Hi, can you help me please - our hamster is over 2 years old and has been progressively getting bigger around the stomach area - so much so that she can't walk anymore. She seems to be dragging her back legs and its very distressing to watch. I have moved her water and food bowl nearer to her bed but she can't get up to reach into the food bowl. I have been hand feeding her but she's not really that interested. I read somewhere that this could be some of cancer that is causing the swelling but I don't know. I also wonder if it is worth taking her to the vet and having her put to sleep but worry about how much this might cost. Can you help me please? Many thanks.

Your hamster is dying, either from a growth or from liver/kidney failure. It cannot last much longer, but if you cannot bear to see her in this condition it would be a reasonable thing to do to take her to the vet to be put to sleep. The cost is not very much when you relate it to the pleasure you have had from her over the last two years.

hi,
i think my hamster might be dying because she cant move and last night she was shaking , breating quite fast, her eyes are half closed and also ive notice that she sorted wobbles when she walks and that she drags her self along in the cage,i have also noticed that she is bleeding near her bum and last night she tryed to eat but couldnt and all she wants to do is sleep and this morning she was just laying there flat out in the cage breathing quite slow, im worried about her she seems likes she is suffering and i dont no what to do , i havnt got any money to take her to the vets.

Just leave your hamster lying quietly in her cage and let nature take its course.

hi
yesterday my hamster gingy has fallen about 4 feet high when we was playing she fell down and looked as if she was dead for 5-10seconds then started limping on her back right leg then went behind her cage and her teeth came out through her chin she is 7 months old and today she still is limping isn't eating or drinking or running in her wheel so i have been crying ever since thinking it was my fault can you help me please thanks a lot

You must take your hamster to a vet because he may have broken his leg.

hi

my hamsters 10 months old and about a month ago he produced a wart on his chin I ignored it now he has like a mozzie bite on his back and 2 more warts one by his nose and one by his right eye and they are swelling up slow but surly. can you give me any advice.

E

Let me start off my saying I've had 2 hamsters in the past. Both lived long, happy lives (around 2 - 2 1/2 yrs). I know how to handle them, and I've never had a problem with them being agressive.

I just got a new hamster 3 weeks ago. She is still very nervous, and jumps and runs away whenever I try to pet her or pick her up. She has even bitten me and my boyfriend. She is very healthy though. She eats and drinks perfectly and is very active. She runs around her cage, through the tubes, and would run in her exercise ball for hours on end if we would let her. I just don't understand. When we first got her, we gave her a couple days to get used to her surroundings before we really tried to handle her. She just isn't responding to us. She is just so jittery and nervous and I'm scared that now it's too late to try to tame her. I just don't want her to always be stressed out and nervous around us.

Also, I dont know if this is relevant...but at the pet store I originally picked out a different hamster that was being housed in the same cage as mine. From the moment she was put in the box she would not stop scratching and freaking out. When we got to the check out, the cashier opened the box to see her and the hamster bit her hard. The cashier started bleeding. I told myself she was just really freaked out, and it would be better when we got her home. By the time we had gotten to the car, she had chewed her way through the bottom of the box and tried to escape while clawing at my hand that I was holding the box with. She bit me in the car, so I immediately brought her back in and got the other hamster in that cage, who seemed a little more calm.

Any advice? Do you think it's too late to tame her? Or do you have any suggestions on how to make her more calm?

Thanks!

I will be honest and say I am not quite sure what this is. Skin conditions are not uncommon in hamsters and may be secondary to mite infections. These sound like papillomas (warts) and it may be a viral condition like in children. Other considerations would be foreign body reactions from bedding getting under the skin. Unfortunately without being able to see the lesions it is very difficult to give advice and so it is best to see a vet.

Despite the fact that they are common pets hamsters are not really the best pet in the world when it comes to their temperament. They can be aggressive and frequently bite if they are not tame. I can only say from experience that persevering in getting friendly with your hamster is about all you can do. If the behaviour is deep rooted then the hamster may remain the same.

This condition can be caused by illness, inappropriate foods or stress brought on by moving house or rough handling. If your pet shows of being unwell contact your vet immediately.

im sorry my sons alfie syrian hamster was lil boy and i found him in his house he wasnt moving i thought he went into hiberntion i tried to warm him up...(hoping that it was that)no avail lil man had gone ....sorry so upset...he wasnt right yesterday ...he came to me when i would say 'come on than lil man'he would get on
my hand i give him a treat....what i noticed that at his tail end was wet also he was big for a ten week old what could of been wrong with him ....i need to let my son know that it wasnt his fault the fact that alfie would wait at the top of cage for my boy to get him out..could ya hellp me?

There is a condition of hamsters known as 'wet tail' and this is a nasty disease of the gut. He needs treatment from a vet but even then I am sorry to say the outlook is not always good.

HIya,

My hamster is 2, nearly 3 years old, and after coming home tonight from work, i noticed she appeared trapped in her tube. took her out of that and since then she has barely been moving, eating or drinking. She is very shakey, and has been quiet for the last hour or so. She is breathing rather shallowkly, and occasionally takes a rather large breath.

Are these signs that she is on her last legs and i should just make her as comfortable as I can, or could it possibly be shock due to her being trapped in her tube for an unknown amount of time?

