Post by ghost on Jun 17, 2004 13:35:47 GMT -5
A hamster loses its biting spirit
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www.trenzhost.com/files/trial2/7768hamster_inactive_Singapore.jpg [/img]
He was two years old, huddled in the sanctuary which is a corner at the bottom of the stair case when most hamsters of his age would be actively checking out the veterinary premises. Occasionally scratching himself. He just wanted to be left alone.
"He has lost so much weight in the past few weeks. Now he is as light as a young hamster," Mr Turkle said. No more energy even to groom himself. He was becoming emaciated, yet his feed bowl was filled to the brim with seeds including corn and pellets.
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www.trenzhost.com/files/trial2/7769hamster_lump_Singapore.jpg[/img]
"There's a big lump near his left thigh," Mr Turkle turned the lethargic hamster upside down to show me the small skin ball. "He used to bite me whenever I tried to hold him, but now he does not resist."
"He is aged," Groomer Ken said. He had transported the hamster and the owner to the clinic. "Hamsters live up to two years and yours is already two years old." Mr Turkle nodded his head sadly. This must be the end of his old companion, a fighter who would bite whenever he handled him.
Ken continued: "He must be dying of old age and old hamsters, like old people, do get tumours which affect their health badly. The British researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has just found a gene called BRAF which is mutated in 70 percent of skin cancer melonama and causes uncontrolled cell growth and division and this skin lump is a melanoma." Ken reads a lot and considers himself better than some veterinarians in knowledge of pets.
Ken likes instant diagnosis and this big skin lump was definitely skin cancer. Otherwise why should it grow so big in a short period of weeks? Therefore, the hamster must be suffering from tumour and not putting on weight, despite being given good food.
I palpated the lump. It was soft. "It could be an abscess," I said. "Was he bitten by another hamster?"
"No, he had been living alone for the past year since he fought with the other hamster," Mr Turkle said.
"I would need to put the hamster under gas anaesthesia to examine further and lance the abscess," I advised. "However, your hamster may die as he is already so weak and is not fit for anaesthesia. Do you want to take the risk going back with a dead hamster?" I hope Mr Turkle would not want to take the risk as some owners would say to friends that the veterinarian killed the hamster.
Was the abscess the cause of weight loss? Mr Turkle said that his hamster does have an appetite. If he eats, he should be putting on weight.
"The hamster used to bite me whenever I hold him," was what Mr Turkle had said straight from his heart as if he was proud of this indomitable creature. Could there be something wrong with his teeth?
Mr Turkle lifted up the hamster from his sanctuary corner and held him with two fingers. The hamster struggled a bit as I pry open his mouth with a pair of forceps. He did not like his mouth to be opened. No hamster do.
I could see only one upper front tooth when there should be two. In old age, the tooth must have dropped off. There were two lower front teeth which were of the normal length of about 3 mm. However, the lone upper tooth was 10 mm long and curving inwards and hitting the lower gums.
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www.trenzhost.com/files/trial2/7771hamster_exercise_Singapore.jpg [/img]
I clipped 7 mm off the upper front tooth while the hamster tried his best to close his mouth. He was placed inside his cage. Nothing happened for a minute or two. Then he went to the exercise wheel and feebly tried to exercise. He came out of the wheel as he could not do so.
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www.trenzhost.com/files/trial2/7777hamster_drinks_Singapore.jpg [/img]
Then he went straight to the water bottle and drank as if he had been deprived of water. I could see that his tongue was deep red in colour, as if he was severely dehydrated. Hamsters don't get cracked lips when they are dehydrated but the deep redness of the tongue was one sign of dehydration.
He had problems drinking and now, the overgrown upper tooth had been cut short, he could suck water from the nipple in the water bottle, as he used to do so. As for his skin lump, nothing would be done till he had recovered his weight and strength.
Mr Turkle was most happy to see his hamster lively once more. He did favour soft seeds, Mr Turkle now told me as I asked him again whether his hamster could crack open the shells of the bigger melon seeds. Now he should be able to do so.
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www.trenzhost.com/files/trial2/7774hamster_thirsty_Singapore.jpg [/img]
This was certainly not a case of instant diagnosis. The skin lump or abscess may be a red herring, to distract my attention from the real cause of the problem of weight loss. I would need to review his case next week as Mr Turkle rushed into his friend's car to avoid the imminent pelting June thunder shower. I doubted that there would be a second visit as most Singapore hamster owners don't do it.
