VETERINARIAN IN JAPAN

Having grown up with animals my whole life, I am not a stranger to veterinarians, but I never expected to find myself at a veterinarian in Japan. 

About a year ago, I decided to raise a hamster. I’ve raised two hamsters in America, so I was fairly confident going into it this time. I clean his cage every week, and I let him walk around in his ball a few times a week. He’s very friendly and lets you hold him and carry him around.

However, I noticed one night that his left eye was kind of glued shut. I just read online that it could be dried “sleep” and to just wipe it with a damp cloth, which is what I did.

I forgot all about that incident until a week ago, I noticed his left eye was extremely red and swollen. I had no clue what could have happened since nothing changed and I’ve been using the same bedding and materials since I got him.

After searching online, I read that it could be an infection similar to pinkeye and to see a veterinarian immediately. I was a bit hesitant but having taken responsibility of a pet, I thought it’s best to take care of it properly no matter how small or maybe even how near to end of life it is.

Now, there are tons of veterinarians around, but one thing I didn’t expect were “cat and dog” only veterinarians! So, while searching, I  repeatedly found offices that only examine cats and dogs.

Another road block was referral only veterinarians as well, and finally as a foreigner, there are even fewer English speaking veterinarians, especially in Yokohama.

I ended up contacting an office that didn’t have any immediate openings, but had an English speaking veterinarian. Despite that convenience, I decided to call another vet because I didn’t want to risk his eye getting worst.

In the end, I ended up calling the closest vet to me even though they didn’t speak English. I called around 4:00 while at work and they said they can fit me in today if I arrived by 6:15.

I sped home after work and packing up our little hamster. I didn’t have a carrier for him so I just brought him in his plastic ball.

The vet is about 15min walk away, but I didn’t want to take any chances and decided to ride the bus for 3 min. Despite him never having been outside before, he did really well! Only a few squeaks when I stopped swinging the bag. I didn’t know what questions the vet would ask, so I took pictures of his house, bedding, and food beforehand.

I walked into the clinic and was given two intake forms. The first one was to register with the clinic and give basic information about me and my pet. The second was a questionnaire about the current condition and past condition of the pet being seen today, such as any medical issues before, vaccinations, etc.

After that, I was quickly seen by the doctor. He asked me to take my hamster out of the ball and he examined his eye by picking him up. The doctor was very patient with me and very gentle with the hamster. He asked me a few questions about his eye, and concluded that maybe he scratched himself and it was bacterial infection.

He said he would prescribe an antibiotic and to give this to him for a week. If there is still no improvement, then bring him back.

The exam took all of 5 minutes and off we were. The vet assistant kindly explained the medicine and how to administer it. She also gave me tips on how to make the hamster take it.

She then gave me a medical card for him with his patient number on it and off we went! Overall, it was less painful time and money wise compared to when I used to take my cats to the vet. Overall, 10/10 experience even with no English involved!

The total cost was 4500 yen, about 1500 for the medicine, 2500 for examination and 500 to register as a new patient at their clinic.

I’ve been following the vets advice and deligently monitoring and administering the medicine each day. I definitely seen an improvement in his energy levels and his eye is getting a bit better!

I think if it doesn’t improve, I’ll try the English speaking clinic instead just to get a second opinion and also more experience!

But I definitely had a good experience at the clinic near to my house! Since I’ve only ever experienced the vet with a cat, which required blood draws and surgery, and 1000s of dollars, it was nice to walk with away having paid a reasonable fee and wasn’t so scary after all!