It is possible that it is shock but probably more important to ask is 'why did she get stuck?' Presumably that has not been a problem in the past? Hamsters are prone to respiratory infections and can catch some colds from people in which case they need antibiotics. Unfortunately with a hamster of this age there is not much more time before age takes its toll so there may be some underlying problem that has weakened her. Best to see a vet.

hi.. my hamster is a year old and has been asleep fr 2 days, i didnt think nothing of it as she was still breathing. but iv picked her up ths morning and she is not moving and seems 2 hav become very thin and frail. also her eyes are not opening and look as if there is some sort of puss or something stopping them from opening and she had sick down the right side of her face and diareahh .. i hav put her wrapped up in a blanket on top of a hot water bottle but not sure wat else to do x

If your hamster is that ill then you must see a vet, not to do so would only leave the little one suffering.

Hi i wonder if you can help me my little boy's hamster Rocket has a very swollen bum and bellow his tail is a large lump thats very pink, Rocket has been off for a few days and then other days he seems fine, he still chewing his bars of his cage like mad and he aint very friendly to be handled (except by me at times) he drinks alot and sometimes eats his food at other times he just takes it all into his bed and leaves it, i have had hamsters before but rocket completely has be baffled, my little boy is attached to him though, we aren't on fantastic money and are seeking advice before going to vet, i cant bare to think of him suffering he is about 6 months old hope someone can help

This sounds like it could be an abscess. If you take him to the vet they should be able to confirm this and lance it, if that's the case and put him on antibiotics. Are you sure it is not his scrotum however?

HI, I HAVE A MALE SYRIAN HAMSTER WHICH IS ROUGHLY 9 MONTHS OLD I ADOPTED HIM FROM THE PET STORE.... I NOTICES TONIGHT WHEN HANDELING HIM HES GOT A WHITE DISCHARGE COMMING FROM HIS GENITAL AREA AND HES QUITE NIPPIE WHICH AT FIRST I PUT DOWN TO HIS LACK OF SOCIALISATION AND HANDELING BUT IT DOESNT SEEM T BE GETTING ANY BETTER PLEASE CAN SOMEONE ADVISE ME ... THANK YOU

This is likely to be a urogenital infection and you will need antibiotics from your vet.

Hi,

After reading the previous messages I sort of know what my answer will be but thought I would check. I have noticed a very large lump has appeared on my male syrian's chest area. He is nearly 3 years old but he is drinking and eating fine and still being active, there has been no change in his behaviour but the lump is quite large and has appeared out of nowhere.

Is it nature taking its course?

Unfortunately, as you have expected me to say yes this a tumour and in a hamster of this age, not unexpected.

hi
my daughter has a female hamster who is around 2and half years old we have noticed her eyes are shutting and that she has not moved all night her breathing is very slight and she looks like she cannot walk ,we tried to gibe her some water and food but she starts to shake i was wondering if anyone can help ,will harriet be in pain ? is there anything we can do to help her .
thank you

Anonymous User Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi
>
> I have a short haired female syrian hamster. She's
> is about a year old give or take a few weeks. I
> noticed a few weeks back that her anus has gone
> black. I tried to clean it with some tissue but it
> didn't remove anything so I believe its her skin
> thats gone black rather than a scab. She isn't
> constipated, she's still lively and still eating
> normally so my boyfriend said I shouldn't worry
> and that it might just be a sign of her getting
> older. However now I've noticed that there is some
> foul smelling puss coming from it, its a whiteish
> colour. Should I be worried? Her behaviour still
> hasn't changed.
>
> Any advice would be very much appreciated, thank
> you!
>
> Saz

I am not exactly sure why the area is black but this can happen when tissue is dead and if there is foul smelling pus then I suggest you take her to the vet

Hi there,
Wondering if you can help, i purchased a syrian hamster from pets at home, around 3 months ago, he is very friendly and extremely active, however over the last couple of days he has stopped eating his food and has hardly touched his water, when you open the cage his breathing looks laboured and he does'nt wake up immediately until you touch him then he panics and hides, he looks like he has very little energy at all and i have noticed on his left paw one of his claws is extremely swollen the nail has disappeared and he has a black spot on the end of it? i have not changed his food however he has had different sawdust this current cage change which i clean him out on a weekly basis. Other than that his coat looks fine, but he does have two extremely large lumps on his anus area, is there anything i can do? advice please.

Those 2 large lumps are probably his testicles. If his breathing is laboured then this is probably a respiratory infection which are common in hamsters so he will need antibiotics. Because hamsters cannot go long without eating it is important to treat promptly

For th last few days my hamster has bin quiet an nt really out of her bed she is a little over a year an a half when I gt her out I noticed she had a sticky eye so I cleaned it with cooled boiled water an it soon opened she seems to av lost a little weight an is off her food even thou she wnt to her food bowl she didn't gt up at all in the night althou I did here her rustling her beddin I gt up ths morning she seems a little brighter I offered her a drink an she drank a little her eye is open today an I offered her a treat which she tuk but dnt no wether she ate I had her out for 10 mins an she was quite active althou not as active as normal I think she may hav caught a chill an how an wht can I giv her to eat to help her gt bettr an is ther anything else u can advise thank you amanda an sniffles

If the hamster has a sticky eye then this may be part of a respiratory infection which are common in hamsters. Keep the eye clean by bathing with cold tea or optrex several times a day. Keep the hamster warm and if the hamster does not pick up, especially if not eating then see your vet.