I agree with you on that but I feel strongly about properly researching before you get a pet. This is a perfect example of why you should. xx

niki87, can you read at all or are you just spamming without reading anything that I wrote? There is NO small animal vet where we come from. This is no UK, this is darn eastern Europe, but we are still people who like to eat, sleep and own pets. And while I can spend reasonably whatever amount of cash for the well-being of my brother's pet, the choices are limited. So if you can help with advice towards solving the problem, we will be grateful, if not, keep your opinion to yourself.

When our previous 2 and a half year old hamster was ill, the best vet we could find said he will not deal with the hamster and he can only put it to sleep because he can not do anything else with such a small animal. Oh, yes, cool, now that is a solution to all problems.... In fact when you look at any veterinary price list while there are lot of services for dogs and cats, for rodents there is ONLY one position - euthanasia. And you know why? In a country with an average salary of 250 GBP per month and unemployment rate of 18% you can not expect a level of civilization where there are doctors that specialize in rodents.

So, please, back to the topic... anybody has any ideas where to get Baytril online?

I live in Scotland and my mice are treated like kings and queens. There is no small rodent vet within a 5 hour driving radius and yet I did three years worth or research including checking that the ordinary vets would be able to deal with them which I was assured they would be able to. Even doing this the vet killed 4 of my mice and I would have lost a 5th if I hadn't started treating my animals with home medications. Having again contacted the "rodent" vet they also advice they have never worked with mice so they would just be making a guess. Very professional.
Your argument is moot and I would ask that if you cannot offer something constructive to try and help the OP that you do not bother posting a reply.

In response to your post Karlis, i shall have a look for you. In the meantime the only other think I could suggest would be using a used teabag - try possible using it to wet some of the hamsters bedding if it will not allow you to handle it as the tea is soothing and can help with the inflammation.

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Run free my beautiful rainbow babies. I love you.

Karlis, I am afraid that as far as i can find out Baytril can only be obtained with a prescription. However, Jazzy suggested Ivermectin. The only place I can find this which will ship to Latvia is ebay. I hipe that this helps - I have attached the link below for you:
IVERMECTIN DROPS 0.8% 10ml SPOT ON TREATMENT OF MITES on eBay (end time 26-Nov-09 14:45:47 GMT)

Sorry I cannot help you any further

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Run free my beautiful rainbow babies. I love you.

Karlis, I just came aross this on a hamster website and thought that it sounded like what has happened to your brother's hamster so thought you may like a read. It does seem to sound like a mite infection if the information on this website is aything to go by. I have heard of people using cat ear drops on small rodents to treat mites (as in the cat ear drops for mites) but I have never tried this so don't know if it would actually work - it might be another alternative as the person who tried it is a mouse breeder, owner and some one who shows them?? Anyway, here is the information i came across:

Fur Loss
Symptoms: Excessive scratching, especially to the point of exposing raw & red skin. (Note that a hamster's daily grooming and cleaning routine includes some "light" scratching, licking and "biting" of fur. This is normal.)

Causes: Mites, allergy to bedding, old age. Pine or cedar-based bedding can cause irritation to a hamster's skin, leading to excessive scratching and fur loss. Fur loss due to bedding irritation can usually be found at on the hamster's underside and legs as these are the areas in contact with the bedding.

If you use a horizontal wire cage (such as the Habitrail Safari or Space Station) and your hamster chews on the wire frequently, it may lead to a bald patch just above the nose. This is due to rubbing on the wire during chewing.

Old age can lead to some loss of fur around the legs or ears. This is normal and unavoidable.

Other causes of fur loss, quoted from missPixy here with updated information:
QUOTE
Sarcoptic Mange

clinical signs: there is hair loss around the face which includes infection. The condition is contagious.

diagnosis: microscopy to reveal the mite Sarcptes scabiei is necessary.

treatment: Ivermectin 1% given orally every 10 days, for a month.

Demodecosis: infection with these mites is common, but clinical disease is only seen if the immune system is compromised, in the young, pregnant or aged hamster.

clinical signs: these include dry skin, fur loss, infection and scaling.

diagnosis: microscopy of skin scrapings is necessary.

treatment: Ivermectin 1% can be given undiluted orally. one drop is given and repeated every 10 days as necessary. weekly amitraz baths are also effective.

Ringworm:

clinical signs: these include fur loss, dry skin with yellow flaking. The body and ears are affected. the condition is sometimes includes infections.

diagnosis: microscopy and culture on Sabouraud's medium should be carried out.

treatment*: the patient should be handled with gloves and may be washed with a pvoidone-iodine shampoo or an anti-fungal preparation such as natamycin. A the hamster's house should be cleaned out with povidone-iodine solution.
*Credit for Ringworm treatment information:
Diseases of Small Domestic Rodents, Second Edition, 2003.
V. C. G. Richardson

General Remedies: Change the bedding/litter to a recycled pulp or paper based type if you have been using pine or cedar. Supplement the hamster's diet with cod-liver oil and crushed yeast tablets to aid fur coat recovery. Pure aloe vera gel is useful for soothing irritated skin. Obtain the gel from a pharmacy and apply directly onto the hamster's skin twice daily. Recommended to do this while arranging and waiting for an appointment with a vet if the cause of the fur loss cannot be determined.

QUOTE
addition of vitamin A helps with fur growth. this can be found in carrots... try chopping some up to add to their meals. vitamin D as well... this can be found in milk products, and cheese (lowfat is preferable). also, there's something called Vitapet Small Animal Fur Conditioner that contains cod-liver oil, vitamins A and D

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Run free my beautiful rainbow babies. I love you.

Thank you all! We will try everything with great care, hopefully at least something would work.

Just to let you know, that the little friend has fully recovered from the illness. Not sure what worked, but here is what we did:

1) Changed food and bedding to other brands
2) Rubbed vaseline regularly every day for a week, later switched to the following:
3) Alcohol-free iodine following by some cream recommended by a vet specializing in cats.

within week illness stopped to progress, within two weeks recovery started, within month the illness went away.

Aaaww Im so glad to hear your hamster got better

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My babies....
1 cat-Snowdon
2 rabbits-Sydnee and Angel
4 gerbils-Oscar and Dillon. Dante and Jakey.
2 syrian hamsters-Dexter and Max
4 dwarf hamsters-Willow, Zeke, Ollie and Louie

RIP
Oakley
Poppy
Grace
Frankie

Aww its lovely to read that the little hammy got better

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Owned by 3 human children, Kyle, Ebony and Harvey Bob the Chinese Hamster, Jamie the African Pygmy Hedgehog, Bugsy and Nelson the Guinea Pigs, and Stewie, Dora, Jessie and Billy the Bunnies RIP Mr Chip Sleep tight little angel