[tinyko]

I have a syrian male, around 8 months. Tinybear
it started around 2 weeks ago..
he stopped pooing and became skinny, 2 nights before that I remember he was resltess and irritable and trying to jump off his playpen. we noticed he is not pooing for few days..we thot he is constipating at 1st and tried to give him carrots, noticed it gave him orange poo, so we gave him lettuce and notice its green. so we stopped giving him any veg. juz his normal food and it seems to us that he is eating it.
week later we noticed a lump in his tummy and he is not as active as before..so took him to a vet who put him on antibiotic and opened up the lump and cleaned all puss in it. during that time he was refusing to eat, so we bb fed him with syringe as vet advice although he don't like it. we offered him all his favorite food but he is pushing the food away..literally picking it up in his mouth just to throw it!noticed him one night walking sideways while his body is bent like a circle although he just had an open wound, i tried to pick him up and calm him and it didnt happen again and i missed to tell it to the vet who discovered another smaller lump of puss just beside the original one and had to open it to clean and it is healing well now.
we are still feeding him with syringes (forcing) every 4 hours, and electrolytes once a day,wer taking him to vet daily for his antibiotic injection and wound care, he pood tiny amount only for one day.
2 days ago he become bloated tummy so vet gave him some laxative (cuz it seemed like gasses) and it started to work, i can hear see gass movement in his tummy and he is passing it, noticed sloppy poo (3 small pieces of poo in one thread-like mucus)..am just wondering for a week we are feeding him carrots bb food where does it all go? and why he is not pooing it? even vet is surprised.he is peeing regualry..she gave him some fluid under skin for dehydration and he is not moving much today only for pee or arrange his nest..

what could be the problem with my hammy?! any one has any idea? please!
why he is refusing to eat from the start? what has the green poo and orange poo to do with his condition now? is it related? what about the circular movements he did once before? is it some kind of neurological disease? atleast before his first surgery he was accepting the food from us even if he didnt eat it..but now he is really refusing it..throwing it away with his mouth or pushing the syringe with his tiny paws..

Vet is worried on his condition and doing everything she can to save him..I asked her once if she will suggest us to put him to sleep but she said: when there is life..there is hope..

why my tiny refuse to eat.. why he refuse to live.. ='(

This post has been edited by tinyko: 18 December 2007 - 02:44 AM

[PoptartShop]

I'm sorry about all of that...poor hammy. :(
Have you checked his teeth? Are his teeth too long? That could be a sign of him not eating...because his teeth are too long. ;) I'd get them checked, & trimmed by the vet if necessary.
Otherwise, I hope he gets better, good job with taking him to the vet.
If he is not getting better, however (if there is no hope), then I think the best thing to do is put him down to get him out of his misery. ;)
But I know you're doing all you can.

[tinyko]

PoptartShop, on Dec 17 2007, 10:03 PM, said:

I'm sorry about all of that...poor hammy. :(
Have you checked his teeth? Are his teeth too long? That could be a sign of him not eating...because his teeth are too long. ;) I'd get them checked, & trimmed by the vet if necessary.
Otherwise, I hope he gets better, good job with taking him to the vet.
If he is not getting better, however (if there is no hope), then I think the best thing to do is put him down to get him out of his misery. ;)
But I know you're doing all you can.

yes the first thing that the vet did was checking his mouth: teeth, cheecks..it was all fine..then she checked his tummy ( cuz we told her he is constipating ) but she didn't feel much poo inside..then we realised he was tricking us by collecting the food/playing with it rather than eating it..

she didn't feel any other lumps inside his tummy or tumors..and the lumps she found was outside just under the skin and it was bcuz of infection..but not the source of the problem..

[PoptartShop]

Oh okay. :(
Is he storing any food?
Hamsters usually stuff food in their cheek pouches & eat it later...did you check his nest to see if there is any food in there?

[tinyko]

PoptartShop, on Dec 17 2007, 10:11 PM, said:

Oh okay. :(
Is he storing any food?
Hamsters usually stuff food in their cheek pouches & eat it later...did you check his nest to see if there is any food in there?

unfortunately he is not storing or stuffing any food :(

he is under close observation by us and the vet for a week now..
he played alittle with the wheel last night but couldn't continue due to his bloated tummy..
today bcuz of the laxative Vet gave him he is curled up in one corner and not doing very well..and u can hear his tummy passing all the gass..
his wounds is getting better..
his tummy is getting smaller..
we are feeding him with syringe..
no poo excpet for sloppy one just this after noon
he is peeing normally..vet said his bladder is full..
he is grooming a little and building his nest from the tissue paper we gave him..

but why he refuse to eat?? it's been over 2 weeks now!

[PoptartShop]

I'm not sure about the not eating, but I'm sure it has something to do with his sickness. :(
If he's not really improving I would put him down. :(
It may be a hard decision but it may be the right thing to do if he is not getting any better.

[tinyko]

the HARDEST decision of all..I don't think I will be able to take responsibility of such thing, I will just let the vet decides what is best for our tiny cuz I know we are all doing everything we can to save her...

need ur prayers!

[Meowmies]

Oh no, I'm so sorry. You clearly love him very much and you're doing everything you can for him.
I wish I knew what was wrong with him, but I haven't ever read about another case like Tiny's. :(

Hopefully missPixy will come along and have some ideas, she is the medical expert of the forum.

