Hi, Steve,

You do not say how old your hamster is. You will see from some of my replied above that not many reach 2 years.
I think it unlikley that she is depressed and missing her friend.
W

MY RUSSIAN DWARF HAMPSTER IS NOW 28 MONTHS OLD AND DEVELOPED A LARGE LUMP ON THE SIDE OF HIS EAR, WE HAVE BATHED THE LUMP BUT IT HAS GOT WORSE, I SPOKE TO THE VET AND THEY SUGGESTED A SMALL AMOUNT OF TCP WITH ADDED WATER BUT AGAIN NO JOY. NOW THE LUMP IS QUITE LARGE AND COVERING THE SIDE OF HIS FACE ALONG WITH HAIR LOSS WHERE THE LUMP IS, ALL COTTON WOOL AND HAY IS NOW STUCK TO THE INFECTED ? AREA. TODAY IT IS ACTING STRANGE AND APPEARS TO TO EATING THE METAL ON THE CAGE, ALONG WITH LOOSING BALANCE WHAT SHOULD I DO ?? PLEASE HELP. BY THE WAY MY OTHER HAMPSTER (SEPARATE CAGE DIED TWO WEEKS AGO ! OLD AGE I THINK).

Hi,

At 28 months your hamster is very old, and it sounds like he has a tumour on the side of hid head. This is quite untreatable, and you should very seriously consider having him put to sleep to prevent further suffering.

W

My 2 year old hamster has what looks like caulifour in both ears. Could you tell me what this is, and should i take it to the vet.
Many thanks
Nina.

Hi, Nina,

These growths in your hamsters ears are all part of his growing old. Very few hamsters live to be more than 2 .
If you do take him to be seen by a vet, be prepared to be advised to have him put to sleep.

W

Thank you very much for your reply. Apart from the growths in his ears he is fine, eating and drinking ok. what are the growths and would you recommend putting him to sleep?

Nina

Hi,

If he is bright, eating and drinking and does not seem to be distressed, I see no reason for putting him to sleep at present.

W

Hi,

I have a brown and white panda hamster who was given to me some time ago so now I believe he is old, however he is displaying strange behavior such as; secluding himself to the highest, open den in the condo...eating, sleeping and using the bathroom down the tube to exit the den. inside and outside of the den where he's been hanging out there is a sicky substance there. I read online about fruits and veggies that arent washed and given to a hamster could cause salmonellosis....before he started acting this way...I gave him fruits and veggies that I dont think I washed. I think I may have made my hamster sick. he eats and drinks normally but goes to the bathroom alot. He smells bad and his fur looks greasy or something, but feels ok. (???) please help with this issue. thank you so much.

Sincerely,
Melissa

Hi,

You do not say how old your hamster is - anything over 2 years is old!

There is not reason why you should not give him a bath, using a human baby shampoo to clean him up, and try to reduce the size of the entrance to the tube he is using to leave his 'den' - maybe he is picking up the sticky stuff on his coat from there. Cut out the fruit and veg for the time being and give him proprietary hamster food bought from the pet store.

W

Hello,
We have a teddy bear hamster 21/2 yrs old. She has slowed down these past 2 months but the past two weeks much worse and now no balance. She very weak and shaky ( the higher she tries to stand the shakier she is) and now lays down all the time. She still eats (small amount) and drinks( we hold water bottle) but she lays down with the food she is given ( barely opens eyes). We know shes dying but our question is whether to put her to sleep or let her die in her home. How can we tell if shes in pain?
Thank You in advance for your anticipated help.

Patty

Hi,Patty,

Clearly you realise that 2 1/2 is a good age for a hamster, and she is dying. I think that the end will come very soon, and I believe that the very action of taking her to the vet would be an extra unneessary trauma for her. Let nature take its course.in this case.

W

I wanted to thank you , your advice is invaluable as we our in peace with our decision to let it happen naturally.
Patty

Our Syrian hamster is about 7 months old and has just developed diarrhoea. She seems to be eating and drinking and although still quite lively is probably less so than usual. We usually give her a dry mix with a small amount of cut up mini white chocolate hamster treats( but never more than recommended). Her eyes also appear a little sunken and her ears are curled up flat to her head. She never appears to drink much anyway but is drinking. I gave her cage a thorough clean as it was due anyway (always cleaned weekly and her house and bedding on alternate days) and I gave her a new water bottle. Is there anything I should be doing (apart from keeping her house clean) or giving my hamster such as other foods or vitamins- Im holding off going to the vet at present, any advice ?

thanks Amanda

Hi, Amanda,

You are probably doing all that you can do for the time being. Hmasters are prone to an infectious condition known as 'wet tail'.
It is important to maintain as high a fluid intake as possible.

