Hamster Health And Illness

Healthy Hamster = Happy Hamster

As you know, the best way to make your hamster happy is to provide a good healthcare for your pet.  Your pet will live a long and healthy life if you think about proper diet for your little friend and prevent illnesses. You know that even if you provide proper care, your hamster may get ill. The first thing you should do in this case is to contact veterinarian but sometimes you can find out what the signs of illness may mean. Below you can find the list of health issues for hamsters.

Broken bones
If you pet broke his bone, the first thing to do before going to the vet is to isolate the hamster and remove the wheel. Feed him with food containing calcium. Do not handle your pet. The break will heal in 2 weeks.

Bites
Sometimes hamsters can bite each other during fights. If you saw that your pet is injured, clean the wounded area  with peroxide and contact the vet.

Cheek Pouch Injuries
If you give sharp objects to your hamster, it may injure his cheek pouch. Just remove the sharp object and give enough water to your pet.

Abscesses
Sometimes when the wound heals before the infection is inside, abscess can happen. There can be redness of the skin which your pet will scratch around. In this case you should immediately contact the vet.

Teeth
As you know, the teeth of your hamster grows all the time. If you don’t provide your pet chewing toys, the teeth can hurt the mouth.

Eyes
If your hamster has eye problems you must cure it. Contact the vet or your hamster can have cataracts.

 Respiratory Infections
The basic symptoms of respiratory infection can be : discharge from eyes and nose, loss of appetite,labored breathing and weight loss.

 Gastrointestinal Infections
The symptoms of gastrointestinal infections are : diarrhea, failure to drink or eat, stained tail, ruffled hair and irritability.

Fungal Infections
Dirty or damp housing can cause fungal infections.

Heatstroke
If your pet is heavily breathing or laying on belly, it can be the main symptom of heatstroke. You must take immediate action or your pet can die. The first thing you must do is to move the cage to cool spot. Take your hamster and run cool water over the body. Dry off and place hamster into the clean cage. Use eyedropper to rehydrate your pet. Never place cage in sunny places.

Remember that the life of your pet depends on you. If you think that your pet has problem with health you must go to the vet.