I wish you the best of luck and hope he manages to pull through.
xXx

[tinyko]

Meowmies, on Dec 18 2007, 12:20 PM, said:

Oh no, I'm so sorry. You clearly love him very much and you're doing everything you can for him.
I wish I knew what was wrong with him, but I haven't ever read about another case like Tiny's. :(

Hopefully missPixy will come along and have some ideas, she is the medical expert of the forum.

I wish you the best of luck and hope he manages to pull through.
xXx

Thank you for ur wishes, yes I LOVE HIM so much! he become my baby..
and he made it through the night..I will take him to the vet in about an hour..
his tummy still bloated but when i palpate him on the side there are like soft layers in it full of air or gas...he is peeing more regulary, am still feeding him and he still refuse to eat the food..

I hope misspixy will be able to read this..

I feel like food is causing him pain! :( :( :(

This post has been edited by tinyko: 18 December 2007 - 06:03 PM

[PoptartShop]

Yes, I hope MissPixy will come along as well. ;)
She will definitely be able to help you.

I'm sorry this has happened but keep doing your best, like I said I know you're doing all you can for him.
Good luck at the vets! I'll pray for him that it turns out okay. :(

[missPixy]

hamsters have a really delicate digestive system~~ once it's been disrupted it's amazing how difficult it is to get it functioning correctly again. basically, a hamster has a digestive tract that needs to be "working" all the time. this means a diet of high-fiber grasses, seeds etc keep the stomach working to digest and in turn creates "good" digestive bacteria, or flora.

but when a hamster gets sick and stops eating for whatever reason (constipation, for example, but depression too after the loss of a housemate) the digestive tract stops working. and the "good" bacteria dies and becomes replaced by bad bacteria that causes the gasses you're hearing. also his discomfort... his tummy is filled with gas, he feels very very uncomfortable and physically can't eat much now because of the pain.

i'm still not clear on the abcess and its location in tiny. was it visible from the skin, like a large pimple? or did she have to actually anesthestize him and perform surgery to remove it?

although the antibiotic was necessary, it probably didn't help tiny's digestive tract very much. he's not still taking it, is he? if so, he has to come off it now because it's just making his digestive system worse.

there's a powder compound called Critical Care for Small Herbivores that's made precisely for animals in tiny's condition. Critical Care is basically timothy hay powder and other vitamins that's mixed with water and syringe-fed to the hamster. the timothy hay is a very high-fiber food that begins building up the good bacteria again.

it's available through vets only, but you can also try making your own by just buying a bag of timothy hay and getting a handful of the tiny particles at the bottom of the bag. it has to be as powdery as possible. you can mix it with plain, unflavored yogurt and syringe feed to tiny. if you can't find timothy hay, the plain unflavored yogurt will do. try giving him 1/4 tablespoon at a time.

this also happens to bunnies quite a bit. you can try actually gently massaging tiny's tummy to try and help him get rid of the gas. even if he's irritable, just pretend he's a small child and be deliberate with him. once you're massaging with your fingertips, if you can get some gas to pass he'll understand you're just trying to help.

[tinyko]

Thank you miss pixy & pop for ur replies..

I'm very sorry to inform you that it is too late for tiny because we had to put him to sleep:(
the hardest decision that we ever did but she was in alot of pain and the vet said the prognosis is very poor..
I wish if I saw ur reply before we take her to the vet :( :( :(

his tummy was bloating but hard and vet was just feeling his guts, his breathing was depressing and she said he might die tonight or tomorrow..that is why we decided it is best to put him out of his suffering..after 2 long weeks of suffering and painful procedures and injections..

yesterday was his last doze of antibiotic..

the abcess was not like a pimple..it is a large lump under his skin between his muscles but outside the stomache, she had to inject a needle to see if it is not a tumor before removing it, then when the needle came out with pus she said she has to open him up through the surgery & gas anasthesia..then after few days we discovered a smaller lump near the first one and she made a small incision with no ansthesia and it was pus too..both of his wounds were healing normally..

Now I feel terrible..I can not stop crying, and specialy after reading ur explanation of what might be his problem I am really questioning our decision of putting him to sleep..

I know I will never get peace ever until I know why..:( :( :(

This post has been edited by tinyko: 19 December 2007 - 01:56 AM

[PoptartShop]

I am so sorry for your loss, may he RIP, free from pain. :(
Aww, don't blame your decision. He is now in a better place, no longer sick.
I hope you're doing okay, it wasn't your fault.
You were so good to him, doing all you could to help him. You are such a good owner, don't ever blame yourself!
He is free from pain now, so be thankful he's in a better place.

[tinyko]

My heart is really broken..but seeing him suffer crush my heart more..
I know it was the right decision at that time for my little one was really in pain..he drift away in my arms..eyes were still open she resisted the nercotic inj. vet gave him and gasped for air..she had to give him another dose to make sure he will sleep..but his eyes kept open looking at me..

we had a little funeral for him in his favorite spot, burried him under grass..

I can't stop crying till now..I will never adopt a pet in my life..EVER :( :(

[princealexis]

Aww! don't blame yourself, that's how i felt when alexis died :(
I said i'd never get a hamster ever again, but now i have another one and everything is just fine.
you can definately have another pet