Our hamster has moved out of his den/log and sleeps only in the corner of the cage. He eats and drinks fine but he is not that active anymore at night,hardly uses the wheel and I see him asleep on the wheel alot?
Is he slowing down because he is on his way out?? He is almost 2 years old...
thanks for your help!
kim

Hi,

Yes, I think that he is slowing down because he is getting old.
Few hamsters live to much beyond two years

W

Hi. My son's hamster is syrian and is approx 10 months old. He has never liked being picked up and will scream, I have had hamsters for years and have never had a problem with handling them. The male hamster has developed large, hairless growths on his face, one is now on his lip but he is able to eat ok. they look like soft/ smooth warts. Any ideas? thanks for your help, Cheryl

Hi,

This is probably an infection with a mite or a fungus, which may be contagious to humans.
It is a pity that he is so difficult to handle - maybe he was too old when you got him for him to become 'humanised'/

W

I have a male black bear hammy he is about 1 1/2 yrs old..about a month or so i go i noticed his private was very swollen i figured her might have gotten excited and got it caught on the wheel or something ..well i took him to the vet she gave me an antibiotic to put on 2 times a day..well needless to say that hasnt worked its getting worse it seems and sometimes hes in pain and i feel bad cause i dont know what else to do and it was so much money to take him to the vet and i just also noticed his eyes are a bit reddish but he eats ok and drinks fine and loves giving me kisses ..any thoughts on this

Hi,

I cannot quiite work out what the problem is from your description, but I suspect that
the only satisfactory treatment would be amputation, and that is definitely a job for your vet, and it would cost.
You could check that there is not a ring of hair making a ligature round his penis, other wise I cannot suggest any 'first-aid' which you may be able to provide.

w

Hello!
I have a hamster, she is 2 and 5 months i think she is dying...
She sleeps alot and she brews very fast when she sleeps.It looks a bit like she cant find the food and whater so i give it to her my self.
She has been like this for some days. She dosent open her eyes a lot eyther.
If she is dying what shood i do??
Thanks for your help!!

Rebecca

Hi,

Just leave her quietly in her cage without disturbing her, and let nature take its course.

W

Thanks for helping me. I feel better now that i know im doing the rigt thing

Rebecca

Our hamster - 10 months old - has recently developed a wart like growth on the outside of 1 ear. It doesn't bother her at all and she is eating, drinking and running around normally. It has recently got bigger - now about the size of a small rice krispie but still isn't causing her aproble. Should we just watch for changes in her or go to a vet?

Hi,
Get it seen by your vet. At this stage it could be easily removed, but if it is allowed to get bigger it may not be.

W

Good Afternoon i am wondering if you can help, I have a teddy bear hamster he is 2 years and 4 months old. He has recently been drinking alot of water, his balance isnt good he cant reach up to me anymore,he has blue stuff in his wee corner in his cage, his tale has furr stuck to it all the time and sawdust (like its always wet), he has some white gungy stuff in his eyes and hardly keeps his eyes open anymore, but the first time in 5 days he has opened both of his eyes!!! He has also lost weight and he has fallen over a few times and when he does fall over he lies there for a while panting and drags his back legs around for a bit and then he is fine again!! I dont know what top do because im going away for xmas and i cant take him with me and that means a neighbour looking after him, he is a very sociable and curious hammy! Please help i dont know whats wrong with him!! If the end is in sight, Do i leave him to die naturally? Or do i take him to the vets to be put down? Also obviously he is sick but i cant tell if he is suffering or not! Please help, i dont want him to suffer.

Thank you very much
Fiona Strachan

Hi,

I am sorry, but your hamster is very old indeed and he is dying. I cannot offer any useful suggestions for treatment.
Keep him warm and comfortable, and let nature take its course.
I do not think that he will last until you go away for Christmas, but if in doubt take hime to your vet to be put to sleep.

W

i have got a hamster its about 2-3 months old.

and both of her ears have gone blue does any one know whats happenin?

thanks .

lloyd
--x--

Nothing to worry about.

my little brother in law has a short hair male teddy bear hamster. i say he is around a year maybe a year and a half at most. i am on his butt all the time about keeping the cage clean, feeding, and sterilizing his water bottle nozzle. i have grown up with all types of different rodents and actually have a teddy bear hamster and a rat myself at the moment. i just recently checked on him and he has a large bump under his mouth. it's hairless, and doesn't seem to have anything in it. looks like a wart, no puss or discoloration. i have treated sick rodents before. but this i haven't seen before. i don't want to leave it alone if it is harmful. i dont have the money to take it to the vet. can you give me maybe a brief list of what this thing might be so i can treat this? i found a couple of different things but i don't want to misdiagnose it.

Hi,

Difficult to be certain without actually seeing it, but it may be a tumour, which I think would be untreatable, either by yourself or by a vet.

