TOA
PAYOH VETS
"There is some allergy on her belly," I said. "Something contacting her belly skin and causing itchiness. Did you change to some new bedding some 4-6 weeks ago."
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The
slim, fair and serene lady recalled: "I change
to corn bedding 4 weeks ago. I read in the
internet that newspapers are toxic to my
hamster."
"The solution is simple," I said. "Go back to
a tissue paper bedding for the next 4 weeks
after I have given this hamster an anti-itchy
injection."
"This hamster is overweight", I said.
"She just eats sunflower seeds," the lady
replied. "She can eat sunflower seeds all day
long. She was much fatter before and could not
come out of her hamster house!"
The Yoga lady took out her handphone and
showed me the video of her portly hamster
stuck in the door of her hamster house.
Struggling to come out but unable to do so.
"It is funny. I can see that her eyes pop out
as she tries to squeeze out of the door." this
video really brightens my day. At the expense
of the poor hamster.
The video always made the
young lady in her 30s laugh. She has
this serene look and so it was not stressful
to talk to her. I tried not to laugh at the
expense of this poor creature.
"Have you visited Myanmar?" I asked. I had a
fun trip exploring the best of Myanmar in
October 2008.
She
shook her head: "I went to India to visit my
yoga teacher." Few Singaporeans visit Myanmar
which is relatively unspoiled by mass tourism.
A lady interested in yoga would explain why
she looked serene. Yoga is very de-stressful
or it could be her personality.
PROCEDURE
An anti-inflammatory injection subcutaneous
was given to the overweight hamster after she
has some gas anaesthesia. It was possible to
restrain and inject this hamster without
anaesthesia too but the catching and injection
of the hamster without anaesthesia may be too
stressful for this fat hamster.
The hamster went home without complications.
No news from the owner as at Apr 16, 2009. I
presume the hamster has recovered well.
Pictures showed that her exercise wheel (pink)
is too small.
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| Hamster can exercise comfortably without having to avoid the spindle of the wheel in this set up at Toa Payoh Vets | Hamster arches her back to avoid the spindle of the wheel. The wheel is too small. The owner needs to replace it. |
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Retrospective Research As I review this article today on Apr 16, 2009, I think the ventral dermatitis was most likely due to the friction of the lower body of the hamster and the wheel during exercise. The hamster was overweight and the belly must have hit the rungs of the exercise wheel during exercise, causing excessive wear and tear and subsequent inflammation. Normal hamsters exercise frequently and this life-style caused ventral dermatitis in this hamster. During consultation in Oct 2008, I did not make this connection. This case shows that digital images do help in the diagnosis of the cause of ventral dermatitis. |
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