Oaky's Diary

[Hamster Haven]

Good that she is stable. I hope the meds keep Oaky stable and that she doesn't need an op

me, too!

 

[Maz]

That all sounds good Would it be possible to give her the meds in food? I know it’s tricky when it’s twice a day.

 

[Hamster Haven]

That all sounds good Would it be possible to give her the meds in food? I know it’s tricky when it’s twice a day.

Hmm...I hadn't thought of that. Would I layer it over seed mix? Luckily, in recent days, she's taken to sleeping in her 6-chamber hideout but up high, so I just have to take the lid off. She doesn't like that I'm waking her, but when she realizes it's the syringe, she'll take it and then go back to bed. I'm hoping this easiness will lead to her not moving her sleeping spot- when she burrows down deep, that has sometimes led to me having to disturb her space to give her medication.

 

[Maz]

That’s really good if she’ll just take it from the syringe. It’s usually the antibiotic they don’t do that with as it tastes nasty.

 

[Hamster Haven]

That’s really good if she’ll just take it from the syringe. It’s usually the antibiotic they don’t do that with as it tastes nasty.

I do try to keep the Meloxicam for 2nd! Maybe the changed the flavoring on the Enro-(whatever it's called). I feel like the doctor told me it was something funky like chicken and marshmallow- but maybe good for hamsters!

 

[Maz]

That would be good if they’ve added flavouring to it.

 

[Hamster Haven]

Oaky's results from the culture test came back and she does still have some type of urinary tract infection, so we'll continue with the antibiotic treatment for at least 2 weeks, check her again, and possibly keep her on antibiotics indefinitely to "manage" her condition. That still sounds odd to me (indefinite antibiotics?), but if it's a reasonable alternative to spaying, maybe. I'll certainly ask more questions about it at our next visit. I haven't seen her much in the past few days, but I know she is coming out to get food a few times a day, and she is still looking better and taking her medicine when I have to wake her for it.

 

[Maz]

I have heard of that before for some conditions - keeping them on antibiotics.

 

[Hamster Haven]

I have heard of that before for some conditions - keeping them on antibiotics.

Oh good! It does seem preferable to an expensive and invasive surgery if it works; although I'll still probably inquire about their opinion on both options once I go in again. Aside from the cost of spaying though, it also sounds like those types of surgeries are rather risky for hamsters because of their size, so that's a concern, too, especially if we can just manage.

 

[Maz]

Hopefully this will work and she may never need surgery.

 

[Hamster Haven]

Oaky continues to be stable. She comes out a few times each night to forage, but she hasn't resumed any activities like digging or her wheel. She does sometimes dig new paths or move bedding- just no sandbox digging. It makes me a little sad, but I'm glad she's stable. She does not seem to like the taste of the antibiotic as much, as she's fairly resistant to it in the morning, but I catch her sleeping so she doesn't fight it too much. She likes the metacam, so at least at night I can chase the antibiotic with the metacam. Here is a pic I got the other night.

 

[Maz]

Aw she looks good I know it is sad when they're not wheeling any more. I find the same. Tino is pottering about happily on his meds but his wheeling days are over. How old is Oaky now? It might be something else - they all seem to get weaker back legs (arthritis maybe) as they get older. Even on the metacam, Tino still clearly finds it uncomfortable trying to run on a wheel - but he can zoom around on the flat/floor ok. Must be the angle.

 

[Hamster Haven]

Aw she looks good I know it is sad when they're not wheeling any more. I find the same. Tino is pottering about happily on his meds but his wheeling days are over. How old is Oaky now? It might be something else - they all seem to get weaker back legs (arthritis maybe) as they get older. Even on the metacam, Tino still clearly finds it uncomfortable trying to run on a wheel - but he can zoom around on the flat/floor ok. Must be the angle.

Well, she's not old (based on my estimate when I adopted her, only about 1 year 4 months... (though I suppose that IS middle-aged?), but that age combined with her pyometra, even with it being treated, has perhaps aged her faster in the physical mobility sense. I still have a wheel in her cage- I've been reluctant to move it out in case she starts feeling more energetic, but I have started shifting things in her enclosure to give her more lateral options, and I think I'm going to keep working on that.

Last night she was out and so I decided to just quick spot clean her toilet area, and she immediately came back into the hideout (the top was off for me to remove the bedding) and started trying to figure out what I was doing! I was like, "Oaky! I'm trying to clean when you're out so I don't disturb you, and now you're getting in the way! I just want to clean your wet bedding!" But we got it done

 

[Maz]

It's not fair is it. But she could carry on as a slightly disabled hamster and still live her life out happily

 

[Hamster Haven]

UPDATES:

So, lots of stuff.

