Syrian Hamster - Hattie

Question
Hi Shiela,
My daughter's female syrian hamster is coming up to nearly two years old and has always been active and happy.  However, in the past few days, she has not been coming out of her sleep area much and today i noticed that she has started to make a fast squeaking sound which she has never done before.  She has also taken to wetting in her sleep area and has not collected all her food.  Do you have any ideas what could be up as i don't think it's wet tail as she's not wet around the bottom area?
Thanks in anticipation for your help.
Jo Widdowson

Answer
Hi Jo

This is fairly old for a Syrian and around this age they can start to show signs of old age.

The fact that she doesn't come out as much is common for elderly hamsters, as are thinning fur, not wanting as much exercise etc.  Wetting her bed makes me wonder if she has some sort of urinary infection (as this isn't her usual pattern of behavior).  I'm honestly not sure what the sound is that she is making - some hamsters are vocal and squeak from time to time and it could just be this.  Does it sound more like breathing difficulties?

The important thing is to make sure her bed is dry at all times and this may mean changing her bedding daily.  If it is left wet, fungal spores can collect and your hamster can become very sick if she breathes them in.

Wet tail is usually associated with diarrhea - although often people put this label on any illness that makes their rear end wet. It certainly doesn't sound like this.  Does she have any sort of discharge coming out of her?  If so, is it smelly?  Is she sitting hunched up at all, looking dull? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then she does need to see a vet.

What is her water consumption like?  Has it increased at all?  Hamsters are very prone to getting tumors, especially around this age, and their water consumption usually increases quite dramatically - this can result in them having to pee a lot more.

Her symptoms could just be a natural aging process for her, however, to be on the safe side I would be tempted to get her to a vet for an examination.  They can check her to see if she has any tumors growing inside, and also if she has some sort of infection that is making her wet her bed.  Another reason for this could be if her joints aren't that flexible (they can get arthritic problems) in that she can't be bothered/unable to leave her nest in a hurry.  The vet can prescribe anti-inflammatories for this if necessary.

In the meantime, I would advise keeping her cage clean and making food and water easily accessible - i.e. removing any platforms that she might have to climb to get food.

Good luck with this - hope you get on OK.

Regards