Milk Thistle can help stop hissing from liver pain

[hamsworth]

I've had 3 male Syrians that all had the same symptom. I would hear them hiss in pain for short periods of time (1-3 seconds) sort of like if you've taken a sharp intake of breath due to pain. They would only make this noise in their den, which just means that they're an animal trying to hide their pain.

The exotic vet said it could be liver damage/disease (I forget which). He prescribed 0.08 ml every 24 hours for 30 days. I believe he also prescribed pain meds for a shorter period of time. Gabapentin 0.08 ml every 12 hours for 14 days. Each medication was mixed with a small amount of tutti (good-tasting stuff to help it go down?): so 0.4 ml of milk thistle or gabapentin with 3.6 ml of tutti.

Now, hissing in pain is going to be something that hamsters do for all sorts of pain, so you should take your hamster to the vet if you can. There's a good chance it's another illness. I'm just reporting that milk thistle stopped my hamsters from hissing in pain so I figure they must have had liver damage. My vet pointed out that milk thistle can help with liver pain but not other pain. It's not a cure-all.

You can buy milk thistle from NHV on your own, but it's expensive ($57.55 CAD). It also says on the back to replace it 6 months after opening. I asked an exotic vet about the NHV supplements. She said that after 6 months, its effectiveness probably wears off but the supplement itself is probably still safe to give. I would say replace it between 6 and 12 months.

However, you're better off asking your vet to prescribe a small amount of milk thistle. It'll likely be cheaper for you.


I said this happened to 3 male Syrians, which is odd. I've had male Syrians, male dwarfs, and female dwarfs. No female Syrians.

I'm going back a ways, but the first male Syrian I had started making this hiss around 2-3 months after I got him. I thought it was my imagination at first... but, yeah, he would hiss a few times a night (that I could hear before I went to sleep) for about 2-4 seconds at a time. Then, I started to hear him make that noise during the day. After taking him to the vet, the vet said it could be liver damage and to give him a milk thistle supplement. I gave it to him for 30 days and after about 15 days, he stopped making the noise as much. By the 30th day, I had ordered an NHV bottle and continued giving it to him a few times a week on his food. To my surprise, he stopped making that hiss.

When my next 2 male Syrians also made that noise after I had first bought them, I gave them a drop for a while on a tasty treat. They also stopped hissing after a few weeks. I think catching it early helped. Their hisses also weren't as frequent or as long as my other hamster.

I hope this helps someone.

[Kikya]

I've had 3 male Syrians that all had the same symptom. I would hear them hiss in pain for short periods of time (1-3 seconds) sort of like if you've taken a sharp intake of breath due to pain. They would only make this noise in their den, which just means that they're an animal trying to hide their pain.

The exotic vet said it could be liver damage/disease (I forget which). He prescribed 0.08 ml every 24 hours for 30 days. I believe he also prescribed pain meds for a shorter period of time. Gabapentin 0.08 ml every 12 hours for 14 days. Each medication was mixed with a small amount of tutti (good-tasting stuff to help it go down?): so 0.4 ml of milk thistle or gabapentin with 3.6 ml of tutti.

Now, hissing in pain is going to be something that hamsters do for all sorts of pain, so you should take your hamster to the vet if you can. There's a good chance it's another illness. I'm just reporting that milk thistle stopped my hamsters from hissing in pain so I figure they must have had liver damage. My vet pointed out that milk thistle can help with liver pain but not other pain. It's not a cure-all.

You can buy milk thistle from NHV on your own, but it's expensive ($57.55 CAD). It also says on the back to replace it 6 months after opening. I asked an exotic vet about the NHV supplements. She said that after 6 months, its effectiveness probably wears off but the supplement itself is probably still safe to give. I would say replace it between 6 and 12 months.

However, you're better off asking your vet to prescribe a small amount of milk thistle. It'll likely be cheaper for you.


I said this happened to 3 male Syrians, which is odd. I've had male Syrians, male dwarfs, and female dwarfs. No female Syrians.

I'm going back a ways, but the first male Syrian I had started making this hiss around 2-3 months after I got him. I thought it was my imagination at first... but, yeah, he would hiss a few times a night (that I could hear before I went to sleep) for about 2-4 seconds at a time. Then, I started to hear him make that noise during the day. After taking him to the vet, the vet said it could be liver damage and to give him a milk thistle supplement. I gave it to him for 30 days and after about 15 days, he stopped making the noise as much. By the 30th day, I had ordered an NHV bottle and continued giving it to him a few times a week on his food. To my surprise, he stopped making that hiss.

When my next 2 male Syrians also made that noise after I had first bought them, I gave them a drop for a while on a tasty treat. They also stopped hissing after a few weeks. I think catching it early helped. Their hisses also weren't as frequent or as long as my other hamster.

I hope this helps someone.

So many commercial foods have artificial vitamins and minerals in them. These are basically worthless in most cases and just create expensive pee, for humans and animals. I saw on your other post that you were given some multi-vitamin drops too. Hamsters have very delicate liver and kidneys that help to filter out excess vitamins and toxins. I wouldn't give those drops. Humans can have pain in their liver from taking too many supplements.

My hamster food that I make has milk thistle seeds in it already, maybe you can try the seeds, might be cheaper, if your hamster will eat them. I would put them in a bowl first, if you want to try the seeds to make sure he will eat them. Milk thistle has been shown to have beneficial affects on the liver.

Thank you for providing your experience on here, the more we share, the more we learn.

[hamsworth]

So many commercial foods have artificial vitamins and minerals in them. These are basically worthless in most cases and just create expensive pee, for humans and animals. I saw on your other post that you were given some multi-vitamin drops too. Hamsters have very delicate liver and kidneys that help to filter out excess vitamins and toxins. I wouldn't give those drops. Humans can have pain in their liver from taking too many supplements.

My hamster food that I make has milk thistle seeds in it already, maybe you can try the seeds, might be cheaper, if your hamster will eat them. I would put them in a bowl first, if you want to try the seeds to make sure he will eat them. Milk thistle has been shown to have beneficial affects on the liver.

Thank you for providing your experience on here, the more we share, the more we learn.

Oh, that's an idea! I can definitely look into milk thistle seeds, especially if they're cheaper, but I think the milk thistle drops are fine to give the hamsters if they're in pain.

I agree that you shouldn't give hamsters a lot of supplements. The hamster who was in the worst pain was the one I had not any given supplements to and I never gave that much to the others. I think if you give a hamster too much of anything, it's bad. Doesn't matter if it's veg, supplements, or even protein.