Wednesday, November 29, 2017

3198. A winter white hamster has red inflamed lower body and paws


Nov 29, 2017  admitted for clipping bald and treatment. Very itchy red inflamed lower body.
Young lady owner had consulted 3 vets but the problem was not resolved. She consulted me earlier about the other hamster who had his scrotal area bitten by this hamster. He has recovered after separation and treatment.

Yet this hamster still has inflamed body.

3197. Little Japanese umbrella - Parasola plicatilis mushrooms

Recently found growing in abundance in my front garden packed with pet shop rabbit litter.










Tuesday, November 28, 2017

3196. Z-plasty for large skin tumour in old dogs

A large skin tumour around 3 cm across. A margin of 1 cm is cut off in case there is cancer cells spread into the margins. The owner did not want histopathology.
.
The wound becomes larger and needs stitching using Z-plasty. This was done some  30 days ago. Skin has closed well as shown.

Video is somewhere.





Tumour excised. A Z-plasty closes the circular skin wound.


Friday, November 24, 2017

3195. An 8-year-old Miniature Pinscher stepped into the roadside drain grate and fractured his leg

The dog was out for a walk and his right hind leg stepped into the road side grate. The maid pulled the leg out. The dog could not put down the right hind leg anymore, holding it at right angles above the floor. See video.

Palpation indicated intense pain in tarsal and metatarsal area with big swelling in the metatarsal area. The toe was painful too at D3.











"X-rays are needed to check for fractures," I advised and the owner consented to the X-ray.
Fracture of the tarsal-metatarsal area. Bandage and keep dog in a crate for 4-6 weeks with minimal exercise.   


The leg is splinted. Swelling in toes the next day. The splint is removed and the dog is confined to small space to let healing take place. Painkillers given. As at 5 days later, the dog is not in pain.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

3194. An 8-month-old dwarf hamster has 2 ear warts and 2 skin tumours


The young lady owner consulted Vet 1 5 days ago, as her hamster had a small skin wound behind the right ear. Vet 1 applied anti-mite Revolution on the skin and prescribed solutions of anti-fungal, antibiotic and a cream. The skin wound grew redder and bigger and bled daily despite her treatment.

She surfed the internet and consulted Toa Payoh Vets for a solution.
"The 5-mm skin wound looked very much like a granulation lump," I said. The large ear wart behind the right ear and ear wax inside the ear canal would be irritating to he hamster. So she rubbed the skin behind the right ear. This has become hairless."



I examined the hamster's head are in more detail. Two ears had ear warts. The left ear has wart of 3 mm in the front area. The right ear had wart of 5 mm in the back of the ear.

"The cream you applied might have caused more scratching with the right hind paw," I said. 

Treatment was to excise the lump and stitch up the wound (see video). The two ear warts were also electro-excised and the skin stitched. Ears were irrigated to flush out the solid yellow wax. The hamster should feel better after this operation.




Images









8 days post operation, stitches removed. No more itchiness.








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Friday, November 17, 2017

3193. *TIPS FOR VETS: Picking up a Corgi for dental work and eyelid stye removal

Friday Nov 17, 2017

The patient lives in Toa Payoh Lorong 3 which is a short 5-minute drive from Toa Payoh Vets. The vet can wait for the owner to be free or provide a free transport service to pick up the dog at 10 am today. I did the latter. "Business cannot wait for the service provider, the service provider waits for business."

I went to the surgery and forgot the appointment at 10 am to pick up the Corgi, as promised yesterday when the dog came in for vaccination. After all, there are the inpatients and other matters to distract the vet.

I had this reminder in a note taped to the front door so that I cannot miss reading it. The dog is now in the surgery after my assistant helped me to get him from the apartment in Lorong 3. A fine sunny morning.    

3192. A 5-month-old Syrian hamster bit off her stitches on Day 2

Nov 16, 2017

Korean lady bought this Syrian hamster. Very gentle at home, but made a lot of hissing sounds when i handled him.

Big right inguinal swelling. It was an inguinal hernia which grew larger every day. See previous video.



On Nov 16, 2017, the owner phoned about stitch breakdown. I asked him to bring in quickly as guts may fall out if the hamster continued bitting off the inside muscle stitches.

Only the skin stitches were bitten off. A foul smelly pus inside. The muscle stitches were OK. I drained the pus, used 6% hydrogen peroxide and give oral antibiotics. Warded the patient.


3191. A 21-month-old dwarf hamster has a large neck lump - email query about surgery





29/10/2017, 18:55 - Messages to this chat and calls are now secured with end-to-end encryption. Tap for more info.
29/10/2017, 18:55 - Hamster query la: Hi there
29/10/2017, 18:56 - Hamster query la: There seems to be a growth near my hamster’s neck. She’s been struggling to drink water recently. Do you have an available appt on Tuesday 9.30am?





29/10/2017, 18:57 - Hamster query la: IMG-20171029-WA0005.jpg (file attached)

29/10/2017, 18:58 - Hamster query la: Can I check how much do you charge for consultation, lumpsectomy or euthanasia? Pebbles (my hamster) quality of life has dipped significantly and it’s v difficult to watch. So I want to know if there’s such an option
29/10/2017, 18:58 - Hamster query la: Thank your
29/10/2017, 18:58 - Hamster query la: *you!

