4584. The Syrian hamster owner feels a "blueberry" lump in the "stomach area" of his 13-month female Syrian hamster

THE SYRIAN HAMSTER HAS A 'BLUEBERRY' LUMP INSIDE HER BLADDER AREA. What to do?

BE KIND TO PETS VETERINARY EDUCATIONAL STORIES
sponsored by Toa Payoh Vets

VET CASE. Hamster lumps. What to do? 

The Syrian hamster owner feels a "blueberry" lump in the "stomach area" of his 13-month female Syrian hamster. The hamster ate less for the past few days. He was very worried. He took leave to consult me on Thursday 2 Feb 2023.

The Syrian hamster does not bite. So, it was easier for me to feel (palpate) her abdomen for the lump. My assistant Hsu was kind enough to video my examination using her Samsung Galaxy Fold 4. Very sharp videos unlike my Canon R5 which has difficulty in focusing, producing blurry videos.

You can see the "hair loss" on the left belly area of around 1 cm across. It is not obvious during physical examination, but on review of one of the 2 videos, you can see that the hamster had been licking this belly area.

What is the "blueberry" lump in the abdomen? I palpated a firm globular lump in the bladder area of around 1 cm across or the size of a small-sized grape. What is it?

Possible causes are:
1. Bladder stone or tumour or infected full bladder.
2. Splenic tumour.
3. Close pyometra (uterus swollen with pus).

4. Abdominal tumour.

As the hamster released much urine (1 ml or more) during my palpation (see one of two videos), the retained urinary bladder could be the "blueberry" lump in the stomach area.

Antibiotics and painkiller for next 10 days first. If  the lump is still present, I will do X-rays and ultrasound. 

UPDATES AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2023/02/4584-syrian-hamster-owner-feels.html

4583. Photos of Toa Payoh Vets - images

 

4582. PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Use "Back Focus" to take sharp photo.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP - USE "BACK FOCUS" button

GOOD MORNING

from the newest Artease Cafe at the newest Regional Library in Singapore at One Punggol. 

TIP: Canon R5. I used  Back Focus - head of man in orange T-shirt - AV Mode, F/16, ISO 400, 24-105 mm lens, seated.His strands of grey hair are visible at 100% view. 3 Feb 2023.

TO BUY PHOTO:   www.shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets

UPDATES AT:

https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2023/02/4582-photography-tip-use-back-focus-to.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4581. WILDLIFE SINGAPORE. Red junglefowl.

SINGAPORE WILDLIFE

In late 2022, this red junglefowl roams freely on the grounds of the Singapore General Hospital with his flock of around 4 others. He crows loudly. I saw a little girl, probably China National with her parents, cupping her ears with her hands as she stood listening. He looked young and knew no fears about human beings. I don't see them in early 2023.

The red junglefowl is kept as pets in some houses or permitted to roam the outside as in Lentor Estate.
The roaming ones are rarely seen after a few days.

To buy photos/video: www.shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets

UPDATES AT:

https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2023/02/4581-wildlife-singapore-red-junglefowl.html

VIDEO AT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqzVo-F6hCo

4580. TRAVEL STORIES - VIETNAM. A memorable risky incident and SAPA town video.

 

17 Sep 2022: A group of 16 senior citizens (aged over 60) and two younger ladies had a packaged tour of Vietnam. We visited SAPA in North-West Vietnam, the Mount Fansipan and Ha Long Bay. 

This video relates a memorable risky event. We had dinner at a restaurant below road level.The food and service were good. After dinner, we had to walk uphill to the main road. We lined up along the heavy traffic as the road had no pavement, being elevated two storeys above the restaurant.

"I am going to die here," I thought to myself as motorbikes and vehicles whizzed past us, within 3 feet of distance separation literally. This was an expressway and we were at the edge of very fast moving traffic! We were safe and I forgot the incident. But history repeated itself. Same situation. 

I took a video of the pink bus to prove it. The motorbikes whizzed so close. If I had walked backwards, I would fall off the slope as this expressway was elevated and was level with the 2nd storey of the restaurant! Fortunately all were safe and sound and made it to the Hanoi Airport to arrive home in Singapore!  

UPDATES AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2023/02/4580-travel-stories-vietnam-memorable.html

VIDEO AT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=455CcGSTPqA

 

 

 

 

4579. Sedentary lifestyle in Singapore.

 

Walking is a form of low impact, moderate intensity exercise that has a range of health benefits and few risks. As a result, the CDC recommend that most adults aim for 10,000 steps per day . For most people, this is the equivalent of about 8 kilometers, or 5 miles.20 Jan 2021

4578. TRAVELS AUSTRALIA. Sea fronting golf course - Mona Vale Golf Club

29 Jan 2023. Golfing at Mona Vale Golf Club. 

It's a seafront golf club.  There should be interesting views of the Tasman seas.

