A Healthy Hamster
A healthy hamster should have bright eyes, a shiny coat, be awake and alert during the night, and should not limp or have a wet area around the tail.
Wet Tail
Wet tail is a condition that can be caused by many things - most commonly, stress. It is advised that when you take your hamster home, you should buy a supplement to add to their water to help the digestive system, as travelling and being put in a place they don't know is very stressful. Although, if you handle them roughly or they are disrupted often during their sleeping period, they can get wet-tail.
The first signs of a hamster having wet-tail is that it drinks lots more water than usual, it's faeces are runny and there is a wet patch around it's tail (pictured left). As soon as you see these symptoms, you must visit a vet as soon as possible. When you ring up your vet, the first thing you must say is: 'My hamster has wet-tail and needs urgent medical attention'. This should ring alarm bells in the receptionist's head and should get you an appointment within the next 24hrs. During the time before your vet visit, you need to get to a pet shop ASAP and buy a wet-tail medication. Some are administered through a syringe which you feed the medication to your hamster, and some are drops which are added to the animal's water.
Wet-tail is a serious condition. If your hamster has wet-tail, they could die within the next 3-72hrs after catching the disease without treatment. If your pet has just woken up and you have only then noticed it, your hamster could have caught the disease over 12hrs ago, so the sooner you get your hammy treated, the better.
The first signs of a hamster having wet-tail is that it drinks lots more water than usual, it's faeces are runny and there is a wet patch around it's tail (pictured left). As soon as you see these symptoms, you must visit a vet as soon as possible. When you ring up your vet, the first thing you must say is: 'My hamster has wet-tail and needs urgent medical attention'. This should ring alarm bells in the receptionist's head and should get you an appointment within the next 24hrs. During the time before your vet visit, you need to get to a pet shop ASAP and buy a wet-tail medication. Some are administered through a syringe which you feed the medication to your hamster, and some are drops which are added to the animal's water.
Wet-tail is a serious condition. If your hamster has wet-tail, they could die within the next 3-72hrs after catching the disease without treatment. If your pet has just woken up and you have only then noticed it, your hamster could have caught the disease over 12hrs ago, so the sooner you get your hammy treated, the better.
Colds
If a hamster has a cold, it will sneeze and cough, just like we would! Hamsters can catch a cold from us, so if you have a cold, then your must stay away from your hamster as much as possible! A hamster with a cold would often lay it's ears back, have gummy or half-closed eyes, curl up in a ball (pictured left), and have discharge from both the eyes and nose. It is not fatal like wet-tail, but can cause a whole host of other problems. Colds are often caused by a draughty or cold room, your hamster sleeping underneath his water bottle, or him sitting/sleeping in his water dish if you don't have a water bottle. The best thing to do is to move your hamster's cage into a warmer room which is free from draughts and far away from windows. If you have a water dish, replace it with a water bottle, and if your hamster likes to sleep under it's water bottle, then create a cosy nesting place full of bedding for him to sleep in instead. Make sure the windows aren't opened, but keep the door open a crack to ventilate the room.
Hamster Falls
A common happening in the hamster world, hamsters often fall from tables or chairs as their eyesight is not as good as ours. Obviously, to prevent this, you should handle your hamster close to the ground and not leave them to run about on tables and chairs unattended. If you hammy falls less than 30cms, he shouldn't have any broken bones, and would probably just be a little shocked. Put him back in his cage immediately and do not enter the room for another hour or so to let him calm down. Although, if the hamster seems to have broken a leg, then you should call the vet ASAP and arrange an appointment with them. Until then, you should heavily pad his cage with a deep base of bedding, and restrict his space using pieces of cardboard and attaching them to the bars of the cage. Block or remove any tubes or ladders to prevent further injury.
Hamster Cuts
If a hamster has a cut or gash, you should apply some mild antiseptic cream with a cotton wool bud and keep the area clean. You should check his cage for any sharp edges or objects that may have caused the cut and remove them. Clean his nest every day and clean the cage more frequently than normal, to ensure the cut doesn't get infected. After that, there's nothing much more you can do!