To wait till morning to get hamster seen at vets

[ChitterChatter1987]

I found our little hamster seriously unwell in her cage this evening....she is only 9mths old and belongs to my daughter.
I think she has 'wet tail' as that area is wet, her chest is wet, she is hunched over, lethargic, making sort of coughing
/raspy noises and her eyes are all puffy.

My gut feeling is it's not looking good.
I worry we have found her too late.

I don't want her to suffer but the out of hours vets want £270 just for consultation, not alone any treatment or dare I say it euthanasia if it came to it.
We really don't have that sort of money lying about .I could borrow it from my mum if needed, but (and I don't want to sound cruel here) would it actually be worth it or is the likelihood of her being saved very minimal at this stage?

I spoke to my friend who is a vet nurse and said it doesn't sound good..
The out of hours vets said often small animals don't come through things like this....but if I wait til the morning to go to our own vets and she dies I'm worried I'll feel so guilty that maybe she could have been saved, and it's my youngest daughters birthday tomorrow.....really don't want my oldest having her hamster (who she only got on her last birthday) dying on her sisters :(

Oh please help me know what to do....

You don't understand the distinction between a pet, that someone owns, and wildlife?

When people say they need to buy dog food, do you similarly say "why not buy ant food for the ants in the garden" or are you not as persistently stupid as you're currently being?

Slugs are normally lethargic aren’t they? I wouldn’t be able to tell if a slug is ill
Maybe he’d be a bit sluggish?

😂

@Viviennemary

There's a slug in my garden that's looking a bit lethargic. Should I get the emergency vet out. Unbelievable!

Where do you draw the line when it comes to the vet? You wouldn't take a hamster, what about a rabbit? Cat? Dog? Horse? Interested to know where your approval for emergency vet visits kicks in

Are you going to update us OP?

Sorry ive been getting her seen and I haven't had a chance to read all the replies but thanks to those offering support and advice.To those accusing me of not caring about her i do care about her, alot (although my first post was probably badly worded admittedly, as i was having abit of an emotional panic and the amount of money to get her seen tonight did shock me...its alot of money to us)
I forgot we do have our girls savings pots though, so have taken it out of that for now.
Those comparing this to the life of a child, that's a ridiculous statement and OF COURSE i would not hesitate to do or pay anything with my children nothing would stop me but that's totally different as they are my human children!

However I'm not heartless and cruel and no living creature deserves to suffer.I would not want that for any animal including our hamster as she is still a special little life who we are fond of.I knew underneath I could never risk waiting til the morning and have her suffering for longer than necessary, i would likely not have been able to go to sleep for worrying she might get worse and die in the night and would never forgive myself if she did and I could have acted faster and it made a difference.

I do understand that by having a pet there is a responsibility to get them vet care whatever the cost...i was just stumped by it as thought for most people obviously hamsters are a cheap and easy pet!
We already had an £80 bill for an eye infection in the summer and just wasn't expecting owning a hamster to be so expensive.But it is what it is and i realise we just have to accept we must pay whatever it takes again as her welfare needs to come first.

I would certainly have taken her in the morning at the latest, it was just a matter of whether I should wait til then and potentially risk her getting worse or bite the bullet with the financial side and go tonight.....and i did wonder whether unsettling her and the stress of the journey might be more detrimental aswell than staying in her cage, but I know now it was the necessary decision to make.

Thanks to those who have showed me empathy and encouraged me to do the right thing, I'm so relieved she is being seen to and whilst we aren't completely out the woods yet at least I know we are doing our upmost to help her ASAP.

That’s great to hear OP. What was the diagnosis from the vet?

We aren't on the breadline but do live month to month and TYPICALLY tomorrow is pay day so tonight we were broke.
If I didn't have the girls savings though I'd have had to borrow it.
I am also recovering from a week of covid, still feeling abit rubbish and testing positive which was making me more reluctant than usual to go out.
But needs must! I just wore a mask.

