Hamster bleeding from nose.

Mollie and Sassy · 02-28-2016, 04:13 AM

My little sassy has just had her weekly health check by me and she has a little blood coming from her nose. it has dried up but i'm curious. She is eating normally and drinking well and is very active. nothing else seems to be wrong except from the bloody nose.Help?

souffle · 02-28-2016, 04:19 AM

Could she have rubbed it? Bar chewing? Can you hear any wheezing or sniffles or clciky breathing? She shouldn't have a blood stained nose so it needs careful watching and seeing a vet if it happens again as it could be a chest infection.

Mollie and Sassy · 02-28-2016, 04:21 AM

Im also going to add to this that one of my dwarfs (munchkin) keeps on biting me for no reason. she has just bitten me and made me bleed AGAIN. I only change her food and she will run up to me and bite me. Why is this? Do you think she has something wrong with her? Help! This is the worst one she has done yet and she did it about 10 minutes ago and my finger is still throbbing, its like she's doing it for the sake of it.

Mollie and Sassy · 02-28-2016, 04:23 AM

She does bar chew literally all the time, she doesnt stop and she does do clicky breathing when i check her over with scruffing.

herbi7 · 02-28-2016, 04:32 AM

Hmm, doesn't sound ideal, I agree with souffle she needs careful watching and perhaps a call to the vet for advice if not a visit. It's not good she chew the bars all the time, the vibration and stress may have just given her a nose-bleed or she could be poorly. What cage is she in? You might need to make some changes there so she becomes happier

Mollie and Sassy · 02-28-2016, 05:01 AM

she is in a 80x50x50 cage from savic, going to get the ikea detolf soon but worried she will get stressed out not being able to chew the bars and it seems that is all she does

souffle · 02-28-2016, 05:02 AM

It sounds as if she is damaging her nose. I think you need to consider a new cage either a bin or a tank type cage where she can't reach the bars like that.
Would that be possible? I'd say she has cage aggression. Don't use your hands in the cage as she sees them as a thread on her territory. Use a tube or ball or tub to scoop her out then take her away from the cage for handling. Start by maybe sitting in the bath tub and letting her come out and walk on you. Gently stroke her back at first. Don't lift then back in the tube and in the cage via that.
Use a little scoop or cup to put her food in the cage so she can't bite you.
If she can't be moved try and stop her getting to the bars to chew at them by blocking them off with toys or weaving card in to them

Mollie and Sassy · 02-28-2016, 06:06 AM

she is in a 80x50x50 cage from savic, going to get the ikea detolf soon but worried she will get stressed out not being able to chew the bars and it seems that is all she does

Mollie and Sassy · 02-28-2016, 06:09 AM

Its not sassy that bites me, she is very sweet and wouldnt dream of biting me, its munchkin who the little devil is. I only have to change her food and most of the time i would put a glove on but sometimes i forget and every time i put my hands in there she would chase my hands and if she catches them, she will gnaw and make me bleed.

racinghamster · 03-01-2016, 02:10 AM

I wouldn`t worry about her stressing about not being able to chew the bars. It`s more important to prevent this harming her teeth, so yes, the Detolf or a tank-style Perspex cage is the answer. As for being bitten, this sounds like cage territorial behaviour. If she`s intent on attacking anything coming into `her space` this wont really be solved, but managed. Meaning, don`t let her run up and bite! Dodging this should be easy enough if you change the food/water when she`s not close by or you can get in and out before she can pounce!

Spot clean only as well to prevent the cage smelling too fresh by doing full cleans too often. It`s not necessary and helps to reduce that anger and stress on the hamster. They like their own scent. x