W

hello i haope you can help. we have a short tailed hamster (how she was sold to us) and over the last few days we have noticed white spots on her ears, the are hard and no bigger than a pin head but raised above the surface of the ear. she does not appear to be at all distressed and is very active with a very healthy appetite. we do not know how old she is, but i was wondering as she seems very happy and active do these need to be treated by a vet? this is the first time i have had a hamster. thank you for your advice. rhiannon

My son's hamster is about 16 months old. He recently developed whitish coloured growths (like really miniature cauliflower) that extend on either side of his mouth as well as around the area where his penis is. Also his testicles have become very large and his ears are wrinkled and are laying more flat. Other than that, he is eating, drinking and eliminating as he normally does.

Do you think this is old age? A disease? Any recommendations?

Hi, Rhiannon,

I think these spots are quite harmless and you can ignore them unless they show signs of getting bigger or inflamed.

W

Hi, Zachary's Mon,

These growths sound like virus papillomata. I have never come across them in hamsters, but in other species they do tend to disappear without treatment.
The increase in testicular size may be connected with the time of year - breeding season for wild hamsters may be approaching.
At 16 months your hamster is no longer in the 'bloom of youth', as the average age to which hamsters live is about 2 years.

W

hi
my Russian dwarf hamster is about 13 months old and she has stopped eating and drinking she always shakes and has lost a lot of weight, she alway squeaks and doesn't like to be touched by anyone she has also slowed down lately and am very worried about her do you think i should take her to the vet?

Hi,

Yes, take her to the vet by all means, but I suspect that he will be able to do nothing to help, at some considerable cost to yourself.

I cannot offer a diagnosis, nor a treatment, but I suspect the problem is serious and terminal from your clear description of the signs.

W

We have a hamster that is approximately 14 months old. He is very chirpy and eats drinks well!

However he has delevoped lots of warts over both ears quite rapidly (over the past few weeks). The only way to describe them is they look like crustasians that stick to rocks at the sea side. They have spread on his ears at an alarming rate.

He keeps scratching at them (although not too vigourosly it has to be said) I have taken to dabbing tea-tree oil and water on them to prevent him causing in an infection and this doesn't bother him (so I assume they aren't causing pain)

Is this somthing to worry about?, I wondered if he had the polymovirus!

Any advice will be welcomed.

Hi Chris,

t is very likely that these warts will disappear almost as quickly as they came.

In the meantime continue what you are doing with the tea-tree oil and water - it will give some releife and reduce any itching.

W

Hi,

We have 10 month old syrian hamster which was okay yesterday but today seems to be unable to open his eyes properly, is shaking and unsteady on his feet.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,
Nikki

Hi,

Very difficult to give an opinion, but it may be that some of his food has been contaminated and the resultant toxicity has produced the signs you describe.
Without knowing the cause it it difficlut to give specific advice on treatment, but warmth ( should not be a problem) and plenty of water.

W

hi, my moltted dwarf hamster is currently on medication for fungus infection. i have to feed the medicine(which is liquid) to it using a syringe. the problem is that once i squirt a little bit of medicine into its mouth,my hamster starts spitting out all his stored food frm its cheek pouches. also,it takes a long time for me to hold it properly in order to feed it. i would like to know how to slove these problems,suggestions are welcomed-thank you.

Hi,
Try putting his medication on to a little food in his feeding dish, and then put a little food untreated on top. Just very small quantities that he is hungru enogh to eat at one go.

W

hi
i have a 2 almost 3 year old teddy bear hamster and i think he is extremely sick
cuz there is sticky stuff coming out of it's eyes and he duzent eat or drink much
and he can't really walk NEmore... he takes 2 steps and falls...
i think i will take him to the vet

Hi, Euna,

You have a very old and sick hamster.
I think you are quite right in taking him to the vet to have him put to sleep.

W

caroline Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 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,

This may be a condition known as 'wet-tail' an infection of the bowel which is often fatal.

W