Eyes closed while awake and pee everywhere...

Ann333 · 02-25-2016, 06:24 PM

It seems like Chopstick is always walking around with her eyes closed. Is this normal? Also, she drinks ALOT and pees ALOT. Her bedding is sopping wet everyday. I thought my brand new glass water bottle might be leaking, so i swapped it with a bowl but I dont think she is spilling the bowl. And even then, the wet spots are on the other side of the cage as the water...... Is this normal? Am I just a paranoid new mom?

cypher · 02-25-2016, 08:54 PM

Walking around with her eyes closed isn't normal no, if a Russian ham starts to drink & pee excessively it's worth checking her urine for signs of diabetes, you can buy test sticks to do this yourself but it's also possible she could have a UTI so it may be best to get her checked by your vet.

Ann333 · 02-25-2016, 10:12 PM

Okay I'm off for the next three days I'll keep a close eye on her and get some of those strips.

Baby Grrr · 02-26-2016, 05:00 AM

Is thee crustiness around the eyes or does it look wet around them. By the way do not use a bowl! use a bottle. its better.

Ann333 · 02-26-2016, 08:53 AM

There is no discharge from her eyes at all. They are clear and bright when she does open them. I like the bowl better because it seems like it's easier for her to use and it is easier to clean and it makes me check it everyday. The bottle is easier to forget about. Also, the reason I switched to the bowl was because I wanted to test if it was the bottle leaking or if she was really peeing that much. I had a reason.

**Cinnamon Bear** · 02-26-2016, 11:00 AM

Those glass bottles sometimes don't work good. They don't give out any water. I had to return one and heard of this problem from other people.

Nancy's Hamsters · 02-26-2016, 11:24 AM

Easy way to solve the Water issue AND find out if it is leaking. Place BOTH in her cage. Place the half filled bowl directly underneath the Bottle sipper. If bottle remains full and bowl empties then you know the bottle is at the least not leaking. If the bowl fills up you will then know(without the cage getting soaked) that the bottle is the cause of the soaked cage. If the bowl remains half full and the bottle becomes empty it will just show you Chopstick prefers her water from a bottle

I would place my best bet on her being diabetic though

Based on your explanation of her getting her name. Most diabetic Dwarfs are highly aggressive to anything about them especially humans and other hamsters. They are in pain and stress, If you know of any human friends or family who are Diabetic you will find when the blood sugar is off balance they become VERY agitated and become angry(some to a rage) until hospitalized and get harsh medical treatment to stabilize their sugar glucose levels. I know of and 81 year old lady who when stable with her sugar counts is as sweet and docile as a newborn lamb. When she felt it was not worth living she let her sugar levels go out of control and actually assaulted a Police Officer when he and his partner came to check on her as she had threatened to kill herself.

Now back from the Hospital and in nursing care she is back to her calm and sweet docile self. Problem with Dwarf Hamsters is there is no insulin you can give them and no medication as to use such needs a blood sugar test daily to determine how much is enough and how much is too much.

You can place her on a strict no sugar diet but then you risk her nutritional levels being off and causing her to be worse then she is now. Wish I had happier words for you.

flowerfairy · 02-26-2016, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baby Grrr

Is thee crustiness around the eyes or does it look wet around them. By the way do not use a bowl! use a bottle. its better.

A matter of opinion surely? I use bowls for all my hamsters.

Ann333 · 02-26-2016, 12:20 PM

I've had issues with water bottles as well. So I did research before getting this one and it is supposed to be the best. It had great reviews. I am sure at this point that it is not a leaky bottle or a spilled bowl.

I have not tested her yet but I think that's what it is. My mom had her for 2 months and I have had her for 2 weeks. I went to get her a different food but there are not many options. If she is in pain should I modify her cage to make everything easier for her?? And the fact that she walks around with her eyes closed... What do I do? Poor thing I didn't know.... I have her current cage set up in a way that probably makes her hurt worse. Would a small 10 gallon with the basics be better? No levels that she has to climb?

Pebbles82 · 02-27-2016, 02:32 AM

Water bottles are a total pain! But if you can find one that doesn't drip too much and lets enough water out I believe they are the safest option. With a bowl the water can get contaminated too easily (so it shouldn't be on the substrate but on a shelf) and hamsters can also fall in them and get wet and get sick. So it's not a total no-no if you know what you're doing, but a bottle is much much safer - two bottles ideally in case one stops working or empties itself. I've seen people in the US say these are the best ones for working well and not leaking and they seem very popular with lots of excellent reviews

Amazon.com : Kordon/Oasis (Novalek) SOA80304 Bell Bottle and Hold Guard Small Animal Value Set, 4-Ounce, variety colors : Pet Water Bottles : Pet Supplies

I tried a glass bottle once - I like the idea, but they are so heavy and ours kept falling over

Which really upset our hamster each time and was a bit dangerous if it happened while he was drinking from it as the spout would twist round. Obviously I hadn't found a way to fix it securely enough!

If the cage is getting wet at a different part of the cage to the bottle, then it's probably wee. As the others say, she could have diabetes, so no sugar at all (a hamster mix shouldn't have any dried fruit in as that is also high in sugar). The best treats would be fresh food like a bit of cheese or nuts or sugar-free hamster treat biscuits or something, or seeds, like a pumpkin seed or sunflower seed.

If her eyes are closed it does sound like she is really not well or they are gummed up, even if you can't see any crustiness.

Be gentle with her - it must be so stressful for her if she's not well and can't see.

How much depth of substrate do you have? It will make it easier for you and her if you have it as deep as you possibly can, so you can spot clean the wet areas without removing all of her scent, and so you don't need to clean the cage base each time.

I seem to remember you haven't had her long - you were posting about taming I think. Where did you get her from? I think Pets at Home in the Uk have a vet service which people can use if the hamster has recently been bought (ie they may have already been sick when bought). If not, then she would need to see a vet. But as you say, observe her over the next 2 or 3 days. Make sure she has lots of torn up white toilet paper for nesting material (not kitchen roll), and maybe try not to handle her for a few days to give her chance to relax a bit (or poke her with a chopstick either!). You can talk to her gently through the bars though as your voice will get more and more familiar and be reassuring for her. Also you could do the tissue trick with the toilet paper - put the sheets of toilet paper up your sleeve for a few hours, then tear them into strips and put them in the cage in a bit pile somewhere so she can pouch them and take them to her nest, and she will get familiar with your scent.