Female syrian’s escaping behavior causing repeated injuries and infections. I need help.
- Thread starter Cryptillian
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Hey all I found a lump on Rupee’s side that I can’t imagine we missed so it must be new. I don’t know at this point if I can push her any more, she still seems so alert when she plays in my blankets and stuff like normal but she’s just not herself. She’s on antibiotics so in theory she shouldn’t have an abscess, but I don’t know.
I feel like I’ve been in a lot of denial about having to lose her, she just seemed so normal last week before the medication. Maybe something else has been going on on top of everything or her immune system got ruined from this and left room for other things to happen. I don’t know but I am having a hard time knowing when to let go. She just looks so awful and even though her skin is improving I feel like maybe I was too late.
I feel like I’ve been in a lot of denial about having to lose her, she just seemed so normal last week before the medication. Maybe something else has been going on on top of everything or her immune system got ruined from this and left room for other things to happen. I don’t know but I am having a hard time knowing when to let go. She just looks so awful and even though her skin is improving I feel like maybe I was too late.
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I'm sorry to hear this. Is it a scent gland lump or somewhere else? How old is she? Personally I wouldn't make any decisions until she's finished her latest course of treatment and had a week or so to adjust afterwards. Is she on probiotics? Benebac is very good, especially when they've had antibiotics.
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Did the vet inject her anywhere? Could this be fluid at the injection site if she was injected? Antibiotics make me tired, so it could be the meds. Syrians have very fine fur, so any skin abnormalities can show through in a worrying way. It could be a fatty lump, but only a vet would be able to diagnose it properly. I hope her health improves 
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Hi everyone, she did finish her course of antibiotics (14 days on Bactrim) and I decided we’d try one last one (Baytril). She did not have any injected medications. Unfortunately the infection seems either resistant or just too progressed to clear up. It spread to her stomach scab/wounds before switching her over to the other antibiotic
I found a second lump so I don’t think they are abscesses, but it just made things feel more bleak.
I think I’m gonna let her go Monday, we started the new antibiotics 3 days ago, I don’t know if that’s enough time to see huge improvement with how severe she is, but I just don’t think I can let her suffer any more, I just don’t think she’s gonna get better.
I just want to have tomorrow with her, I’m gonna let her go sit in the grass with me outside because she was always so keen on escaping, she deserves one moment of freedom. I’m gonna bring some food she shouldn’t have to her appointment so she can try them, sugary yogurt candy whatever, and I just want her to have something special. I’ve been giving her peanutbutter with no added sugar now just to give her something special, I just give small thin amount spread on a plastic knife, she goes crazy for it even now when she feels so sick. I bought her an expensive cucumber and she’s had small bits of that, normally she’d eat all I’d give her because she loves cucumber.
This really got bad so quick, I feel like my mind is spinning. Just a week and a half ago she was acting and eating fine, and now she’s lost 16 grams, she doesn’t come out at all. It’s just not fair. I just wanted her to get better. I lost several pets and people the past 2 years and she was my little buddy I got to get me through it. I didn’t think I’d lose her so soon. I had just bought new things for her, I spent so much money on her people even here would think I’m insane. I just enjoyed giving her everything she wanted and seeing her eat and run around and play in her dig boxes and struggle to get treats out of cardboard toys. She brought me so much joy and I loved showing off her enclosure to everyone and showing off how pretty her coat was, how friendly she was, I was just proud of having her. Most people around me tell me how I need to get over it because she’s “just a hamster”, and it’s been hard because I don’t think many people understand.
I think I’ve been in denial about it this whole week because the specialist said she should get better, but she’s miserable, she’s in so much pain. I don’t want her to feel like this any more.
I found a second lump so I don’t think they are abscesses, but it just made things feel more bleak.
I think I’m gonna let her go Monday, we started the new antibiotics 3 days ago, I don’t know if that’s enough time to see huge improvement with how severe she is, but I just don’t think I can let her suffer any more, I just don’t think she’s gonna get better.
I just want to have tomorrow with her, I’m gonna let her go sit in the grass with me outside because she was always so keen on escaping, she deserves one moment of freedom. I’m gonna bring some food she shouldn’t have to her appointment so she can try them, sugary yogurt candy whatever, and I just want her to have something special. I’ve been giving her peanutbutter with no added sugar now just to give her something special, I just give small thin amount spread on a plastic knife, she goes crazy for it even now when she feels so sick. I bought her an expensive cucumber and she’s had small bits of that, normally she’d eat all I’d give her because she loves cucumber.
This really got bad so quick, I feel like my mind is spinning. Just a week and a half ago she was acting and eating fine, and now she’s lost 16 grams, she doesn’t come out at all. It’s just not fair. I just wanted her to get better. I lost several pets and people the past 2 years and she was my little buddy I got to get me through it. I didn’t think I’d lose her so soon. I had just bought new things for her, I spent so much money on her people even here would think I’m insane. I just enjoyed giving her everything she wanted and seeing her eat and run around and play in her dig boxes and struggle to get treats out of cardboard toys. She brought me so much joy and I loved showing off her enclosure to everyone and showing off how pretty her coat was, how friendly she was, I was just proud of having her. Most people around me tell me how I need to get over it because she’s “just a hamster”, and it’s been hard because I don’t think many people understand.
