as cooked rice, tofu and scrambled egg will also make things easier for your hamster while his teeth are growing evenly again.

To prevent overgrown teeth, always provide a chewing block or gnawing toy (available from petshops).

Related topics / References:
- Loose Tooth!


Tumours
Please refer to [ L ] Lumps and Tumours.

Edited by missPixy, 28 December 2004 - 05:05 AM.

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Vet

Related topics:
- Should I have a Vet on hand and when to see one?

- Rat and Mouse Club of America (RMCA) Veterinarian Listings. Login: member Password: member

- HH Discussion on Singapore Vets

- Partial Singapore Vets Listings

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Wet Tail

Symptoms: Severe diarrhoea, dehydration. Wet, soiled, smelly rear end. Very soft/wet poop. Hunched over, lethargic behaviour. Very contagious and can be fatal if not treated within 48 hours.

Causes: Main cause is stress and results in bacterial attack of a hamster's gastro-intestinal tract due to a lowered immunity system. Stress can come from new environments, example change of bedding or unfamiliar surroundings. Most likely to affect young syrians.

Remedies: Separate from other nearby hamsters immediately. Consult a vet and obtain hamster-safe antibiotics such as Baytril (enrofloxican). Note that a pregnant/nursing-hamster should take antibiotics such as Albon only.

When feeding antibiotics, always supplement with plain, unflavoured yogurt to keep the hamster's digestive system balanced. Remove fruits, vegetables and other wet food from the daily diet during this period. Feed only dry hamster mix. Reduce stress on hamster by not handling as often. Give the hamster time to adjust to his/her surroundings. Disinfect cage which housed the wet tail affected hamster thoroughly and sun it. Change bedding at most once a week and keep a small amount of previous bedding in the cage to retain the familiar scent. Ensure drinking water is always available. Recommended: Rehydrate the hamster by adding an electrolyte solution like Pedialyte to the drinking water, 25% pedialyte to 75% water.

For general diarrhoea, obtain a medicine called Kaomix or Kaolin at any pharmacy and feed 1 or 2 drops to the hamster. This is recommended by Dr. Ling of Namly Animal Clinic. Thanks to gigiii for this. Original post here.

Related topics / References:
- Wet Tail

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