 29 Jan 2023. TRAVELS AUSTRALIA. V2/2 with text. The beautiful sea-fronting Mona Vale Golf Course. The Mona Vale Golf Course is beautiful with tall pine trees and blue sea views. In Australia, many golf courses are open to the public and are affordable. The footage narrated by the husband and wife team is actual footage of the Mona Vale Golf Course. The others are merged videos from pexels.com. The video is created for viewers who lead sedentary lifestyles and/or who love golfing.

UPDATES AT:

 

4577. VET CASE. A cat has aural haematoma - needs surgery

 29 Jan 2023. 

AURAL HAEMATOMA IN A CAT - Rare case.

"Vet 1 used a syringe and needle to suck out the blood from my cat' s swollen left ear," Elsie said to me. "But the ear swelling re-appears. I have repeated the sucking out the blood again over the last seven days, but the swelling keeps coming back!

"I phoned my friend Mary. She said that surgery is needed!"

"Surgery is preferred to syringing out the blood. The vet makes a big S-shaped cut to drain out the blood," I told Elsie. "The ear must be bandaged for around 10 days if you are worried about the ear shape turning into a cauliflower mass."

As at 4 Feb 2023, the couple had decided to get surgery done by Vet 1 soon.

  UPDATES AT:
  https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2023/01/4577-vet-case-cat-has-aural-haematoma.html

 

AURAL HAEMTOMAA cat keeps scratching her swollen ear.  What to do?

VIDEO on physical examination at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y8rxnKreVU

 

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2 FEB 2023. Video evidence.

 Dr Sing Kong Yuen documents the rare case of an aural haematoma (swollen ear with blood inside the ear pinna) and explains its surgical treatment. The owners will get the cat operated by Vet 1's clinic. Vet 1 had been giving steroids, antibiotics and had advised the couple to use the needle and syringe aspirations to suck out the blood. Every 2 days, the couple aspirated, but the swelling recurs. Now they decided to let Vet 1 do an operation to release the blood. Surgical treatment is the standard option for aural haematomas as needle aspirations do not work in most cases.

 UPDATES AT:
  https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2023/01/4577-vet-case-cat-has-aural-haematoma.html

 

 

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 AURAL HAEMTOMAA cat keeps scratching her swollen ear.  What to do?

VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y8rxnKreVU

 

 

 

 

 

 

4576. Three out of 4 new sliders have no appetite, gasping for breath and show swollen eyes. What to do?

 27 Jan 2023. Video consultation about 3 sick red-eared sliders with Dr Sing Kong Yuen. VET CASE. V1. Swollen eyes and not eating in newly purchased red-eared sliders 11 days after purchase, 3 of the 4 sliders are not eating. 

 

Two have swollen eyes. One is gasping for breath. The young lady purchased two from one shop and two from another. Dr Daniel advised hygiene and feeding of oral antibiotics at home. Warm light. White spots are being treated with anti-fungal medication. 

 

I advised owner to feed good quality feed pellets, non-chlorinated water and not to use chlorinated medication onto the water tank for the time being. Sliders to be housed separately for next 14 days and follow up with videos from her.

UPDATES AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2023/01/4576-three-out-of-4-new-sliders-have-no.html

4575. Hamster eye injuries are emergencies. Seek vet treatment early.

VET CASE STUDY:

 What is the cause of this right eye shedding tears?

The following could be causes: 1. Paper bedding of brown and white types. 2. Sand bath on the upper platform is used as a peeing container instead of the usual sand bath. The burrowing into the sand bath could have tossed sand particles into the right eye. 3. Wheel with a cover of corn cardboard encircling the base. The floor of the inside of the wheel has NO grid bars, hence the cardboard was installed. An unusual situation. Pieces of cardboard could have got into the right eye during exercise. 4. The platform with ladder comprised 2 levels. The sand bath was on the upper level and was used for peeing. 

Items No. 2, 3 and 4 were removed.

The nurse had shown owner how to apply eye drops for the next 10 days. No more watery right eye after 7 days of treatment. The owner is happy.

Do not delay in seeking veterinary treatment of your hamster with eye injuries. Early treatment may save vision as the hamster keeps rubbing its injured eye till it gets inflamed or ruptured. If the eyeball pops out of the eye socket, it will be too late to save the vision. Seek a hamster vet as not all vets perform hamster surgeries. Consult Toa Payoh Vets, 6254-3326 or 9668-6468 promptly. 

 

UPDATES AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2023/01/4575-hamster-eye-injuries-are.html