1215. Are dwarf hamsters dumb?

Yesterday Dec 14, 2012, I spoke to the lady owner about her hamster's tumour below the right ear. Dr Daniel had done electro-excision. For such small tumours and for ear warts, he was not in favour of electro-surgery. A scalpel blade would be just as effective. "No," I told him. But it will take time and patience for me to show that electro-surgery is useful in some hamster tumour excision.

I discovered that Australian vet students don't get lectures on hamsters as nobody in Australia is allowed to keep hamsters as pets! So, a vet graduates without any hamster lectures. This happened to me as a vet student in Glasgow University in 1969-1974. My professors did not mention the "hamster" word too! But in Singapore, many dwarf hamster owners are around although I don't know how many.

I would have taught dwarf hamsters are dumb. But this Indian lady in her 40s told me that she had 3 hamsters and they were clever creatures. Hamster No. 1 was bought 2 years ago against her father's objection of keeping any pets. The older generation of Singaporeans deemed pets as a waste of money when so many people are starving i this world. Yet 2 weeks later, the retiree father was very fond of this hamster. Hamster No. 2 was bought from another place. This hamster was the most intelligent. He would not try to escape or hide under fridges. When placed on the dining table, he would inspect the dishes of the adults and then go to his own plate to eat his food. I saw her mobile phone video of this hamster on the dining table.

Presently, Hamster No. 3 with the tumour on the skin below his right ear. He would show his anger by climbing up the crate's railing and jumping down or refused to come out from his house. For example, if he was not given the correct brand of brand. "He likes only Gardenia," the lady told me. "If I give him another brand, he would go wild and climb up the railings and jump down many times."
The lady continued: "On another occasion when I used the pink colour of the cottony bedding instead of blue, he would scatter the pink ones and would not settle down. I had to go to NEX shopping mall to buy the blue ones."

"Every morning, my sister had to tell him that she is going to work as he rushes out excitedly to greet her," the lady said. "He even knows when my sister is coming back from work as if he has a clock."

"Is he the most intelligent of the 3?" I asked. "No," she said. "Hamster No. 2 was the most intelligent."
Hamster No. 3 would run to hide under the fridge if let to roam free, unlike Hamster No. 2 who harboured no thoughts of escaping under door gaps or into corners. So, I guessed that was why she considered Hamster No. 2 as most intelligent of the 3.

"Do you believe in reincarnation?" I asked.
"Sometimes I think our relatives have been re-incarnated as hamsters."
She could narrate more stories and such stories should be recorded in audio as the flavour of the actions of Hamsters 2 and 3 could not be captured in  text.

 (LATER)

1. Weight 69 g. The 2nd heaviest in the last 3 days since the black and white one we operated upon was 71 g.
2. Zoletil 50 IM not 100% effective. "Top up with isoflurane gas," I advised.
3. Electrosurgical excision was in <1 bleeding.="bleeding." nbsp="nbsp" no="no" second.="second.">4. A 3rd-year student for 2013 studies from Melbourne Univ was on internsihp for 2 weeks and I have asked her to  write about this electrosurgery in the dwarf hamster. The hamster with the ear growth was also operated using electrosurgery. 

Website and updates will be done later at www.toapayohvets.com --- goto hamsters.


   

1215. Follow up on the epulis Golden Retriever - ticks

I reviewed this case of the 12-year-old Golden Retriever who came in as he was "panting" after eating and after exercise walking for the past 3 days. No such panting before that. What was the cause?

This dog was operated in July 2012 for a large epulis which was bleeding.
See case at: http://www.sinpets.com/F5/2012072gigantic_epulis_labrador_toapayohvets.htm
He had a "gingival biopsy" of the mass in 2009 by another vet. The report stated "fibromatous epulis of periodontal origin". It said that it is generally a benign entity in the dog and complete surgical excision isusualy difficult due to indistinct boundaries between the epulis and normal gingival tissue. That was in Dec 2009. However, the lump bled a lot and so the owner came to me and I advised surgery n July 2012. 2.5 years had passed. Gum tumours are best excised when they are small.

Taking a sample for tissue biopsy is part of the process to ascertain whether it is cancerous or not.  This adds to the cost and so I usually do not advise it. Just excise the mass and send to the lab for checking of its cancerous nature or otherwise.

