Treating a chinese hamsters cold naturally?

[racinghamster]

I got thinking hard today about chinese hamsters who take colds and how best to treat them without the need for antibiotics? I know Baytril is sometimes needed, but given that the cold is a virus and not a bacterial infection, antibiotics would be useless, so unless we actually think our chinese has a bacterial respiratory illness, I would suspect a cold if the symptoms are as follows:

Wet/runny nose
Sneezing/wheezing/grunting
Nasal congestion
hamster seems lethargic and dosn`t want to eat much
Innactive

My little female Prinny has had these symptoms over the past few days but seems better in herself today having fed her some soft, warm food and kept the room very warm overnight.

I`ve read some sites today saying to feed milk and water with honey, but given that honey is naturally sweet, would giving honey on one or two occassions be detrimental? I wouldn`t have though so, but thought I would ask just incase.

Yesterday, I fed Prinny warm watered down semi-skimmed milk with soaked jumbo oats and organic puffed rice warmed and she loved it. :) I felt by doing this, it would help her to keep eating and hydrated. She never really lost her appetite anyway, but because she was exhibiting cold symptoms, she enjoyed the change.

So if anyone has anything to add to this, it would be good to compile a `safe` cold remedy food list and course of action we can take quickly if our chinese hamster does take a cold or a downturn. Prinny is better today but she does tend to be prone to these bouts of cold from time to time, so I have to keep a close eye on her.

[Demecat]

I wouldn't give milk, hamsters can be lactose intolerant and milk can latch onto the mucus, making it worse.

I'd keep her warm and feed her porridge and boiled egg. I've heard of people using a child's menthol rub... a tiny bit near the cage so the hamster breathes in the vapours.

The reason why they give antibiotics is because in hamsters, colds often develop into pneumonia, which requires antibiotics to clear it up. So they are given in the hope of preventing the pneumonia.

[Gamina]

In keeping rats and being a member of the NFRS I have purchased their handbook on rat health. Its a very informative book and helpful in giving lists of safe medicines for rats and the correct dosages (for example calpol 6+ as pain relief).

One of my rats suffers nasal congestion and recurrent bouts of bacterial sinusitis (I suffer from this too!!) and to ease his congestion I use olbas oil or vicks vaour rub. Its put in his cage in a jam jar weighed down with stones so he can't tip it with holes pierced in the lid to let the vapours out. I know he is a rat but it may be an option here as it really calms his nose down. And so as not to worry anyone he has been to a vet about this and my amazing rat vet is happy to think about alternative medicines in treating an animal if it is giving a positive effect :)

[racinghamster]

I read about the lactose intollerance once a hamster reaches adulthood because their bodies can`t tolerate it anymore, which is why I watered mine down yesterday, but the porridge idea is a good one Demecat so thanks for that. :) I would probably make it just using water and simmer some on the cooker until the oats thickened up a little. I could always add a little drop of honey to it aswell if I thought it needed a little taste added, but I know chinese hamsters shouldn`t have added sugar so if I did add honey, it would only be a drop and no more.

Gamina, I used to keep rats so know a lot about the drugs they sometimes need (and it can be a medicine chest I know!) :mad:

Thing is, Prinny (my chinese) has always had up`s and down`s with breathing noises on and off since I`ve had her, from grumbling while she breathes/sleeps, which clears up and then sometimes she will sneeze and have a wet nose having been fine for weeks, so I`m wondering if she`s just going to be prone and more sensitive to weather changes or if she happens to dig more than usual, which can result in symptoms sometimes returning, even though I prepare her aubiose long before it goes near her, so she`s not exposed to any fine dust or other allergens. I mentioned hemp seed above but I know now that it probably had nothing to do with her recent episode. She just had too many cold like symptoms for it to be food related.

She`s been so much better this afternoon. :) In fact, she`s had no effects of yesterdays symptoms at all, which makes me believe that she perhaps feels the changes in this damn cold weather we have during the winter. I keep the central heating on when the temperature goes to zero or below outside, so her cage is not in a cold room either and she always has deep substrate and plenty of bedding....

[KatiePillow]

I heard that fresh thyme is good for respiratory problems, sprigs placed around their bed (although only little bits as too much isn't good for them if they eat it..i think..) and a homemade thyme tea - although you have to be sure to keep them hydrated as it can act as a diuretic (I think sometimes people use it in conjunction with electrolyte solutions)

Vicks can also be used on hamsters I think, but just careful to keep the amount low

[starrylight99]

I agree with Demecat, although viruses won't necessarily be helped by antibiotics, they make the body susceptible to bacterial infections that would. My ham had an allergy to bedding that turned into an upper respiratory infection that took two rounds of Baytril and a round of Doxycycline to get rid of.

In my opinion, alternative medicine can really work wonders, but it often doesn't act fast enough. With little ones like hamsters, time is precious because they are so small and a disease can take them out quickly. And while natural remedies may alleviate the symptoms, they might not do much for the actual cause.

I am not against using alternative or natural treatments for diseases, but I think they should only be used to supplement medical treatment.

[racinghamster]

Thanks to everyone who posted. KP, I did read about using thyme and vicks sparingly but I`m not sure I would use them in all honesty. I wouldn`t trust them not to make things worse unless I knew otherwise.

Prinny my chinese hamster is back to normal I`m pleased to report. I`m convinced that she has a susceptibility to bouts of respiratory issues from time to time but as yet, I`m at a loss as to what actually triggers it off. She can be fine for weeks/months and then she will have a few sneezes or have breathing noises while breathing in and out. This usually passes, but this time around, she took a right downturn and I only saw her like this in the first week I had her and was worried I was going to lose her. :( Thankfully, it seems to be something that just rears it`s head occassionally, but I`ve decided that if she starts to sneeze again in future, I will pop along to my vets and have her chest listened to and get a course of baytril as it may be an underlying thing that needs hitting on the head with antibiotics. Then again, it could be weather changes from humid to severe cold, which can effect them, even though I keep my house warm but not hot, sudden weather changes could cause the room temperature to change, especialy during the night whn temperatures plummet.