 2060
- 63. CASE 1. SCENT GLAND INFECTIONS.
A boy studying in Primary 5 (probably
11 years old) was worried that his
dwarf hamster had a tumour in his
navel area. His
mother and father took time off to bring his best friend to
consult me. Tumours and infections
must be checked out.
Fortunately, it was the scent gland
clogged with waxy secretions and
accumulation. For a thorough
removal and cleaning, I put the
hamster under general anaesthesia
using isoflurane gas. Grabbing the
hamster and doing it without
anaesthesia could stress him severely
and he may just die on the spot. The
hamster recovered. Wood shavings as
litter would be replaced with paper
litter and regular maintenance of the
scent gland using cotton bud and clean
water every week would be ideal.
What is the use of scent glands? Male
dwarf hamsters use their scent gland
to mark territories and warn off other
hamsters. Females use it when they are
in estrus too. To warn off other
females and to attract the males?
Some writers note that the female
hamsters produce less scent when she
is on heat.
In Syrian hamsters, the scent glands
are on the hip areas on both sides.
Some hamster sources say that the
dwarf hamster has 6 scent glands!
Dwarf hamster scent gland secretions
are unsightly to owners who care and
can be mistaken for tumours,
infections and abscesses by
veterinarians. For example, one of my
cases:
Breast tumour near the navel.
Thanks to the internet, I am able to
pull out one of my cases in May 19
2005 for review and to share with
readers. The owner was very worried
about the infected "belly button"
which was the infected scent gland.
Not all scent gland cleaning need
anaesthesia. Some owners can't clean
the scent gland as the hamster bites
or just will not permit cleaning. Is
there a "hamster groomer" in
Singapore? I guess there will be
but it is hard to earn a living being
a specialised "hamster groomer."
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ASIAHOMES.COM TOURISM ADVERT
To: Busy fathers
The
Wet Market in Myitkyina, Myanmar has a
variety of produce for sale. Vegetables,
fishes, eels, oranges and farm produce are eye-openers for the
urbanised children of Singapore. There is no "smell" in the Wet market
in Myitkyina as they are well ventilated, unlike some of Singapore's
Wet Markets which are really enclosed under a low roof.
Myitkyina is in North Myanmar, seldom visited by foreigners, except
the Chinese Nationals.
Many interesting rural areas to explore with your family. Gold mining
operations by the river. Visit Lake Inndawgi via a 7-hour car ride
from Myitkyina.
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Myitkyina. Nuns receiving alms. My Canon camera
focusing lens started to malfunction. Unable to focus. Bring two
cameras when you travel. |
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Myitkyina. A reclining Buddha. |
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Near Lake Inndawgyi.
Suddenly, this pretty rural scene with sunshine on the right
presented as I was sitting inside the moving van passing
Christian villages to Lake Inndawgyi. Fortunately, the picture
came out well. May hay while the sun shines? |
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Near Lake Inndawgyi.
Machines are rented by an entrepreneur to the farmers. By late
December, most rice farms have completed harvesting. Visit in
November if you want to see the golden padi fields.
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Near Lake Inndawgyi
The farmers in this picture probably can't afford the thresher.
Manual threshing using cattle's feet. |
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Lake Inndawgyi |
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Candlelit breakfast by Lake Inndawgyi.
My Canon camera focusing lens had malfunctioned. |
Christian villages in a land of pagodas are seen
here as Myanmar was historically part of the British Empire. The
missionaries were dedicated and many of the rural villages outside
Myitkyina are Christians and there were Christmas celebrations in the
villages near to Lake Inndawgyi.
No distractions from mobile phones as you travel to Lake Inndawgyi
seeing rice fields and other scenes of village living. Large
teak tree trunks felled, ready for export to China. Wild flowers.
Beautiful sunshine in December as it is a dry season.
As a busy working father, you will have more time to bond with your
family members. Your children also have more time to bond with you too
as they are deprived of their internet access to online gaming and
instant messaging. They appreciate the culture and way of life so much
different from Singapore's highly stressed and competitive
environment. There are so many places in Myanmar to visit but
you can't do it in 7 days. Some pictures are at:
Be
Kind To Pets Jan 2009
Working Fathers: Contact
judy@asiahomes.com, +65
9668-6468 if you wish
to arrange a personalised, stress-free and safe family tour to different
interesting parts of Myanmar. See
Myanmar Travel Stories.
See:
Dec 2008 travel to Myanmar.
Earnings from Myanmar Travel Tourism help to maintain the
www.bekindtopets.com
community education by Dr Sing and help the villagers to feed their
families. |