Oaky had her last follow-up vet visit last Saturday. The infection looked to have resolved itself, so she's still on Metacam, but not antibiotics. There were some small black dots on her underside, so the vet was concerned she might have Demodex. We did a skin scrape, but we'd already been there a long time, so I didn't want to wait for the results, and I had her given the preventative treatment since it is supposed to be innocuous. She was weighed again. She had lost some weight again from when she initially came in with inflammation, and yet she's still a bit overweight- 242 grams. The vet approved of her diet and said her teeth looked good and her heart and lungs sounded good.

Strangely, she had some kind of adverse reaction to her check-up that night, and I almost brought her to an emergency vet the next day. I can add the video later if anyone wants to see, but her eyes were slightly bulging and she was moving very slowly when she came out of her sleeping area around 10PM. She had had Metacam around 6pm and the vet treatment between 1 and 2PM.

I didn't end up bringing her into the vet again, as her eyes were looking better the next morning. The skin scrape ended up coming back negative for Demodex. The vet said that as long as I continue to monitor her and don't see changes, I don't need to come back in for a follow-up, but I'm still on the fence. It's weird that she's lost weight from when she had gotten really chonky, and yet I feel like I can see better now that she's overweight a little, because it's like her bottom is a little thicker than the rest of her body in an odd way. I wish I could get her more activity, but she doesn't come out as much or use her wheel, so I'm torn about taking her out in the bathtub on some evenings to force a little more exercise or not- maybe that would just annoy her if she's slowed down due to pain? Judging by food intake and sounds (water bottle), I think she comes out to forage about 3x per day, but she mostly forages, drinks, and then goes back into her hide.

Anyone experienced anything like this? or have thoughts?

 

[Maz]

Hi. It's possible it could be a reaction to Invermectin, if she was given that for potential demodex mites. It's still a drug and some may react differently to others. It can actually be quite toxic to hamsters if the dose is a bit high. That's the only thing I can think of. Or just general stress after the vet check possibly,

Glad she is ok again now I do remember one person had a very sad incidence where they misread the dose of invermectin and both robos died quite suddenly - although that was probably a very large overdose.

The little black dots may just an ageing thing on her skin

 

[Hamster Haven]

Hi. It's possible it could be a reaction to Invermectin, if she was given that for potential demodex mites. It's still a drug and some may react differently to others. It can actually be quite toxic to hamsters if the dose is a bit high. That's the only thing I can think of. Or just general stress after the vet check possibly,

Glad she is ok again now I do remember one person had a very sad incidence where they misread the dose of invermectin and both robos died quite suddenly - although that was probably a very large overdose.

The little black dots may just an ageing thing on her skin

Yeah, I tried to research online, and the best I could figure is what you're suggesting- either the dose was too high, or she just got generally stressed, since she's still not in the best condition. Of course, there's nothing I can do about it now, but I feel terribly- I thought it seemed reasonable that she could have mites since she'd been immunocomprised, and then I try to help and end up irritating her more! Although at least it does seem to have passed (that initial stress reaction).

I guess technically she's getting on in age, but I think the infection she has has "accelerated" her aging. While she's not young, I feel like she's now acting much older than 1.5 years! :/ She IS enjoying her daily metacam though I think it feels like a treat for her, and she's made her sleeping area easy for me to access again. It was only the antibiotic that she seemed to grow tired of.

 

[Maz]

Aw glad she is enjoying her metacam And yes the antibiotics can make them feel and look a bit ropey until the course is finished sometimes. All hamsters vary - technically old age is from 18 months, which she is, but I've usually found they don't have really noticeable signs until about age 2. But signs can start gradually - eg sleeping longer, weak back legs (struggling to climb things) even though they may seem fine and healthy.

She's a little trooper. I suppose female hamsters could also have some hormonal thing going on that isn't always obvious as well.

 

[Hamster Haven]

Aw glad she is enjoying her metacam And yes the antibiotics can make them feel and look a bit ropey until the course is finished sometimes. All hamsters vary - technically old age is from 18 months, which she is, but I've usually found they don't have really noticeable signs until about age 2. But signs can start gradually - eg sleeping longer, weak back legs (struggling to climb things) even though they may seem fine and healthy.

She's a little trooper. I suppose female hamsters could also have some hormonal thing going on that isn't always obvious as well.

True! I think I'll keep on doing what I'm doing, but I may try to put her in the bath one night when she's more alert- just to see if it invigorates her at all. She definitely had some alert moments at the vet, which was nice to see, and she does poke around when foraging- it's not just straight to a bowl and back.

 

[Maz]

It sounds like she’s still enjoying hamstering then