Whats Wrong With Peanut?

Pinkchi · 10-07-2009, 02:33 AM

I think my russian dwarf campbells, Peanut might have diabetes.

He has always drank alot more than my syrian but the last 24 hours or so there has been a definate increase.
He drinks through a regular hamster bottle in 2 days. He fills his litter tray with wee in a day and his wheel needs cleaning everyday as he wees in it and it goes everywhere, including all over the floor so needs spot cleaning twice a day.

The last day or 2 hes been running in his wheel almost non stop, then he'll run around his cage then jump back in his wheel. I haven't seen him sleep, i'm sure he was in his wheel all night to.

We have always been aware he could get diabetes so have always been careful about what he eats, we never give him treats and always pick the banana bits and sweeds out of his food although he does get them sparingly.

I'm sure he looks a little slimmer than normal to.

So is he diabetic or should I take him to the vets? Although i'm not sure about their experience with small hams....

Should I remove his wheel to limit his exercise? Does he need a more specialised diet?
Both my hams are currently fed on a mix of the burgess supa hamster harvest, the syrian one and the dwarf with a 1/4 of a bag of tesco hamster food mixed in that a friend gave us when her hamster died as she didn't want to throw it away. Peanut also gets given a whole dried mealworm with his food x

Bunsey · 10-07-2009, 05:47 AM

no, you don't need to remove his wheel. I would phone round a few vets first to see if they have a small animal specialised. They all TAKE smll animals, but mostly don't have a clue.

Sounds like it could be diabetes,but could also be other stuff like his age (how old is he?) or kidney problem. Campbells are prone to diabetes though.

Food-wise, just avoid anything with sugar in, such as fruit, commercial treats etc.

Pinkchi · 10-07-2009, 05:51 AM

I (stupidly) bought him from a pet store.... I've had him about 2 months...I don't know how old he was when I got him so im guessing hes around 3 months not much older than that.

I'm trying to get some diabetes test sticks for him

Hes also started biting when he never used to before

Bunsey · 10-07-2009, 06:29 AM

oh dear... i had a similar problem with a pet shop dwarf of mine... he just decided to bite me every time i touched him even though i'd had him for months where he was perfectly fine. He never did stop, either

Doesn't sound like it's his age or his kidneys failing then, at only 3 months.

Do you have hamster test sticks or human? cos the human ones won't give an accurate reading as hamster pee is meant to be more concentrated than human.

i'd take him to the vet, especially as his behaviour has changed, too. For example i had a ham who wouldn't stop running and it was because his legs hurt him and the running helped ease it.

internet_nobody · 10-07-2009, 07:54 AM

I would go to the vet - with the sudden change of mood i'd worry its something else hurting him, maybe an infection or something else causing kidney problems rather than diabetes which I would think would come on slowly.

The human test strips reading constantly high will be an indication, but if they are in the lower readings it is inconclusive really.

Pinkchi · 10-07-2009, 10:11 AM

Peanut will not stop running around! He's just going crazy and running everywhere all the time he does not stand still for a second! Its really not healthy for him. Really worried about him

souffle · 10-09-2009, 04:34 AM

I am wondering if Peanut has a neurological condition. This is often seen in hybrid hamsters. Some will flip over all the time and it is doe to a brain abnormality. I think you need to have the vet look at him and see if any other cause could be making him hyperactive like this.