My Campbell’s dwarf is 2 next month and yesterday I noticed he’d had a little bit of diarrhoea. As I was cleaning it up he woke up and was in good form (he didn’t seem ill and he took a mealworm off me). He’s been eating and drinking fine and apart from the diarrhoea his only other ailment is a cataract in one eye. I don’t want to take him to the vet unless something is actually wrong because I think it might just be old age.
There’s usually a cause for diarrhoea rather than it being old age. Difficult when he is so old and a feeling that maybe the vet can’t do much but they might be able to give rehydrating sachets as they can get dehydrated quite quickly. I would suspect it’s a symptom of something else going wrong as by that age they are quite elderly and all their organs start to fail a bit at a time. Often they’ll drink and pee more as kidneys start to function less well.
Your dwarf hammy is a grand age! Not many dwarf hamsters get to two. So he probably is in his twilight time. The thing really is to keep him comfortable.
What you could try is giving him some binding foods for a day or two. Eg scrambled egg, a bit of banana. I’d start with scrambled egg. You can just scramble an egg in a mug with a bit of water added - maybe 3 teaspoons of water, whisk it with a fork and stick it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Might need longer but check every 10 seconds. See if that helps it settle for a day or two. He’ll enjoy it as well! I just give a bit on a teaspoon or leave the teaspoon in the cage with it on. I sometimes find they steal the teaspoon though!
If it doesn’t settle in a day or two you could maybe ring the vet for advice. How long has he been having the diarrhoea and how bad is it?
I’d stop giving any fresh veg or fruit for a bit though. Banana is ok though as it’s binding but egg better (made with water not milk).
There’s usually a cause for diarrhoea rather than it being old age. Difficult when he is so old and a feeling that maybe the vet can’t do much but they might be able to give rehydrating sachets as they can get dehydrated quite quickly. I would suspect it’s a symptom of something else going wrong as by that age they are quite elderly and all their organs start to fail a bit at a time. Often they’ll drink and pee more as kidneys start to function less well.
Your dwarf hammy is a grand age! Not many dwarf hamsters get to two. So he probably is in his twilight time. The thing really is to keep him comfortable.
What you could try is giving him some binding foods for a day or two. Eg scrambled egg, a bit of banana. I’d start with scrambled egg. You can just scramble an egg in a mug with a bit of water added - maybe 3 teaspoons of water, whisk it with a fork and stick it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Might need longer but check every 10 seconds. See if that helps it settle for a day or two. He’ll enjoy it as well! I just give a bit on a teaspoon or leave the teaspoon in the cage with it on. I sometimes find they steal the teaspoon though!
If it doesn’t settle in a day or two you could maybe ring the vet for advice. How long has he been having the diarrhoea and how bad is it?
I’d stop giving any fresh veg or fruit for a bit though. Banana is ok though as it’s binding but egg better (made with water not milk).
He’s had the diarrhoea the past 2 days and it’s not too bad, there’s about 4 little spots but he’s been using his wheel and eating fine. I did notice he drank quite a lot of water before it started. I’ll try the scrambled egg with him and if it doesn’t clear up in a couple of days I’ll take him to the vet. Thank you so much for your advice
Personally, i wouldn't put diarrhoea down to old age and get it checked out by a vet if it hasn't stopped yet.
Has he eaten a lot of fresh food lately or something he doesn't normally eat?
He hasn’t eaten anything out of the ordinary, but I’m going to try giving him a little bit of scrambled egg and if it doesn’t help I’ll take him to the vet. Thank you
Is Diarrhoea a Sign of Old Age?
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