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RainbowBrite
Can hamsters use fibreplex probiotic?
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elusive
What food are you putting the potent brew on? Maybe you could spread the dosage over different foods or just give a lower dose more frequently, you can be quite flexible with that one.
M
Member ID2
I don't know that one but will look it up, thanks.
If the odd poops were only a blib in his diet and everything looks normal over the next few days i'll cancel the appointment. I'm not going to stress him without a good reason. He had a good check over by a competent vet not that long ago.
He does look like he lost weight though. I don't think my flat scales are that reliable (i even took Clive to the vet nurse for weighing because i didn't trust my scales enough to work out a meds dosage) but the new ones seem to work well.
He was only 232g though when i weighed him yesterday.
If the odd poops were only a blib in his diet and everything looks normal over the next few days i'll cancel the appointment. I'm not going to stress him without a good reason. He had a good check over by a competent vet not that long ago.
He does look like he lost weight though. I don't think my flat scales are that reliable (i even took Clive to the vet nurse for weighing because i didn't trust my scales enough to work out a meds dosage) but the new ones seem to work well.
He was only 232g though when i weighed him yesterday.
M
Member ID2
I tried it on fresh food but it made it too soggy so he left it and porridge but he didn't like that either.
He's very much a crunchy dry food man.
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RainbowBrite
Fibreplex is carrot flavoured. I tried to find out if hamsters can have it but the only thing I found was somebody saying they gave it to their hamster in an Amazon review and a vet recommending it for a hamster on an ask vet type site.
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elusive
You could try just one drop on dry food, would that make it soggy, I wouldn’t have thought so, or one drop on veg & do that daily rather than the full dose weekly maybe.
M
Member ID2
One drop daily on fresh food could be worth a try. The one i had is out of date so must order some more.
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I haven't heard of that one? Looked it up and it seems to be in a Syringe type thing but couldn't see the ingredients. It could be difficult to work out a small enough dose for a hamster with a paste dose for guinea pigs and rabbits. Do you know the ingredients?
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Just caught up on this. Sorry you've got concerns about Jack. I watched the video and didn't notice unusual breathing particularly. Even if he did have that, there isn't much can be done really, if things are wearing out. Unless it's infection. Newt, in his latter time, would still be quite active but get short of breath and sit and pant. He'd wait till he'd stopped panting then be off again. Could be heart related possibly.
He looks quite well and doing normal things, and 232g is very good weight (although has he lost a lot and weighed a lot more than that before?). It's normal for older hamsters to lose some weight - an excessive sudden drop would normally suggest either cancer or eating difficulties.
I have never had any issues with parasites in Syrian hamsters and they've all lived to a good age and died of something else. I don't think it is that common - other than the case that it's probably normal for them to have a degree of parasites - just like they permanently have mites on the skin that don't cause issues unless something triggers them to proliferate.
I think probiotic sounds a good move. If he is getting elderly it's probably more about keeping him comfortable, but I can understand you wanting him checked over, as you don't know how old he is and it may be something that needs antibiotics.
Is he on Metacam? Is he eating normally? I think the most common thing is when they start to get toothache or arthritic jaw and don't eat the hard food - they just pouch and hoard it. Leading to weight loss. So maybe it's the time to start high calorie food supplements?
If the Dr S is making the food soggy then maybe put it in a bit of baby food and he can lick it up in that. Or does he not like baby food?
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elusive
I found some info here which gives the ingredients though not sure if it’s the full list, dose is 1ml per kg so that would be too difficult to measure for a ham I think.
https://www.protexinvet.com/fibreplex/p26
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I mentioned the dosage probably being difficult because Eriathwen had this issue with the Benebac sold in a similar type syringe in paste form. The dose per amount is much higher than the Benebac powder and almost impossible to work out a small enough dose for a hamster (we tried!). So I was guessing this might be similar.
Yes 1ml per kg would be hard to work out. Especially as it's not actually liquid I think, but a paste.
Yes 1ml per kg would be hard to work out. Especially as it's not actually liquid I think, but a paste.
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Ingredients are probably ok, but as Elusive mentioned, the dosage could be tricky.
M
Member ID2
He eats ok. In fact, he's a hamster who will sit there and crunch away on some food instead of only pouching it.
I suspected his heart weakening before because of the way he crashes out in front of his wheel after jogging on it.
He's probably quite a bit older than i was told. They are usually 2 months old when in a pet shop and i would have thought that a child's interest would last longer than a month. The mother told me he was 3 months old but he was very big.
