senile hamsters

[rhona]

can hamsters become senile in their old age?

Fudge is doing increasingly strange things like if he has 2 bowls in his cage he takes food out one bowl and puts it in the other! and if you have him out he walks straight off the bed but he definetly has his eyesight because he responds to you if you wave something infront of him even if it's not touching him.

He has became very quirky in his old age

[Minicooper]

how old is he?

[rhona]

he's between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 but as he's a rescue I am not sure of his age except he is old!

I have had always had hamsters and none have done what he does

[Minicooper]

Originally Posted by rhona

Fudge is doing increasingly strange things like if he has 2 bowls in his cage he takes food out one bowl and puts it is the other! and if you have him out he walks straight off the bed but he definetly has his eyesight because responds to you if you wave something infront of him even if it's not touching him.

Has he got blue spots in the middle of this eyes because the blue spot in the middle of this eyes could be a cataract condition i.e. the lens of the eyeball turning cloudy due to old age. If it isn't this, it is probably just a symptom of old age Rhona but get him checked out any way.

[rhona]

like I already said he is not blind! there is nothing physically wrong with him

[Minicooper]

I would still take him to the vet

[rhona]

You obviously are not reading this right! physically he is fine! he has been doing it for around six months and has been to a vet and told he is fine! so it must be a mental thing!!

Just to add I started this thread to see if any experienced hammy parents had similar experiences with their old ones

[SnuggleHam]

minicooper, rhona, did not ask if there was anything physically wrong with her hamster. Her hammy does not need to see a vet. When hamsters get older their bodies and minds naturally change and it is perfectly normal. Obviously you misunderstood the question and we know you are just trying to help. But as far as the issue goes I ask that you please drop this subject and focus on the /real/ question at hand.

Thank you

Rhona, I bet that all living creatures can go a little senile in their old age. At least I know dogs and cats can I wonder to what extent a hammy could go senile that you would notice.. hamsters are silly creatures at times to begin with.

My hamster Gwen seems to take food from her food bowl and then store back in there. It makes no sense to me but she’s certainly not an old hamster yet! Well at least it's not destructive behavior! Quite cute actually. There is a good article about aging hams on HC... have you read it?

[Minicooper]

sorry Rhona

maybe try reading this article - hope it says something to help

http://www.hamstercentral.com/user.p...ewArticle&a=20

[rhona]

that's ok!

thank you for the link I looked for it 3 times and missed it I'm definitely having one of those days!

thank you for replying snuggleham, I wasn't particularly worried about him but he does seem to be getting stranger and stranger in his old age