I believe my hamster had a stroke (NEED ADVICE)

[Lilybearrr]

I took my hamster to the vet because he was suffering from sticky eye and I noticed when we had gotten back from the vet's office Linus was very wobbly and falling over constantly I thought maybe it was because of the dye put in his eye for some of the tests the vet ran but I watched him throughout the night and I am starting to believe its a stroke as every time I picked him up or observed him in his enclosure he would fall over or fall asleep from overexertion, it has been 3 days since and his appetite has not faded he goes up and eats and drinks quite frequently and his bowel movements are looking good, his heavy breathing went back to normal and the vet prescribed some pain meds for him based off his symptoms. He gained more strength back today and started waddling around sometimes going in circles which leads me to believe he could be recovering from a stroke. I am going to be seeing the vet this Monday and I hopefully will have a a update then. Does this sound like a stroke to you? Have any of you hamster owners had this experience? Can hamsters recover from a stroke? I am seeing him get a little bit more lively everyday and I am praying for his recovery. Linus is a male Syrian Hamster who is turning three at the end of this month and I know he is quite old but he is such a amazing hamster I am hoping for a miracle.

 

[elusive]

It does sound very much like it could have been a stroke, they aren’t that uncommon especially in older hamsters & they can recover to some extent if not get fully back to how they were previously.
It sounds as though Linus is doing pretty well really & at his age he most probably will continue to show some symptoms or changes but as long as he’s eating & doing all the essential things, & he seems happy hamstering around in his own way I wouldn’t worry too much.
There is really anything you can do & as you’re vet is seeing him I’m sure they’ll be able to tell you if there is anything more you can go.
The main thing is you may need to make some changes to his cage layout if he has levels or things he may find it harder to get to, it’s best to try & keep things on one level so everything is easily accessed.
He really is a great age & it’s so nice to know he’s coping as well as he is bless him.

 

[Member ID2]

Hallo and welcome to the forum,

i think that you are doing everything you can for Linus already and he's lucky to be your hamster.

He is very old and he could well have had a stroke going by his symptoms. He is on pain meds already to keep him comfortable and he's still hamstering about which is great.

Just make sure that everything is within easy reach and that there are no fall risks in his cage. Aside from that, i'd spend as much time as you can with him and enjoy each others company while you can.

 

[Maz]

You’ve had excellent advice above. It must have been upsetting if he was fine when he went to the vets and then this happened. It could be coincidence and about to happen anyway as he is such a grand age. If he has had a stroke he might make a partial recovery and gradually improve but not quite get back to how he was before. However you said he was spinning a bit. That may settle down too.

Stress can always affect hamsters so at this time it would be a good idea to keep some stability for him and avoid changing things or moving things in his cage and leave any cleaning out for a bit. With the only changes maybe to remove any levels so he can’t climb and fall and hurt himself. So I meant no changes at floor level really - eg so his substrate, nest and hoard all still smell and feel familiar.

Do let us know how he is going on. Hamsters can sometimes have a minor stroke and partially recover.

Can he manage to eat and drink ok? Maybe have the food bowl at floor level nearer his house.

Positive Distraction can help keep hamsters happy and boost the immune system so a few extra treats here and there and maybe scattering a bit if food for him to forage for could distract him happily out if any strange symptoms so he’s more relaxed.

When our Syrians are elderly and I have to remove shelves and levels, I sometimes add the odd new thing at floor level to make the change more palatable. They like new things being added as long as it doesn’t mean moving things around. So a favourite toy or tunnel he had on a shelf could be moved to floor level or a new toy or chew stick added. They also like a bit of baby food as a treat especially if they’re starting to get toothache. Have you checked his teeth recently?

If he gets sticky eyes again you can gently free them up yourself with tepid saline and the corner of a soft cloth.

 

[Maz]

I just wanted to add that as he is such an amazing age, he won’t be around forever and this may be the time to adjust to that idea and prepare for the idea he is very very old, In human terms he’s be well over 100 years old! Every day is precious and we hope they will go on forever but at some point it will be his time. Things just start to wear out and nature takes it’s course. Right now it sounds like he is hamstering along and enjoying life and you’re keeping him comfortable with the Metacam.

 

[Maz]

Incidentally if he doesn’t like taking the Metacam from a syringe (some of them object to a syringe and find it stressful) you can just add it to a bit of soft food. The Metacam tastes nice so they like it. But they don’t always like the syringe. It would need to be a really small amount of softened food - eg a teaspoonful - to make sure they eat it all and get all the meds. I leave the spoon in the cage and if they don’t eat it all straight away they come back and finish it later which is fine.

Something like a bit of baby food, or porridge or softened science selective pellets in a tiny bit of water so they’re mushy.

There’s a thread on here about safe baby foods under food and nutrition.