is my russian hamster dyeing

Question
Hi, my hamster in the last week as lost lots of weight. When my son got him out tonight, he was biting like mad.He doesn't normally bite. When he was running his back bone seemed raised. This might be because he as lost weight. Is he dyeing? He seemed to run different as well. He as always being small.

Answer
Hi Karen

I'm sorry to hear about your hamster.  You haven't said how old he is, but certainly from his behaviour it sounds as though he is either dying or is very ill.  When hamsters reach the age of 2 they start to show signs of old age, often their fur thins out a bit and they can lose some weight.  They are also prone to getting tumors which tend not to become apparent until they are quite large.  For a hamster to suddenly start biting when you go near them when this is totally out of character, this means that they don't feel at all well.  

The fact that he is running differently makes me wonder if he does has a tumor and this has now grown to the extent that it is putting pressure on his spine/internal organs.  When hamsters develop this type of tumor often they tend to lose body weight on their top half, yet their bottom half seems to look slightly pear shaped.  In the early stages the tumor isn't a problem but if it is fast growing or when it reaches a stage when it is putting pressure on them, then they start to show signs of illness/discomfort/aggresssion.

Is there any sign of any pus or blood coming from his rear end?  

I would advise that you get a vet to check him out - obviously, if he is a young hamster, then he clearly needs to be correctly diagnosed and treated.  If he is elderly and these are signs of a possible tumor, or kidney failure, then I am afraid that the vet might advise euthanasia as being the kindest option.  If his behaviour is down to some sort of infection, then your vet might be able to try him on some antibiotics and see if that helps, but realistically I think that you should prepare yourself for bad news.

I'm sorry to be saying this and it is always very difficult to know for sure what is happening to a hamster without actually seeing him, but there are certain conditions that have common symptoms.

Are you able to get him to a vet as soon as possible?  If you don't have a vet that you know, it would be worth phoning one or two and checking that they have someone who specialises in small animals, and also checking what their standard consultation fee is for a hamster as some vets can be quite expensive.

I do hope you get on OK.

Regards
Sheila