very sick hamster

[Steelie]

My daughter bought a young hamster a few weeks ago. It was fine for 2 weeks then it's left eye seemed to be stuck shut for a while when it woke up. Seemed fine while it was awake for a while then after a few days it's started to get worse and it's nose on the same side started to swell. After only a few days it became very large and the poor thing is obviously in distress. He still eats and drinks but with difficulty and seems to be having some trouble breathing. I'm sick about it because I can't afford to take it to the vet but I can't stand to see it suffer either. I'm hoping it's something we can treat ourselves if anyone has any idea of what might be wrong. I would even consider euthanasia if there is a way to do it painlessly. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

[Steelie]

Thank you for the response Dr. Cheng. I will contact the store first thing in the morning. I cannot sleep at night knowing this poor animal is suffering and will do everything in my power to see it is taken care of as humanely as possible. I did contact a vet today about rates and I am considering my options there as well.

peekawho: Go back and read some of the responses and then tell me again how I wasn't being judged. My intentions were nothing but sincere when I found this forum and asked for help. If I didn't already know I had to do the right thing by this animal, why would I even bother? If I didn't care I wouldn't have asked for help.

[peekawho]

No one was judging you.  Only pointing out that vets often have reduced prices for treating pocket pets.  You won't know unless you ask.

And the animal cannot be allowed to suffer.  Regardless of how it came to be in your house, you are responsible to provide care.

I'm hurting financially today from an unexpected $300 vet bill for one of my dogs.  Animals get sick.

[MJIthewriter]

Sounds to me the best thing you can do is see if you can find a local humane society that takes small animals. They may be able to give the medical treatment necessary to help the little guy. They can also help it find a home.

I'm sorry this had to happen.  It sounds like an act of irresponsibility on your daughter's part for not taking into consideration the financial involvement for taking care of a new family member.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Sorry about the delay in answering.  I lost my own cat yesterday after an unexpected illness and have been a bit under the weather.

Anyhow,  your daughters hamster probably had an early stage of this disease when purchased.  I would go to the store with the hamster and request that the hamster be evaluated by the store vet.  If that is not possible (if the pet store declines) than request a refund and surrender the hamster to the store.  Most pet stores do have contracts with vets to take care of their in-store pets prior to sale, and reputable pet stores do care about what happens to their animals once they leave the store. The store vet will humanely euthanize your daughter's hamster if there is no hope.  Of course there is no absolute quarantee as to what will happen to the hamster once returned to the store.

You can also explain to the store manager that the breeder of these hamster's may have an infectious agent going through their hamsters, which in turn will effect other hamster's and possibly other small mammal's at the store.

If the manager declines, request the name of the vet that they use.  Explain the situition to the vet, who may give a discount.

[Steelie]

OK, let me clear something up here. My daughter brought this hamster home without my knowledge and i wasn't happy about it. We are all animal lovers and always have been but I didn't want any more pets in the house at this time. We have 2 dogs that are fortunately healthy at the moment but have been very well taken care of and are loved so much it's rediculous. My daughter is 19 years old and knows how to care for animals as she has owned many including a horse. The problem is, she is in college and and my wife and I are in deep financial trouble due to the plant where I worked shutting down. We lost our home, our vehicles, used up all our savings, investments and my pension. When I say I can't afford a vet, I'm not kidding. We don't spend money on anything but the essentials (I'm using my sisters computer).

Thanks to those of you that tried to help and to the others, thanks for passing judgment on me without knowing the whole story.

[squeakyquynh]

I'd recommend at least calling a few vets and asking what the cost is for bringing the hamster in. See if your daughter is willing to carve out some portion of her allowance or forgo some other costly activity to take the hamster into the vet.

[jdesouza]

I wish pets (and humans) never got sick but we all have times when we are ill and getting the right treatment is important to limiting the pain and suffering associated with it. If you cannot afford to provide ongoing care for the pet then perhaps you should get this condition treated and then consider finding a new home for it. I would only consider euthanasia if the condition is terminal and the vet recommends it.

[sk123]

One of the best ways to teach empathy in your children is by having a pet. I worry about the lessons that your daughter will learn from the casual attitude afforded to another living thing. When you bring a pet into your home, you should be committed to that animal's well-being. While I'm not suggesting that you should be spending $500 on a hamster, I'm surprised that you didn't factor in the costs of caring for a pet before taking it in. At this point, I think you owe it to the hamster to take it to the vet. Trying to find ways to euthanize the hamster yourself is appalling.

[peekawho]

Many vets have quite affordable prices for treating pocket pets.  They realize that you are not going to spend $500 to treat a $10 dollar pet.

The one thing you cannot do is to allow the animal to suffer.  Unfortunately, by bringing a pet into your home, you obligated yourself to providing reasonable care and comfort.