Is my hamster sick?

milothehamster · 07-03-2016, 05:23 PM

So my hamster has been really happy and positive the past few days until now. It's 3:19am and I got woken up by his coughing. When I went to bed he was happily running on his wheel, no coughing. Now that I woke up he was coughing, lying down in the middle of his cage! When I went to look at him, he walked to behind his wheel and stayed there for about half an hour. Now he went back on his wheel and is running very slow! I dont really understand what's going on, is he sick? I'm really worried! I also see a lot of poop where he was lying down. My hamster is a syrian and only a little over 2 months old! Please help!

AlfredHam · 07-03-2016, 05:55 PM

What kind of substrate does he have? Could the coughing be from an allergy or dusty particles?
Alfie has little rest breaks throughout the evening to chill out and take a rest from all his hamstering, however the coughing is a concern

cypher · 07-03-2016, 08:43 PM

Coughing is definitely something to be concerned about, it is possible he could be allergic to substrate or something else in the cage, have you changed anything or used anything new that might have caused this do you think?
As it seems to be a sudden onset & change that makes it less likely to be a reaction to substrate if he's had the same since you got him so if he doesn't improve quickly I would get your vet to check him out.

milothehamster · 07-04-2016, 04:47 AM

I use aspen bedding.

milothehamster · 07-04-2016, 04:49 AM

I forgot to answer to the message.. so I use aspen bedding which should be fine

milothehamster · 07-04-2016, 04:50 AM

What am I doing..

cypher · 07-04-2016, 06:08 AM

Aspen should be fine but some hams can be allergic to almost anything, if you've always used it then it most likely isn't a problem.
Is he still coughing? If he is I'd go to the vet.

AmityvilleHams · 07-04-2016, 06:11 AM

It honestly seems like an allergic reaction.Change the substrate anyways for now,but definitely still go to the vet as soon as possible.

Aspen is considered safe but it isn't impossible for a hamster to be allergic

A paper based substrate would be less risky though,and would probably work much better if you could get something which is paper based with minimal dust as well which can affect coughing and such.

milothehamster · 07-04-2016, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

Aspen should be fine but some hams can be allergic to almost anything, if you've always used it then it most likely isn't a problem.
Is he still coughing? If he is I'd go to the vet.

He's sleeping so no, he's not coughing right now. He did cough the whole night though.

Pebbles82 · 07-04-2016, 08:07 AM

I think a change of substrate and a vet visit would be a good idea. Aspen can be a bit dusty and hamsters can be allergic to any type of wood bedding. Something like Carefresh would be better, or paper bedding if you can get it. But it could be an infection so a vet visit is a good idea. They can catch colds from humans as well, so if you have a cold best not to handle them and keep to minimal contact like putting food and water out after using antibacterial wipes or soap on your hands.