Odd dwarf behavior, sickness?

[Zodi11]

Hey everyone,

I noticed my male dwarf had started to not eat as much and I decided to give it a day or two because sometimes he just stuffs his cheeks and eats off of that for a while. But, it's been around 3 days and while he does eat, it is not nearly as much as usual. He just took a treat from me and stuffed it in his cheek.

He also hasn't been drinking as much water as usual.

This morning at 7 am, I noticed he was sleeping outside his nest and in the open and he has never done this in the 1+ years I have had him (I adopted him when he was an adult). I come back from class at 2 pm and he is still out but I noticed he is breathing hard and rapidly, won't open his eyes, and is chattering his teeth constantly (Even before I woke him up). Also, its 72 degrees in my apartment so I know he isn't too cold.

What do you think this could be? I checked his butt and eyes and theres no drainage on either side.

Here is a video of his breathing: https://vimeo.com/303127619

Any advice??

[alpacassei]

It sounds like he needs to see a vet asap. In situations like this, please take your hamster to the vets instead of consulting a forum.

Try offering him some rehydration formula and keep him warm until you can get him to a vet. If he’s struggling to drink then use a small clean paintbrush to feed him (safer than using a syringe.). If he improves after being rehydrated then try feeding porridge (made with water) or softened hamster biscuit/pellets. I have to say, the outloook doesn’t look good though especially at his age.

Rehydration Formula:
Salt (¼ tsp)
Sugar (¾ tbsp)
Water (1 cup)

[cypher]

It's hard to know for sure what the problem is, he may have a respiratory infection or it may be something else but he doesn't sound well, I agree the best thing is to get him to the vet as soon as you can.
Hope they can help & he'll be ok.