my daughters hamster was in his exercise ball.we found him sitting still with a puddle of milky yellow liquid on the floor and spread around the inside of the ball. has he been sick or is this some sort of puss or something else?

Hi, caroline,
It sounds that your hamster has a type of diarrhoea known as 'wet tail, picked from something that he has eaten. Try keeping him warm - 75-80F. pleant of water, and hope for the best.
W

Inactive not moving wont eat or drink water, eyes are barely open, his legs move speratically every couple of minutes.

Hi, Melonie,

I suspect that you hamster is dying. If he is 2 years or more old, this is almost certainly the case.
You could try warming him to a temperature of 80F, just in case he has become chilled and is a state of false hibernation.
W

Yesterday we purchase two panda hamsters which seemed fine. Today one of the hamsters will not open it's eyes. Is it sick?

Hi, Jonesyi,

Take it back to where you bought it from tomorrow and demand a replacement.

W

my nephews teddy bear hamster got a large swelling of the abdomen on one side as of yesterday . today both sides are quite swollen and he is weak and shakey . what could cause this. is there anything we can do to help it? it wont drink or eat either and as of today there is some smeared dropping or diarrohoea around the tail. any info would be great .

Hi, John,
First question is how old is the hamster? - few live to more than 2 years.

It could be a bacterial bowel infection, known as 'wet tail' which hamsters are prone to, and the likliehood of recovery is slight. Warmth - get the cage up to about 80F my putting on a hot water bottle and under light bulbs, covered in a towel-is a good first aid. These little creatures lose heat very quickly when they are ill, which adds considerably to the stress.
W

my hamster is barley moving and wont eay or drink any info will be very apreciated

I have two dwarf hamsters, had them for about two weeks now. I noticed that one of them has a buldge eye, and is starting to act strange, he is actually starting to bite the other one, which he never did before, they always snuggled together. Is he sick? should I seperate them? He has always been more fiesty than the other one but seems to be getting fiestier by the day

Hi, Diane,

Hamsters are notoriously aggressive, and they should be separated.

W

My hamster ifound drinking water and is very smelly. When i tried to pick him up he started to be aggressive he only seems to do this when he's in pain. When i was able to pick him up i found something that looked like a big ball of blood which was attached from inside and was bleeding outside. Do you know what this could be?

Hi, Joanne,

Without actually seeing him, this sounds like a prolapsed rectum. This often comes with a bout of diarrhoea. There is no first aid you can do - it is really a cas eo fhaving him put to sleep by your vet if I am correct.
W

only recently my hamster has been having what can only be described as 'fits' where she squeaks as if in pain. These 'fits' only last for a few seconds, and afterwards she seems to become normal again but breathes deeply, and wont respond much to drink or food. I have researched 'wet tail' disease and have tried to keep her warm by keeping her cage under a light bulb, but what else can i do to help her, and do you have any suggestions of what this could be?

Hi, Frankie,

How old is your hamster? few live beyond 2 years, and any odd signs like this may indicate old age!

W

we noticed today that our hamster has a swelling coming from his bottom and there was a lot of blood it is eight months old and will not come out of his house anything we can do? AND WHAT HAS CAUSED THIS

This sounds to me like a rectal prolapse which needs urgent attention.

my daughters hamster has a watery eye, when i clean it with cotton wool and water there are spots of blood visible, what can it be, what should i do.

Hi, Susan,

You do not say how old your hamster is, but if you read earlier messages you will see that few live beyod 2 years, when all sorts of things start to go wrong.
It may be that he just has a severe acute conjunctivitis, and bathing the eye with a little cooled boiled wate with a pinch of salt added may help.

W

our hampster has two large pink round thngs sticking out of its rear end all the time. is it just because it is male & these are its testicles or should it go to the vet? It has been like this for three months & seems to be healthy although its coat is a bit lacking lustre. we have had two hampsters before this one & never seen this before.

Hi,
These are his normal male appendages, of which he is probably very proud. Men are very badly treated in comparison!
W

My Hamster is about 20 months old and he has started drinking a lot more water and urinating a lot more , is this normal ?. His general health seems ok .

Hi, Ian,

You will see from earlier posts that 2 years is old for a hamster. At 20 months your pet is approaching that, and these may be the first signs of kidney failure. There is not a lot - if anything - you can do about it.

W

My hamster is about 27 months old hes gone really big at the sides, he only stays in the corners, not enough strenght to get food or drink, he is also breathing really deep, i believe hes dieing. I'm just askinf if he is to make sure because if hes suffering ill take him to the vets to be put down

Hi, Chris,

I think you are probably correct, but if he is peaceful and not in pain why put him through the trauma of being taken to a vet?
I do not think it cruel to let nature take its course in these circumstances.

W

We have a russian dwarf hamster at home less than 1 year old that has developed swelling and hair loss on his face around his mouth. It was isolated to one side, but now is on both. It has become difficult for him to eat or drink. Not even sure what this could be..infection, disease? And, not sure what to do.

Hi, LJS in STL,

You hamster may have a skin infection round his nose and mouth, 'Pyoderma', which would probably respond to treatment with the correct antibiotic. A job for your veterinarian.

W

we have rescued a hamster from a cat . It is a large dark golden syrian we think. It was very nervous of touch and crying but has calmed down and I have handled it and it seems okay. It has a large fur covered swelling on its rear end after it tail about 2 cms long and wide . It does not appear to be in pain. Is this its testicles , or a tumour or prolapse Does it need to see a vet.

Hi, Mandy,

From your description I think that the 'fur covered sweeling' you describe is inddeed the hamsters testes - they are aout of allproportion to the size of the animal! I do not think you need to take him to a vet

W

My female dwarf hamster stopped eating a few days ago, I took her to the vet yesterday, and gave me some antibiotics to give her in food and water, she is still not eating, only thing is I did buy a companion with her at the same time, but she died suddenly about two weeks ago, could she be suffering from depression and missing the other female hamster,