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Old 01-09-2019, 08:41 PM  
SaltCrow
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 2
Default Re: Hamster suddenly wobbly, acting disoriented

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
I'm really sorry to hear your ham is not well, it's hard to guess what may be wrong with the symptoms he's showing & the rapid change in weight.
Has the room where his cage is been kept warm at all times, day & night?
I don't think there is much you can do until you can get him to the vet other than keep him warm & comfortable, probably best left in his nest for now or in a carrier with plenty of substrate if you want to keep a closer eye on him.
You could try offering water with a syringe or spoon or just hold the bottle for him to see if he needs to drink, you could also try some cooled porridge/oatmeal on a spoon to see if he'll take that.
I hope the vet can help & he'll be ok.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
I was also wondering if the cold might be affecting him - they can go into torpor if they get too cold - which is often fatal. So it is important that that are in a room which has heating. And I often have a little oil filled radiator on a timer on for a couple of hours during the night in winter as well. Room temperature should be about 20 degrees when the heating is on.

That doesn't explain the weight loss though, unless he is just not eating because he is affected by the cold and not active.

Keep an eye on him. I give supplements as well as hamster mix and some veg - nuts are high in calories and protein - half a walnut or half a brazil nut once or twice a week is a nice treat for them.

If he goes like that again and it isn't the temperature, then a vet visit might be an idea, especially as he is a young hamster. Does he have a nice big cosy nest? It's important not to clean them out too much - that stresses them. Spot cleaning mostly is better than full substrate changes, and plenty of substrate to burrow down in and plenty of nesting material so they can build their nest nice and big. Also don't remove the nest and hoard - if it's pee'd in you may have to but try and leave a bit of old nest and hoard behind that's dry, and add new food to replace what you've removed in exactly the same place, plus a big pile of new nesting material in the cage, that they can take back to the nest to rebuild it. And don't use fluffy bedding - it's dangerous! Plain white toilet paper sheets torn into strips is safest for nesting.

I have my 4 guineas and 1 other hamster in my room so I have a space heater that I use, as my guineas are also prone to getting colds. The room is always warm and if it gets cold it's only for a few hours while I'm gone.

I never thought of it like that; I will spot clean from now on and only clean his entire cage when I must. When I do clean his cage I take a few fist fulls of his old bedding that isn't dirty so he has his scent in the cage still. He does have a nest and lots of bedding to burrow in. I use the Carefresh type bedding, with lots of cardboard objects for him to chew that he also uses.

**UPDATE**
I managed to give him 2-3 syringes of water, and let him sleep on a heat pad for a half hour or so. Suddenly he woke up and started exploring my bed, seeming to be mostly back to himself. I believe the warmth was key in helping his systems catch up again. I set him back in his cage and he ate more of his food and even got on his wheel for a moment. This was at about 1:30am. The rest of the night (2-3am) he was running on his wheel like normal.

I noticed why he has gotten so skinny; he only eats parts of his food mix, like sunflower seeds and bigger pieces. He leaves behind the smaller ones. Going forward I will give him more of what he likes along with supplements and other things to combat his pickiness.

When I woke up this morning he was acting completely normal. He's eaten his food again, drank from his bottle and ran on his wheel again. I'm not going to seek a vet unless he continues to decline or new symptoms arise. Thank you for all of your help!
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