Syrian hamster bleeding

Tara Moss · 10-24-2020, 07:15 PM

Our little Valka has been doing pretty well, and we've had her about a month. Taming is going well. We usually transfer her in a cup for bathroom bonding, and when I did that just now there was blood in the cup.

I went and checked out her enclosure carefully and there is a bit of blood on the bedding of one of the corners as well. This is new as of the past twenty-four hours or less as we had bathtub bonding with her this morning (no blood, all normal) and cleaned her enclosure yesterday and found no blood or anything like that. It is a Saturday night here so we aren't sure what to do. She seems otherwise like her normal self, but obviously we are concerned! We haven't taken her to a vet before as we've only had her one month.

cypher · 10-25-2020, 02:24 AM

Have you managed to find where the blood is coming from, as well as possible more serious things like an infection, most likely a UTI if the blood is where she pees, it’s possible she scratched or cut herself on something, check the cage for any rough edges on anything, anything with nails or tacks in & any entrance holes that may be a bit small.
If she seems well enough in herself & it isn’t an emergency & you can’t find where the blood is coming from & you find more I would contact Monday morning & get them to check her over.

Tara Moss · 10-25-2020, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

Have you managed to find where the blood is coming from, as well as possible more serious things like an infection, most likely a UTI if the blood is where she pees, it’s possible she scratched or cut herself on something, check the cage for any rough edges on anything, anything with nails or tacks in & any entrance holes that may be a bit small.
If she seems well enough in herself & it isn’t an emergency & you can’t find where the blood is coming from & you find more I would contact Monday morning & get them to check her over.

Thank you so much. We've never seen something like this before. This morning there was no blood. We observed her running around on a light towel, and also tissues and no blood transferred over, so I suspect it is in the urine, but I can't be 100% sure. She acting 'normal' for her, eating and active. We haven't held her still to investigate as she is so new to us, and we are total newbies.

Tara Moss · 10-25-2020, 12:20 PM

I have tried several vets today who treat hamsters and most are not open, or not available. I will try again tomorrow and hope we can get her looked at ASAP. My guess is a UTI, but I really can't be sure. If so, would that be from unclean bedding, or another cause?

Thank you so much for helping.

LunaTheHamster1 · 10-25-2020, 01:20 PM

I think it just happens, not necessarily something that you have done. Goodluck with finding a vet tomorrow.

Tara Moss · 10-25-2020, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1

I think it just happens, not necessarily something that you have done. Goodluck with finding a vet tomorrow.

Thank you.

Pebbles82 · 10-25-2020, 04:48 PM

I would still have a good check in her cage- and a look at her toenails and teeth and check her to see if there are any little cuts anywhere. Also the bottom of her feet. And her wheel. Which wheel does she have ? Some hamsters have bled from splinters in a wood wheel or other toy. Or a toenail that has got caught and bled. From what you describe it sounds like fresh blood and I would have thought with a Uti it would be diluted with urine and less like fresh blood.

There can often be an item in the cage - although you say you’ve checked that. Some chewed wood that is splintery - some houses are made with nails that can injure if the wood is chewed. Some toys have chains and a foot can get caught. Some ladders have a little gap between the ladder and shelf where a toe can get caught. That kind of thing.

If it was just that once and gone away it does sound like a possible minor injury. If she has a Uti then I would think the substrate would keep getting stained where she pees.

Tara Moss · 10-25-2020, 08:37 PM

Update: There is no blood today at all, which is surprising, so I am changing my view on the idea that it must be in her urine. It might be a minor injury, and we have checked carefully and MAYBE found the culprit!

A wooden bridge has one hook that is askew and I think I may even see the blood there, faintly.

Tara Moss · 10-25-2020, 09:05 PM

It's like trying to be a detective!

cypher · 10-25-2020, 11:09 PM

It’s quite possible she could have caught herself on tha.
If it was a UTI I do think you would be seeing more blood & she would probably be showing some signs of being unwell.