June’s Thread - A week in the life of Toni

[Maz]

Aw she looks really contented there Those wheels do end up looking like that but it'll probably just wipe off It looks like white streaks on the running track where feet have been - I've had that before and the plastikote still works - so hopefully it'll just wipe off

 

[hamster lover 123]

Thanks Maz, I’ll try wiping it off

Aw she looks really contented there Those wheels do end up looking like that but it'll probably just wipe off It looks like white streaks on the running track where feet have been - I've had that before and the plastikote still works - so hopefully it'll just wipe off

 

[Hank]

She's looks really cute in the middle of the wheel

 

[hamster lover 123]

Day 6
The vet has given me a mousse to apply on Toni’s fur to help with the balding situation, she liked it being rubbed in. Smells like coconut! We have been doing it now for over a week and the fur seems to be looking a little better.

Its a slightly blurry photo, but she is a very wiggly hammy

 

[Hank]

Glad it's getting better. Did they say what they think it is?

 

[Maz]

It does look slightly improved already maybe. I think the spot on can take a while to work though can't it? Does she lick the mousse off if it smells of coconut?!

 

[hamster lover 123]

Glad it's getting better. Did they say what they think it is?

It could be mites, age-related or allergies. The worst case scenario is that she has early stages of cushings or skin cancer. They aren’t too sure really.

 

[hamster lover 123]

It does look slightly improved already maybe. I think the spot on can take a while to work though can't it? Does she lick the mousse off if it smells of coconut?!

Yes! I have seen Toni licking it off a little bit.

 

[Maz]

I don't think the fur loss is in the right place for Cushings. It's more likely to be mites. Skin cancer, her skin might have gone more pigmented. I hope it gets back to normal soon. She seems healthy and happy enough.

 

[hamster lover 123]

I don't think the fur loss is in the right place for Cushings. It's more likely to be mites. Skin cancer, her skin might have gone more pigmented. I hope it gets back to normal soon. She seems healthy and happy enough.

I agree, I think the fur loss is usually symmetrical with cushings.

 

[Hank]

Let's hope the treatment works, if it's already improved that's a good sign

 

[hamster lover 123]

Day 7
Having a delicious meal…harry hamster mixed with burgess nuggets! Thanks for following Toni’s week We’ll let you know how her fur is doing soon

 

[Hank]

Thank you for sharing your week. It was so lovely to see more of beautiful Toni.

 

[Maz]

Lovely photo! Is that the yellow pot from the Hamster Heaven? Our first hamster had some fun with that - and I think @Coco61 did as well - a few stories about it Thank you for this week - and thank you to Toni for sharing her treatment with us! I do think her fur looks better on that photo as well. She is such a gorgeous girl.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Gorgeous girl! I see the yellow pot has had a few friendly nibbles on the edge. It must be a favourite!

 

[Maz]

I can tell you the story about my yellow pot Our first Hamster, Charlie, was in a cage very similar to the hamster heaven - same except for smaller bar spacing basically, so I bought the hamster heaven shelf because it fitted. The shelf comes with a hole in for the inset yellow pot (if it is the same yellow pot in your photo!). Also on the shelf was a little plastic pod house that fitted into a hollow. Charlie decided to sleep in that pod house (which was too small for him!) and because the yellow pot/food bowl was in the corner of the shelf he decided it was a toilet and kept peeing in it. So he'd pee all over his food and pee would run out through the bars and sometimes down the shelf as well - which had a slope. I had some tips at the time to put his potty tray over the top of the yellow pot - if that was his pee corner, and give him a separate food bowl. Which I did. That sort of worked at first but he kept moving the potty tray out of the way and flipping the yellow pot out of the hole . Each day I'd put it back again and find the same thing had happened the next day. He would go underneath the shelf and push it out from underneath!

It wasn't working either as he would move the potty out of the way and still pee in that corner and the pee would run down the shelf (which had a slope for some weird reason) and one day I saw him actually aquaplaning down the shelf, sat in the potty, as the shelf got so wet! It was all a great game!

The pod house kept falling off as well after he stuffed it with bedding and that used to upset him. So in the end I just removed the whole shelf and put a large flat top wood house in instead, which doubled up as a shelf. He immediately moved in and moved his pee corner into a corner of the house so I put his litter tray inside the house. And that worked well. It was a big learning curve with a first hamster

I think Coco's hamster also used to flip the yellow pot out of the hole

 

[Coco61]

Maz is quite right. My hamsters always loved that little yellow pot and I used it in their larger cages.
Seeing it tipped on its side by Toni and being used to supply treats, is terrific. That means that the yellow pot can always be used if there is a more serious ‘treat’ to be delivered. If I had a medicine to deliver, it could be mixed with some soft porridge and it would always be eaten without anything left over.

 

[hamster lover 123]

I can tell you the story about my yellow pot Our first Hamster, Charlie, was in a cage very similar to the hamster heaven - same except for smaller bar spacing basically, so I bought the hamster heaven shelf because it fitted. The shelf comes with a hole in for the inset yellow pot (if it is the same yellow pot in your photo!). Also on the shelf was a little plastic pod house that fitted into a hollow. Charlie decided to sleep in that pod house (which was too small for him!) and because the yellow pot/food bowl was in the corner of the shelf he decided it was a toilet and kept peeing in it. So he'd pee all over his food and pee would run out through the bars and sometimes down the shelf as well - which had a slope. I had some tips at the time to put his potty tray over the top of the yellow pot - if that was his pee corner, and give him a separate food bowl. Which I did. That sort of worked at first but he kept moving the potty tray out of the way and flipping the yellow pot out of the hole . Each day I'd put it back again and find the same thing had happened the next day. He would go underneath the shelf and push it out from underneath!

It wasn't working either as he would move the potty out of the way and still pee in that corner and the pee would run down the shelf (which had a slope for some weird reason) and one day I saw him actually aquaplaning down the shelf, sat in the potty, as the shelf got so wet! It was all a great game!

The pod house kept falling off as well after he stuffed it with bedding and that used to upset him. So in the end I just removed the whole shelf and put a large flat top wood house in instead, which doubled up as a shelf. He immediately moved in and moved his pee corner into a corner of the house so I put his litter tray inside the house. And that worked well. It was a big learning curve with a first hamster

I think Coco's hamster also used to flip the yellow pot out of the hole

Thats so funny! Sounds like Charlie really loved his yellow bowl

 

[hamster lover 123]

Maz is quite right. My hamsters always loved that little yellow pot and I used it in their larger cages.
Seeing it tipped on its side by Toni and being used to supply treats, is terrific. That means that the yellow pot can always be used if there is a more serious ‘treat’ to be delivered. If I had a medicine to deliver, it could be mixed with some soft porridge and it would always be eaten without anything left over.

Yes, she quite likes her bowl! Sometimes I see her nudging it out of the hole in the shelf.

 

[Zara]

Thank you for sharing your week with so many fab photos! and good to hear Toni’s fur is improving. Love the yellow bowl photo, she really is tucking in