What You May Not Know About Hamster Scent GlandsMarch 16, 2012 Microbiologist Elizabeth Johnson, a fourth-year student of veterinary medicine and surgery at Glasgow University School of Veterinary Medicine in Scotland, said her love for furry little creatures, including hamsters, has led to an unexpected discovery. "They are not generally very well understood by owners and even by some vets," she said. Johnson estimates she's had 60 to 70 pet hamsters throughout her life. About Scent Glands Owners and veterinarians should be aware of hamsters' scent glands' normal appearance and odor, Johnson said. Even practitioners who treat exotics on a regular basis often admit not knowing much about hamsters, and perhaps most perplexing are hamsters' scent glands. Melissa A. Kling, DVM, of Macon, Ga., is secretary of the Assn. of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians and has treated exotic pets for 20 years. Dr. Kling says hamsters' scent glands are also known as flank glands or hip spots. "The scent glands are more prominent in males than females. When the male is excited, it will lick its scent glands until the entire area is wet. It will also scratch and rub itself as if the area is irritated." In addition to differences between the sexes, …
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Trauma And Disease Threaten Ferret Eyes And LivesApril 17, 2009 Mark Burgess, DVM, who practices in Beaverton, Oregon remembers a ferret that was brought into his clinic with both eyes hanging out of its head. "The owners had closed the recliner and not realized that their ferret had its head stuck in there. This popped out both of the ferret's eyes, and the ferret became instantly blind," Dr. Burgess said. The ferret's eyes were swollen and damaged, so the best thing that could be done for it was to remove its eyes and close the area up. "The ferret's hair eventually grew back in and today it looks like it was just born without eyes," Burgess said. "It runs around like normal and does fine." That particular case was rather unusual the way it happened, Burgess said. But eye traumas in general are fairly common occurrences in his practice. "Ferrets are very inquisitive and can get hurt when they're snooping around. Or their eyes might become scratched when two ferrets are rough-housing with each other, or they could have a run-in with a cat," Burgess said. A veterinarian at an exotics practice is also likely to have to treat ferret injuries. …
Too Much Vitamin C Worsens Guinea Pig ArthritisApril 17, 2009 High doses of vitamin C increased the severity of spontaneous knee osteoarthritis in guinea pigs, according to a recent study by Duke University Medical Centers. The finding contradicts earlier short-term studies in guinea pigs and an epidemiologic study in humans that suggested vitamin C and its antioxidant properties might protect against osteoarthritis, said Virginia Kraus, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center. "It's possible that brief exposure to high levels of vitamin C offers antioxidant effects with a minimum of side effects, while prolonged exposure results in deleterious effects," she said. The researchers fed the guinea pigs low (3 mg per day), medium (30 mg per day) and high (150 mg) doses of vitamin C over eight months. At the end of that period, they found the high dose guinea pigs developed more cartilage damage and had more bony spurs form in their knees than the other groups. In studying the spurs, the researchers found a protein that leads to spur formation and can be activated by vitamin C. Their conclusion, pending additional study in humans, is that people should not supplement their dietary vitamin C levels above the recommended daily …
