B
Banned Member 1
Her coordination is still improving. A little clip of her using her wheel this evening.
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She does seem slightly better doesn't she. She seems to be enjoying things and her wheel. Loses balance occasionally still. It almost seems to be her back legs she can't keep co ordinated. They go their own way or don't work sometimes. She's running in her wheel fine though.
M
Member ID2
She's enjoying life which is great to see!
B
Banned Member 1
She came up to my hand when I put it in the cage late yesterday evening so I thought I'd try a brief session of floor time. She started spinning a lot and generally seemed agitated. I think her poor little brain gets easily overwhelmed and confused now. I think I will have to keep sessions short for now and make sure I put all her stuff in exactly the same place every time so she can build up a consistent mental map of the space. Looks like I am going to have to be much more careful from now on to minimise her exposure to stressors.
M
Member ID2
Yes, it sounds like she's coping and happy within her familiar environment but can't cope with more than that. She may do in future while her brain adjusts but i would also try not to overload her brain and avoid stress factors.
She's lucky to be with someone as tuned in to her changing needs as you are.
She's lucky to be with someone as tuned in to her changing needs as you are.
B
Banned Member 1
Yeah, the last thing I want to do is overload her and trigger a relapse or another stroke :S It's an adjustment process for me as well as her.
B
Banned Member 1
I tried again briefly today and she seemed a lot less stressed. Kept only had her out for a short while though to be safe...
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She seems better when running in a straight line doesn’t she - as if she forgets to be stressed - and like when running on the wheel. She is circling a bit though still. This time when she goes back to her cage it will all be familiar and the same as before so will help build confidence each time.
I had a Syrian who got highly stressed after being left somewhere for 10 days when we were on holiday. He was literally doing circuits and repeat behaviours - and started bar chewing.
He was like that for about two weeks. Eventually I sort of shocked him out of it by doing a full cage clean including wiping all the bars down inside and out. In case he could still smell the scent of other hamsters from where he’d been staying. That actually worked snd he slowed down and was interested and distracted by the change. Different circumstances - in my case a change got him out of the stress behaviours.
But I think stability is probably the key with Snowy now. Not changing anything for a while. Distraction helps as well though. It’s like she’s distracted oit if it when she’s running. Hiding treats on different areas of the cage (same areas each time) can help with distraction to and get them into a routine of looking for the treat in the same place each day.
I hope she keeps improving.
I had a Syrian who got highly stressed after being left somewhere for 10 days when we were on holiday. He was literally doing circuits and repeat behaviours - and started bar chewing.
He was like that for about two weeks. Eventually I sort of shocked him out of it by doing a full cage clean including wiping all the bars down inside and out. In case he could still smell the scent of other hamsters from where he’d been staying. That actually worked snd he slowed down and was interested and distracted by the change. Different circumstances - in my case a change got him out of the stress behaviours.
But I think stability is probably the key with Snowy now. Not changing anything for a while. Distraction helps as well though. It’s like she’s distracted oit if it when she’s running. Hiding treats on different areas of the cage (same areas each time) can help with distraction to and get them into a routine of looking for the treat in the same place each day.
I hope she keeps improving.
B
Banned Member 1
She seems pretty chill now when she's in her cage. I don't think her mobility/balance issues are bothering her that much. Whenever she falls over she just gets straight back up and continues what she was doing. I am back to scatterfeeding her and she's enjoying searching around for food. Often pops her head out briefly once in the day for a snack and a drink of water now. But yeah, stability is important for her so will be keeping cage changes to a minimum.
R
RainbowBrite
You are doing such a wonderful job of caring for little Snowy. She is in such good hands with you.
M
Member ID2
She seems to be improving or maybe adapting to her condition which is good to see.
B
Banned Member 1
A little clip from last thursday.
She's definitely more agile now and can usually get around pretty well. Occasionally though she seems to momentarily lose control of her muscles and twitches for a second or two, but then goes back to whatever she was doing and doesn't seem particularly stressed by it. I gave her a week without floor time and tried again last night. She was twirling quite a bit but wasn't showing any other signs of stress. I'll keep sessions short and occasional though and see how she goes.
She's definitely more agile now and can usually get around pretty well. Occasionally though she seems to momentarily lose control of her muscles and twitches for a second or two, but then goes back to whatever she was doing and doesn't seem particularly stressed by it. I gave her a week without floor time and tried again last night. She was twirling quite a bit but wasn't showing any other signs of stress. I'll keep sessions short and occasional though and see how she goes.
B
Banned Member 1
1m44 in this video shows the twitching she does quite well, her muscles spasm briefly and then she just goes back to normal and carries on hamstering
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I am wondering if a course of antibiotics is worth trying in case it's some other infection causing pressure in the brain or something. Apparently lack of Vitamin E can affect muscles as well but she's probably getting enough of that in her diet. Even so I think Elusive sometimes supplements with Evening Primrose oil - contains vitamin E amongst other things - and wouldn't do any harm.
R
RainbowBrite
Snowy is very clever to have her burrow right under her wheel so she can use it as soon as she pops up. 
She really is adorable.
She really is adorable.