black bear hamster seems disoriented and has two red toes

Question
Hi, My daughter has a black bear hamster she came to my husband and us with him/her earlier freaking out that shadow was dead. We noticed he was barley breathing so we took him/her from her and watched him for a bit. He seemed to wake up, walk around a little and try to chew on a few things but untimatly he seemed disoriented. While looking him over we noticed that both his back pinky toes were a little red, possible and ingrown toenail. I don't know?? Just want to do what we can to help out her little friend. We have two other hamsters in the house one other black bear hampster and a panda hamster. All hamsters are in their own cages, with fresh food, water and bedding that gets changed regularly. I'm at a complete loss on what could we wrong with hers and we just want to do what we can to help...Please any info would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
stressed out mommy!

Answer
Hi Rebekah

Thanks for your question - I'm sorry to hear about Shadow.

You haven't said how old he is.  Is he young, or old?  His behaviour sounds like an old hamster. Around the age of 2 they can behave like this.

First of all - his toes.  Can you see his toenails?  Do they look OK?  I've never heard of a hamster with an ingrown toe nail before.  More often than not if there is a toe nail problem it has grown so long that it has curled up and is digging into the skin - in which case it is easy to resolve with clipping.

If he is old, then his behaviour could be that his body is shutting down and this could be for a number of reasons - tumors are the most common in elderly hamsters.  Sadly there is little that can be done in most cases and it really is a matter of ensuring they aren't in any pain.

If however, he is young then a number of things could be going on.  I have a hamster, Marley, who is young, was very active and then one evening I found him curled up, not wanting to move, ice cold, breathing strangely, and appearing as though he was dying.  I prepared myself for the worst, thinking that he might have had a fall from his climbing frame and winded himself or suffered some sort of seizure.  I sat with him for a couple of hours, keeping him warm and trying to get him to take a little food.  When I went to bed I didn't expect him to live the night.  Much to my surprise in the morning he was much better, and the following day he was totally back to normal. So hamsters can surprise us all with their behaviour.  Illness can move at an incredible rate and they can deteriorate rapidly, but sometimes their recovery can be just as fast.

Is there any sign of diarrhoea, excessive water drinking etc?

Hamsters can suffer from similar illnesses as humans - they can have heart problems, allergic reactions causing breathing difficulties or suffer seizures or strokes.

Whereabouts in the house is his cage?  Is it in a dry, warm area of the house?  Hamsters can suffer from a breathing illness called aspergillosis.  This is where they breathe in fungal spores.  These spores can form on any damp area inside or outside their cage, uneaten food that has gone mouldy, or the 'toilet' area of their cage.  If they breathe them in they cause serious respiratory problems.  Veterinary intervention is needed quite rapidly for this condition.  Hamsters with this tend to lay down to try and breathe - they find it difficult sitting in the usual position.

It is very difficult for me to know exactly what is wrong with Shadow.  I would suggest you make sure he is warm - if necessary give him some extra bedding or move his cage to a warm quiet part of the house.  Try tempting him to eat with baby food (I keep a packet of the powdered creamy porridge oats which is mixed with water for emergencies like this).  Hamsters tend to like it as it is easy to eat and is full of nutrients. Ensure his food and water are close by so that he doesn't have to go far for them.  To tempt him to drink a little so he doesn't dehydrate you could put a drop or two of blackcurrant juice in his water - the sweetness might encourage him to drink. Hamster's don't drink much anyway, but it is important they don't dehydrate.

If there is no improvement in the next couple of days or if he deteriorates in that time I would suggest getting a vet to check him out. Also, if his feet start to swell or if the reddish toe seems to spread a vet should have a look.  If you don't know of any local vets then it is worth phoning around to see if you can find one that specialises in small animals.  Also check their fees as these can be high, but most vets offer a much reduced rate for a hamster.

I hope you get on OK and that Shadow starts to show some improvement.

Regards
Sheila