Hamster Health
80Hamster Signs of Illness
- Loss of appetite
- Inactivity
- Huddling in a corner
- Ruffled or unkempt coat
- Sneezing
- Discharge from the nose or eyes
- Wheezing
- Wetness around the tail
- Diarrhea
- Hair loss
- Humped Back
Hamsters
Although hamsters are pretty hardy pets, they are very small which means that injuries and illness can quickly become a serious matter.
If you notice any signs of illness in your hamster, you need to see a veterinarian as quickly as you can.
If you think that your hamster is sick or injured, try to keep it warm. If you notice that it is not eating on its own, encourage it to take food or water by a dropper, until you can see a veterinarian.
Hamster Health Concerns
- Hamster Illnesses
Find an extensive list of common hamster illnesses and the signs and symptoms that you should watch for. - Hamster Illness Guide
Find an extensive list of hamster illnesses which have been reviewed by a veterinarian. - Medical Concerns
Listing of a few less common hamster illnesses. - Hamster Health
General hamster health information. Continue with the links at the bottom of hte page for general hamster diseases, parasitic hamster diseases, and other hamster information. - Hamster Emergencies
Hamster 991 tips and info that you and your hamster may benefit from until you can make it to the vet.
Common Hamster Illnesses
- Abscesses: Pockets of infection that can form from minor breaks in the skin. In many cases abscesses occur in the hamster's cheeks from cuts causes by food. If the hamster looks like it constantly has food in its cheek pouches, it may have an abscess, to which a vet will need to drain.
- Respiratory Infection: Respiratory infections can lead to pneumonia. You should watch for sneezing, discharge from eyes or nose, wheezing and labored breathing. Don't worry about occasional sneezing unless there is loss of appetite, decreased activity, wheezing or difficulties breathing.
- Wet Tail: One of the more common hamster illnesses. It is most commonly caused by stress, crowding, and diet changes. Although, it can be fatal if not noticed soon enough, it is curable. Watch for signs of diarrhea (causing wetness around the tail), lethargy, loss of appetite, humped back, and ruffled coat.
- Diarrhea: Not all hamsters who suffer diarrhea, will have wet tail. The most common cause of diarrhea in hamsters is the overfeeding of fresh vegetables. Unlike Wet Tail, there is not loss of appetite or decreased activity; for the most part the hamster will appear as normal. Do not let diarrhea stay for prolonged periods of time, as dehydration becomes a big concern. You will want to withhold fresh foods for a few days and resume only if the diarrhea is completely resolved; you can start giving fresh produce again but slowly.
- Skin Diseases: Mites, ringworm, allergies, and skin infections, are the most common skin illnesses associated with hamsters. Watch for flakiness or redness of the skin, hair loss, lesions on the skin, or if the hamster appears to be scratching more. In these cases you will want to see a vet to determine the exact cause of the skin concern. Pine and cedar bedding can cause skin irritation, as well as, lung problems, so avoid these beddings.
- Hibernation: Watch the room temperature where the hamster's cage is. If the temperatures fall below normal, the hamster may go into a hibernating state, where they can appear very still and breath slowly. Your hamster is not dead or dying, in this case, but you will want to rewarm the hamster.
Disclaimer
I am not a practiced veterinarian, and all information posted on this site comes from my experience and knowledge, or that of others I have talked to. For any medical problems that you notice with your reptiles, I recommend making an appointment with a reputable reptile veterinarian as soon as you can.
Share it! — Rate it: up down [flag this hub]
Comments
From what you've described it sounds like Casper has Respiratory Infection.
She has'nt been sneezing at all. She was wheezing about 5:00.yesterday.She has her appetite back though. Thankyou whitney!
Ahh! You beat me to it, Whitney! (Tosses out my hamster health hub) You did the hub much better than I could. How do you get such good-looking hubs?
Hey Whitney! I'm hoping if you can help me.My hamster has not been eating well and I have also noticed that she has not drunk her water.I suspect that she may hve indigestion due to the cardboard toilet roll I have given her to play with.(she has been chewing and nibbling it.)Please tell me what to do and the correct food to give her to cure her!
I have never heard of a case of digestion concerns due to cardboard, but I guess it's not impossible. I would suggest you find a vet, as it seems that the hamster may be ill. Lack of appetite is usually one of the main signs of illness.
please help me. a badly need your help. i left my hamsters for a day and when i got back i saw the one injured. she had lost a lot of her hair and her skin on her neck. what can i do? she might die. is there anything i coud do to save her?
Do you have two housed together? If so separate them immediately! If they are syrian (teddy bear) hamsters, never house more than one together, as they can become very territorial! Next, you should find a vet that will see and treat it. If it's just hair loss, it could just have been s scruffle, and it should grow back. Just make sure to separate them, if housed together.
Hey Whitney,
my hamsters been sneezing consistently every since ive got it, about 5 months ago. Apart from the sneezing, he is fine and suffers from no other symptoms. Ive tried using hypo allergenic bedding and changing it to a warmed environment with no avail. Have you any ideas of what could be wrong with him or if this could be serious?
Jenny- is he eating fine? Drinking? When does he sneeze? What is he doing when he sneezes?
he eats and drinks plenty, and apart from the sneezing there seems to be nothing wrong. he would sneeze randomly, but mainly when he's in the cage, which is why i replaced the sawdust with the specialised stuff.