I think I’ve been in denial about it this whole week because the specialist said she should get better, but she’s miserable, she’s in so much pain. I don’t want her to feel like this any more.
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I'm so sorry to hear this - very hard for you. It's hard when there is no clear diagnosis as well. Tulsi's Hamster Kulfi has just been diagnosed with cutaneous lymphoma - the symptoms are maybe similar.
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Yeah. It’s possible the mites were just secondary. The specialist said that, but was leaning more towards the mites and I had a lot of hope because she was still active and eating at the time. She didn’t have any lumps then, but now that she does maybe it really was that all along and the mites just didn’t help.
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No, Monday would’ve been her second dose of selamectin, but in theory the first round and the cleaning would’ve eliminated most of them. She got maybe 3 more lesions since she started treatment, which was a lot less from getting new ones every day, and two of those healed, one is very small. All her scabs have shrunk or started to fall off.
Her stomach however never really improved much, it flip flopped a lot, but it seems to have gotten infected despite the antibiotics she’s been on for her ears so right now it doesn’t look good. Specialist said to try antibiotics for a little longer hence why we switched as a last ditch effort but in 3 days I would’ve expected more improvement.
I just think overall she’s been battling too many wars on her body, if it was just one of these things maybe she could’ve gotten better but theres just so much going on at once.
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I brought to the ER tonight, an abscess ruptured, so they weren’t tumors. We found several more lumps and the doctor said in some places her infections were turning necrotic. Surgery was low chance for her recovering, I couldn’t put her through any more.
I decided to let her go, it took me hours to actually allow them to do it because I have been wrestling with so much guilt, wishing she’d just get better, feeling like I’d have regret, wondering what I could’ve done different, thinking of how we got these mites in the first place, feeling that this was preventable and I failed. Everyone told me I made the right choice, that I did everything I could, but I still feel like I failed her. I keep focusing on all these things I wish I did different but I don’t know if it would’ve mattered. Nobody has heard of hamsters getting these, everyone at the ER was baffled. They had to wear full hazmat to prevent spreading them to other patients and took it very seriously which I appreciated, they were very kind.
I gave her chocolate before we did anything, she had a small bite but wasn’t feeling well, but a bite nonetheless. She perked up because we gave her lots of pain meds, so she didn’t die in pain. I am just glad I didn’t wait any longer because I didn’t realize how many more abscesses she had.
All the things I said I’d do with her tomorrow I already did today, because I just felt like I didn’t want to wait. So she got to sit in the grass with me for a little bit, I just wanted her to have that. I took a video so I can hold onto it.
I just wish even now I could hold her one more night. I don’t know how to sit and look at her empty cage all day.
I miss her so much.
I decided to let her go, it took me hours to actually allow them to do it because I have been wrestling with so much guilt, wishing she’d just get better, feeling like I’d have regret, wondering what I could’ve done different, thinking of how we got these mites in the first place, feeling that this was preventable and I failed. Everyone told me I made the right choice, that I did everything I could, but I still feel like I failed her. I keep focusing on all these things I wish I did different but I don’t know if it would’ve mattered. Nobody has heard of hamsters getting these, everyone at the ER was baffled. They had to wear full hazmat to prevent spreading them to other patients and took it very seriously which I appreciated, they were very kind.
I gave her chocolate before we did anything, she had a small bite but wasn’t feeling well, but a bite nonetheless. She perked up because we gave her lots of pain meds, so she didn’t die in pain. I am just glad I didn’t wait any longer because I didn’t realize how many more abscesses she had.
All the things I said I’d do with her tomorrow I already did today, because I just felt like I didn’t want to wait. So she got to sit in the grass with me for a little bit, I just wanted her to have that. I took a video so I can hold onto it.
I just wish even now I could hold her one more night. I don’t know how to sit and look at her empty cage all day.
I miss her so much.
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I ended up submitting her to a veterinary laboratory for a necropsy, she did have cutaneous lymphoma and the mites were misidentified. She may have had hamster polyomavirus, I am waiting for the full necropsy report in a few weeks before I can confirm.
I am now afraid I can never get another Syrian hamster and that everything may need to be thrown out because I have seen it is resistant to almost every cleaning agent and I’m completely terrified of going through this again.
Thank you all for the support, this has been the most horrible nightmare. I am just glad she’s no longer suffering, I made the right choice letting her go.
I am now afraid I can never get another Syrian hamster and that everything may need to be thrown out because I have seen it is resistant to almost every cleaning agent and I’m completely terrified of going through this again.
Thank you all for the support, this has been the most horrible nightmare. I am just glad she’s no longer suffering, I made the right choice letting her go.
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So sorry little Rupee has passed. She got extremely good care. Poor girl. I hope you are coping OK. Sleep softly over the bridge little Rupee 
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It has been an awful ordeal for you and such a cruel disease. Finding this out is some kind of closure and helps you understand there was nothing you could do. It did sound like the lymphoma and it's very unfair. It didn't sound like polyomavirus as they come out in all these distinctive large multiple lumps with that.
You are grieving at the moment and it's been a terrible experience. It is is all very unfair. Take care and take one day at a time.
She is playing over the rainbow bridge, free from pain now. I am sure she knew how much you did for her.
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