Help! Urgent! Hamster on the verge of passing! :(

reply to post by Frontkjemper


Thank you for your kind words.Sorry it took me a while to reply. I truly hope everything works out OK.

reply to post by Frontkjemper



We talked about the possibility of a stroke due to the symptom you described yesterday, and now you mentioned that you think it may be blind.

A stroke can certainly cause blindness, but hamsters have poor eyesight to begin with because their natural habitat is in tunnels under ground. This is particularly the case with golden hamsters because they originate from Syria and tunnel to stay cool in the desert heat.

You might try to make some noise and let it smell you before touching it or picking it up, that way you won't startle the poor thing.


If it is a stroke there is some good news. Most hamsters recover almost fully over a few weeks with little loss of motor skills.


One question, do the eyes look clouded at all, or have any sticky residue around them ?

Originally posted by Frontkjemper


I don´t get it, last night and this morning the hamster was running in it´s wheel having a good time. Now, she´s almost gone. The hamsters only like four months old max.

Frontkjemper

My guess is the hamster over did it. The heart rate on hamsters are fast anyway.

Could have had a stroke like you mentioned. When you get home and its still hanging on take it to a vet. I would be concerned that it may not be able to hear you as well. Do a test and see if it reacts.

This may sound a little harsh, but spending a hundred bucks at the vet to check out a five dollar hamster seems a bit extreme. They only have a two year lifespan to begin with, and a physically identical replacement can be found easily at a pet store.

I really hope the little critter gets through this rough time, but I also really hope you don't go throwing good money after bad unless you have it to spare. Vet bills can be expensive, and quite often you walk away with no hope and a big bill.


I wish you all the luck in the world with him, but be practical.




EDIT: If you feel he is suffering and you decide you want to put him out of his misery, please send me a u2u for advice. I won't post it in this thread.

[edit on 22/8/2007 by anxietydisorder]

I'm terrribly sorry to hear about your hampster. Your daughter would likely be very happy to go and get another one. In fact she may be so happy to go get one that this one pales in comparison. I do hope she recovers though. :thumbsup:

Well, I have some good news. "Askepott" (Norwegian for Cinderella) is doing a lot better. She´s been eating regularly and she´s a bit more active in her cage then she was. (Yesterday, I honestly thought she was dead when I picked her up, no movement at all.)

But happily, it looks likes shes on the road to recovery. I did believe she went blind, but it appears shes more alert now, and doesn´t jump any more when I go to pet her. But I think her nose is sore (either that or her teeth) as she will jerk away if I get near it. (I don´t know what that could be.)

She´s even started to climb up her little tubes into the "petting zone" part of her cage. (Although, she does that very slowly.)

I´m hoping she´s going to be ok. Even I got attached to the little critter.

I´ll post back in a day or so to let ya´ll know.

Thank you all for your help, I appreciate it a lot.

Frontkjemper

Well then I stand corrected as I thought she wouldn't make it through! Hurray! Thanks for the update.

reply to post by Frontkjemper


That's great news that it's doing better.

I would take the time to thoroughly clean every part of the habitat with a mild bleach solution and rinse them well after washing. Aspergillis Fungus can cause some of the symptoms you've described, and even if that's not the case, a clean cage and fresh bedding sure can't hurt after an animal has been ill.