Thur 10 Jun 2021. Hamster has fiery red ears. Scratching. "How long?" I asked. "I think it is 2 days," the man said.
The hamster has an itchy red right ear. Consultation. The right ear canal has a big ear tumour which got infected as the hamster kept scratching it. The hamster was anaesthesized by gas and the ear cleaned. The owner did not turn up one week later for excision of the right ear tumour.
UPDATES AT:https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2021/06/10-jun-2021.html
INSTAGRAM PICS
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Consultation
Pre-anaesthetic
Anaesthetic Ear checked - large firm tumour 5 mm x 5 mm inside
ear canal. A blob of yellow white pus oozing out of it is cleared.
Post-ear irrigation
Left ear canal opening is thin, no firm tumour in ear canal
VIDEO - CONSULTATION WITH OWNER
VIDEO 1 - 1114 R ear itchy scratches till bleeding. normally owner does not see her as she hides. Last two days, very itchy scratching of R ear
VIDEO 2 - 1123. Anaesthesia gas. Quieten. Check thoroughly. Palpated a firm lump at opening of ear canal and extended deep inside. Near ear canal resection to cut off inside tumour too. Hole - pus oozed out. Cleared.
VIDEO 3 - 8756. Ear irrigation and cleaning procedures videoed .
1 JUN 2021. BE KIND TO PETS VETERINARY STORIES. . THE CASE OF THE SQUEAKING HAMSTER --- SHOW AND TELL Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)
This 2-month-old male dwarf hamster’s fractured left hind leg was amputated at the knee level at Toa Payoh Vet 3 weeks ago. She consulted me on 27 May, as tele-consultations & photos were not as good as a proper physical examination.
"Now Hammie has two unusual behaviours," Ms Thompson said. “Firstly, he squeaked loudly for some time on two occasions. Secondly, he used his right hind paw or both front paws to scratch his left ear vigorously every day!"
"The intense squeaking suggested pain," I pointed to the bruised brown patch on the left scrotum. "Self-inflicted biting and friction on the bedding led to bruised genital and pain." Ms Thompson was satisfied with my cause and effect explanation.
“As for the inflamed left ear, frequent scratchings with the right hind paw to relieve ear itchiness were the cause,” I explained. “Some dirt or sand had lodged deep inside the left ear canal. I showed her the close-up digital photos of the affected areas to account for the behaviours after I treated the itchy left ear via ear irrigation.
SHOW AND TELL using CLOSE-UP PHOTOS gain the trust of the owner as the dwarf hamster's ear and scrotum are relatively small in area. Ms Thompson could see the inflamed areas clearly and she felt much happier after viewing the close-ups. “Please WhatsApp the photos to me,” she reminded me as she boarded her GrabRental taxi home to her Orchard Road condo to continue her work from home after lunch.
UPDATES AND MORE INFORMATION AT: https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2021/05/3597-case-of-squeaky-dwarf-hamster.html
11 Jun 2021. PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS. I PHONE 11. SINGAPORE - EAST COAST. IMAGE 1/4. This i phone 11 image taken by a friend has good composition and is very sharp as you can see the foot prints. The curved line of lapping waves direct one's eye to the rock and the ships in the horizon. My comment is that the horizon is slightly "not horizontal".
It is 3.5 megapixels in size. I cannot submit it to shutterstock as all images must be at least 4 MP (megapixels) or larger and set at highest quality settings to produce an acceptable file dimension for submission to Shutterstock.
I use Adobe CC. Converted the photo from rectangular to square format. Then I add a blue sky on top. The image is now 4.0 megapixels in size and accepted by Shutterstock.
Identification: Male has plain olive-green upperparts, iridescent blue-black forehead, throat and breast and yellow belly and vent. Female can be separated from other sunbirds by combination of obvious down-curved bill, all yellow underparts and extensive white on tail.
Habitat: Gardens, parks, mangroves, secondary growth and other wooded areas.
Video footage shown to me by the migrant worker who was kind enough to warn me to be careful.
