What's Wrong With My Roborovski Hamster?

Cathii · 05-28-2012, 08:31 AM

Sorry it turned out to be long, but all details are quite important.

Salt has always been the smallest and more energetic of my 2 boys. I recently re-introduced them (about a week ago) but it did not work out. Pepper went back to bullying and biting Salt within 2 days. As soon as I saw the bites on his back I split them up.

But, since that Salt has been running around the ZZ2 like a maniac. He's been running and jumping all around the cage. It seemed like he just had suddenly got faster and more energetic since having a bigger cage. But, I did notice Pepper wasn't as fast and crazy.

Now, I came home from school to find Salt running around in circles in his cage, very fast, in fairly small circles and he did not stop. It was in the day, when he is never up and just kept running around in circles.

What's wrong with him?? :'(

HorseyMandz · 05-28-2012, 08:38 AM

It might be worth getting your hamster to a vet as running in circles can be a sign of a brain defect- does he respond to treats or does he just keep running?

fluffymunchkins · 05-28-2012, 08:44 AM

Circling is a behaviour that can start due to ear infections or neurological problems.
Usually they can go about there daily things, but I would advise getting him seen by a vet x

Cathii · 05-28-2012, 08:45 AM

Yes, he comes up to me and eats the treat when I feed him.
Would a normal cat, dog and small animal vet be fine or is it worth finding a specialist? I know with guinea pigs it's best to go to an exotics or cavy savvy vet, and I wondered if it was the same with robo hamsters.

HorseyMandz · 05-28-2012, 08:49 AM

I expect a normal vet would be fine if it was just an ear infection, but it would be worth trying to find a specialist

racinghamster · 05-28-2012, 09:09 AM

Is Salt a Husky/White faced robo Cathii? They can be prone to `spinning` due to genetics. I don`t think the answer to why they spin is really known but they can do. If it`s an ear infection, he would `tilt` to the side rather than spin, but I wouldn`t rule either out.

Has he always been in the Zoozone 2 or only recently after splitting him up with Pepper? A vet might be able to diagnose what`s wrong but they could also just give you Baytril to take home and hope for the best. This is what most vets do with a spinning or tilting small animal as they will put it down to a probable inner ear infection. If the Baytril doesn`t work, then it`s likely genetic or neurological. If it turns out to be neurological, he would be safer in a Duna or a smaller cage. At least until he can walk and run upright again. I hope he`s okay. x

Cathii · 05-28-2012, 09:34 AM

He is not tilting his head as far as I can see.
I put Salt and Pepper in the ZZ2 together when reintroducing them but Pepper bullied him so I took him out and left Salt in the ZZ2. I was planning on splitting the cage in half with wire mesh as we have no space for another cage.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I just want Salt to be okay

**kyrilliondaemon** · 05-28-2012, 11:16 AM

No colouration of roborovski is more prone to neurological issues than any other colouration.

I'm hoping its an ear infection, but I'd see a vet and I hope they can help

Erin Loves Dwarf Hamsters · 05-28-2012, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Is Salt a Husky/White faced robo Cathii? They can be prone to `spinning` due to genetics. I don`t think the answer to why they spin is really known but they can do. If it`s an ear infection, he would `tilt` to the side rather than spin, but I wouldn`t rule either out.

Just wanted to put this has not been proven, it was a theory put forward but proof of this has yet to be found. Like Sam says no colouration of robos are more or less likely to develop problems.

I'm not entirely certain of why this would start happening so suddenly when he's been fine before now, right? I wonder if he just isn't coping very well with either the split or the new cage, have you tried putting him back into his duna and seeing if that helps?
Is their any chance that while fighting he may have received a nasty bump on the head? I would guess that robo brains are quite easy to damage from something like a fall or even running head first into something at the speed they go

I would say to find a vet too, a typical cat/dog/small animal vet should be able to treat any problems but watch out as some vets are useless with hamsters. :/

Cathii · 05-28-2012, 11:39 PM

Thanks again for the replies. My mum is going to speak the vet today. What happens if it is something neurological? Will he be okay living like that?