Goodbye Spice!

If I hadn’t entered my hamsters in the California Hamster Association show two weeks ago, I would never had known about Spice’s problem. This golden hamster was disqualified for her health condition: rapid breathing. The judges suspected possible pneumonia.

Three days later, the vet confirmed it. She prescribed antibiotics, and asked me to administer it twice a day. She also suggested holding her nose towards steam to help clear her nose and lungs. I was to keep an eye on Spice for ten days, and if she didn’t improve, I had to take her back, and possibly have her euthanized.

Spice refused the tip of the medicine dropper, but happily took the medicine when it reached her mouth. She also would not be still when I held her to the steam. Now, this morning, after ten days, she had to be euthanized, especially since I would be taking my hamsters on a long trip. I could not leave a sick hamster with someone else. The vet said that at an old age, Spice did not have much chance of survival, even if we switched antibiotics and prolonged her death.  She would only be suffering.

It was a hard decision. I did not want to give up my hamster, but I also didn’t want her to suffer her last days.