Elderly Dwarf Hamster Acting Weird

Natasha95 · 06-02-2020, 12:15 AM

It's been such a long time since I've even visited this website, but I'm having trouble with my dwarf hamster. She's at least 2 years old by now, possibly even 2.5 (I don't know her exact age). She's still active, but I've been noticing a lot of strange behavior.

First, she's been eating more, and her food hoard is pretty much depleted, but she's still pretty skinny. I've been giving her baby food 3 days a week, so maybe she's not getting enough nutrients?

Second, she's been scratching pretty much nonstop. I thought I saw a bald spot near the back of her head and base of her neck tonight, but when she shook her fur out, it went away. I think her nails are also getting too long, but I don't think she's been using her rock and sand pit much, so tonight I tried pouring sand along the bottom of her cage to see if that helps because she does like to scratch her cage floor.

Third, she's been biting everything. It seems like she's losing her sense of sight because she needs to stop and bite everything she comes across, even pieces of her bedding. She's even been chewing down some chew toys that she never even touched when she was younger, which I think is a good thing because she's keeping her teeth trimmed. The problem is she's also been biting me, a lot and really hard. She latches on and won't let go. She was a biter when I first got her about a year and a half ago, but she stopped biting me about 6 months in, and even back then it wasn't this bad.

Are all of these signs of old age, or could she be sick?

Vierville · 06-02-2020, 03:12 AM

I'm sorry to hear about your hammy...

I'm not sure what to answer as I don't really know what all of her behaviour together could indicate, but I do know that they don't really rely that much on eyesight anyway so I wouldn't worry about her losing her eyesight too much. The need to chew everything might be a sign of some mild dementia perhaps?

Have you felt her for any lumps or abdominal swelling or bloating? That might be an idea just to rule out the possibility of anything internal such as a tumour. These may well affect eating patterns.

I'm sorry that I was not more helpful. I know there are others on here who will know more.

Best of luck with your little one.

Natasha95 · 07-13-2020, 02:33 PM

Just a quick update: I brought her to the vet today because the scratching was getting worse, and her bald spot was getting bigger. The vet said she could have hamster mites, Cushing's, or cancer. We're treating her for hamster mites for now.

She also said Penny (my hamster) has cataracts, which would explain the biting and confusion, but she seems to have adjusted to her poor eyesight and has actually stopped nipping everything and is getting around her cage just fine, so I don't think that needs to be treated.

cypher · 07-13-2020, 11:18 PM

If she’s not eating much then the scratching & or fur loss could just be down to nutritional deficiencies, it doesn’t sound as though your vet was very sure of the diagnosis, a skin scrape is needed to determine whether mites are a problem or not & the treatment can be toxic for them so always best used with caution & when there is confirmation of a mite problem.
You could try giving a good pinch of flax seeds (linseed) daily along with a drop of evening primrose oil on food, that should really help with any skin issues & is good for overall health too.
They do adjust well to loss of sight, just make sure things are all within easy reach, not climbing onto platforms or anything like that needed, keep cleaning to the minimum too as she will be using scent to find her way around.
If she’s not eating much you could give baby food daily & soften some hamster food in water, science selective pellets work well for that, they usually enjoy a little porridge too.

Natasha95 · 07-14-2020, 08:09 PM

She is eating a lot. She just looks skinny. She weighed 36 grams at her appointment, which I think is healthy.

The vet didn't mention a skin scrape. But she administered the first dose of Revolution at the appointment. Because of covid, I wasn't able to even enter the building with her. A nurse took her in and brought her out, and the vet called me at the end to discuss everything. But I looked up the medication when I got home, and I found it's used to treat a lot of different mites and parasites in hamsters (and other animals), so I guess she prescribed it as a catch-all.

I do give her baby food in addition to her seed mix and a couple of mealworms, and that seems to be working for her. And I can definitely buy flax seeds for her. Is primrose oil safe for hamsters?

And as far as the cage goes, I did a complete clean of her cage after the appointment in case she had hamster mites, but I normally do a spot clean every other week or so because she hates when I clean her cage, although she has relaxed a lot with age (she used to "scream" and bite me when I cleaned, and now she barely pokes her head out). I also lowered her platform so it's just above her bedding and she can walk right onto it because for some reason she likes to climb up instead of using the ramp. The platform is really just there to support her sand bath because I'm afraid of her burrowing underneath it and having it fall on her.

cypher · 07-14-2020, 09:50 PM

If she’ eating well she may just have lost some weight due to her age, they do tend to lose weight when they get older, she is quite small though so I’d keep up with the supplementary foods.
Evening primrose oil is perfectly safe for hams, all mine have been having it for years now.
The platform for the sand bath should be fine if she can get up easily, as they get old you just have to keep more of an eye on them to see if they do struggle with anything & just change things if need be.