Hamsters are created with extra small and delicate bodies, therefore hamsters needed extra gently nursery rather than other pet animals. Based on this fact, the selection of hamster’s house and toys are fatal. We know the importance of toys for hamster, but do you know that toys are one of the common cause of fractures in hamsters? If we let our hamster use toys improperly, it only brings harm to our hamsters. So, be wise my dear friends.
There are many inevitable disease that shadowing our hamster’s health such as tyzzer’s disease and bacterial blood-poisoning. These diseases was caused by bacterial which carried by other animals – in bacterial blood-poisoning case, the disease was carried by deer flies and ticks. Is not really clear how tyzzer infected its victims, but most cases it occurred in young animals. Another health issues you must pay attention is infection on hamsters.
Infection could happen due the progress of hamster’s wounds into the advanced stage such as skin abscesses, but there are some of them occurred purely by infection of bacteria such as respiratory illness or infection that caused pneumonia. Yes, a lot of things could happen to our beloved little creatures, and one of the problem that occur in hamster is lumpy jaw. How do you know about lumpy jaw on hamster? What is lumpy jaw? Stay with us, folks for we would discuss it right now!
Lumpy Jaw in Animals
Lumpy jaw that also recognized as actinomycosis a disease that occurred due the attacked of rare infectious bacterial from Actinomyces species; almost about 70% of lumpy jaw cases that occurred caused by A. gerencseriae or actinomyces israelii. In human, lumpy jaw was happened due certain conditions such as trauma from broken jaw which leads to damaged tissue into the oral mucosa, dental works, radiation or therapy, and poor oral hygiene.
In animals, these bacterial was lived between small spaces of the teeth and gums, when the bacterial have chance to multiple inside anoxic environment freely it causes infection which affect animal’s jaw (we knew as lumpy jaw). For determine this precise disease, there are symptoms you should pay attention: exhibition of painful abscesses in the mouth, breast, and lungs of the sufferers. Keep in mind, this disease was moved rapidly, people.
As the disease in progression, the abscesses would grow larger: first, over the mouth, then it starts to penetrate surrounding skin and bone, it breaks open and let out pus in large amount of it. By the way, this is what common stages occurred in human. In animals, there are three ways occur: when the disease spread into jaw’s hard bone it’s called as big jaw, when it’s moveable lump of tumor on jaw area it’s called as lump jaw, and the last was when the disease effected the tongue it’s called as wooden tongue. These conditions a lot of times happened to cattle, such as weaned calves, heifers, and young bulls.
Lumpy Jaw in Hamster
Why it’s called with lumpy jaw? It might associate with some of the symptoms that occurred in hamsters, such as abscesses and swelling around hamster’s jaw. It is safe to say that it formed as infection and if didn’t get proper treatment, the infection would exhibit a fulled-pocket of pus. So, if this disease commonly infect cattle, how does hamster get this disease? Just like a skin abscess characteristic, abscesses occurred in hamsters mouth was resulted from an open wound inside hamster’s mouth.
An open wound was an easy target of bacteria to infect your hamster; throughout the bloodstream, the bacteria spread on hamster’s body and resulted into dangerous infection. As I mentioned previously, the infection would spread rapidly and need clinical treatment as fast as possible. You have to search professional help (the vet) to close infection distribution before it’s too late. Furthermore, with hamster’s jaw condition, they more likely won’t eat or drink anything due the infection.
If this condition keep happening, it only created another complications which is I’m absolutely sure you won’t ever dream about it. Therefore, quick respond is needed due the safety of your hamster, my dear friends.
Lumpy Jaw Symptoms:
How do you know about lumpy jaw in hamster? If you want to make sure, do your hamster is a positive suspect of lumpy jaw, you could observe these symptoms that commonly occurred to sufferers of the disease: the first infection would cause hamster to experience respiratory difficulties, hamster’s heart rate would increase from normal, and you might notice bluish come out from hamster’s skins.
When the disease was entered later stages, you would notice these kinds of symptoms happen in your hamsters: exhibition of abscesses (pus-filled pocket) burst from salivary glands that create swelling on hamster especially surround hamster’s jaw region. Then, the jaw over the time would have swollen in the point that the hamster refuse to eat; this condition – of course leads to weight loss of the hamster.
If your hamster was in serious stage of infection – which is rare happened – you might see these symptoms occurred in hamster is jawbones softening and inflammation.
Diagnosing of the Disease
To complete diagnose, you need to explain your hamster health history to the vet. This was included the nature and onset of the symptoms you noticed; this to make the vet easier to identify and execute the examination to your hamster. The vet would submit pus’ specimen for the culture to get definitive diagnose, and followed by few other methods such as acid-fast staining, cytology, and gram staining.
Treating the Disease:
Fist treat that done by the vet is attempt to drain and lance the abscesses. Then, the vet would use antibiotics treatment to kill the bacteria that infected your hamster, plus with the help of sodium iodide which given orally to the pet hamster. Keep in mind, always consult with your veterinarian for the best treatment you would apply at home, because at one point you have to take care of your hamster for your own, folks.