What's Wrong With My Roborovski Hamster? - Page 2

Erin Loves Dwarf Hamsters · 05-29-2012, 12:42 AM

If it is neurological he should still be able to live a fairly normal life provided that if the spinning continues it isn't something he does all the time. He may just do it occasionally when he is stressed out at a situation. All you would need to do is find a way for him to cope perhaps by using calming methods like leaving lavender or chamomile by the side of the cage or having to place him in a very small box for a short period and then also try to help his avoid his 'trigger' situations, so if it is triggered by stress keep moving and change to a minimum and change his cleaning schedule to once a fortnight or something similar. We did all this for Pippy's attacks of aggression (she used to have daily 'fits' and attack everything around her including herself then be fine after a few minutes) her trigger situation seemed to be stress and until we figured this out things were really difficult but once we learned to work with her it began to make things so much easier and she learned to cope better too. She now only has these fits once or twice a week. It is a massive improvement!

Anyway, hopefully it won't turn out to be anything neurological and he will be just fine. Good luck with him at the vet, I'm really hoping he will be ok I do really love your little hams

Lynternette · 05-29-2012, 03:20 AM

Good luck with your vet visit. I hope its something that can be easily treated. xxx

racinghamster · 05-29-2012, 03:53 AM

I hope he`s okay Cathii and it is just an ear infection and nothing more. I felt I had to mention the spinning because it has been something brought up by roborovski breeders on some websites and I picked up on what they said, but if it is just a theory, then it could just be coincidence. I guess nothing can be proven unless it`s scientific fact.

StarlightSerenity · 05-29-2012, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racinghamster

I hope he`s okay Cathii and it is just an ear infection and nothing more. I felt I had to mention the spinning because it has been something brought up by roborovski breeders on some websites and I picked up on what they said, but if it is just a theory, then it could just be coincidence. I guess nothing can be proven unless it`s scientific fact.

Not all websites and/or breeders are correct though RH.

Good luck at the vet Cathii, fingers crossed it's nothing serious xxx

racinghamster · 05-29-2012, 04:01 AM

Oh I agree Starlight. I just don`t know why they would mention it though if it wasn`t a genetic fault? If spinning is a condition that can occurr in all roborovski why do they believe Husky/White faced robos are more prone? Seems a bit silly for them to say white faced robos are more prone to it when it seems they are not. Now I`m confused!

StarlightSerenity · 05-29-2012, 04:01 AM

I think that's something for another thread RH.

racinghamster · 05-29-2012, 04:58 AM

Sure. I don`t think anyone would know the answer to it though.

Hammymad · 05-29-2012, 05:46 AM

Awww bless him,I have no further advice to offer,as I've never owned a robo hammy.
I take my hams to "vets for pets" and I can't praise them enough,they are wonderful,so it might be worthwhile seeing if there's one near you!? And they don't charge a ridiculous price either.
I hope they can sort the little fella out for you xx

Cathii · 05-29-2012, 08:38 AM

My mum rang the vets today and the vet said that it sounded behavioural and there was nothing they could do

Should I get an appointment anyway?

racinghamster · 05-29-2012, 08:47 AM

I would base his `behaviour` on how often this is happening and if it`s a constant behaviour (i,e, he can`t stop circling) I would be inclined to think there is something more than just behaviour going on and get a second opinion. On the other hand, if he`s managing to straighten up and act normally and then `spin` when he seems excited or stressed about something, then it could be related to behaviour, but quite honestly, I wouldn`t think so. I`ve never seen any hamster do this unless there was something up with it. Hamsters don`t circle or spin unless there is a health issue.

If this comes on suddenly Cathii when he`s disturbed or he only starts doing it when your around, I would keep an eye on him from a distance and see how he reacts. If he doesn`t do it all the time, it could be a learned behaviour or a stress related trigger.

Was he doing this before he was put into the Zoozone 2 and re-introduced to his brother?