I checked the gums. They were OK and reddish pink.
"Has the dog been exposed to ticks recently?" I asked. The two gentleman owners had said that their dog never had ticks for many years but he had a lot of ticks just 2 weeks ago. "Every day, we pluck out the ticks," the owners said. "But now he is tick-free."
"You could have used a tick bath or dip," I said.
"Well, I bought a tablet from the internet and all the ticks died. There are various suppliers and prices vary."
It seems that this tablet worked well. The owner sms me the name: Nitenpyram. by Bob Martin. Owners nowadays do their research and experiment.  They should check out the effects and side effects of the medication.


http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Rx_Info_Sheets/rx_nitenpyram.pdf has info on Nitenpyram. Its use to kill ticks is not known. It is effective to kill adult fleas only.

So what is the cause of the panting? The dog does not have heartworms nor severe heart disease. No fever. Could it be tick fever?  The owners did not want a tick fever blood smear test. Nowadays, owners with research knowledge can be demanding. It is up to how the vet is able to communicate with such well informed owners. If the vet does not know how to communicate and if this dog comes down with tick fever later and dies, the owner will not blame himself as he had sought the vet's opinion. As at yesterday, there was no anaemia and no fever. So, it couldn't be tick fever. It is not as simple as that as tick fever could be at its first stage.   

1214. Follow-up. "Closed pyometra" case

Two days ago, this 11-year-old female Maltese was operated by Dr Daniel and me. This was a strange case. Total white cell count was very high in the blood test.. A swollen abdomen with a globular lump. I said it was a very full bladder on first palpation but Dr Daniel said the dog had peed all urine. An X-ray showed a big globular swelling and I was quite sure it was the bladder.

BLOOD TEST ON DEC 6, 2012
Serum urea 22 (4.2 to 6.3), creatinine 188 (89-177).
RBC 4.8 (5.5-8.5), Haemoglobin 9.9 (12-18).
Total WCC  62 (6-17),  N=98%, L 1.7%, M, E, B.
Platelets 131 (200-500) was low suggestive of toxaemia


SURGERY ON DEC 7, 2012
The biggest bladder ever seen. Like 3/4 of a Thai mango. The dog had been given IV drip 12 hours ago to pep her up for surgery and increase her chances of survival.  More than 15 cm long. I aspirated the urine with a sterile syringe from the apex of the bladder and sent for urine analysis.

Urine colour: Colourless.
Clarity: Slight turbid.
pH 5.0 (5-8).
SG 1.012 (1.005-1.030)>2250. RBC 90 (Possible haemolysis of RBC in urine).
Bacteria 2+. Crystals Nil.
"Urinary stones might not be radio-dense and so would not be seen in the X-rays," I said to Dr Daniel who was operating. "Flush out the bladder, irrigate it. Put a catheter into the bladder and pass it out through the urethra from the bladder." There was cystitis. Negative crystals in urine do not mean no urinary stones.

When Dr Daniel tried to pass the catheter out from the neck of the bladder, there was obstruction. "It is possible that there could be a urinary stone stuck inside the short urethra and not visible on the X-ray," I said. After 2 minutes, he managed to pass the catheter out of the urethra and the vulval lips. "There could be a urethral obstruction in the female dog as well." Most vets don't pass the urethral catheter via the vulval vestibule as they deem it difficult to do it, unlike in the dog.

"Check the neck of the bladder for tumours," I said. "Extend the incision of the skin caudally. There was a large reddish lump at the neck of the bladder on the outside. I took an image for the owner to see.


DISCUSSION WITH THE OWNERS
Today was the first time I met the father and two young adult daugthers.
"Did the dog have difficulty passing urine?" I asked.
"Yes," one daughter said. "She took a long time to pee and only a few drops of urine came out."
I reviewed the record on Dec 6 when the dog was admitted. "Urine sticky. Stools red and yellow past 2 weeks. Appetite decreased. Vomited once."  Pyometra was suspected but the onset of heat was unknown.
 

1213. Sunday Dec 9, 2012's interesting cases

Sunday Dec 9, 2012

I seldom have expatriates as clients and was surprised to encounter 3.
Case 1. Shedding Husky. Buinsessman, his wife and pre-teen son who loves tennis.
Husky, female, 1 year 4 months. Shedding hair for last 2 weeks. "Hair all over the house," mum would say. Yet I did not see any hair loss as the son combs the dog daily.

