Syrian Help!!

keiragascoigne · 02-23-2009, 02:50 AM

Hi, I have a one year old Syrian, that has changed her habits over the last few days - she usually gets up at around 8ish eats, drinks uses the potty and then chews her bars...

These last few days she has been getting up much later, using the toilet, what looks like eating some litter then sprints back to bed... I have coaxed her out of her bed with treats, chicken, broccoli, apple etc... she takes it and I hear her eating but then she won't come out again. She is awake in her bed a i can hear/see her movind

I haven't seen/heard her drink and as on other posts she is itching more than normal and she doesn’t seem to be pooing as much as usual.

I can’t see any aggravation on her skins/lumps etc... Though I will have a proper look tonight...

Is she just hibernating or is this something I should be worried about?

Thanks

(P.s. I haven't changed anything in her cage that should worry her)

souffle · 02-23-2009, 03:33 AM

I would not expect her to be hibernating if she is at normal room temperature.
Can you have a full checkover of her? Particulaly check for any swelling of her tummy or discharge from her vents. Check her teeth and feel her pouches to see if anything is stuck in there. Is her wet corner normal? No blood staining? Any fur loss, red scabs or reddish skin? Are her ears up and alert when she is awake?
She is becoming a more middle aged hammy now and may start to show signs of aging such as sleeping more and baing less active. You could try offering some baby food or porridge to see if she will take that.
If you think something is amiss you should take her for a vet check. If she bar chews she may have a broken tooth. These can get abcesses or cause pain in eating.
I hope she perks up soon.

keiragascoigne · 02-23-2009, 03:44 AM

Thanks souffe - I was hoping you would reply!!

Great help!!!

Keira

Tazmanic · 03-27-2009, 10:04 AM

Be warned this might take me a while to get this down, I was doing my avon on Wednesday night and one of my customers said to me that her daughter has a hamster and is not looking after it at all and that she was worried about her, so me being the silly person that I am I said that I would take her as I have already got Bubble n Squeak...

She wasnt wrong when she said that she was worried that she wasnt being looked after properly it makes me so angry that some mums are like this,

She was in a cage that I wouldnt have put my two Robo's in the wheel was miles too small she couldnt even get in it, I think this must have been the cage that she bought when the hamster was a baby, shes not very small now and shes chewing her bars and crying or squeaking and i really am frightened that when i come in the office in the morning that i am not going to find her alive, i dont know how old she is and she is making this noise does any other hamster do this is this what Syrians are like erm just at my witts end really,

Please help
thanks

souffle · 03-27-2009, 12:47 PM

She shouldn't be crying and making a noise. Have you moved her to a bigger cage or anything? It can take them a few days to settle as cage moves are stressful to hams like house moves are to us. She may have broken a tooth or hurt her tongue chewing. You need to give her a full health check. Is she at home or in your office? She needs to be near you for now so you can observe how she is behaving. Check everything over and if you find anything amiss see a vet. I hope she is just a bit unsettled for now and settles soon.