29/10/2017, 20:31 - Sing Kong Yuen: Thank you for msg. Consult $40. Lumpectomy around $200 as tumour is large.  Euthanasia $60

30/10/2017, 03:09 - Hamster query la: Ok. Can I make an appointment on Tuesday 930am? Typically what is the success rate of lumpectomy surgeries? My hamster is about 1y9months now

30/10/2017, 05:57 - Sing Kong Yuen: Appt 9.30am  Tuesday ok
Success rate generally 100% in lumpectomy of tumours that are under the skin and not inside muscles or involve bones or joints and are less than 1 cm across. Hamster must be active and eating if he is over 2 years old.

30/10/2017, 06:07 - Hamster query la: Ok. Great, see you on tues. pebbles is moving fine (less than before tho) and still eating and drinking (we need to feed manually as she struggles to get to her water bottle). if we proceed with the surgery, will we be able to do it on the same day?

30/10/2017, 06:43 - Hamster query la: Sorry for asking so many questions, rlly appreciate your help and patience!
30/10/2017, 07:33 - Sing Kong Yuen: yes. on the same day

30/10/2017, 13:02 - Hamster query la: Sorry can I change the appointment to wed 0930 instead?
30/10/2017, 14:11 - Hamster query la: I was going to ask my Sister to bring pebbles over tomorrow but I’m going to fly home tomorrow instead. I’ve been in Australia for a holiday
30/10/2017, 18:51 - Sing Kong Yuen: ok

31/10/2017, 19:10 - Hamster query la: Hi we can cancel the appointment tomorrow. My hamster has passed on
31/10/2017, 19:13 - Sing Kong Yuen: ok

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

3190. Clinical research. X-rays. Red-eared sliders compared. 300pixels





Compare above 16-year-old slider, not eating 1 week, had swollen eyes 1 week, with the others below.







Monday, November 13, 2017

3189. A 16-year-old slider stopped eating for 7 days. Why?

Monday Nov 13, 2017

The woman in her late 40s love the two 16-year-old red-eared sliders. The bigger sized one eats and is still eating while the smaller one had stopped eating for the past 7 days.

"Both are females and are housed separately on the bathroom floor because they will fight," she told me.
"What do you feed them and how much?" I asked when she told me she fed pellets solely.

 She was happy to WhatsApp 3 images from her mobile phone. Lots of pictures of the sliders showing how much she loves them.

I got the slider X-rayed. No eggs inside. So no cloacal obstruction of eggs.

Video of X-ray at:


Obstruction of alimentary tract?






The slider is lethargic as I can see she is stationery most of the time. She did open her mouth to try to bite me when I pulled her forelimbs to check her paws. No shell rot. Will give antibiotics.



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Compared to other sliders' X-rays

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Sunday, November 12, 2017

3188. Oxytocin in red-eared sliders and reptiles

Non-obstructive Egg retention
Use of Oxytocin in combination with calcium (calcium glubionae).

1) Calcium glubionate  10-50 mg/kg IM as needed until calcium levels back to normal or egg retention is resolved. 

2) To induce oviposition:
1-30 IU/kg. 

10 IU/kg appears effective in many chelonians. Success means all eggs are laid with two injections. Egg laying usually starts around 60 minutes after the injection. Repeat a second injection 24-48 hours later, if there is still egg retention.

With 2 to 4 IU/kg, there may be success, but egg laying may take several hours.  

May repeat in several hours, but risk of oviduct rupture if cloacoa is obstructed or eggs cannot pass for other reasons. Take X-rays to check for obstruction.


CASE STUDIES
1.   A 10-year-old red-eared slider cannot lay eggs
Oxytocin 2 IU/kg IM. Laid all 3 eggs within 4 hours.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3zfw0oh99M


OXYTOCIN USAGE IN 2 RED-EARED SLIDER CASES IN TOA PAYOH VETS, SINGAPORE



Case 1,  Jan 9, 2019.  RES, F, 7 yrs. 
With oxytocin and calcium injections,
All 5 eggs were laid within 2 hours. Less suffering (restless, anorexia, vocalising) and worries for the owner as compared to egg retention lasting several days in October 2018.










Case 2,  Oct 19, 2018.  RES, F, 7 yrs. Without oxytocin and calcium injections, but just after my X-rays. 

The owner prefers the injections as there is much to worry about the lethargy, restlessness and loss of appetite during the process of 2-3 weeks.  



Case 3. Regular clutches of eggs every 2-3 weeks naturally. This frequency is normal in some red-eared sliders. Some lay clutches of eggs monthly or three times a year. 
 
Egg binding/egg retention is caused by diarrhoea. After treatment for diarrhoea, the slider lays eggs naturally.




3187. Images of Singapore houses, airports


Terminal 4, Changi Airport, Singapore








3186. Singapore cats. Trap, Neuter, Release program

Two cats from a loving home are sent for sterilisation by the vet. They are not stray cats.