Hamster not drinking

[TobyC]

Hey need advice.

My Syrian hamster isn't drinking water at the moment and I don't know why. I need help on what to do next.

[Lilafernim]

Responded below but it double sent my reply for some reason?

[Lilafernim]

Hi, more experienced people should answer soon with better more thorough answers than me. I’m just wondering how do you know for certain they’re not drinking? When I first got my hamster she was very jumpy and I felt certain she wasn’t drinking but I think she was just drinking while I was asleep. You could mark their water bottle and see if the level goes down, or additionally add a bowl of water if perhaps something is bothering them about the bottle.

Eventually I did hear mine drink, but it took a few days of worrying and as they drink such little amounts it’s hard to tell. You could also add a few drops of water to their food or I think some people give like baby food to older hamsters which probably have a higher water content than dry food. You could try this just to put your mind at ease that they’re having some fluids.

[Ria P]

Did you check that the water bottle is working ok?

I very rarely saw our first Syrian drink and he drunk very little but always ate all his fresh food.

Does your hamster show signs of dehydration or does he act normally?

[Pebbles82]

How old is your hamster and does he seem unwell at all? Do you put anything in the water that could put him off (vitamins etc - not recommended). Have you tried him with a little saucer of shallow water to see if he drinks that? And yes check the bottle is letting water out ok. If he is not drinking at all he could die within 2 or 3 days of dehydration so I suspect he must be drinking something.

[NutMega870]

You could also give him some fresh food that has lots of water, like cucumber.