My hamster

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degrassi

degrassi

Valerie - Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2004
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Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
I know he's not a rabbit but I didn't know who else to talk to.

I just finished cleaning out my hamsters cage and found some "blood"(it was a dark red/brown color like dried blood looks) smeared on the bottom of his little hidey house. It was about 2" in diameter. I quickly checked him over as best I could. He doesn't like being picked up at all, so I tried my best to look at his butt and belly through the glass. His butt looks clean and dry, no sign of blood, pee or poop. I"m not sure when this blood smear occurred, as the last time I cleaned his tank was a week ago. He's been coming out and moving around so I didn't notice anything was wrong.

He is moving around(although not as active as he normally is when I clean his cage), eating, and drinking. The only thing is that he looks a little skinnier and his fur isn't as nice looking(dull, a bit greasy looking around his head like he isn't cleaning himself as much).

So i'm a bit worried for him. I've had him for 1 1/2 years and he was a full grown adult by the time I got him. Is there anything I can do for him?
 
I used to have hamsters.I had a whole family of them.
I don't think thatI ever had one that lived over 2 ; of course that wouldn't account for the blood but it may be that his time is coming :(....
 
Thats what I figured.

I guess i'll just keep checking on him and see how he does. If he starts looking really sick I'll probably take him to the vet to be put to sleep, as I dont' want him suffering. :cry2
 
We had an old lady hammy who started to pass blood and it sounded like what you described. We chose that time to let her go.

Thinking of you and your hammy.
 
What kind of hamster is it? Syrian hamsters (also called fancy or teddy bear hamsters) are prone to wet tail, which is a diarrhea caused by either a virus or bacteria (forget which). This diarrhea makes them strain really hard to poo, and it's common for them to get a prolapsed rectum and bleed out that way. It's very sad, but unfortunately very common in that breed. I had a friend who had to have her older hammie put to sleep for that reason. The wet tail can be treated, but it doesn't always work. My friend had been treating her hamster for wet tail without improvement when she had the rectal prolapse and needed to be put to sleep.

I know you said her bum looked clean, but it can be really hard to tell, they move so fast.

I have dwarf hamsters, who can't get wet tail, and neither can robos or chinese hamsters (I think--not sure about chinese hamsters).

Another possibility is cancer--hamsters are very prone to it, since they are really hardy otherwise. I would imagine that he could have cancer of the intestines, rectum, etc, and that could cause bleeding. The way you described his coat appearance makes me think cancer (or old age, which he obviously is).

That is a big blood spot for a hamster. If you want a comparison, a mouse only has about 1.5mL of blood in them total. He sounds really sick. Are you sure it didn't come from anywhere else? It may be best to take him to a vet, but barring that, warmth and fluids are the best you can do for him. I took a dwarf hamster to the emergency vet and they did a lot to help her, but she was too far gone. Point being, many emergency vets will see hamsters. They would at least be able to give him oxygen and get an idea of what's wrong.

I'm sorry he's so sick. Best of luck to you and him. It sounds like whatever happens, he's had a wonderful long life with you. My favorite thing about hamsters is that they have such fun lives--they eat all they want, they snuggle up and sleep all day, they get to play whenever they want, and they have no cares in the world. They're just the epitome of happiness and having a good, easy life.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

MC hamster is a teddy bear hamster.

Hammie is still the same. I didn't want to disturb him but I could see he was still alive inside his house. He ate his food from last night(probably about 1 TBSP of food) and there was pee and poops in his bathroom corner. I use YN as his bedding and the pee spots just looked wet, not red or anything.

When I checked his butt yesterday it looked completely dry and normal. I have him in a glass aquarium so I was able to see underneath him through the bottom and got a pretty good look. I know hamsters can get wet tail and it didn't look anything like that. Thats why I was confused. There was this big red smear yet no evidence of where it came from.

I guess its a wait and see kind of thing.
 
I've had hammies leave "phantom" blood spots in their cages before. Some of them passed not too long after (it was obvious that they were sick), and I've had them live for awhile. Some of the red spots that my hamsters have had were not, in fact, blood, but a moist stool combined with very dark urine (probably from a treat). That is the only info I can think of (it's 45 minutes past my bedtime...). I will try to think of something else overnight. Good luck with your little hammy.
 
it was just a thought reading through the threads,,if his health doesnot seem impaired,,how about something like chewing off a toe nail,my cotton tail trims his own and sometimes i see where he has been(blood)spots/smears,,i was mortified when i first saw this behavior,all you can do is observe,,is he still wheeling all night???sincerely james waller
 
My sisters and I went through a lot of hampsters over the years... Some of them died just 2 weeks after bringing them home. It was always diarhhea and dehydration. Even when given fluids only one of them actually recovered. We had a white, very fluffy hampster named Stellaluna that lived the longest. She finally became lethargic and died of old age in her sleep. She was about three years old.

It may just be Hammie's time. But it sounds like he's comfortable and not in any kind of distress. You could take him and some of his stool to the vet to be examined. They may be able to tell you what's going on with your Hammie.

I hope everything turns out alright!
 
Hammie is still doing the same. I haven't noticed anymore "blood" spots and he is still eating and drinking. His butt still looks clean and he is still coming out to move around.

He seems to be ok besides looking thinner and having a dull coat. But I think both those things are due to him being older now. If I hadn't have found that blood spot I wouldn't think anything is different.

Atleast its a good sign he didn't go downhill quickly. Maybe it was just a one time thing and he is ok.
 
He could have a urinary tract infection, a kindney/bladder infection, kidney/baldder stones, or other things. I would take him to the vet.... 1 1/2 isnt really all that old for a hamster, so I dont think its "his time" yet personally. I had a hamster that lived to be 3 1/2, and Ive heard of much older ones :)
 
I have not been here in awhile. WAY too much going on. Claire asked me to check in. And what she already said is good.

First of all, what is his name??

There seems no chronic problem, so that is good.

Perhaps just a little blood from a small toenail cut; maybe it got caught in something. Perhaps a touch of porphyrin which rodents have and is red and sort of like mucus and tears.

1 1/2 is not old for a hamster. But I have had some die suddenly without symptoms at an even younger age. My oldest was named Zeb and he lived over 2 1/2 years.

You have any hamster questions, or other rodent issues come to my board where I am many times each day:
http://kanez.proboards.com/index.cgi

This is my memorial gallery of all my many deceased and missed pets including dozens of hamsters. I can't give them long lives but I can give them good lives.
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=5199770&uid=924030&members=1
 
Jess4921 wrote:
He could have a urinary tract infection, a kindney/bladder infection, kidney/baldder stones, or other things. I would take him to the vet.... 1 1/2 isnt really all that old for a hamster, so I dont think its "his time" yet personally. I had a hamster that lived to be 3 1/2, and Ive heard of much older ones :)
Click to expand...

That would be extremely rare.

A friend who adored her single Syrian hamster, doted on him, and took him to the vet every few months giving him the best of care, only saw him, Chewie, live to two years and nine months.

BTW, I once had a lovely white dwarf, Snowball, die oif some kind of apparent uterine hemorrhage . I just found her dead one day and there were dry brownish=red stains.Very sad. She is likely in my memorial gallery - see my above post.
 
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