critter diseases
 

Anyone have any experience with hamsters having wet tail?

According to several pet Web sites, poor Matilda will likely die within a few days with or without treatment. I'm not sure what to do at this point - I noticed her getting sluggish a few days ago, but then she was fine for two days ... but late last night I finally noticed most of the symptoms (diarrhea, won't sit up, very sickly).

Poor hammy. I did get berated by a friend for not taking her to a vet today ... but, uh, I wasn't really looking to spend $100 in vet fees on a $4 critter. I bought Dri-tail medication from the pet store, but she's already too weak to really take it, even though I've tried forcing it into her mouth.

Hm.

I REALLY hope you'll consider taking her to the vet. I don't know anything about hamsters (sorry), but it definitely sounds like she's hurting. It seems crazy to spend all that money on a little critter, but you don't want her to suffer. :(

Yeah, I feel horrible ... but I just can't justify the expense. Most sites are saying 48 hours to as long as one week, regardless of what treatment is given. I've done all that I can - changed her cage twice since yesterday, cleaned all her stuff, forced her to drink water, fed her some veggies. Poor poor hamster.

Here's a picture from her better days.

<IMG SRC="http://www.supdogg.com/images/matilda.jpg">

She's SO cute! I'm so sorry. It sounds like she's in bad shape--have you thought of bringing her in just to have her put to sleep? That really might be the kind thing to do at this point, and it might not be as expensive. I'm so sorry--I know how hard it is to lose a pet.

I agree with Garnet. I couldn't justify that much money for a hamster, especially if it's not going to do any good, but I doubt it would be terribly expensive just to have her put to sleep. If shes suffering, I really think you should do what you can to end it for her quickly.

That is one cute hamster-critter. I had to do that once to a very sick kitten--have her put to sleep. There was no other way. If you can find a decent vet they usually give you a break on this sort of thing. The critter is counting on you to do the right thing. I am so sorry.

:headshake
Sorry about Matilda, BN, but be rational. She is dependent on you for food, water and belly rubs, but she's not depending on you for anything. She would have to have comprehension and I doubt she's pondering the meaning of life. I fully understand your not wanting her to suffer pain, but how do you know she's feeling anything other than unusual?
Fortunately it's not my call, it's yours. Sorry, man. :(

I know how that is, Breaking. I'm a rat owner myself and have been for several years. I'd say the best you can do now is make sure the little sprite is comfy. Keep trying to help but just make sure she's comfortable and feels loved.

We had to put down Petes old Huskie/Sheperd mix a few years ago, it was a bummer. What causes wet tail? Chickens can get something called cocxydosis(sp?) where they start losing control of their legs and get diahrea. Chickens are easier to put down though, being somewhat further down on the pet chart. Anyway, this will pass, give yourself permission to get another pet when it feels right.

I worked at a PetSmart for a number of years and so have some experience with Wet Tail. We would get a shipment of Hamsters in at least once a month where they would come down with it. There are several medications out for it, and as far as I remember most the Hamsters we treated made full recoveries within a week or two. Last I checked most petsmarts carry the medicine for it (we just pull some meds off the store shelves every time we needed it)

Here is some links to a few of the products.

This is the one we most often used in the store.

This one might work just as well.

Good luck.

oops, should have read your full post. I guess you already got her medicine but it sounds like she might be too far gone. Give her a day to give the meds a chance to start working and if she seems to still be suffering then you should consider just putting her down.

Sorry to hear about that. My daughter had the biggest, cutest hamster I've ever seen. It was a hairless one, which seemed kind of oogy at first but was really neat. She got it for Kindergarten graduation this spring. It seemed smarter and friendlier than any hamster we've had (and I've had a lot, beginning when I was a kid). About a week after we got her she developed wet tail and despite our best efforts she died and my daughter was heartbroken. We got her a rabbit instead and he's quite a bastard. Sorry to hear about the little mite. Hope she gets well quickly and if not, don't get a rabbit.

Sometimes rabbits can be great pets, I have two fantastic ones. Both come to the front of the cage to say Hi and when let out to run around both check in every few min to get their head scratched. I did have two "bastard" rabbits before them, that hated people, scratched me all the time and just wanted to be left alone. So it can be a crap shoot if you get a good one. I think the breed has a huge amount to do with it. When I got these two I researched the breed a lot and then chose. One was a rescue given to me by a co-worker but he happened to be a breed I was interested in. And then a few years later I got the other one as my mom had one of that breed and he was awesome. So sometimes they do work out.

