Help please, I think my hamster is dying!

Question
Hi,

I have a 2 and a half month old Syrian hamster, who has always been friendly and very, very active (to the point where I would be kept up from him running on his wheel so, so much.) Since this morning, he's been acting very strangely. He's been curled up in a corner of his cage, twitching once in a while, and I thought it was just because it was during the day, but it's the middle of the night now, and he still hasn't gone on his wheel or anything. He hasn't touched any of his food, and he is just lying in the corner. He won't let me anywhere near him, I tried going to pet him gently and he like flipped around and tried to bite me, which he's never, ever done before. But I'm mostly concerned because he honestly has not moved from this corner. he's just completely out of it and he's always, always hyperactive. i don't know what to do, i've always had pet hamsters and i've never seen this before and the vet i called today said that they didn't work with hamsters, and in fact told me that i could always just replace him for five bucks at a petsmart. so you can imagine how stressed and upset i am. any, any, any help or advice you can give me is greatly appreciated. thank you so much.

-ashley

Answer
Hi Ashley

I so sorry to hear about your hamster and cannot believe the view of your vet - this type of response makes me very angry and frustrated.  At the end of the day, hamsters are still creatures on this earth and should be treated with the same respect as larger animals.

It is very difficult to know what is happening and why he has suddenly become like this.  It could be genetic - I had an 8 week old hamster before who suddenly collapsed.  My vet treated him with steroids which got him up and about again for a few days and we thought he would be OK, but suddenly he died.  My vet felt it was a congenital heart condition.  Unfortunately, when we home these little creatures it is rare that we know much about their past and if they got the right nourishment when they were growing.  Your hamster could be suffering from a genetic problem - something he was born with.

Has anything been sprayed near his cage?  Are there any plants nearby that he could have eaten?  Another idea I had was that perhaps he had been poisoned.  Have you given him human chocolate - this is very toxic to hamsters.  

What is his breathing like?  Is he lying on his side trying to catch breath?  Another sudden illness that affects hamsters is one called aspergillosis and this is brought on by breathing in fungal spores.  Spores collect in damp areas of their cage, outside environment, on any uneaten fresh food etc.  If a hamster breathes them in they cause severe respiratory problems.

How does your hamster feel to the touch?  Is he cold?  If so, then his body is shutting down.  Whilst, unfortunately, you might not be able to save him (especially if this is a genetic illness), you should at least make him comfortable.  Is his cage in a warm and quiet area of the house?  

He is probably dehydrating - therefore you could try to rehydrate him. Human oral rehydration powders are OK for hamsters - if you mix a sachet according to the instructions then try and get him to take this from a dropper.  If he is aggressive right now, then you might want to put gloves on when doing this as he may try to bite.  Also, you could tempt him to eat with some human baby food - the creamy porridge is a favorite with hamsters.

Is there any chance he has injured himself?  Is there any sign of blood or pus coming out of him?  What do his poos look like - are they normal or does he have diarrhea?  If you can get close to him without stressing him it might be worth having a closer look.

If you feel he is in pain, you can administer pain relief to him.  It is a bit tricky and you will have to calculate it.  Basically, you need to get some standard aspirin tablets - the 300mg dosage.  Crush one of these and then you need to divide it up somehow so that your hamster gets just 1/25th of it.  It is a tiny amount, just a few grains.  Mix this with water and give it to him and this can be repeated every 4 hours if necessary.

Do you have any other vets nearby that could have a look at him?  Alternatively, are there any animal rescues/charities that you could contact?  I am sure people like this would have a very different attitude and be prepared to help.  Also, some of the larger pet shops that sell animals sometimes have vets on site or some of the staff are very knowledgeable.  

I don't know if this helps at all. I do hope that he pulls through - if he doesn't, at least you know that you have tried to help him.
Good luck with this.

Regards