Sleepy and cold hamster

[hanvyj]

Hi

We have had a dwarf hamster in the past, and when she was about 2 years old she started having seasures and eventually died.

We then got a pair of sisters, they have been really healthy and then suddenly one of them was very ill, acting in the same way as our old one did after her seasures, very lethargic - problems moving her back legs and closed eyes.

We fed her some watered down lukewarm milk but sadly she died that night.


Now her sister, about 2 weeks later has started acting the same way! She is VERY cold, and keeps falling asleep.

I thought seasures were common in hamsters, but I cant believe that both have had the same thing within 2 weeks! We haven't changed their food or anything - the only thing we can think of is if they are too cold or something?

Thanks for any help

[flix]

This sounds exactly like what my Charlie died of on Monday evening. I only noticed somethig wrong with him on the afternoon and 7 hours later he had died. I thought it was pneumonia from looking the symptoms up on the internet, but what you describe sounds exactly the same as what he had. I've no idea what caused it though.

[linford27]

I don't know if its a seizure and I'm no vet, but it could be hibernation?
When a hamster gets too cold its hibernates, however this is fatal, so your hamster really needs to be warmed up. Wrap her in a towel, sit somewhere warm with her and gently rub her to warm her up. Also, make sure you keep your hamsters houses warm all the time, extra bedding can help.

[souffle]

It is common for two cagemates to pass over close together. The stress of the missing mate can cause a stroke or sometimes it is just programmed into their genes that this is their lifespan. As the body systems close down the hamster cannot regulate their temperature and lack of oxygen to the brain causes seizures. They are not aware at this point so not in pain. If they keep on like this you need they need seen by a vet. I doubt it is cold as they would normally just go into a deep sleep with cold.
Hibernation is not always fatal. It depends on the circumstances and the way of waking the animal. It must be very slow using your body heat only. They can quiver and jerk as they come round by should be OK in around 30mins if a bt shakey.

[hanvyj]

Originally Posted by linford27

I don't know if its a seizure and I'm no vet, but it could be hibernation?
When a hamster gets too cold its hibernates, however this is fatal, so your hamster really needs to be warmed up. Wrap her in a towel, sit somewhere warm with her and gently rub her to warm her up. Also, make sure you keep your hamsters houses warm all the time, extra bedding can help.

We thought this might be the case, we had given her some extra bedding a few days ago.

We've been warming her up with a hot water bottle holding her and she seems to be getting a bit more active - not sure if its just treating the symptoms though.

We will keep the heater on from now on to try keep the room warmer.

After looking on the internet though, I found that dwarf hamsters can't hibernate (from this source):

[link denied, it was ehow "do-pet-hamsters-hibernate"]


Thanks for the replies!