Male hamster making a squeaking type sound

[Lee Van Cleef]

Hi,

Over the last four or five days Rusty has started squeaking a lot of the time, while he's awake. He has generally been a quiet little man up until recently, but it seems like almost every time he leaves his house now he's making the noises you can hear in the video linked below. Sometimes I can hear him puffing, almost like he's squeaking without the noise. I'm starting to get concerned about him now, he's had some health problems with his teeth growing long, and his eye keeps getting messy. He's had a few trips to the vets where he has been put under to trim his teeth back.

Any idea what he's saying, he sounds distressed to me, and the persistence is concerning.

Rusty - YouTube

[DrKMcK]

Wow, he is loud. I've never had one of my dwarf hammy's do that. I've had a Syrian do it, but he was quite old when he started "talking to himself". Do you have any other hammys? Possibly a female who might be in heat? If not, I'd call the vet and ask about it. Hopefully some of the folks here might also be familar with this chirping.

[LoveMyHams]

I had a hybrid that used to talk like that. She wasn't as loud though, you had to have your ear next to her to hear. As long as hammy is happy and healthy he's probably just making noise.

[linford27]

If there is a female ham nearby they will sometimes do this, and the female might reply. But I wouldn't worry, he's probably just talking!

[lucyeleanor]

It sounds like he's talking to you My hybrid Daisy has always done this. My Russian lady (boy) has recently started doing this too. She never used to for a long time. She sounds sort of like a squeaky helicopter. I wouldn't worry unless they are doing it all the time, asleep, nonstop, which could suggest some kind of respiratory problem. If it's on and off, then it's probably nothing to worry about

[Lee Van Cleef]

Nope. Rusty is the only Hamster in the house.

He's sill making the noise, most of the time while he is out of his house. He's in his food bowl at the moment, chewing down on some crunchy treats and squeaking all the while.

And now he's run off to his house and I can still hear him...

[Lee Van Cleef]

Just an update. This morning when I woke up I heard him making the same noises, and he's being very reclusive. He was sitting in the corner where he goes to the toilet and making a weird gnawing/grinding sound with some puffing. Then a bit later when I checked on him he was sat in another corner with his eyes half-closed and looking a bit dazed. He just sat there and didn't move even when I stroked his back.

Now when I put my hand in the cage to try and coax him out he won't leave his house which is not like him at all. Gonna make a vet appointment for today if I can.

[Lee Van Cleef]

Vet appointment booked for today... Really worried about him now...

[Nush]

It's a good thing that you booked the vet appointment. Sometimes squeaking can be a sign of chest infection although not always. If it is, the vet will give him Baytril and it should clear.

[Lee Van Cleef]

Yeah, got given Baytril, and some meloxidyl... now just got to convince Rusty it's in his best interest to drink it.