Diabetic hamster

[Member ID2]

My lovely dwarf hybrid hamster Percy is no longer with us but i would like to tell his story. Sadly, dwarf hybrids are prone to a number of illnesses with diabetes one of them.

I adopted Percy from a petshop adoption tank and was told that he was around 5 months old.
The shop assistant had difficulties to coax Percy into the cardboard box because he was quite hostile towards her.

Once home i did the usual thing and let him settle while observing him.

Appearance: Percy was lovely with a thick and fluffy coat, clear eyes and alert ears.

Behaviour: unsettled, unhappy, attacking chews and furnishings by biting, bulldozing frantically.
Percy was one very disturbed little hamster.

After a few days i offered him treats which he snatched from my fingers while trying to bite me at the same time.

Percy bit drawing blood every chance he got and latched on to fingernails. I learnt to be quick when i offered him a treat. Percy never took a treat nicely, he always snatched it.

I never give up on hamsters and accept and love them for who they are, friendly and tame, reclusive or bitey, it makes no difference.

Drinking: i noticed within a couple of days that Percy drunk a lot of water. He got up during the day to take long drinks.

Eating: Percy ate quite a lot but didn't put on weight. He absolutely adored cucumber.
I fed him Rodipet dwarf hybrid mix as his main food and gave him a little cucumber and brown linseeds daily.

Urine: Percy urinated a lot which i first noticed when i saw bubbles in a corner of his bin cage. I was quite shocked and checked the corner which was soaking wet.

Faeces: they looked normal.

 

[Member ID2]

I suspected that Percy had diabetes and started to measure and record his water consumption which was excessive.

I then bought Bayer keto diastix online and tested his urine for glucose. The reading was the highest on the chart which sadly confirmed that Percy was diabetic.

Diabetes also explained why he was off balance mentally and behaved the way he did.

Stress can make diabetes worse so i decided against a visit to a vet.

The other reason was that it wouldn't have been possible to administer medication via an injection or orally with a syringe on a daily base because i wasn't able to handle Percy. Percy would shake and throw himself about at the slightest touch and jerk his head round to bite.

All i could do was to find ways to make his life as comfortable and happy as i could.

I knew that his life expectancy was poor and didn't expect him to live beyond a year but he did, just. Percy died at home at 13 months old.

In my next post i will talk about life with a diabetic hamster and the adjustements i made.

 

[Member ID2]

Environment: needs to be calm and free of loud noises to keep stress levels to a minimum.

Enclosure: needs to be cleaned more often and set up with washable and disposable furnishings. Avoid wooden cages for that reason. Plastic wheel, ceramic, plastic, glass and cardboard are suitable but avoid wood that has not been waterproofed by plastikoting. I replaced all wooden items with washable ones for the following reason.

Mould: i learnt that it grows very quickly on wooden items because of the glucose in the urine when i found mouldy legs on a bamboo platform. Mould can lead to harmful bacteria that can cause infections like respiratory infections.

Diet: no different from that recommended for any dwarf hamster. A good quality dwarf hamster mix, no fruit, only veg in very small quantities, avoid treats with honey or other sugars and added protein like egg, tofu, chicken etc.
Make sure plenty of fresh water is always available, check water bottles and provide more than one water source including a small bowl.

Keep a close eye on any uneaten fresh food. Even tiny pieces combined with glucose rich urine can attract fruit flies very quickly. They are not harmful and easy to get rid off by removing the source and cleaning the affected area.

Substrate: i actually found mould on paperbased bedding. I would not normally recommend woodchips but in Percy's case they worked better than paperbased only. I used white Kaytee clean and cozy in burrowing and sleeping areas but in the toileting and play areas i used unscented woodchips.

In my next post i will talk about Percy's social and recreational life.

 

[Member ID2]

Percy lived with us for 8 months and during this time his mental health improved while his physical health declined.

Both, my OH and i spent a lot of time talking to Percy. Gradually, i introduced him to touch by very lightly brushing a soft pastry brush over his back while he was busy eating. Eventually, i used my finger instead of the brush which he started to tolerate while he was occupied.

I made allsorts of plastic enrichments for his bin cage like a shelf with a ladder and a lookout he climbed into to look over the edge of his cage.
One day he climbed into his Munchies mug and promptly bit me when i put my hand over it. I had set up a playpen and put him in there before he could bite me again.

He got to like the playpen so i made him a permanent one from a christmas tree box which he enjoyed. I eventually connected it to his bin cage so he could use it whenever he wanted to.

By chance my OH found out that Percy liked to fly around the room in his mug. My OH offered him a treat early one morning and Percy latched on to his finger nail. Acting on sheer reflex, my OH withdrew his hand with Percy still attached and unintentionally sent him flying across the room. Percy landed on the futon that was full of soft cushions and looked all excited with the ears perked up.
My OH thought that Percy had enjoyed the flight and that's when the flying around the room in his mug started which Percy loved so much that he even forgot to bite us.

After a flight, when i knew he was relaxed, i briefly put him on my lap and stroked him. He let me stroke him without biting which was more than i had ever hoped for. It showed me that he was a lot happier than when he first arrived.

Sadly, one morning i found his cucumber untouched and knew that he had gone. He was still breathing but unconcsious and drifted away peacefully.

 

[Maz]

That is such an amazing care story Beryl. You did so much for little Percy and really helped him. Some excellent tips in there as well - especially about the greater chance of mould due to the glucose in the urine.

The story of him enjoying moving around in a mug and flying is really heartwarming. I wonder if it was distraction. I know when Raffy was a biter at first, the only time he didn't try to bite was when he was completely distracted - by hanging on to the edge of the playpen and trying to climb over it - it was the only time he'd let you pick him up without biting. It was similar when he had some exciting food in front of him in the playpen - he'd let you stroke him without trying to bite you - his brain was completely focused on something he was enjoying.

 

[Maz]

I'm going to sticky this as it has such good tips for caring for a diabetic hamster. As far as I am aware, medication is not usually an option. Maybe some highly specialised vets may offer injections but I think it would still depend on the age and condition of the hamster and also possibly the type of diabetes. I think there is more than one type with hamsters (as there is with humans). The only thing we can do really is avoid it getting worse by careful diet, as you did.

 

[RainbowBrite]

I also found this a wonderful read. I did not know it was okay to comment so did not say anything. Percy sounded such a special little boy. You really gave him the best care possible and worked so hard to find out what he liked and what could help him. You and your OH were so devoted to Percy. I smiled at how much he loved being moved about in his mug. It reminded me of when babies like to be held and people pretend the baby is flying.

I have read that fenugreek can be helpful for diabetic hamsters. I do not know anything about that though.

 

[Maz]

Also just wanted to say that the information that it's the diabetes affecting his mental and psychological behaviour, is very helpful to others I am sure. So a hamster doesn't just get labelled as bad tempered. He couldn't help it. He would have had fluctuations of mood no doubt with the chemical imbalance.

 

[Maz]

I also found this a wonderful read. I did not know it was okay to comment so did not say anything. Percy sounded such a special little boy. You really gave him the best care possible and worked so hard to find out what he liked and what could help him. You and your OH were so devoted to Percy. I smiled at how much he loved being moved about in his mug. It reminded me of when babies like to be held and people pretend the baby is flying.

I have read that fenugreek can be helpful for diabetic hamsters. I do not know anything about that though.

It's always ok to comment Rainbow It's only the photo comp thread where it says not to post comments