Sick Syrian named ZOE

AnnaSueJ · 04-12-2005, 12:13 PM

Hi all, I'm new on the board and also a new hamster owner. My Syrian (Zoe)has been acting kind of funny. I bought her a week ago today. She sleeps A LOT! Last night I noticed that one of her eyes wasn't as bright as the other and she was hard to wake up. This morning, I woke her up to clean her cage and her eye was completely matted shut. I put some warm water on her eye and helped her to open it. I was using Pine shavings but switched to Aspen this morning.

I guess what I am asking is if she was allergic to the bedding, how long will it take to tell if this is the case? Or do you think she may have a cold and need to go to the vet?

04-12-2005, 12:35 PM

You did the right thing by gently cleaning the eye with warm water. Continue to do this daily if necessary. Now, for the bedding..... In my own opinion, I would not use the wood type beddings for hamsters. Every one of my hamsters had reactions similar to this when we did, and switching to Carefresh worked like a charm. Offer some unscented tissue for bedding as well, and they are happy little campers.

Hamsters will sleep a lot when adjusting to a new home, but they are also nocturnal, so you may not notice just how active they really are. I would also recommend finding a multi-vitimin supplement that can be added to her water supply, and that could help ease the stress of a new home and any possible cold.

Change the bedding first, and try not to wake the hamster unneccessarily during the day. Perhaps a romp in a zoomer ball around 7-8 in the evening would perk her up.

SnuggleHam · 04-12-2005, 01:09 PM

Hello AnnaSueJ

You say that Zoe has been acting lethargic and sleeping a lot? Has she been waking up at night to run on her wheel like normal or is she not even doing that? When you picked her up to clean out her eyes did you notice and urine or faeces stuck on her bottom?

I would guess that if she was allergic to the bedding it may have caused her discomfort and making her eyes watery and goopy... But I wonder if the bedding is really the reason for her acting sick. Aspen also has a strong smell to it even though it doesn’t produce and aromatic oils it may still bother her maybe you should try Hemp, Carefresh, or Yesterday's News beddings.

Does she walk around with her ears back when she is awake, or walk funny, like as if hunched over a bit? Is she eating and drinking normally?

If the change of bedding doesn’t seem to help clear up those eyes and she’s still acting the same then I would get her to see a vet. However if she does seem to have a wet bottom with faeces or urine caked on it I would get her to a vet asap.

AnnaSueJ · 04-12-2005, 01:52 PM

Hi, thanks for your responses. I happened to think about when she started acting sick. I put a empty kleenex box in her cage for a nesting box. The kleenex was the unscented type, but upon reading on the bottom of another box like it, I noticed that they have the lotion in it. So, I threw away her nesting box and replaced it with a sterile gauze box I had in the First Aid kit. Really a better fit than the kleenex box. But when I woke her up to change the box, I let her run around on the floor. She still wanted to explore the room, but she would huntch up and fall back asleep. When she walked she walked funny, almost like her backside was wobbling. and her eye is going back closed. I'll take her out this evening and clean her eye again, we have some saline solution if you think that would be safe to use. I don't know what to think, she's got me worried. I tried to call the vet's office but they were closed today. I'll try again in the morning.

SnuggleHam · 04-12-2005, 02:06 PM

Ya, I would definitely call the Vets office again tomorrow and take her there ASAP. The fact that she’s not feeling so well to the point that she hardly has energy to explore before she wants to curls up and sleep again worries me. For now I would just keep her as comfortable as possible. If she’s in a wire cage or a cage that is open to drafts I would put her someplace that is draft free and give her peace and quite.

In the mean time while you try and get a hold of a vet you could try reading over the Hamster Central ailments page here to see if there is anything that might make sense of her symptoms. http://www.hamstercentral.com/hamsterailments.htm

I hope that we can figure out what is wrong a fix the problem before its to late.

04-12-2005, 03:54 PM

Are her eyes clear when opened, and bright? Or are they cloudy and dull? I really do not think that a box that had tissues with lotion would have made that big of a difference, unless it was in her cage for more than a day - the tissues would be harmful, but not really the box they were in.

AnnaSueJ · 04-12-2005, 06:44 PM

Well, I went to check on her and she has moved from the nesting box to her food dish where she is now snoozing away. When I checked in earlier, I noticed that her nose was really red. Her eyes as of this morning were clear and bright when they were open. I tried to get her to drink some water using a straw for a dropper as I didn't have one. She drank a little. I hope she pulls through this. She's my daughter's hamster, but I have gotten quite attached to her. My husband has already said that we're not spending a lot of money on a hamster. I don't agree fully with this, seeing how my daughter is so attached to her. (She made me take a picture of the hamster so she could take it to preschool and show it to her friends. Does anyone know a ballpark figure for vet fees for a hamster. Is it really expensive? How about the antibiotics?

04-13-2005, 03:18 AM

You could try to see if the vet will do a phone consult, then you will only have to pay for the antibiotics - which run fairly inexpensive, like $12. Do not try to give her water through a straw as this could result in her getting too much at one time. Give her a cucumber or grape, as they are high in water content. You could also give her baby food that is free of garlic and onion - they really enjoy plain, live yougurt, and applesauce, as well as a piece of unseasoned chicken.

SnuggleHam · 04-13-2005, 05:36 AM

When I had to take my hamster to the vets I called around first. Many Veterinarian offices wont treat small rodents like hamsters, I have no idea why, anyway some of the placed I had called wanted over 50 US dollars just for the visit fee. Eventually I found a place close by that the visit fee was only 30.00, I never ended up getting any medication, but the vet did put some kind of drops in her eyes and gave her a fluid injections under her skin and didn’t charge me a dime for it which was nice.

I wonder what is wrong with zoe, On one hand its good to know her eyes are open and looking bright, but the fact her nose is red and that she’s acting lethargic and sleeping in her food bowl worries me still.

My best advice is to call around and find a good vets office that treats small rodents. I know your husband may see 30.00 worth enough to just buy three more hamsters, but maybe you should point out to him that your not putting on a good example by not caring for the animal and teaching your daughter responsibility. Maybe that will encourage him to spend the money.

Please let us know how your search for a vet goes

AnnaSueJ · 04-13-2005, 06:33 AM

Hi again. I'm sorry to say that Zoe died last night in her food bowl. She was kind of slumped over the side half in half out. I guess my next question is when should I get another hamster. I'm doing a bleach solution soak tonight. I thought I would get my next hamster from petsmart, but it is about 45 minutes away. Thought I would put the cage back together and take it with me and just put it in the cage to come home so it could have water and a nesting box to hide in. I also thought I would cover the cage with a towel to avoid any drafts from the AC. Any other advice?