"Sir, sir," the Indian migrant worker came out from his lorry at Yio Chu Kang Crescent, approached me. "You have to be careful. There are black cobra in the forest you are taking photos,"
He showed me his phone video as evidence.
Over 100 visits to this place and I had not encountered one. I did see on two occasions, a slim glossy black snake the size of a skipping rope slithering away into the forest when I walked past. I did get some photos. Will need to take them out. Two kind souls warned me from across the storm water canal when they saw me inside this strip of grass besides the forest. Really concerned.
Thur 3 Jun 2021 The dog had recovered almost fully from a limping RF leg. "There is no fracture," I told the owner who has two grown up children. "Otherwise she will not be walking normally. But I will check where the source of injury is, by physical examination."
On the consultation table, I extend and flex the joints of the RF front leg.The dog whimpered when I extended her shoulder joint. "The pain originated around there." The owner did not know how she injured herself.
More on the issues at hand---scratching the ears and licking the paws. "Quite a common problem with floppy-eared dogs," I showed the pigmented ear area above the ear canal opening.
Solutions 1. Ear irrigation. Not a guarantee. Need maintenance of ear weekly. Ear canal are found to be clean as the owner will add ear drops from the Pet Shop weekly to clean the ears to prevent ear scratching.
2. Ear surgery for chronic cases of ear infections. Onset was said to be this year.
3. Anal sac impaction. No problem as I express the oil gland. Light brown oil of less than 0.05 ml came out. "The dog had rubbed her backside," the owner said. "I saw black stinking oil on the floor. A big blob.". "That would be the hardened anal sac oil causing backside itchiness.
4. Possible allergy from new dog food, new expensive oats shampoo.
1. Dextrose saline 100 ml SC. 2. Antibiotics 3. Anti-inflam.
WENT HOME
Owner had switched from Kit Kat to Friskies canned food. Cat was ravenous. Fed 4 x a day now. Antibiotics and anti-inflam 7 days
FOLLOW UP 1. Cat eats 4X a day. Likes the Friskies canned food. Back to normal.
NOTE Cat not spayed. Had infection or toxaemia affected total lymphocytes.
2. Active, not lethargic.
CONCLUSION
3 Jun 2021. I spoke to the owner. He was satisfied that his cat was active, eating more and behaving normally. Did the cat have toxaemia from a uterine infection as she was not spayed? With antibiotics and drip, the cat recovered.
1 JUN 2021. BE KIND TO PETS VETERINARY STORIES. . THE CASE OF THE SQUEAKING HAMSTER --- SHOW AND TELL Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)
This 2-month-old male dwarf hamster’s fractured left hind leg was amputated at the knee level at Toa Payoh Vet 3 weeks ago. She consulted me on 27 May, as tele-consultations & photos were not as good as a proper physical examination.
"Now Hammie has two unusual behaviours," Ms Thompson said. “Firstly, he squeaked loudly for some time on two occasions. Secondly, he used his right hind paw or both front paws to scratch his left ear vigorously every day!"
"The intense squeaking suggested pain," I pointed to the bruised brown patch on the left scrotum. "Self-inflicted biting and friction on the bedding led to bruised genital and pain." Ms Thompson was satisfied with my cause and effect explanation.
“As for the inflamed left ear, frequent scratchings with the right hind paw to relieve ear itchiness were the cause,” I explained. “Some dirt or sand had lodged deep inside the left ear canal. I showed her the close-up digital photos of the affected areas to account for the behaviours after I treated the itchy left ear via ear irrigation.
SHOW AND TELL using CLOSE-UP PHOTOS gain the trust of the owner as the dwarf hamster's ear and scrotum are relatively small in area. Ms Thompson could see the inflamed areas clearly and she felt much happier after viewing the close-ups. “Please WhatsApp the photos to me,” she reminded me as she boarded her GrabRental taxi home to her Orchard Road condo to continue her work from home after lunch.
UPDATES AND MORE INFORMATION AT: https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2021/05/3597-case-of-squeaky-dwarf-hamster.html
Ms Thompson - real estate marketing A slim, tall and fair lady
2. Bridget to create video with more substance and explanation than the images on Instagram. May be in 2 videos if too long.
1 JUN 2021. BE KIND TO PETS VETERINARY STORIES
THE CASE OF THE SQUEAKING HAMSTER --- SHOW AND TELL
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)
This 2-month-old male dwarf hamster’s fractured left hind leg was amputated at the knee level at Toa Payoh Vet 3 weeks ago. She consulted me on 27 May, as tele-consultations & photos were not as good as a proper physical examination.
"Now Hammie has two unusual behaviours," Ms Thompson said. “Firstly, he squeaked loudly for some time on two occasions. Secondly, he used his right hind paw or both front paws to scratch his left ear vigorously every day!"
VIDEO
Elaborate on the behaviour. What is the hamster doing? Illustration needed Squeaking noises not recorded by the owner as it was sudden onset.
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"The intense squeaking suggested pain," I pointed to the bruised brown patch on the left scrotum. "Self-inflicted biting and friction on the bedding led to the bruised genital area and pain." Ms Thompson was satisfied with my cause and effect explanation.
“As for the inflamed left ear, frequent scratchings with the right hind paw to relieve ear itchiness were the cause,” I explained. “Some dirt or sand had lodged deep inside the left ear canal. I showed her the close-up digital photos of the affected areas to account for the behaviours after I treated the itchy left ear via ear irrigation.
SHOW AND TELL using CLOSE-UP PHOTOS gain the trust of the owner as the dwarf hamster's ear and scrotum are relatively small in area. Ms Thompson could see the inflamed areas clearly and she felt much happier after viewing the close-ups. “Please WhatsApp the photos to me,” she reminded me as she boarded her GrabRental taxi home to continue her work from home after lunch.
MS THOMPSON, in her late 40s, IS AN EXPATRIATE sales director working for a multinational company. She used to travel in the ASEAN region extensively but now works from home. This is because Singapore is in partial lockdown from 13 May, due to an increase in community
infections arising from the Indian vairant Covid-19 strain. Dining-in is prohibited and only two social visits per person per day is permitted.
She lives in an Orchard Road condo which is the prime downtown area of Singapore. Rentals for one-bedroom would be S$5,000 per month
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Ms Thompson goes shopping in Tanglin Mall
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CONCLUDE WITH THE TWO VIDEOS BELOW
POST OP AFTER EAR IRRIGATION
Ms Thompson sent video today 1 Jun 2021, 5 days after ear irrigation. Much less scratching of the ears. No more squeaking behaviour. Owner is pleased.
Bought an exercise wheel for the 2-month-old. Very active on wheel.
Sent two videos
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SCRIPT FOR ANOTHER VIDEO
27 MAY 2021. BE KIND TO PETS VETERINARY EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS.
THE SQUEAKING HAMSTER --- SHOW AND TELL
This 2-month-old male dwarf hamster’s fractured left hind leg was amputated at the knee level at Toa Payoh Vet 3 weeks ago. She came to the surgery on 27 May, as tele-consultation was not as good as a proper examination.
"Now Hammie had two unusual behaviours," Ms Thompson said. “Firstly, he squeaked loudly for some time on two occasions. Secondly, he used his right hind paw or both front paws to scratch his left ear vigorously daily."
"The intense squeaking suggested pain," I pointed to the bruised brown patch on the left scrotum. “He had licked the outside and bitten the testes eliciting sharp pains – hence the abnormal squeaking sounds.
“The left ear was very itchy. He used his right hind leg to scratch bald the left ear since he had no more left hind leg which was amputated,” I indicated to the owner the affected sites. “I will take digital photos to show the balding left ear and hair loss on the right hind leg.”
SHOW AND TELL using CLOSE-UP PHOTOS gain the trust of the owner as the dwarf hamster's ear and scrotum are relatively small in area. The young lady could see the inflamed areas, but she felt much happier seeing the close-ups. “Please email to me the photos,” she reminded me as she entered her cab to continue work from home. Singapore is in partial lockdown due to an increase in community infections arising from a virulent Covid-19 strain.
