Henry

[Socks' Mum]

Very sweet to see him with his treat ball

 

[ilguy]

It's not surprising he needs some alone time. He's listening but does look a bit wary there. He probably just needs to get his life organised again. That is really good it hasn't filled up again. It could be a very slow growing tumour that doesn't give him too much trouble and might even be benign. It's the complications they cause (as your vet found) then that are the thing to keep an eye on. Your vet sounds really excellent as if she hadn't drained that area, it might have burst and that would have been traumatic all round.

If he's not keen on taking the metacam from a syringe now, what I do is drop it onto a tiny bit of baby food on a separate dish. They all seem to love baby food (pumpkin and chicken or sweet squash and chicken have always been favourites with mine). They just lick it up - even if it's not straight away, it's all gone by morning, and that is fine. It means they don't get too much "medical" interference and feel a bit more in control.

Mine have got up for the baby food every day and loved it! I don't know which jars etc you can get in the US - can you get Hipp organic or Cow and gate? The jars keep in the fridge for a day or two once opened, so you do get some waste as you only get two days-worth out of a jar but I think it's worth it! The key is to give a very small, pea or bean sized amount to make sure they eat it all - and to put the metacam on top so they get the full dose.

It's a difficult time when we are doing our best for them and also need to respect their independence and keep that bond of trust. Partly why I use the baby food method if the hamster isn't keen on being handled.

That's an awesome idea Maz, I will get some baby food and try it. Henry does love his pumpkin