urine looks weird

Question
hi Sheila,
my name is jackie reed you helped me earlier with a question about my teddy bear hamster. i wanted to say thanks sooooo much you were right on the money. i also wanted to ask you something, her urine has been ranging from cloudy to not so cloudy and then back to like an extremely thick consistency. is this normal? should i be worried and take her to a vet? i mean she's still EXTREMELY active and eats and drinks like she always has it's just the consistency of her urine that troubles me because i don't know if it's a symptom of a urinary infection or a bladder thing. thanks sooooo much for your help!!!

Answer
Hi Jackie

Glad I was able to help before.

Regarding your hamster's urine - this could be normal.  Hamster urine is often very cloudy, strong smelling and orange.  They can get bladder stones, but when they have these the amount of urine is reduced because they have difficulty passing water.  Also, the urine contains blood.  check there is no sign of any blood coming out of her.  

The fact that she is active is good and there is probably nothing to worry about.  If you think there is blood, or notice a reduced amount of urine, or she starts to sit hunched up and strains to go to the toilet, then she needs to see a vet.  If her consumption of water increases dramatically this could indicate diabetes - they can get diabetes occasionally, but this is usually indicated by a dramatic increase in water, peeing all the time and the urine smells slightly sweet.  It can be confirmed easily by putting a 'diastix' in the urine to check the level of glucose.  I have a diabetic hamster now and have just cut out any sugary foods (including fruit, dried fruit and treats) and she is fine.  

I would be tempted just to monitor the situation and see what happens.

Regards