Help for my Joey

[hamstermimmy]

Hello,

My name is Tiff, and I would appreciate any advice for my long-haired Syrian hamster named Joey who is sick. We adopted Joey about four and a half months ago, though it is unclear whether Joey is male or female, with an unknown age, but were told Joey was young upon adoption .Joey has always been a healthy, intelligent, upbeat, and very hyper-active hamster up until a few days ago when we noticed her activity level suddenly slowing down. Joey took a drastic turn for the worse yesterday when she would no longer eat, drink water, and was laying outside of her house-hut, which Joey had never done in the past. Joey typically never likes being held, but since yesterday we have been able to hold her, lift her, and check on her without too much movement or protest. We tried feeding Joey tofu and oatmeal in a tiny dish since she has not been eating her regular pellets, but she did not eat any of the food. Joey is no longer going to drink water from her bottle either, so we had to use a syringe today to try to help Joey drink, but she only took a few drops.

Last night Joey slept in her ceramic sand-bath container instead of her usual hut-house, which she has never done before, and was feeling cold upon being lifted. During the day today Joey was dragging herselfand almost limping across the bedding when moving from the sand-bath container, to a different hideout, and we had to assist her in getting back inside her original hideout house. For a while while napping today Joey was laying downwards limp instead of her usual curled sleeping-position, and she moves very minimally throughout the day today. In a period of 18 hours, Joey has only moved across the habitat (a converted 20 gallon aquarium) three times. Last night Joey was not very responsive at all, but today she is slightly more coherent and turns her head a tiny bit if you call her name several times

Joey’s ears are typically perked up but are now laying flat on her head, and her fur has an unusual scruffy messy appearance. Joey is still passing some stool, but her droppings are smaller in size and less frequent in quantity. There are no white spots or worms present in the stool thankfully, but we will continue observing. Joey’s tail is not wet, and there are no lumps on her body or abscesses present on the skin.

We are very concerned for our Joey, this is very unlike her happy hyper self, and would appreciate advice and assistance what we can do. Thank you in advance.

[Ria P]

So sorry to hear about Joey. If Joey were an elderly hamster of let's say two years old, i would say that she is nearing the end of her life and to make her as comfortable as possible then let nature take its course but you were told that she is a young hamster. Joey seems to be very ill and the only course of action is to take her to the vet, an exotics vet ideally. I don't want to speculate on what's wrong because it could be a number of things like a stroke for example.

[hamstermimmy]

Thank you for your reply. The only puzzling piece is that they had told us Joey was a young hamster when we adopted her, and I have indeed seen growth within the 4 & a half months I’ve had her, so I am not quite sure that she is considered elderly yet if she had still been growing a few months ago. I’m so concerned for my Joey.

I wish so dearly that we could take her to a vet, we called all the vet offices in our city and our surrounding local areas but they sadly said that they do not work with hamsters. Is this a common thing, that veterinarian offices don’t always take hamsters?

[Ria P]

If Joey has been growing while you've had her then she must be a young hamster. I don't know which country you live in but it is an exotics vet you need. They usually deal with birds, reptiles and small mammals like hamsters. Maybe you could google where the nearest one is or maybe contact a pet shop or breeder to find out where they get their sick animals treated. It must be so distressing for you not to be able to find medical help for Joey and i wished i could be helpful.

[hamstermimmy]

Thank you for your kindness and feedback. I will most definitely look into the exotic speciality veterinarians as you recommended, I appreciate that tip. It has indeed been so distressing and worry some watching my Joey struggling so much, but I’ll do everything I can. Thank you again.

Originally Posted by Ria P

If Joey has been growing while you've had her then she must be a young hamster. I don't know which country you live in but it is an exotics vet you need. They usually deal with birds, reptiles and small mammals like hamsters. Maybe you could google where the nearest one is or maybe contact a pet shop or breeder to find out where they get their sick animals treated. It must be so distressing for you not to be able to find medical help for Joey and i wished i could be helpful.