"Hair shedding is common in Huskies," I said. "Causes include hot weather, ticks, recent heat and after birth."

"Was the dog carrying a toy in her mouth and protecting it?" I checked there was no milk in the nipples nor were they enlarged.
"Yes, one month ago. She would not part with it and was very possessive."
However, the left ear was very itchy and the dog would move her head away whenever I tried to examine it. A wet dark exudate presented on the cotton tip. The right ear was also itchy. So the dog tried to relieve her itchiness by using her hind legs to scratch the flanks and causing hair loss.

The solution was to treat the ears with proper ear drops and to plan to breed the Husky on the next heat. The father wanted a pup from her just for one litter. So I advised properly timing and everybody was happy.

Case 2. "Debarking" cats.
"I have never heard of anyone asking to debark cats," I said to the Caucasian caller over the phone today at 3 pm. He said that the cat would make loud noises and this may wake up his baby, due to arrive in May 2013.

"Other than this habit of making loud noises that may wake up the baby at 3a.m, he is a sweet gentle cat. I don't want to send him to the SPCA or get rid of him. Is it possible to debark him?"

"At what times is your cat vocal?" I asked.
"Early morning and late at night."
"Just like a cock crowing at dawn?" I asked.
"Yes, like a rooster but he does it at night too. What do you propose? I have him neutered at another vet at 5 months of age. Now he is 11 months old. He has been doing that since he is a kitten."
"You are the first person to enquire about debarking cats."
"That is why they refer to debarking. It is meant for dogs," he said.
I advised boarding the cat for one month to change his behaviour or crate him and cover the crate with a big towel to give him security and changing his routine. Will this work? The expat thanked me and might let me know.


Case 3. Two macadema nuts in a dwarf hamster.The Caucasian man brought his plump hamster for a review 2 weeks after treatment from Dr Vanessa. He had been to other vets but the hamster still has complete hair loss and redness on the lower body and the legs, on the back spinal area and left ear area. This has been going on for some weeks. The lower skin and neck were not so red but hairs did not grow back.

I saw scales on the shoulder area and the Mr Min could easily pluck out the hairs for a microscopic examination for ringworm. A few hairs had ringworm but most were OK. Was it skin mites? Or management? The hamster had been eating various kinds of food and had to climb into a feed bowl which was rather sharp. "Change to a lower feed bowl with smooth edges," I advised also putting the hamster on paper towels for a month."

This could be a case of management as the hamster was free to roam in the room. There are many causes and it will take time to know. In any case, I noted that the skin below the left ear was hairless and the left cheek pouch was hard. "There could be an impacted pouch," I said. "I need to give it a little bit of anaesthesia gas and check the pouch."
"Will it be safe for my hamster?" the man had said that his hamster had been passing blood for 5 days earlier.
"Yes, it will be safe as it is gas anaesthesia and takes a few seconds."
The left cheek pouch was impacted with two large cream-coloured macadema nuts and the hamster was trying to dislodge them by scratching till the skin below the left ear was bald.
"My wife is a pastry chef," the gentleman was surprised to see two big nuts of around 6 mm in length.
"No more macadema nuts or any other food other than a good quality hamster food," I advised bathing the hamster with the anti-fungal shampoo, clipping the hair, using paper towel as bedding for 4 weeks and reviewing after 4 weeks. 
 So, this Sunday was quite interesting with 3 different types of animals posing challenging problems for me. 

1212. "Tiny" ear tumour on dwarf hamster email query

 

On Sun, Dec 9, 2012 at 8:38 AM, Z..@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Sir/Mdm,

I have just discovered a tiny growth on the ear of my hamster. Attached are the pictures for your reference.

I would like to know if there is any treatment for my hamster and the cost of it.

If so, pls advise on an appointment date and time. Thank you.

Regards,
Z
 

EMAIL REPLY SUNDAY DEC 9, 2012  9.28 AM FROM TOA PAYOH VETS
I am Dr Sing from Toa Payoh Vets. Thank you for your email. The "tiny" ear tumour needs to be removed by surgery and under anaesthesia. The ear canals need to be examined for other growths.