After working in a pet store for so many years I recommend a Guinea pig as a pet for a child. They don't stink like a rat or a mouse, they aren't temperamental like hamsters can be (esp. those Siberian Hamsters the stores sell, man those things are mean), and if you get them as a pet to teach your child responsibility, the guinea pig will let you know if your kid isn't feeding it. They are small so its easy for a kid to pick them up and hold them, and they are a fairly lazy animal, which means they are perfectly happy to sit on the couch with you and do nothing.

Here is a photo of my hairless guinea pig, Blaze. They look kinda ugly but they are really cool pets.

I received a vaguely hamster related call the other night ...

Caller (frantic): My 7 year old killed the hamster!! What should I do?

Wolf (sorting through all kinds of really good possibilties that would get her fired: Call this other number. They specialize in children.

(what were the other possibilties, you may wonder? --- "Give your kid a damn good spanking." "Dig a small hole in the backyard and dump it in." "Is your small monsterchild also lighting fires and wetting the bed? Kill him now before he grows up and moves on to humans." "Go buy another hamster and hope your other kid doesn't notice.")

how about "throw some libby hot sauce on it and grill it for 6 minutes on medium heat."?

How CUUUUTE!!! What a cool critter! :thumbsup:

Cool but expensive. There are two breeds of hairless Guinea Pigs. The Skinny Pig breed which is what I own 3 of. They have hair on their face, feet, and hmhm area. The other breed Baldwins have no hair at all (not even whiskers). A Skinny male will run you $50-75 and a Skinny Female will run you $75-100. Baldwins are more expensive at $75-100 for males and $100-125 for females. They really are an awesome pet, I have some normal guinea pigs with hair but the hairless have the better personalities. Now before anyone shits bricks at how much I spent on a rodent, I didn't spend that much. I waited two years till I was able to find a good deal on them.

That's really freakin' cute! I love the little whiskers on the snout. The hairless hamster had that to a lesser degree and it reminded me of my granny - heh. My daughter has the bastard rabbit (and he's really not that much of a bastard, I guess - he's bitten everyone in the house but me, and scratches like a fiend whenever he feels like it. He has also eaten through several phone cords, computer cables, etc. We were trying to let him be a free-range (or free-house, I guess) rabbit as he seemed pretty well potty-trained from the beginning, but when he started acting like an asshole we decided he could hang out in his cage is my daughter wasn't playing with him. I have a short-tailed possum, which is awesome and cute and friendly. And he looks bloodthirsty when he yanks crickets up by their legs and gnaws on them like drumsticks. I consider that a bonus. :D

Awww, you have a possum! I've always wanted a squirrel that was a little bit more of a pet than an appreciative backyard resident. I've got rats that I've trained to ride around on my shoulder. I figure a squirrel would be more apt to do it naturally, what with the branch perching and setting on tree trunks like they were flat ground.

That sounds a lot like one of my rabbits. :) The first one I got was suppose to be a female but turned out the be a male. He started spraying the walls and everything with urine. We didn't have a local vet who knew enough about fixing rabbits to want to take him to them, so he remained intact. The spraying got so bad I gave him to a friend who had a big outside Warren like thing and the bunny was very happy there. The second one I got was just anti social. She didn't like to be held, she didn't like to be petted, and when she was out running around she didn't like the be caught. I had huge scratches on my arms from her. She would do bad things (rip the carpet up in corners) while out and then you couldn't catch her to put her back in her cage. When she passed due to old age I considered not getting any more rabbits. I decided I would try it one more time. I started to do a bunch of research on the different breeds, I had narrowed the list down the 5 breeds. Then my coworker called and said her mom had found a rabbit running around in a field and did I want it. I said I would take it and find it a home, but he was so cute and sweet that he ended up staying. He was one of the 5 breeds I had narrowed it down to. There is a photo of him below. I had heard stories about bunnies being great pets but had almost given up on that idea.

The coloration makes him look very much like a domesticated rabbit rather than a wild one ... whatever was he doing running around in a field? (Escapee from a nearby pharmeceutical house?)

I knew someone who had a squirrel. They found it when it was a day old, something like the mom had gotten run over or something. They bottle fed it and so it was a pretty tame pet. It was cool how it would climb up them like they were a tree.

I always wanted a pet skunk. I think it would be cool to have guests over who don't know you have a skunk. Then have the skunk walk into the living room and freak everyone out. Way cool. But I guess even if they are desented they still have a skunky smell so I am not sure I could stand to have one as a pet.

I had a couple bad run ins with some wild opossums so they are not my favorite but have never seen a short tailed one. Do you have a picture you can post?

