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Pet Forum / Mammals / Hamsters / July 2008sick little fella
We brought this hamster home Monday. For the first two days he hid in his igloo during the day and came out at night to run in his wheel and eat, etc. Then he stayed in his igloo all day and night for a couple of days. Today he has come out finally, but he appears wobbly and somewhat disoriented. He doesn't seem able to walk comfortably, but he tries, going about the floor of his cage. He's not interested in his wheel or his food and water. His gait reminds me of that of an old dog. He frequently stumbles to one side or the other. I held him and tried to pinch some skin on the back of his neck, and to me he appears dehydrated. (This is how we test cats - if the skin snaps back, there's no dehydration.) He also seems to breathing rapidly, but I'm a cat guy, not a hamster guy, and I'm not really clear as to how fast he should be breathing. I tried to give him water from a dropper but he didn't seem interested. I'm worried sick about this little guy. Is there something I can do? I doubt any of the vets around here would help him, and besides it's the weekend. Should I try to feed him some muffin or something?  Signature"Because all you of Earth are idiots!" ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·-> freemont© <-·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯ Freemont, I've got several questions for you to help get ideas on how to help you and your critter. Where did you get this hamster from? Any idea how old he is (# of months or weeks)? How warm is the room he's in? It's possible he's had a stroke...and hamsters often recover well from them after several days. You could try to give him a small amount (1" square) of bread soaked in milk...it'll be easy for him to eat and also provide some liquid for him as well. Please keep us informed as to his progress. signman > We brought this hamster home Monday. For the first two days he hid in his > igloo during the day and came out at night to run in his wheel and eat, [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > doubt any of the vets around here would help him, and besides it's the > weekend. Should I try to feed him some muffin or something? > Where did you get this hamster from? > Any idea how old he is (# of months or weeks)? How warm is the room he's [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Please keep us informed as to his progress. I appreciate your help, but it's too late. Shortly after I posted, his condition deteriorated. I found him on his side in front of his igloo. I picked him up and held him, offering bread and water, but he could not move his head. He was unresponsive. As I checked in on him, it was obvious that his breathing was becoming more labored. I had to stop going into that room. My wife looked in one last time last night and said that he was making gasping sounds and barely breathing. Now he's gone. I just wish I could understand what the hell happened to him. He was fine, then... down the tubes. I felt so helpless, watching that poor little critter pass so slowly. He made me a wreck. In response to your questions: He was purchased from a pet store in the mall for $7 USD. (I'll add that we actually purchased another hamster Sunday, but he appeared somewhat lethargic from the get-go and died overnight. This hamster in the OP was his replacement.) I have no idea how old he was, but he wasn't a baby. Our house gets as warm as 77F degrees in these hot days. Usually the temperature hovers around 74-75F. I just thought of something - the first two days, when he was ok, he was on one side of my daughter's room. The second two days when he was in his igloo all the time, she'd moved him across the room. But this is a smaaaall room. Surely moving his cage twelve feet across a room had nothing to do with his condition. Or did it? After all, that's the ONLY thing that changed. :-( Signature"Because all you of Earth are idiots!" ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·-> freemont© <-·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯ I would hazard a guess that these little fellas were probably too young to be taken from their mum, and failed to thrive on their own. We lost one in the same way, over a few days she decreasingly lost interest in her toys and food and the sadly passed too. We had commented when we got her that she had a very "Babyish" face - I reckon that's what happen. Short of that, perhaps these are from a sick litter of hammies - I would either avoid that pet store for any replacement too incase it's the conditions they're housed in there. For any replacement, thoroughly clean the cage and disinfect it in case it is a barterial disease they might have had - bugs can be left in the cage with a quick swill! RIP Two ickle hammies :o( perhaps the moving of the cage put him in a draft? Sounds like he was already sick before you got him...and it just took a few more days for the illness to show up more clearly :( Karma and I send our condolences on your loss. >> Where did you get this hamster from? >> Any idea how old he is (# of months or weeks)? How warm is the room he's [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > After all, that's the ONLY thing that changed. :-( yeah it sounds like the batch of hamsters from that pet store are unhealthy. Sorry about your loss, my hamster died slowly over the course of a night and it was heartwrenching. I'm a big guy and I get teary-eyed when I think about it, and it was almost a year ago. > yeah it sounds like the batch of hamsters from that pet store are unhealthy. > Sorry about your loss, my hamster died slowly over the course of a night and > it was heartwrenching. I'm a big guy and I get teary-eyed when I think > about it, and it was almost a year ago. Thanks to you, and to signman and Karen also. It was awful. No more hamsters. :-( In fact, we'd sworn off little furry critters altogether, then my wife read some stuff online and decided she wanted a rat. :-) So yesterday we brought home a 5 week old blue rat from a different store (Petsmart). I already like her better than either of the hamsters. She cost twice as much, but she's a hundred times friendlier and more lively. So maybe I'll see y'all around in alt.pets.rodents.rats. :-) Signature"Because all you of Earth are idiots!" ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·-> freemont© <-·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯ > So yesterday we brought home a 5 week old blue rat from a different store > (Petsmart). I already like her better than either of the hamsters. She cost > twice as much, but she's a hundred times friendlier and more lively. Please get a second rat. Rats, unlike hamsters, are social creatures. You need at least 2 rats. They are endlessly entertaining with one another and keep each other company in a way no human can. On Jun 14, 10:25 am, freemont <freem...@spammenotfreemontsoffice.com> wrote: > > Where did you get this hamster from? > > Any idea how old he is (# of months or weeks)? How warm is the room he's [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > "Because all you of Earth are idiots!" > ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·-> freemont© <-·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯ DAMN! why did you not take IT to the veteranarian?? cruel! CRUEL!! |
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