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www.trenzhost.com/files/trial2/6663dwarf_hamster_tumour_wakes_up_Singapore.jpg[/img]
BE KIND TO OLDER HAMSTERS.
GET TUMOURS REMOVED EARLY
WHEN THEY ARE SMALLER.
He was two years old, huddled in the sanctuary which is a corner at the bottom of the stair case when most hamsters of his age would be actively checking out the veterinary premises. Occasionally scratching himself. He just wanted to be left alone.
"He has lost so much weight in the past few weeks. Now he is as light as a young hamster," Mr Turkle said. No more energy even to groom himself. He was becoming emaciated, yet his feed bowl was filled to the brim with seeds including corn and pellets.
"There's a big lump near his left thigh," Mr Turkle turned the lethargic hamster upside down to show me the small skin ball. "He used to bite me whenever I tried to hold him, but now he does not resist."
"He is aged," Groomer Ken said. He had transported the hamster and the owner to the clinic. "Hamsters live up to two years and yours is already two years old." Mr Turkle nodded his head sadly. This must be the end of his old companion, a fighter who would bite whenever he handled him.
Ken continued: "He must be dying of old age and old hamsters, like old people, do get tumours which affect their health badly. The British researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has just found a gene called BRAF which is mutated in 70 percent of skin cancer melonama and causes uncontrolled cell growth and division and this skin lump is a melanoma." Ken reads a lot and considers himself better than some veterinarians in knowledge of pets.
Ken likes instant diagnosis and this big skin lump was definitely skin cancer. Otherwise why should it grow so big in a short period of weeks? Therefore, the hamster must be suffering from tumour and not putting on weight, despite being given good food.
I palpated the lump. It was soft. "It could be an abscess," I said. "Was he bitten by another hamster?"
"No, he had been living alone for the past year since he fought with the other hamster," Mr Turkle said.
"I would need to put the hamster under gas anaesthesia to examine further and lance the abscess," I advised. "However, your hamster may die as he is already so weak and is not fit for anaesthesia. Do you want to take the risk going back with a dead hamster?" I hope Mr Turkle would not want to take the risk as some owners would say to friends that the veterinarian killed the hamster.
Was the abscess the cause of weight loss? Mr Turkle said that his hamster does have an appetite. If he eats, he should be putting on weight.
"The hamster used to bite me whenever I hold him," was what Mr Turkle had said straight from his heart as if he was proud of this indomitable creature. Could there be something wrong with his teeth?
Mr Turkle lifted up the hamster from his sanctuary corner and held him with two fingers. The hamster struggled a bit as I pry open his mouth with a pair of forceps. He did not like his mouth to be opened. No hamster do.
I could see only one upper front tooth when there should be two. In old age, the tooth must have dropped off. There were two lower front teeth which were of the normal length of about 3 mm. However, the lone upper tooth was 10 mm long and curving inwards and hitting the lower gums.
I clipped 7 mm off the upper front tooth while the hamster tried his best to close his mouth. He was placed inside his cage. Nothing happened for a minute or two. Then he went to the exercise wheel and feebly tried to exercise. He came out of the wheel as he could not do so.
Then he went straight to the water bottle and drank as if he had been deprived of water. I could see that his tongue was deep red in colour, as if he was severely dehydrated. Hamsters don't get cracked lips when they are dehydrated but the deep redness of the tongue was one sign of dehydration.
He had problems drinking and now, the overgrown upper tooth had been cut short, he could suck water from the nipple in the water bottle, as he used to do so. As for his skin lump, nothing would be done till he had recovered his weight and strength.
Mr Turkle was most happy to see his hamster lively once more. He did favour soft seeds, Mr Turkle now told me as I asked him again whether his hamster could crack open the shells of the bigger melon seeds. Now he should be able to do so.
This was certainly not a case of instant diagnosis. The skin lump or abscess may be a red herring, to distract my attention from the real cause of the problem of weight loss. I would need to review his case next week as Mr Turkle rushed into his friend's car to avoid the imminent pelting June thunder shower. I doubted that there would be a second visit as most Singapore hamster owners don't do it.
BE KIND TO OLDER HAMSTERS.
GET TUMOURS REMOVED EARLY
WHEN THEY ARE SMALLER.
