Russian dwarf hamster stopped exercising

Hamtaro1 · 08-27-2018, 04:00 PM

Hi everybody. I am new to this forum.
I subscribed because I have a problem I don't find an answer to online.
I adopted a female Russian dwarf hamster a few months ago. Apparently she had already been pregnant several times before. I don't know her age.
When I came home with her I noticed that she had a hunched back, but I didn't give it much thought, I assumed it was some malformation that she was born with.

The problem now is that she practically stopped exercising. It started when the weather got very hot (and I did everything I could to cool her down). But now the weather has been normal for a week or two, and she still doesn't exercise. She's still eating well (in fact she was already overweight before and I'm afraid she's gaining even more weight now), and she looks fine to me (eyes, skin), she can still climb on stuff.

Do you think these are signs of her being old? That she has arthritis? Or could it be something else?

I am really worried and I will be very grateful to everybody who takes time to read and answer to this post. <3

Sasha04 · 08-31-2018, 04:30 PM

Hi and welcome to HC!
Can you get a picture of her? When hams sit and are washing or eating they May look pretty hunched but that is normal. When they are walking they should having a straight back with no lumps. A picture would help.

Hamtaro1 · 08-31-2018, 07:49 PM

Dear Sasha,
Thank you for your answer!
I say she looks hunched because my previous Russian dwarf didn't have this feature. When she walks it looks straight, however.
As for the exercise: she is using her wheel, but she runs more slowly and takes much more breaks (pausing for a second every 10 seconds she runs...).
Here's a picture of her (yes she's a cutie

).

cypher · 08-31-2018, 11:21 PM

Welcome to HC.
It does sound as though it may be an age issue, in the UK the extreme heat this year was stressful for hams & especially older ones.
A hunched back along with her continuing to be less active could be a sign that she's in pain, it's very hard to say without seeing her but if you are worried it might be a good idea to have your vet check her.

Hamtaro1 · 08-31-2018, 11:28 PM

Cypher, thank you for your reply.
I really hope she's not in pain because it would mean she has been in pain at least since the day I got her :/
I will take her to the vet.

Sasha04 I have replied and added a picture but apparently it hasn't been posted yet, maybe it takes longer because of the picture...

cypher · 09-01-2018, 01:43 AM

I hope she's ok, it can be really hard to tell if they are in pain as they hide it so well so don't blame yourself for that but it's always better to get them checked if you are unsure.

flowerfairy · 09-01-2018, 10:25 AM

Aww she does look uber cute. I cant tell from the pic if she is in pain. I hope the vet can help. Good luck.

Hamtaro1 · 09-01-2018, 12:03 PM

Thanks ^^
I will keep you posted.

Sasha04 · 09-01-2018, 12:07 PM

cypher gave some great advice! I would just check with a vet like cypher said. Hope all goes well!

Hamtaro1 · 09-12-2018, 07:29 AM

Hi everybody,
I went to the vet and Kaia seems to be fine. She doesn't seem to be in pain, and the vet does not think she's that old either. Also, contrary to what I thought, she's not obese (she weighs 50grams)

Thanks again to everybody for the support!