Upper respiratory infection?

[Nesquik]

Hello guys! Hope you are staying safe!

I am having a bit of a situation with my hamster and I wonder if anyone can relate.

2 days ago he was acting fine..running in his wheel and doing hamster stuff. I picked him up and I've noticed a strange noise coming from his nose. It sounded like a runny nose and a bit like a click...now I know this could be a symptom for an infection so I started monitor him

Last night he didn't went out to play in his wheel and did not touch his food. He only came out to drink. I've intentionally bought some new banana treats and a bag of his food mix to see if he will eat. Unfortunately the bowl was still full of food as he usually stuffs his cheeks and then bring it into his nest.

This morning I picked him up and he was still doing the noise and noticed a bit of crust at one eye. Called the vet and booked an appointment for today at 5.

Does anyone have had this situation before? If yes is it deadly for hamsters? Can they recover with medication?

He is a 11 month old male Syrian hamster..He will turn 1 in October. I mention this as I don't think he is that old for his age and I expect that at this age hamsters are still active.

Thank you in advance for your responses and I will post an update after the vet appointment.

[cypher]

Respiratory infections aren’t uncommon so it could be that, if his eye is involved too make sure the vet checks his teeth, eye & nose symptoms can be a sign of teeth problems especially as he doesn’t seem to be eating too although that could be just because he feels unwell, otherwise the vet will most likely prescribe some antibiotics for a respiratory infection & he should be fine.
If you haven’t given meds before they will usually take them mixed with a tiny bit of hamster safe baby food, just a little so you can be sure it gets eaten.
Hope it goes well at the vets & it’s nothing too serious.

[Nesquik]

Thank you cypher for your message!

Update from the vet. When I spoke with them they told me they will charge 35£ for consultation and now they called back saying they take an extra 55£ charge for weekend so I had to reschedule for Monday afternoon Other vets are closed now apart for emergencies and I've called and they quoted me 110£. I simply can't afford this money

Checked the hamster and he is doing ok I guess. Still a crusty eye but the noise is not persisting apparently. I jut wanted to act as soon as possible just to make sure he is alright.

I find it ridiculously expensive as I've heard other vets charge less than that. I live in Coventry and don't really know other vets apart from the one at Pets at Home.

Any suggestions are more than welcomed! Thank you.

[cypher]

Vets aren’t cheap at the best of times & a weekend visit is always going to cost quite a bit more, there isn’t much more you can do for him until you see the vet hopefully he’ll be ok until Monday.
I don’t know how P@H vets compare on price but it might be worth seeing what you can find over the weekend to see if there any others, check they have experience with hams though as some vets know very little about them.

[Nesquik]

I've made research and I found a clinic where they take small animals like small rodents, guinea pigs, rabbits, etc and I decided to take him there but they open on Monday.

I removed any cork logs and sand I could find and did a spot clean, gave him some carrot and salad. He stuffed his cheeks right away so I take it as a good sign. ...will still keep an eye on him