Taking hamster to the vet - tips?

[Clairealex]

Hey guys,

So I'm taking chubs to the vet on Friday morning to get his nails trimmed. Tried everything to help him do it himself but to no avail so I'm now ready to hand it over to the professional!

I've bought him the medium sized ferplast aladino carrier from Pets at Home and a mini water bottle to offer to him. I plan to fill the carrier with his usual bedding and substrate, as well as his wee house and a tube and a small amount of food.

I'm worried about stressing him out too much thought. He seeds quite a robust wee man and doesn't get fazed by much but I want to make it as smooth as possible.

Anyone got any tips about how to keep his stress levels low as possible?

[BrainGirl]

I see that the ferplast aladino is a clear carrier. I wonder if putting a swatch of fleece in the cage that your little one can hide under would be helpful for him? That's what I did for Theo when I took him in even though he was in a metal carrier. I would be concerned then if it or the substrate touches the water spout that it would drain. What about packing a piece of cucumber along with him for hydration rather than a water bottle?

[Clairealex]

Hi braingirl, thanks for the tips!

I wasn't planning on having the water bottle in the carrier, I was going to have it with me and offer it to him in carrier on the way home before taking it away again, however that now seems complicated when cucumber would be much easier!

The carrier I have has a clear top but a is covered apart from that. It's the medium one rather than the small one. He's 11cm long so when I was looking at them I felt the small one was just that bit too small. Ill attach a pic of the one I have.

[Vectis Hamstery]

I like that carrier for vet trips - nice and enclosed for the ham while allowing good access. I'd just pop the cucumber, food or dog biccie, substrate, bedding and a cardboard tube in, nothing that is heavy that could hit him if it moved in transit. You could take a tea towel with you to drape over the clear roof if he seems upset which also doubles as something to swaddle a scared ham in if needed. Other than that just remember to secure your ham in the car in case of emergency stops, e.g. with a seatbelt, and don't leave him unattended in the car as it's starting to get a bit chilly. Good luck! Hams travel remarkably well though - I've brought hams back from Holland to the UK with few signs of stress.

[racinghamster]

I have the same carrier Claire, they are really good. Although I`ve only transported mice and dwarf hamsters in one and not a Syrian! What I normally do, is line the carrier with some fleece (I have a few bits and pieces from when I made hammocks for my mice) and an egg box with holes in it for the wee one to hide in. My vet is only a short five minute taxi ride away, so I don`t bother with cucumber or a water bottle, but on a longer journey it`s probably better to take these, just in case of waiting times in traffic or the surgery itself.

[kyrilliondaemon]

We put substrate, food, bedding, veg and a dog biscuit in the carrier, as well as a toy if the pet has one that we think will be safe during travel. Then as it can be pretty windy here we have a shirt that we cover the carrier with during the short walk to the car, seatbelt them in the car and off we go.

Most of our pets have never minded attending the vets at all - two of the hams have had stressful visits and gone off the vets after that, but generally ours take it all in their stride If a hamster has had a stressful visit then on future visits we try to spend as much time handling them as we can in the consultation room (e.g when the vet is fetching medication or explaining something to us) and its really helped get the hamster to relax when there again - Fwirl didn't mind, then had a stressful visit and didn't want to go back, but now she enjoys going there because as far as she's concerned its just a drive in the car and a lot of playtime

[BrainGirl]

Oh! That's a different carrier than the one that came up in my Google search. It's nice

[Clairealex]

Thanks all!!

Feeling a bit calmer about it now! Ill definitely bring something to cover the top bit and put plenty of bedding and substrate in there too. The weather was one of the things that was worrying me. I find it absolutely freezing just now, plus it's to be raining here on Friday :S he'll only be going from my house to the car, car vet, vet car and car house so ill just cover the carrier with a tea towel and huddle it under my brolly!

Wow Vectis, from Holland!! Chubs has no excuse for his 15 minute car journey they really are amazing wee animals!

I love the egg box racinghamster! Think ill make some holes in one and put it in too. He would love it!

kyrilliondaemon I will definitely be spoiling him so hopefully he'll associate it with good things. He'll be getting cuddles and treats when he gets home and then given a very well deserved rest! He does seem very unfazed by everything so I hope he'll be ok. He moved from his original home to mine, then to my parents when I went on holiday (bad timing to get him!), back to mine then two weeks later into a new cage and he absolutely was not bothered by any of it! He's a wee soilder haha.

Feeling much more confident now

[kyrilliondaemon]

I'm sure he'll be fine but I'm glad you're feeling more confident now