The approximate cost is $150-$200 for consultation, anaethesia, surgery (+/- stitching) and medication. Appointment is by phone 6254-3326. Bring hamster at 9.30 am and it goes home by 4 pm usually. Best wishes.   

1211. Straits Times Classified to sell mini-maltese

A silver Mercedes parked outside my Surgery. A fair lady in her 40s, wearing sparkling diamond ear rings and low cut  came to my surgery with 2 mini-Maltese pups and their parents for vaccination and her domestic worker. She was referred to me by Boon who I believe to be a dog breeder.

I could just vaccinate and she would rush home but I am concerned she is keeping too many puppies.
"The mini-maltese pups are getting bigger," I said. "Are you selling them?"
"I sold one at $1,500," she said. "But my son is in the US studying and does not help me to advertise in the internet."
"As they are young, it is best to sell them to a pet shop if you don't want to do it yourself," I said.
"Pet shops offer me $400/pup," she said. 
I advised her to advertise 3 lines in the Straits Times, Classified 74, Pets/Pets Care, preferably on a Saturday.

2 Mini-Maltese pups for sale. $1.2-$1.6K. Vaccinated. Tel: XXX
This classified cost around $39.00 and should get much response.

"You may get con-men who takes your pups outside the house and run away," I warned her.
"I will ask my two maids to be careful," she said. "I don't accept deposits."
"Not many people carry a thousand dollars. You can keep the mum till the buyer returns with the balance of payment."

Grown up sons overseas nowadays are too busy to help mum to advertise the puppies for sale.  Vets must be proactive to help clients who have excess pups. Otherwise they end up with too many as the laws permit 3 dogs/private residence and 1/public residence. 

1210. Follow up: British Bulldog - stone analysis is struvite stone

Dr Daniel made a follow up phone call to the owner yesterday Dec 7, 2012.

"Lots of bleeding from the operation area," the lady owner said. So, she brought the dog over to the surgery at 7.30 pm. Dr Daniel took out the plaster. I noted there was no bleeding. The dissolvable stitches (simple interrupted) were in place. Dr Daniel took out the stitches.

"You should be feeding the Bulldog 1 and 1/2 cans of S/D per day based on her weight instead of 2/3 cans".  The dog is now trim and on the thin side.

"I feed one can only," she said. "I note that the Bulldog no longer pants and is more energetic. So, I feed 1 can so that she would not put on weight!"

Owner compliance is much difficult. At least there is no blood in the urine so far. The stone analysis show struvite stone. A peculiar spiky one.

The dog had dry dog food when she was around one years old but the owner claimed that the dog was on home-cooked food from year 1 to 4 as a vet had told her that the skin disease would go away when the dog is fed home-cooked food. Yet such a large stone of 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm  could not be formed overnight. It would take months to form.

Webpage:
http://www.sinpets.com/F5/20121206_bulldog_urinary_stones_toapayohvets.htm

1209. Hamster from Malaysia email query

On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 5:01 PM, F@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hello Dr Sing Kong Yuen,

I'm from malaysia and i came across your site everytime i need to search information whenever i suspect my robo hamster are not feeling well which is not a good things. Past few weeks my 2 years old robo hamster been sctraching more than usual & i notice some bald patch. I took him to vet & the vet told me that my robo hamster are having demodex mites if i'm not mistaken. I couldn't find much information about this mites. If you could kind enough to explain more about this mites to me as It's kinda hard to find vet that take small animals as hamster at malaysia here.

The vet giving us some oral medication to be feed to our hamster with syringe twice per week. Today was my hamster 2nd medicine after last 3 days we have feed him with his 1st medicine. I have not seen any improvement on our hamster. Am i over worried dr. sing? When i'll see improvement on my hamster after the medicine? Is this demodex mites dangerous? is it serious? Can it be cure? He is my 1st hamster & it's very sad to see him suffer. It's worse than having myself to sick

Thank you.

Regards,
F

------------------------------------------

Dec 7, 2012 REPLY FROM DR SING

Pl accept my apologies for the late reply.

Skin diseases in hamsters are due to many causes including trauma, mites, fungal, bacterial, allergies and poor management. I am sorry I can't help you via the internet correspondence. 