It could be a stress thing; my rats used to sneeze when they were in their cage. Um.. If there's not any discharge from the nose or eyes , I wouldn't worry too much. But, a trip to the vet is the only thing to 100% diagnose the concern.
I have a male teddy bear hamster,he is sick.We don't know what is wrong with him.He barely eats and sleeps most of the day.He's around 3 years old.His genitals are dissolving and I've called the vet,they don't want to touch him.
Shirley- Hamsters tend to live 1-3 years, so although I hate to say it, he's probably dying...
Is your vet a dog/cat or one who specializes in small animals, such as hamsters?
My male hamster has not been exercising for the past three days and nights. do you know what is going on???
He could be exercising while you sleep. How old is the hamster? It could be old age.
hey whitney i have a male albino hamster and I need your help.he is around 3 years old and he barely moves,he is freezing cold,sleeps all day,hardly eats unless im feeding him along with drinking water.Do you know whats worng with him?
Hamsters tend to live an average 2-3 years. Since he's about 3 years old, he's in very old age. Just make him comfortable.
Oooh that is sad. I'm sorry.
Whitney, I'm glad I found this hub. It's getting bookmarked. Incidently, I found my hampster between the fridge and wall. I put him back in the cage and he escaped, AGAIN. At least this time we discoverd how the little adventurer was getting out. We left the cage door open to see if he comes back on his own.
Great hub, Whitney. Can I add dehydration to your list? If you pick up your hamster's skin and it doesn't instantly snap back when you release it, that's a sign of dehydration. Dehydration in hamsters can be secondary to other illnesses and warrant taking the little critter to the vet, and forcing fluids with a dropper.
Sweet little pets, but if they get sick it's hard for them to recover. We lost our little girl hamster 2 weeks ago and we are still very sad about it.
Around one of my hamsters eyes it's red and she's blinking constantly like it's irritating. What can I do to make it better?
You can try saline drops. She may have somethign in her eye, an eye infection, or a scratch on the cornea. If the saline doesn't work, you'll need to check with a vet for possible treatment.
This site is the greatest thing I've ever used for my pet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very nice Hub! My daughter (8, almost 9) desperately wants a hamster. One of her friends have quite a few (a mating mishap, I suspect) and they're trying to get rid of them. I'm not so sure my daughter is old enough to handle the responsibility yet. Nor am I sure *I* want a hamster in the house! But you have some good info on hamster health here. Thanks!
Thank you. I think that the age of the child will vary. I personally, don't think that hamsters are the best pet for younger children. I would go with a guinea pig. Although they are much larger, they are much friendlier, less likely to bite, and easier to socialize. Also, I have to recommend a pair of pet rats, they're even better pets than guinea pigs. Much friendlier and more social.
I have a female teddy bear hamser. Over the last month she had doubled her size. Only on her back end from her waist to her read end. No she is not pregnet. She does not move around as much anymore, she is abour 2 1/2 years old.
I'd say she's gaining wait becuase she's old and doesn't exercise as much. 2-1/2 is pretty old for a hamster. They tend to live 1-2 years, sometimes 3. I'd say this is normal.
Hey, I am thinking about getting a hamster and i saw a really cute albino one. I was just curious to know if they had any more health issues than other types of hamsters?
thank you
They'll have extreme light sensitivity. But other than that it shouldn't have any other health issues.
I got my chinese hamster a week and a half ago. A few days ago he developed sores around his nostrils and they have recently spread to his feet. His stomach is also wet for some reason and a bit discolored. He has no diarrhea and still plays on his wheel. He has moments where he lies down and seems to breathe weird and is sometimes on his side with his legs all stiff and looks like he's dead. I have no clue what's going on and cannot find anyone who will treat him this memorial weekend.
Sounds like a respiratory concern, but I'm not 100% as the sores are odd. There may be an emergency vet open. But, he definitely need medical care.
my hamster mit be dieing he will not eat or drike
I'm sorry to hear that. How old is he?
There is something really wrong with my hamster. He or she (we don't know) has a huge red bump underneath her, but she does not act any different, only she tries to bite it and scratch it. It's really huge! Do you know what is wrong? What should I do?
From your description, no I don't know what's wrong, especially since I don't know where the red but is. If it's near the butt, it could be a prolapse, otherwise, I'm not sure. You need to just take the hamster to the vet as soon as you can.
If it's a prolapse, you can soak the hamster's bottom in sugar water a few times a day to help ease the prolapse. It should also help it go back into the body, but you should still see a vet.
hey whitney my hamster often scratch herself and it seems that she lost a lot of her hair......................is she ok???
She could have some irritation. I'd have a vet check it out, as I can't really tell from your description what's going on.
my hamster has been scratching a lot lately and has a strange sore on the top of her belly between her front legs
shes been eating fine and seems happy enough apart from the scratching
what could be wrong with her?! im getting really worried :(
also she's only 15 months old
I'm really not sure, you may want to a vet to do a skin scrape. The hamster is getting older, so you want to have the concern checked out sooner than later.
my teddy bear hamster is sortta sleeping and hudling in the corner of my cage is it normal and what time does hamster play
Hamsters are nocturnal, and "play" at night.
working
Zsuzsy Bee says:
8 months ago
Great HUB
regards Zsuzsy