syrian hamster 1-1/2 years old

Question
about two weeks or so ago our hamster brandy started breathing fast and was not eating or drinking for about two or three days, she has no sign of diarria, then all of a sudden she started drinking alot and then a day later started drinking, she was still breathing heavy but sleeping alot and the she started eating, she is not on wheel that we can tell her breathing has gone some what back to normal what could have happened, do hamsters have strokes for no reason? what should we do?

thank you bonnie

Answer
Hi Bonnie,

    It sounds like she may have had a mild stroke (yes, hamsters can have a stroke for no reason). The drinking a lot was from being dehydrated. Some other signs of a stroke are, collapsing after using the wheel, tilting head to one side and appearing paralyzed one one side (since she does not have any of these signs, that is why I say a mild stroke). There is nothing that can be done medically and hamsters will usually come back from a stroke (unless it is a bad one). If you feel she may have had a stroke, she should be placed in an aquarium (if not already) and the wheel should be removed. It could take a couple of weeks before she is acting more like herself again.
    If you have anymore questions, please write again.

Thank you for writing and best of luck!