W

Thank you. As this may be the case I will watch for it. what else should I look for as this could be her first litter. Is there anything I should do? As you can tell I am new to the world of hamsters...

Hi,

Keep her quiet and undisturbed as much as possible, and, if she does have babies, do not disturb her for several days afterwards.

W

hi walter i have a 15month year old femaale hamster we took her to the vet today as she had dischare coming from her bottom end was told she ahd a possible infection of the womb and is on antibiotics my queastion is what are her chances of recovering my last hamster had a swollen abdomen discharge and was staggering turned out she had womb infection and had to be put down please help

Hi,

If the infection was treated quickly enough and if it responds to the antibiotics, she has a fair chance of recovery.
Such womb conditions are not unusual in small reodents and suchlike which have never bred.

W

hi

i have a 9 month old female syrian hamster who i think is dying
i found her last night in her cage breathing rapidly, not moving with her eyes closed.
she has stayed like this through the night and today. to be honest i was going to just let nature take its course, but ive noticed she began trying to move but is unable to use the left side of her body. can hamsters have strokes? i dont want to leave her when she may need to be taken to the vet. please give me any advice.

thank you. Sarah

Hi,

I do not think that hamsters have 'strokes' as we know them in humans, but clearly yours has a serious problem in her central nervous system and, I think, is very unlikely to survive. I very much doubt that any vet could do anything to help.

W

Hi,,,I have a hamster that is over 2 yrs old,,,,she has always been healthy,,,about a month ago,,,i checked on her and she was in her bed and felt cold ,,her eyes were shut and she was not moving.i picked her up and started rubbing her belly,,,crying as i thort she was dead,,,,suddenly she came round,,slowly but surely,,,,,opend her eyes,,,i kept a eye on her,,,she recovered.
Now a month on,,she was restless in the day,,,unusual for her,,,,then her ears went back and her head is tilted slightly,,,,she seems to be off balance,,and cant move around as she could ,,but still seems lively,,she is eating and drinking,,,,but keeps making a little squeek every now and then,,,she has also been running around in circles(like a dog chasing her tail)its not due to bordom as she is very loved and gets plenty of excercise,,,,please help!!! Im also taking her to vets tonight!

Hi, Mel,

You will see fromearlier replies that 2 years is old for a hamster, and the signs you describe are all consistent with this.
I really do not think that your vet can do much to help.

W

Hi,
I hope you can help. I think that my daughters Syrian hamster has just died from Hamster papovavirus (HaPV). I'm only aware of this condition after researching the internet, but it describes the same conditions as Dolly had. She was 13 months old and appeared to be in good health, continued to eat and drink as normal and remained good natured right up until she died this morning.

Last week I noticed a growth in her left ear and took her to the vet. He said he would operate to attempt to remove it and we took her back 3 days later. She had a general anaesthetic but when examined was found to have a growth under her chin and a tumour in her abdomen, so the vet called me and we agreed that as she was still her old self with no obvious signs of pain or illness, she couldn't undergo surgery to remove them all as she probably wouldn't survive the trauma. We were told to keep a close eye on her and if there were any changes we were to take her back.

There were no changes at all for the following 5 days, she continued to run across the floor and use her wheel every evening while my daughter fed her etc. It was only when my daughter got up in the early hours of this morning for the toilet that she woke us to say Dolly couldn't walk properly. We put Dolly in her bed and her eyes were closed and she died after a little while.

I would like to know if Syrians are born with the Hamster papovavirus, as I have read that it is contracted by infected urine. She has been isolated in her own newly bought glass cage since 6 wks old, and I am confused as to whether she has contracted it from her own urine or by some other means.

Many thanks, Adele

Hi,

I would not claim to be an expert on the virus illnesses of hamsters, but it could be that she did have the virus lying dormant in her system,and it suddenly became activated recently.
She could not have contracted it from her own urine - if it was there, it was there, and it could not have appeared into her urine from nowhere.

W

hi i have a syrian hamster who is around 7 months old. The other day she managed to escape from her cage i found her later on in the night. i have read up on 'wet tail ' and at this point i noticed her tail was wet . i cleaned her up and put her back in her cage . its been two days now there is no further sign of wet tail but she doesnt seem herself although she seems to be eating and drinking she isnt lively doesn't run on her wheel and seems to be ery itchy .

Hi,

'Wet-tail' is a specific bowel infection, and a wet rear end does not necessarily mean that your hamster has this infection.
She will most likely reciver from her adventure out of her cage after a few days.

W

Hi

I have a chinese dwarf hamster who is 1yr approx, I noticed this morning that he has a lump on his left shoulder, that seems to be tender to the touch and has lost the hair from that area. He is still acting normally and eating and drinking well. Do you have any suggestions as to what this could be?

Thanks
Keely