Red bedding in hamster cage

Mochi · Tuesday at 3:50 AM

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum and to owning a hammie. I've had my Mochi for around 3 months, she's around 5 months old and a female Syrian. Today I noticed some red bedding in her cage and I'm really worried it's blood

I've checked her for wounds and can't see anything, however I noticed she had SHREDDED the plastic base of her wheel last night, she has a habit of picking it up from the bottom and flipping it but I've never seen her do this much damage to it. She doesn't seem to interested in treats handfed at the moment, but seems to be foraging and storing her food as usual. I occasionally use rose petals in her cage so wonder if it's dyed the bedding but I haven't used any for a while. Would be grateful for any advice please

I plan on taking her to the vet tomorrow anyway to be sure

Maz · Tuesday at 5:17 AM

Hello

. She looks very sweet and cheeky ok that photo. It does look a bit like blood but could also be staining from coloured food? I couldn’t see the wheel you mentioned but if she’s been chewing plastic it’s possible she has made her mouth bleed. Or sometimes they can rip a nail out and it bleed. Or it could be a uti. I’d check carefully- nails eg - and keep an eye on it. It might be a one off but if it happens again it could be a uti. This happened to me once and it turned out to be a pink biscuit type of food that had been pee’d on.

Mochi · Tuesday at 9:42 AM

Thank you! She's a super cheeky hamster and definitely a diva

I appreciate your advice, I'm really hoping it is just dye from the rose petals but have booked her in for an appointment this afternoon. Not looking forward to wrangling her out of her cage

she doesn't like being handled or moved to her travel case and she hates being woken up!

Socks' Mum · Tuesday at 11:37 AM

Good luck with your vet visit, I hope everything goes ok

Mochi · Tuesday at 6:59 PM

I thought you might appreciate an update - she is all okay! Apparently she's in heat and is bleeding because of that, from what I understand it's not very common for them to bleed tho! Relieved but also feel a bit silly

Maz · Tuesday at 7:10 PM

Hamsters don't bleed when they're on heat - I suppose it's possible it may be a very rare thing but it's not usual. What you could do as well, is try and collect a sample of her urine and use a ketodiastic which will detect if there's blood in the urine (which can mean a UTI). They are on heat every 4 days - you might notice different behaviours on those days.

Mochi · Tuesday at 8:05 PM

Maz said:
Hamsters don't bleed when they're on heat - I suppose it's possible it may be a very rare thing but it's not usual. What you could do as well, is try and collect a sample of her urine and use a ketodiastic which will detect if there's blood in the urine (which can mean a UTI). They are on heat every 4 days - you might notice different behaviours on those days.

Yeah it does seem very unusual if it does happen :/ I'm not entirely convinced but she has been doing some weird stances and her cage is smellier than normal which are signs of heat

I will look into that thank you!

Maz · Tuesday at 8:09 PM

Hopefully it won't happen again

But doing a urine test could help rule out a uti. I'm not saying your vet was incorrect - but I've always believed there shouldn't ever be blood from anywhere from a hamster - unless it's illness or injury. And not all vets know very much about hamsters. The way some people have got a urine sample is have the hamster out in something plastic (eg a pet carrier with nothing in it) and wait till they have pee'd - there's usually enough to dip a ketodiastik in. You can buy the human sticks from pharmacies or Amazon - they're not expensive - they test for sugar, blood etc in urine

Mochi · Tuesday at 8:37 PM

Maz said:
Hopefully it won't happen again But doing a urine test could help rule out a uti. I'm not saying your vet was incorrect - but I've always believed there shouldn't ever be blood from anywhere from a hamster - unless it's illness or injury. And not all vets know very much about hamsters. The way some people have got a urine sample is have the hamster out in something plastic (eg a pet carrier with nothing in it) and wait till they have pee'd - there's usually enough to dip a ketodiastik in. You can buy the human sticks from pharmacies or Amazon - they're not expensive - they test for sugar, blood etc in urine

I'm definitely going to keep a close eye on her! If I notice it again I will definitely try the ketodiastik! I really appreciate you and your advice! I agree I think blood from a hamster should always be taken seriously and checked out, so I will definitely be monitoring her!

Socks' Mum · Tuesday at 8:46 PM

Could pyometra be a possibility I wonder? The difficulty of taking blood for tests makes diagnosis difficult. A trial of antibiotics could be useful. I hope Mochi gets better soon

❤

Maz · Tuesday at 9:10 PM

Socks' Mum said:
Could pyometra be a possibility I wonder? The difficulty of taking blood for tests makes diagnosis difficult. A trial of antibiotics could be useful. I hope Mochi gets better soon ❤

I think I would wait and see

With pyometra it's often quite regularly and perhaps more noticeable.

Maz · Tuesday at 9:10 PM

Mochi said:
I'm definitely going to keep a close eye on her! If I notice it again I will definitely try the ketodiastik! I really appreciate you and your advice! I agree I think blood from a hamster should always be taken seriously and checked out, so I will definitely be monitoring her!

You're welcome

She's adorable.

Jessicahfd · Tuesday at 9:14 PM

Mochi said:
Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum and to owning a hammie. I've had my Mochi for around 3 months, she's around 5 months old and a female Syrian. Today I noticed some red bedding in her cage and I'm really worried it's blood I've checked her for wounds and can't see anything, however I noticed she had SHREDDED the plastic base of her wheel last night, she has a habit of picking it up from the bottom and flipping it but I've never seen her do this much damage to it. She doesn't seem to interested in treats handfed at the moment, but seems to be foraging and storing her food as usual. I occasionally use rose petals in her cage so wonder if it's dyed the bedding but I haven't used any for a while. Would be grateful for any advice please I plan on taking her to the vet tomorrow anyway to be sure

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Hi my love! My girl had a urine infection a couple months back and this is exactly what her bedding looked like. If you notice it’s mixed in with where she typically urinates that could be likely. It’s an easy sort, just oral antibiotics and they’re back to normal after a week or so. I would maybe recommend getting a second opinion from a different vet. Can’t hurt

Mochi · Tuesday at 10:39 PM

Jessicahfd said:
Hi my love! My girl had a urine infection a couple months back and this is exactly what her bedding looked like. If you notice it’s mixed in with where she typically urinates that could be likely. It’s an easy sort, just oral antibiotics and they’re back to normal after a week or so. I would maybe recommend getting a second opinion from a different vet. Can’t hurt

If it happens again I'll deffo be going to a different vet for a second opinion

I've not noticed anymore blood since that lot so hoping it was a one off

Maz · Tuesday at 10:48 PM

Maybe you'd like to start a thread for Mochi in the Syrian section

Some of us have diary threads/the hamster's own thread, to update on their progress and antics with photos and videos etc

And for others to follow.

Mochi · Tuesday at 10:51 PM

This is such a cool idea! Thank you I'll take a look!

Red bedding in hamster cage

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