1208. Calcium oxalate stones in a 10-year-old Jack Russell

The Jack Russell had difficulty urinating. X-rays showed two small stones. Urine analysis showed no bacteria but calcium oxalate crystals 3+. Blood was present in the urine.

"U/D will not dissolve the calcium oxalate stones," I said. "Unlike S/D diet which can dissolve small struvite stones."

Not every dog with calcium oxalate or other urinary stones need surgical removal. However, in this case, blood is still being passed with the urine and there is urethral obstruction of urine flow. Since U/D diet does not dissolve the calcium oxalate stones, but just prevent formation of more stones, it is best to remove such stones in this old dog and be careful.

1207. 12-year-old cat with two ingrown toe nails

Dec 6, 2012

Many phone queries cannot be answered by the receptionist as they are technical. Should the vet answer phone calls? That sounds a bit inappropriate for the top dog in a veterinary practice. However, answering phone calls should not be a shameful task as many prospects who receive satisfactory answers to their technical queries will turn up.

Sometimes, I think they are sophisticated pet owners who want to test the veterinary practice staff before they part with their hard-earned money. An old experienced vet nurse who have worked in practice for more than 10 years should be able to handle such queries but they are now as extinct as the dodo.

Two days ago, I had a phone call from a lady who asked if I declaw cats.
"Not as a routine," I said. "Only in exceptional circumstances where there is a need to do it. It is considered cruelty."
"Do you declaw the back legs as well?" she asked.
"Not necessary to do so," I said. "The cat uses his front legs to claw sofas, curtains and furniture, not the back legs."
"Well, I had a cat who uses her back leg to scratch my parquet floors!"
"Life is full of surprises and behavioural changes," I said. "This is the first time I hear a cat using the hind legs to scratch."
She thanked me and I learnt something new about cats.
Yesterday, the tanned lady in her late 30s came with her black and white cat. Her cat had two ingrown toe nails on the right fore paw. She work overseas and her maid did not dare to clip the nails till the dew claw and the 2nd digit claw curved into the flesh. The nails had exploded in width and the cat was not happy if you touch it. She was still a gentle female spayed cat though.

"A vet told me to just clip the nails and if the nails over-grow, to clip them again."
"That is the standard treatment," I said.

She wanted a permanent solution as she worked overseas and had no time to get the cat to the groomer or vet to trim off the ends of the overgrown nails. Time is short for city living folks and it is short for me too. So, I understood her situation but she had to decide whether to get the cat declawed.

"Only the two claws need to be removed," I said. I did not warn her that her cat might die under the sedation as this was a very short surgery and no cats ever die when the anaesthesia and surgery is as short as less than 5 minutes. For legal reasons, the vet has to inform the owner of the risks of anaesthesia and death on the operating table and asked her to sign the "informed consent" form.
I did not think this was necessary in this case.

"Remove the Phalanx one at the P1 and P2 joint," I said to Dr Daniel. This surgery should be a piece of cake for him unlike cystotomy or perineal hernial repair.  He operated and on the 2nd day, the lady came at 5 pm.

I was present as Dr Daniel had gone to the SAFRA gym. "Check the left front paw," I said to the sun-tanned lady with shoulder strapped blue dress. She had purchased a large luxurious towel bought from IKEA to cover the carrier.

"I thought you use the towel to wrap the cat," I said.    
"No," she laughed. "Once this cat peed through the door of the carrier onto the car seat. So, now I wrap the carrier with this big towel to prevent such incidents!"
A red car was waiting outside my Surgery. After she settled her bills with her credit card, she wrapped the carrier with the towel and went to the car. An elderly man came out and opened the door. "You must be the father," I guessed as the age difference would be twice. "Yes," he nodded his head. I said goodbye to the happy lady.

This old cat now has no kidney disorders as she had a blood test but the lady would continue feeding her the kidney diet. "The eosinophils at 9.6% is high. The platelets at 194 (300-800) are low."

"Why?" she asked.
"It is possible that the cat had ingested some poison or some application had been put on the ingrown toe nails."

This was a mystery as she said she did not do it. 
The backside hair loss on both sides would be less of a mystery. I massaged the anal sacs and 1 ml of dark chocolate oil shot out. "This would be impacted anal sacculitis," I said. "The hair should grow back after some time."