He eats porridge but is not fond of baby food or softened science selective.
I don't think my flat scales were correct because he weighed 280g then but i would have noticed such a massive weight loss of dropping down to 232g.
Like i said, he was checked over by a vet not that long ago who had no concerns.
I wonder if the vet weighed him. They would have a record of that.
Jack made such a racket that she needed a nurse to hold him and took him to another room, with my agreement.
Soon as he was back in his carrier he was quiet.
He can be quite vocal.
I suspected his heart weakening before because of the way he crashes out in front of his wheel after jogging on it.
He's probably quite a bit older than i was told. They are usually 2 months old when in a pet shop and i would have thought that a child's interest would last longer than a month. The mother told me he was 3 months old but he was very big.
He eats porridge but is not fond of baby food or softened science selective.
I don't think my flat scales were correct because he weighed 280g then but i would have noticed such a massive weight loss of dropping down to 232g.
Like i said, he was checked over by a vet not that long ago who had no concerns.
I wonder if the vet weighed him. They would have a record of that.
Jack made such a racket that she needed a nurse to hold him and took him to another room, with my agreement.
Soon as he was back in his carrier he was quiet.
He can be quite vocal.
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elusive
I’ve got some jeweller's scales that make weighing out minute amounts like that really easy, pretty cheap on amazon when I bought them years ago, don’t know about now though, they have come in handy.
M
Member ID2
Jack didn't ask to come out last night which is unusual and not a good sign.
He got up to pouch some food and went back to bed. All i could do was leave some loo roll strips by his house.
He left his fresh food but it disappeared overnight.
The poor guy is so tired but no indication of the need for pain relief.
I just checked on him because i'm working tonight and he looked at me sleepily, probably wondering why i'm looking at him.
I attached another bottle to the bars on ground level just in case he's too tired to go up the ramp when i'm not around. I'll scatter some food, leave more loo roll strips and soak some science selective pellets. My OH will give him some fresh food tonight.
Sadly, that's all i can do for him i think. Keep him as comfortable as possible.
I have been wondering if metacam would give him a perk but he doesn't seem to be in pain. He has had slightly soft poops now and again all his life and an anti inflammatory can aggrivate this.
It can be so difficult to know what to do for the best when they get old.
He got up to pouch some food and went back to bed. All i could do was leave some loo roll strips by his house.
He left his fresh food but it disappeared overnight.
The poor guy is so tired but no indication of the need for pain relief.
I just checked on him because i'm working tonight and he looked at me sleepily, probably wondering why i'm looking at him.
I attached another bottle to the bars on ground level just in case he's too tired to go up the ramp when i'm not around. I'll scatter some food, leave more loo roll strips and soak some science selective pellets. My OH will give him some fresh food tonight.
Sadly, that's all i can do for him i think. Keep him as comfortable as possible.
I have been wondering if metacam would give him a perk but he doesn't seem to be in pain. He has had slightly soft poops now and again all his life and an anti inflammatory can aggrivate this.
It can be so difficult to know what to do for the best when they get old.
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RainbowBrite
I really am sorry. It is hard to know what to do. It sounds like you are doing all you can for sweet Jack. He sounds comfortable and it is a very good sign he ate his food overnight. I too would be wary of giving him Metacam as he is so prone to soft poops.
M
Member ID2
Yes, i'll stick to the original plan and wait until he shows signs of discomfort, hoping he won't of course and then take him to the vet to discuss pain relief.
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elusive
It may not seem as though you can do much for him but you are really & you’re considering everything he may need to stay comfortable, I wouldn’t give metacam as he’s not showing any signs of discomfort or pain, if he’s very sleepy already it might actually knock him out a bit, it can make them a bit drowsy sometimes.
He sounds quite content & although it is very sad getting old quietly & painlessly is probably the best they could ask for.
Getting up to eat his fresh food in the night is a good sign though.
He sounds quite content & although it is very sad getting old quietly & painlessly is probably the best they could ask for.
Getting up to eat his fresh food in the night is a good sign though.
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I was about to say it might be an idea to give him Metacam as we can never be sure when they have pain and discomfort when they're older - even toothache - and we know how well they can hide pain. Situations can vary. I've never seen any ill side effects of Metacam with Syrians though. Vet opinions vary as well. I know one vet said she would hate to think any older hamster might be in pain so she always gave it just in case.