thick urine...

Question
Dear Sheila,

Many thanks for this service, I've turned to your previous answers section many times in the past and always found it very helpful. I have a question about my beloved little 20wk old Syrian female, Archie. Since I bought her, every now and then her urine is quite thick and a creamy yellow in colour, which puzzled me as I've owned hamsters before and never seen anything like it. Her water consumption is fairly normal. I was wondering if you might know what caused it? Whether it's a problem? The thing is, Archie was very sick a few weeks ago - started with diarrhoea which became constipation and she stopped eating and began to decline very rapidly. I took her to the vet for two antibiotic injections, which really seemed to sort her out - she's back all perky with happy ears! But it troubled me because I never worked out what caused the diarrhoea in the first place (I'm fairly stingy with the fruit and veg), and I did wonder if she might have some deeper problem that the thick urine was a symptom of. I love her very much and would be really grateful for any thougts you might have.

Sarah

Answer
Hi Sarah

Archie is a bit of a mystery!  Hamsters' urine is sometimes thick and cloudy anyway so this doesn't necessarily point to a specific problem.  They can get diarrhea for a variety of reasons - obviously there are serious conditions, such as wet tail, but they can get diarrhea from eating/drinking contaminated food - i.e. dirty water, moldy food etc.  The main thing is to make sure the cage is clean and if she pees on her food, throw it out.  I note that you say that you are stingy with the fruit/veg  - it is fine to give small amounts of these every evening - but avoid lettuce (can cause diarrhea) and dandelion leaves (makes them pee a lot). I would avoid citrus fruits - stick to broccoli, cabbage, apple, peas, corn etc.  It would be a good idea to check her water bottle to make sure that the drinking part of it is clean - perhaps a new water bottle would be an idea to be on the safe side.

Dorothea and constipation can also come from undigested food or materials - has she been chewing any of the plastic in her cage?  What is her bedding like?  Avoid the bedding that is fluffy cotton as these fibres (apart from getting caught round hamster's legs) if eaten can cause constipation and other digestive disorders.  The paper bedding is the best type - then if she chews it - it won't make her ill.

If you are worried about her you could see if your pet store has any probiotic medicine for small animals, or perhaps your vet can let you have some.  In humans who have irritable bowel syndrome or prolonged periods of diarrhea, they are given probiotics to help restore the natural balance in the gut.  There is an animal variety of this:  Avipro.  If you can't get this you can give live natural yoghurt - but in very small quantities - large quantities or this or if given for prolonged periods can also cause diarrhea (because of the milk content) so you need to be careful with this.  It would be worth discussing this with your vet if you're not sure.

I don't know if this helps you at all.  Hope this was just a one off situation and she'll be fine now.  The main thing is that if there is any sign of diarrhea or if she stops eating - get her to a vet urgently so that they can get her on the right medication straightaway.

Regards