A friend of mine in elementary school had a descented skunk as a pet. She was very cute and didn't smell at all skunky.

Oh he's a domestic breed alright, the breed is called a Dutch according to the books and websites. He was running loose but ran right up to my co-workers mom. She just picked him up. They put posters up for found rabbit but no one ever claimed him and they didn't want to keep him. I imagine he escaped from someones house, a breeders yard, or something like that, but I wont ever know for sure. He had definitely been around humans as he was so tame. But since no one claimed him, he got to be mine, and I am very happy for that.

Really? Thats good to know. I doubt Alan will let me get one, but its good to know they don't smell Skunky should I be able to convince him to let me get one.

Warch had a squirrel!

When I'm older I wanna get a ferret. They're so neat!

http://images.google.com/images?q=tb...on.mec.edu/bsc

Evil, nasty, tail-less, urban squirrel from HELL! Aaahhhhh!

my mom had a ferret when I was a baby. She has told me some funny stories about it. It had ripped a hole under the couch in the lining and would steal things from around the house and hide them in its little couch nest. If you couldn't find your favorite socks you looked under the couch. One day my mom had a bunch of church people over and the ferret decided to show some of it treasures off. It brought out a maxi pad (un-used thank god) and plopped it down on the Bishops lap. My mom was so embarrassed. She has a ton of crazy stories like that about her ferret.

So update us on the hamster. Is she better? Did she die? Did you end up taking her to the vet? Let us know.

Ironic that you just posted that ...

Matilda croaked last night. :( I went out drinking and came home to find her belly up and stiff-legged in her little house thingee. I don't think I would be all that emotional under normal circumstance, but the beer definitely drew a tear or two when I saw her.

That makes hamster no. ... 6!

:yeldead:

Sorry to hear about dear Matilda's passing. Maybe you should try gerbils?

Or turtles or parrots. They live long. Cost you a chunk outta thee ole wallet.

First of all, ferrets are the most disgusting, foul, SMELLY pets you can ever have.

Secondly... When I was a child, my best friend had a perpetual pet hamster. Every six months or so, it would die or escape the cage somehow, and her parents would buy her a new one. One day at her house I saw a hamster crawling under the bed, and we caught it. But her current hamster was still in its cage. By the markings we could tell that this one was Muffy--an escapee from about a year and a half earlier. It had lived in the house somehow that whole time.

I have pet mice in my house. They live in the walls, and in the attic. I have an unusual relationship with them, because I try to kill these pets with traps when I can.

One of my new age treehugger friends found a nest of fieldmice in her garage (they had actually fallen from one of the rafters, survived that, but mom never came back). She decided to "save" them. I more than once ended up feeding with an eyedropper a creature I know I should have been crushing the head of to save me the trouble of disposing of a trap somewhere later along the line. None of the six in the litter made it, although two of them did very nearly make it to "large enough to live on their own" stage.

I've been around a few ferrets, and I've found they are less "smelly" than cats and dogs. They definitely do have a different scent than other animals--some people can deal with it, some people can't. It never bothered me, as long as cages were kept clean and baths were regularly given. If you've come into a contact with a ferret who hasn't has his scent glands removed, that's a different story. Any ferret you get from a pet store will already be spayed or neutered and descented. They're not for everybody, but I think they're very cool.

I think those parents were being pretty irresponsible buying that child one hamster after another. Animals aren't toys to be discarded or abused on a whim. How sad.

I hope you're not considering replacing Mathilda with another hamster. It sounds like finances are a problem for you, and you weren't able to give her the care she needed at the end. I hope she didn't suffer too much.

Any pet will do that if you don't take care of the animal and keep the cage clean if it lives in one. Male rats are notorious for being musky (it's a guy thing) but I've got 3 male rats and 4 female rats and you'd never know by the smell in my apartment. (And 2 mice!)

I second the "stinky ferrets" thought. My best friend from high school had ferrets and though she kept the cages fastidiously clean and bathed them regularly, they still had a bad smell. Yuck. I do think they're cute, though, and I enjoy playing with them when we go to the pet store.

My sister's husband once worked at a department store and a bicycle fell off a display on the wall and squashed a mouse's nest that was hidden in there somehow. There were a bunch of baby mice and all of them were crushed except one. It was extremely tiny; didn't even have it's eyes open yet. He brought it home and she got up every two hours (and she's a lazy bitch, so this was no mean feat) to feed it with an eyedropper. The put in it one of those plastic bug-catching thingies that kids put fireflies in, with a heating pad underneath, and that damned mouse lived for two years.

