What are some signs that you have an elderly hamster?

[SnuggleHam]

What are some signs that you have an elderly hamster?





I think this could turn into a good article on Hamster Central, but right now this question is mainly for me.



I have a Golden Longhaired Syrian hamster named Gerald. He was a rescue. I adopted him from a family whose children didn’t want him anymore. I found him through one of Tom's (husband) work partners that knew this family. He arrived in a cardboard box with holes poked in it and came with a bag of seed that was feed for wild birds. Poor guy.



Anyway I don’t know his age, as nobody seemed to know how old he might be. I guessed he was about a year to a year in a half just from his size and the way he looks. I've noticed that over the past few months he seems to be getting these random long tufts of fur on his sides, and his fur although is not falling out appears to be generally thinning. His fur isn’t a bright as it use to be, and has a lot more white then when I first got him. The orange fur on his face and head has lightened quite a bit too.



He’s not sick: clear eyes, nose ears, acts normal, no lumps or abnormalities so he seems healthy. But are these signs of old age, do hamsters turn gray as they become geriatric? What other signs might I look out for?



P.S Gerald is the featured hamster in the Forum logo and is also found in the HC website Logo :wink:

[pophammy]

Yes Candace our darker coloured hams always seem to go greyer in colour. The fur seems thinner and patchier too. Also you find that youngsters have fine hair all over the ears where as older ones have bald shiney ears. Older ones seem to sleep a lot more and often drink & wee more with the urine seeming to smell stronger. Sometimes the teeth are longer and yellower and need constant checking. Nails too get longer quickly as the older ones don't move around so much. Aparrantly 6 months in ham years is about 20 in human years so you can sort of work out what your ham might be. Runty is 123 now!!!!

[SnuggleHam]

Aparrantly 6 months in ham years is about 20 in human years so you can sort of work out what your ham might be. Runty is 123 now!!!!



Wow, Yup that does give me an idea lol :oops: Aww my poor Gerald is officially geriatric. Well I’m not worried. I’m just happy he was able to live the remainder of his life in a nice large bin with lots of treats and time to sleep in the day like hamsters love to do :)



He still wakes up and runs on his wheel at night and so on and comes out of his igloo happily when I have a nice treat for him. So he seems quite lively but I am noticing changes in him.



Thanks for the info, appreciate it.

[Emma]

It's nigh impossible to age hamsters if you got them as an adult, other than "young" "adult" or "elderly"! Teeth do darken as they age but unless you know what shade they were to start with it's not much help. Senior hamsters tend to have poorer quality fur, may start to bald, they may slow down a bit generally and have less of an apetite.



I've never really seen a hamster go grey, apart from black dwarfs which tend to silver but that can happen quite young. Darker colours do seem to fade though. The shiny ears are a clue but that can happen fairly young too.



I never knew how old Alfie was, although in retrospect I think he was on the more elderly side of things. As long as Gerald is happy and healthy then just enjoy him for as long as he's here :)

[SnuggleHam]

Thanks for the Info Emma. :) Gerald isnt turing gray, it was more just a word I was trying to use to describe what is happening, Really its more that hes just turning lighter, his orange fur is more dull and Im seeing more white take over as well as thinning of fur and odd long tufts on his sides..

[SnuggleHam]

I weighed in Gerald today and he came out as being 96 grams. It seems as though he should weight a bit more then that, in the range of 150g? Is this right?



I took a picture of Gerald today, look at these before and after photos, it does seem as though Gerald is aging pretty fast



Before (when I first adopted him)

http://www.hamstercentral.com/images/misc/geraldsetup1.jpg





After (present day)

http://www.hamstercentral.com/images/misc/oldgeraldjpg.jpg



He seems to look a bit thinner in the sides. But as you can see besides that and his thinning fur and fading colors his eyes are bright, he eats well, uses his wheel and is quite active when he handled.

[pophammy]

Usually adult hamsters are around 100-120g but they do tend to get thinner as they get older. I think Gerald sounds perfectly all right!!! :P :wink:

[Emma]

Bless him and his poms!



How long is it you've had him now?

[SnuggleHam]

Lol what are poms? Anyway I have had Gerald since 11 Mar 2005. That's the first post I made about him here on the forum.

[babyboos]

As Gerald is a Golden hamster he will appear more grey as his undercoat will show more as he gets older. He really looks like a distinguished older hamster Candace and you should be very proud. Keep up the good work :wink:

Pom poms, or baked beans as I refer to them, are his scrotum/testicles :oops: