Hamster acting strange? Doing anything out of the ordinary? If they are then they could be ill, read on for some common hamster illnesses and symptoms.
Impacted Cheek Pouches
The symptom for this would be a swollen cheek pouch. This could be caused by fluffy bedding getting caught in the pouch. If you can, check in the hamsters mouth and pull out anything that looks like it is caught in there. Also you must consult a veterinary surgeon.
Wet Tail
If your hamster has Wet Tail, you would notice wetness around the tail end of the hamster, the hamsters droppings would be soft and wet and your hamster would be lethargic. Wet tail can kill a hamster, so take them to the vets immediately or go to a pet store and buy the special wet tail medicene.
Skin Infection
If your hamster has dry flaky patches on their skin, redness or loss of fur, this could be a skin infection. This could be caused by parasites, an allergy or an improper diet. Contact the veterinarian for medication. If your hamster only has a loss of fur and is not itching or there is no redness or flakiness, this could just be simply from old age. A lot of hamsters just simply start losing fur as they get older.
Dehydration
Your hamster would be very lethargic and if you pulled the skin on the back of their neck it would be slow in returning to position. This could be caused by stress, heat or a faulty water bottle. You will need to try to give your hamster water, remove from the environment if it is hot there and consult a veterinary surgeon.
Bite Wounds
There would be sores which would be draining puss, this is caused by having more than one hamster in a cage that have had a fight. You will need to clean the wound, if you don't know how to, then speak to a vet before trying anything. You should then seperate the hamsters and only have one hamster per cage!
Ear Trouble
If your hamster has an ear problem they would have a loss of balance, scratching aroung the ears and they would be skaking their head. This could be an injury, caused by parasites or an ear infection. You would need to consult a veterinary surgeon.
Eye Trouble
Your hamsters eyes would be running and your hamster would have them closed a lot of the time. The eyes would also look dull and cloudy. This could be from an injury or it could just be an infection. You should really keep the hamster in a dark room and consult a veterinary surgeon.
Lung Infection
Your hamster would be shivering, wheezing, they could be losing weight and being very lethargic. If your hamster has these symptoms then you will need to keep them warm and get them to a vet so that the vet can give your hamster some antibiotics to clear up the infection.
Bald Spots/ Losing Fur
If you see bald spots or notice your hamster scratching more often than not, he probably has mites. Take him to the veterinarian for proper treatment.But if the hamster is between the ages of 2-3years old and is old, then this is commom for old hamsters and not to worry.
This info was taken from http://members.tripod.co.uk/HamsterLovers/diseases.html |