I say go ahead and get another hamster, if you want one that is. The ones that don't get bought get fed to other animals (snakes and large lizards). They're cheap for a reason. I can't say that I blame you for not putting Matilda in Rodent ICU - and any responsible vet will tell you there's not much you can do for a hamster who's gone south. Most of the time all you're doing is prolonging their suffering. If I had a million dollars, I wouldn't spend $300 to treat a sick hamster, and I love animals, especially cute little furry ones. What's the sense in giving the little guy a few more days if he's just going to be miserable? We once splinted the leg of an escaped hamster on the advice of a vet. He had escaped and jumped off the bedroom dresser, breaking his back leg. We used popsicle sticks and thread, which he promptly chewed off. He spent the rest of his rather lengthy life with a big knot on his leg, but it didn't slow him down.

Sorry for you and Matilda. :(

I agree about not spending lots of money on an animal that has no chance of survivng. But don't you think it's your responsibility when you own a pet to make sure they don't suffer when they are that sick? It doesn't cost very much to have a sick animal euthanized, especially a hamster. Sometimes the humane society or caring vets will do it for free.

Sure, it's definitely your responsibility to see that they don't suffer needlessly. That's my point. "Treatment" of a hamster would involve what? My vet has told me several times that wet tail is a roll of the dice for hamsters. Give them the medicine they have at the pet store. It it doesn't work, buy a new hamster. If an animal was truly in so much pain that it needed to be euthanized, it could be done immediately and for free at home (not that I could, but that's what my dad and husband are for). Trucking around a dying hamster to the vet or human society and waiting for an appointment is cruel, IMO.

Just out of curiousity, how would they go about doing it? I can think of lots of ways to kill a hamster, but if minimizing pain is a goal, what method would you use?

Here is a link to directions for a small CO2 chamber used to put small animals down. http://www.alysion.org/euthanasia/index.html I have used it a few times when I had a guinea pig get very sick or one get very old. It was used when nothing more could be done and I wanted to be able to comfort the animal as it passed. You can put your hand in the container and pet the animal while the CO2 mixes in. I am sure there are other methods but the CO2 is the only one I have used.

For the record the only reason I have used the above method is because my vet doesn't let me be with the animal while it passes. I don't know why, he just doesn't. I have had a few I wanted to be there for and a few that were just too sick to take back to the vet. My vet says its an approved method for putting them down and if I have the stomach to do it, I should go ahead.

So it's more "humane" to snap its neck or drown it? If it's so humane, how come you can't do it yourself, and instead rely on your husband or father to do it for you? That doesn't make sense. According to the HSUS, the ONLY form of humane euthanasia is lethal injection. I don't agree that anyone should try to "euthanize" an animal at home, whether it's free or not. A trip to the local vet and $20 (or whatever) isn't a lot to ask, in my opinion.

I've never heard such a thing--no legitimate vet would EVER deny you that. If your vet doesn't want you to be with your pet when it is euthanized, they are doing something that they don't want you to see. I would be very suspicious of that, and if I were you, I'd find a new vet.

i don't know what the cost is for a hamster but i know that for a 40lb dog i paid well over $250.
even if it is $20... it was a $4 hamster. try to make it comfortable, but come on.

I would but there is only one in the county that knows anything about Guinea Pigs. Before I found this vet I took my pigs to my dog and cat vet. He gave a sick pig of mine Penicillin and it died within a few hours. I did some research (I looked in my veterinary drug handbook) and turns out Guinea pigs are deathly allergic to anything the the penicillin family. I would rather have a vet that knows his stuff and prescribes the right medicine on the rare occasion I need it, then one who just tries things without knowing the effects. I really wish it was different but I am not willing to let my pets be Guinea Pigs (pardon the expression) for a vet who doesn't know what he is doing. Sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils and thats what I did in this case.

Don't even ask me the story about one of the other vets in the area who refused to put a sick old rabbit down and instead made the owner take it home so it could suffer another week. Now that guy is a horrible vet in my book.

Holy crap! $250! I had no idea it was that expensive. We have an old cat that's gonna need it soon. I better start looking into this so I don't get ripped off like that. That's highway robbery.

The home euthanization technique posted earlier was just for rats, hamsters etc. I wonder if there's a way to do cats?

You paid $250 to have 40 lb. dog put to sleep? You got ripped off.

A few months agoI had to take my very old, sick cat in to the emergency vet to be put down. It was on weekend and in the evening. Even at the emergency vet (which are notorious for ripping people off) it cost me less than $100.

