HELP!! My hamster is sick

[3kidsmom357]

I got my hamster Patches in Febuary. She has always been super sweet and lovable. She is pretty tame and lets us hold her. Today I went to check on her and noticed that she was balled up sleeping beside her adored igloo. I opened her cage and moved her and she started walking around the cage but was stumbling. She fell over quite a few times before she settled down again in the middle of the cage. She is breathing pretty hard because I have never been able to see her breathe before. Yesterday when my girls asked to hold her she nipped at me. Not a hard bite or a complete one. But enough for me to know she wasn't happy being held. She hasn't eaten today and the carrot piece the kids gave her yesterday went untouched. She also hasn't played on her wheel last night either. I can't get her into the vet until tomorrow and I'm afraid she is going to pass away before that. Help!!

[souffle]

She needs to see a vet as soon as possible. It is very hard to tell what is wrong with her as those symptoms are pretty much what any sick hamster will display.
Whats sort of bedding does she have? If it is the fluffy stuff it could be a bowel blockage which is very serious indeed.
Has she been weeing and pooping at all?
Is she clean underneath or does she have any mess or any discharge from her vents? There may be a womb infection or perhaps diahorroea.
As it has been very hot she could have heat stroke or be dehydrated. Check the water bottle is working but if not start syringing fluids in to her slowly. She may need a vet to administer fluids by injection. Sometimes the bottle looks full when the ball is actually jammed and the hamster gets no water.
I hope she can be seen soon.xx

[HollyHamster]

Hmm. Sounds like maybe she had a stroke, though I could be wrong. Sometimes hamsters get strokes and in turn, their mobility becomes impaired, as in they wobble around and they don't feel like doing much. I would try and feed her some food that is irritable to her, like a piece of bread smeared with a little bit of peanut butter. If you need to, and have a small feeding syringe around, syringe feed her something like a tiny bit of baby food (the kind without garlic, onions or spices in it). I would make sure she is at least drinking normally too.

I hope she feels better soon.

[3kidsmom357]

Originally Posted by souffle

She needs to see a vet as soon as possible. It is very hard to tell what is wrong with her as those symptoms are pretty much what any sick hamster will display.
Whats sort of bedding does she have? If it is the fluffy stuff it could be a bowel blockage which is very serious indeed.
Has she been weeing and pooping at all?
Is she clean underneath or does she have any mess or any discharge from her vents? There may be a womb infection or perhaps diahorroea.
As it has been very hot she could have heat stroke or be dehydrated. Check the water bottle is working but if not start syringing fluids in to her slowly. She may need a vet to administer fluids by injection. Sometimes the bottle looks full when the ball is actually jammed and the hamster gets no water.
I hope she can be seen soon.xx

She has critter care natural bedding. The same kind the pet stores use. I change her bedding every week. Last change was on Saturday. Her water bottle isn't clogged. I squeezed it and checked to make sure the ball wasn't stuck. Water flows out with no problem. She is kept inside at all times with the temp at 72 degrees. While it is very hot outside the house stays quite cool. I am waiting for the vet to call me back to see what can be done right now, but pay day isn't until Friday. I'm honestly not sure if she will make it much longer. I checked her underparts and she wasn't "wet" but had a little bit of moisture. She hasn't been like this for long. Just a little while. I'm going to start feeding with baby food. Hopefully she makes it.

[3kidsmom357]

Originally Posted by HollyHamster

Hmm. Sounds like maybe she had a stroke, though I could be wrong. Sometimes hamsters get strokes and in turn, their mobility becomes impaired, as in they wobble around and they don't feel like doing much. I would try and feed her some food that is irritable to her, like a piece of bread smeared with a little bit of peanut butter. If you need to, and have a small feeding syringe around, syringe feed her something like a tiny bit of baby food (the kind without garlic, onions or spices in it). I would make sure she is at least drinking normally too.

I hope she feels better soon.

She really isn't doing much. She won't go into her igloo which is a fave. She also balls up to sleep and tucks her head down. Not like a round ball. She is usually so busy and into everything. Yesterday I put her in the ball to roll around and she just stayed put. I am going to figure out how to put an image i just took of her. I took the igloo out of the cage to take this. I put it right back in when I got done but she didn't go into it. I am watching her closely now and waiting for the vet to call me back.

[3kidsmom357]

This is what she is doing today

[souffle]

She obviously doesn't feel well 3KM as she is sleeping out in the open like that Does she feel cool when you touch her? I really don't know what could be wrong and only a vet could examine and try and work it out. Lets hope she can be seen today and something sorted out for her poor little love. She is very beautiful - a blacl tortoiseshell and white hamster.
Sending healing vibes. You can only do what you can do 3KM and sometimes there is something wrong inside that cannot be fixed and we never know what that little something was especially in a young hamster like her. It could be a weakness that has given out as she has grown like a heart valve disease - we often never know.

[racinghamster]

Hi. Just wanted to say that she will need rest and quiet as well if she`s out of sorts. Sometimes a change in the weather can provoke this and if she`s sleeping in the open, she may feel too warm inside an enclosed igloo or house. Although my male Syrian (RIP) only ever slept in his tissue box and not his actual bed when he started to show signs that he wasn`t quite right in himself, so she may well be feeling something, poor girl. I hope she picks up for you. x

[Gizmoandfriends]

Hope she gets better x