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Old 10-07-2020, 04:28 PM   #1
mikityp
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Default Unwell Russian Dwarf Hamster?

Hello everybody. I'm just wondering if you can help me as I am not too familiar with owning hamsters. We recently purchased two Russian Dwarf Hamsters. As they fought a bit when they got home, we separated them into two separate cages quickly. Since then the more passive one has really perked up and she loves doing circuits of her cage, leaping on the wheel and going round again! However, the more aggressive one seems to have gone downhill. It's just gone midnight and she has barely woken up. The last time was about 30 mins ago and she just flung round some bedding ate something small and went back to bed. A couple of days ago, I noticed that she was really going for the water bottles, so I wondered if she was dehydrated. So I tried dropping some water in her mouth using a little dropper. After a couple of drops, she wasn't interested. I have also made sure that both of her water bottles are working OK. She does appear to be eating, but not as much as the other one. I also think she is a bit more aggressive to us lately although it's so tricky to tell as we aren't getting much time to interact with her as she is barely awake when we are. I can't find any signs of diarrhoea, although I don't think she is gaining weight particularly. So what I want to know is do you think she's ill? If so is it worth taking her to the vet? I'm mainly asking the second question as I'm wondering what they could actually do to help her? Thanks!
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Old 10-07-2020, 09:46 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Unwell Russian Dwarf Hamster?

How long is it since you separated them? It can take some a good couple of weeks or even more to settle & adjust to both a new home & being separated & it is often the more dominant one that takes longer to adjust.
If it hasn’t been that long yet & he does appear to be eating & drinking ok then I wouldn’t worry too much, just give him time, keep talking to him gently even if he doesn’t come out so he can get used to you being around.
Keep cleaning to a minimum, spot clean pee as & when you need to but otherwise don’t do anything for at least a month then just so partial cleans if needed & don’t change anything in the cage & he should settle in & gain confidence soon.
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Old 10-08-2020, 10:42 AM   #3
mikityp
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Default Re: Unwell Russian Dwarf Hamster?

Thanks for your reply cypher. They have been separated for 13 days, so maybe it is just taking Rosa longer to settle in. Also, a little while ago, she managed to leap off her stack of wooden sticks to grab onto the bars at the top of her cage and hold onto the them for a bit before going down. She hasn't done that for about 10 days, so she can't feel that ill!
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Old 10-08-2020, 11:07 AM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Unwell Russian Dwarf Hamster?

Agree it is probably needing time to adjust. Which one was left in the old cage? If it was the more passive one, she will be enjoying having the place to herself and the other one will be going through the two week settling in period in a new cage. It would be interesting to know which one was left in the old cage?
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Old 10-08-2020, 04:01 PM   #5
mikityp
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Default Re: Unwell Russian Dwarf Hamster?

Thanks for your message Serendipity7000. They are actually both in the old cage! Owing to the nature of the space we have available in our lounge, we needed a long thin cage. Having looked at various options we went for Ferplast cages connected by a series of tubes. When we realised they weren't getting on, which was only a few hours after they came home, we split the cage network they were in as equally as we could. We've subsequently ordered more cages so they now both have a good amount of space to run around. I'll let you know if Rosa starts to pick up over the next few days or week or so. She is certainly asleep now, when the other hamster, Charlotte, is very definitely awake!
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Old 10-19-2020, 03:28 PM   #6
mikityp
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Default Re: Unwell Russian Dwarf Hamster?

I just thought I'd update you to let you know that Rosa is getting considerably more perky. Thanks for all of your replies. She doesn't go on the wheel as much as Charlotte, but I think she is more of a digger than Charlotte is. The only thing that is slightly odd is that the hair on her back is getting paler in patches. The impression I get is that I only need to worry about this if her fur falls out, which is certainly not the case at the moment.
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Old 10-19-2020, 11:20 PM   #7
Ria P
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Cool Re: Unwell Russian Dwarf Hamster?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mikityp View Post
I just thought I'd update you to let you know that Rosa is getting considerably more perky. Thanks for all of your replies. She doesn't go on the wheel as much as Charlotte, but I think she is more of a digger than Charlotte is. The only thing that is slightly odd is that the hair on her back is getting paler in patches. The impression I get is that I only need to worry about this if her fur falls out, which is certainly not the case at the moment.
Don't worry about change of fur colour. My russian dwarf girl started off as a dark grey almost black hamster and is now a patchwork of light greys. Quite fascinating to watch.
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