Again, just my advice--I've had animals my whole life, many of whom eventually had to be put to sleep. I've NEVER had a vet refuse to let me be with my pet when they were being euthanized--in fact, they usually encouraged me to be with them. It sounds like your vet knows guinea pigs, and it's important to have and expert with these types of animals. But I really wouldn't trust him if you know you have to have one euthanized. I hate to say it, but I'll bet you anything he's not using a lethal injection to put them down in order to save money, while still charging you the full price. It just doesn't make sense.

Yeah, take it down to your local humane society. They will usually do it for $20 or $30. Call them first to find out about what time they do it each day so your cat doesn't sit in a kennel all day scared shit less because the dogs don't stop barking.

i checked it out and that was actually a fairly decent price. that does include disposal of the body though. they don't exactly let you walk out of there with your dead pet. i couldn't have done it anyway, i was too heartbroken - the best damn dog i ever had. and on that note does anyone want this EFFING boxer my wife got me to replace him?

I left with my cat and buried her in the back yard--I've done that with almost every animal. Granted, it is more difficult with a larger animal, but they can't force you to use their disposal service.

Having them do the burial or cremation is where they get you--they know you're upset, and will try to talk you into stuff. A vet once tried to sell me a burial plot for $900--no way. I love my animals, but that's just waste of money.

Your probably right but lucky for me they don't get sick on me very often, and since the vet told me about the CO2 thing the last few that did need to be put down were done that way. They seemed to travel to the other side in peace (at least it appeared that way and thats what I am hoping on), and they certainly seem calmer as they don't have the car ride and the barking dogs, etc a few min. before they pass. I am not saying someone should use the chamber in lue of Vet care, but if you simply are not going to take it to the vet at least put it down humanely (and whacking it on the kitchen counter or floor is not humanely). I would rather people have decent options then just letting it suffer or putting it down in a way that might be painful.

It might have been that your states has a law against burying your pet. In some states when a vet, animal control officer or humane society worker puts your pet down they cant legally give you the body back because you will just go bury it in your yard. I volunteered at a vet office when I lived in CA and it was really hard sometimes to be in the room with these people while the vet told them they couldn't take the body home. She was bound by law so couldn't do it. I don't think Utah has that law as one day at the horse vet I watched them load a dead horse back into the owners trailer as she wanted to take it home to bury it. I didn't want to know how she was A: going to dig a hole big enough and B: get that horse back out of the trailer.

I've never lived in VA so i don't know how it is there.

they didn't jam me into their own disposal service. they simply asked what i planned to do with the body and i told them i had no plans, they put me in touch with several different places and their price was the best. it was just a simple cremation, no cheesy plot or memorial service. burying animals in the yard isn't exactly an option here.

In CA they do let you take the ashes home. The problem was they did the cremation off site and the cheap places usually did several animals at a time. We gave people the option of sending the body to a crematory of their choice but sadly if they chose the cheap one they often got part of fluffy and scamp along with their precious scooter. I don't know why California has a law about burying an animal (I think it was claimed to be a sanitation issue or something) but they do. Its kinda sad that people can only take home ashes because some people really wanted to bury the dog under its favorite tree. Ashes just aren't quite the same.

I agree--I have ashes from one of my kitties, and I was never really sure if it was actually HIS ashes. I know it doesn't really matter in the long run--the animal is gone either way. It just kind of messes with the sense of closure, if that makes sense.

Paint an American flag on it and mail it to Iraq. ;)
I've a feeling the price a vet would charge would be dependent on whether you were a regular or dropped in from nowhere. Certainly a syringe of the blue juice isn't that expensive. I've seen a vet come out to the car and do it for a large dog.

Garnet - yes, I think snapping an animal's neck, as you so poetically put it, is more humane than letting an animal suffer. I wouldn't do it myself because of the "ick factor". I could probably stitch up my kids' cuts when they get hurt, but I'm not going to. Dead is dead, and unless you're torturing an animal, I don't see any reason to wait for a more clinical death if other options are available in the present.

FWIW, I have worked closely with our local humane society, and I have taken calls from people who wanted to have a sick or injured animal put down. I know that here it takes several days to get help with anything. The staff is entirely made up of volunteers, and none of them are vets. I have taken calls on Friday and found them undelivered on Monday. We have one 24 hour emergency pet clinic and they normally won't even answer the phone - you have to drive there and see if anyone's around.

I have a feeling I'm getting into more than I should, discussing animal issues with a PETA employee. :D