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Old 07-04-2021, 03:49 PM   #1
Pea
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: California
Posts: 2
Default Hydro/Brachy Hamsters

Hi! I'm new here, so I hope this is okay to post here!

My hamster was born with misaligned teeth. She did have a bout of bar chewing because I have upgraded her from a smaller bin cage to a larger bin cage. (She's a Syrian and I have her in a 50 gallon Sterilite bin) and I used a repurposed playpen as a window for her bin. She chewed on the bar of the window and as soon as I noticed it, I took the window out and covered the area back up. Anyway, her teeth overgrew, so I took her to the vet to get her teeth trimmed and to have a general check up.

The vet told me that my hamster's teeth are very weak and brittle and took weak to trim. She was concerned that trimming them would cause them to break off even more than they already were. So she recommends that I keep my hamster on a wet food diet, but still provide chew toys to help her wear her teeth down herself.

So I did some research on why my hamster's teeth might be so brittle and what I can do to help her, and I ended up finding information on Hydrocephalus in hamsters. There's not a lot of information out there because the research is still very new, so there's not a lot for me to learn about this. I'm hoping that someone here can help me, though. I don't know if my hamster is brachy, but I googled some symptoms of it and she fits almost all of them aside from missing teeth. She has teeth, they just break easily and she has to eat wet food.

I think her snout is slightly short. It's not easy to notice, but it seemed just a little bit shorter than average. She also used to constantly sneeze, she was sneezing all the time and I ended up changing her bedding from Carefresh and Kaytee Clean and Cozy to Oxbow Pure Comfort and now she sneezes a lot less.

The vet said that other than her teeth, she is a happy, healthy hamster. But I want to learn more about hydro hamsters so I can figure out if my hamster might have this ailment. She's from a pet store and apparently there's been an influx of hydro hamsters at the particular pet store chain that I got her from.

I don't need medical advice, since I already took my hamster to the vet and the vet already gave her a clean bill of health aside from her brittle teeth. Since there's hardly any information out there on hydro hamsters, I don't know if my vet even knows a lot about it herself, though.

I'm looking for more information on hydro hammies and also some tips for how I can make more little girl's life easier and more enriching since she has to stay on wet food. I'm currently just mushing up some Mazuri Rat and Mouse pellets with warm water, coconut oil and baby food. I'm going to start making her some Wendell's Wonder Formula too once I get all the ingredients, since my hammy is not eating her seed mix anymore.

Thanks! I appreciate any and all help!
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Old 07-05-2021, 12:09 PM   #2
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: Hydro/Brachy Hamsters

Hello and welcome to HC!

Aww, poor little hamster. She's lucky to be living with you who wants the best for her.

I've heard of hamsters with hydrocephalus. Some have brittle or no teeth at all and they are more suspectible to respiratory problems but you know this already.

I have read that some don't tolerate paper based bedding and need to be kept on fleece like guinea pigs.

As for a moist diet, you could give her some porridge or soft scrambled egg for added variety.
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Old 07-06-2021, 07:16 PM   #3
Pea
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: California
Posts: 2
Default Re: Hydro/Brachy Hamsters

Thanks, Ria!

And thanks for the tips!

I'm giving Pea (my hamster) some scrambled egg and she seems to be enjoying it now.

Her teeth have been improving since she's been given a Whimzee dog chew. Although they seem to still be weak and are still a little misaligned. Her teeth bottom teeth are also starting to turn a little white and I'm extremely concerned about that.

She doesn't seem to have any other issues other than not wanting to eat hard food. She's still eating and drinking normally, though. I'm not sure if she's a hydro hamster because her teeth are still there, they're just misaligned and very weak.
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