Sorry I thought I'd included that...long night 🤦‍♀️

The prognosis looks better than expected! She has perked up quite abit since being out and looks much better than she did.
She got seen by an exotic vet specialist- They don't think wet tail but do think it's a respiratory infection so have given her painkillers and antibiotics.They thought she was well enough to go home without needing to stay in and have oxygen.
She has another appt tomorrow at 9.30 for follow up.
I'm so glad I took her tonight....I didn't realise they would be able to help her so much and hopefully we have caught it earlier than I thought.
Earlier I was literally thinking the worst as she seemed so ill.
We aren't out the woods yet but definitely heading in the right direction it seems.

Thank you so much for looking after her.

Oh that's positive OP, I hope she keeps getting better

Great news OP, and well done for taking her in.
And happy birthday to your DD later on.

@Bellatrixpure

probably the other leg & your other arm for the consumables.

but the OP could have phoned around, my comment was actually aimed at a lot of posters saying thet wouldn't spend that much on a hamster.

I've rescued a lot of animals and been to many emergency vets for lots of 'small animals' as well as cats & dogs. It's worth the extra to go to a small animal specialist. I pay more because there's less messing about for the poor pet & obviously speedier treatment.

I spent a fortune on a hamster, but over several visits. Everytime I'd think it was time, she'd rally around & appear to be getting better. Recruited by the vet I expect. She was such a wee character, broke my heart. ❤️‍🩹.

Hope the hamster gets well soon @ChitterChatter1987 .

A hamster is not a child. But no I probably wouldn't rush to a and E with a child with diarrhoea anyway

Finally the voice of reason

Well that's a positive update. I am delighted you brought her to the vets tonight. You probably wouldn't have gotten any sleep tonight worrying anyway. Not having money is always an issue, esp the day before payday. Hopefully now she will be ok and recover well. Maybe if you can build her a little savings pot - a just in case fund in the event it ever happens again

I'm glad you took her OP, respiratory infections can progress to pneumonia very quickly and the odds of recovery can greatly diminish. Prompt action might well have been a lifesaver.

Hope little Hammy gets better soon
This post has really brought back memories
❤️‍🩹 of our own little Hammies

For thinking that £270 is an insane amount if money to spend on a hamster???? It’s an opinion, one that in real life many people would agree with. That’s food for a whole family for a few weeks in a lot of households at the moment.

@DinosaurMunch

A hamster is not a child. But no I probably wouldn't rush to a and E with a child with diarrhoea anyway

OP didn't say the hamster had diarrhoea she said the hamster had a wet rear end, wet chest, was hunched over and lethargic. She also said the hamster had puffy eyes, was coughing and rasping.

So? People on tight budgets should either make provision for their animals or not have them.
Allowing an animal to suffer like that because the vet bill will interfere with with your grocery budget is barbaric.

Your comment lacks reason and common sense.

You’d rather children try to function on an empty stomach and save the hamster?

This was obviously an unforeseen cost which the OP ended up forking out for anyway!!

Can’t understand your thought process. In an ideal world we’d be able to afford anything life throws at us, but if I had to make the choice between feeding my kids or saving a hamster I know which is the sensible option

Animals cost. Vet bills can hardly be classed as an unforeseen expense?
To the hard of thinking, maybe.
If paying vet bills would literally mean you couldn’t feed your children, you can’t afford a pet.
It’s not that difficult to grasp, surely?

Vet bills yes, £270 for a hamster out of hours, unreasonable for them to charge that. Unfair and unethical for a profession that is supposed to care about animals, obviously some people wouldn’t expect to pay that much as it’s extortionate. My out of hours vet fees were nowhere near that, and were for larger pets.

But my comment to you was regarding you saying don’t let this get in the way of a grocery shop, which you have chosen not to address. For someone talking shit and saying people are hard of thinking and not grasping things, you are not reading and responding to what it asked. Are you thick?