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My hamster is ill and i dont know why

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peyoton25

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this is my hamster, only a couple months old.

he is the child of two of my other hamsters, and i am not sure when they bred since they were in separate cages, but i think it was when i left for a minute or two while they were in their playpen. i was informed they were both male but turns out one of them werent and had 5 babies. they had babies right after maturing which my mom thinks may be a problem. 4 of them died already, 3 just died one morning after running around and playing completely fine the night before, and one died after i left on a school trip and came back to it with a broken and bent leg. it was alive for a bit when i came back but died. my sister (who was caring for it while i was gone) said it was fine in the morning, and my mom supports this. 1 of the 3 that died mysteriously died while i was away as well.

this is the last remaining baby hamster, when i left on the trip it was bigger than his father and was very healthy. but when i came back its fur looks unhealthy and it cannot sit up without shaking slightly.

i want to take him to a vet but my mom is too busy, so i want proper confirmation that something can be done at the vet and will help him feel better. is this a genetic issue? is his bedding bad? i currently feed them bengy hamster & sugar glider mixed seed and "softwood shavings" for bedding. i used to use a different one but had to change recently because my mom wanted to be able to buy the bedding online.

i currently have the sick hamster in a cage with shallow bedding and nothing except for a small hut and food/water bowl so i can monitor it easily and it cant hurt itself on anything. please help!!! i attached photos of him, and both the mother and father hamsters are healthy and have no problems.
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Hello and welcome to the forum. I am so sorry to hear your hamsters have passed away and this hamster is unwell. I would take them to the vet. When a hamster seems unwell they will be feeling very bad and it is likely they are in pain.

Which country are you in? If you want to use wood as bedding then aspen is safe. Pine is not safe and can cause a hamster to have breathing related health issues.

It is lovely you care so much for your hamsters and joined the forum to get advice for them.
 
I think the best option is to take him to the vet. Is he eating and drinking? His diet could be better. It's better to feed a hamster specific mix that ideally is sugar free (dwarf hamsters can be prone to diabetes but that tends to come on later in life if they're going to get it). He could have an infection and need antibiotics. I looked up the food you mentioned quickly and couldn't see a list of ingredients, but looking at it, it does seem to be mainly pellets.

Are you in the US? Higgins Vita Garden would be a better option. Although you'll need to supplement the protein with some fresh food extras each week. Or alternatively, add some Science Selective hamster food pellets to the mix each day.
 
As Rainbow says, paper bedding is better than softwood bedding. Pine and cedar beddings aren't safe (although again this is likely to show any health issues in the long term rather than short term). Anything labelled "softwood" shavings could be any kind of softwood, including cedar. Pine is unsafe unless it says kiln dried and dust extracted on the bag and even then paper bedding is still safer.
 
Just to add. Although you've moved him to a hospital cage because he's unwell. he may still have found it a stressful move and feel too exposed and anxious with not much in there. What you could do to make it cosier is add a very big pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper. For nesting material. He can then build a cosy nest with that so he feels more secure. You could also add some simple cardboard items so he has some hidey places. Eg a kitchen roll inner tube or toilet roll tube or a tissue box hide.

I'd also check his water bottle is letting water out correctly in case it's dehydration. If you can give him a tiny bit of cucumber each day (no bigger than his ear) he will enjoy that and feel happier maybe, and it also helps with hydration.
 
RainbowBrite said:
Hello and welcome to the forum. I am so sorry to hear your hamsters have passed away and this hamster is unwell. I would take them to the vet. When a hamster seems unwell they will be feeling very bad and it is likely they are in pain.

Which country are you in? If you want to use wood as bedding then aspen is safe. Pine is not safe and can cause a hamster to have breathing related health issues.

It is lovely you care so much for your hamsters and joined the forum to get advice for them.
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i am living in malaysia. i used to use aspen because online forums said it was safe, but im not sure what wood the new bedding is. my mom says it is from a trusted seller, though.
 
Maz said:
I think the best option is to take him to the vet. Is he eating and drinking? His diet could be better. It's better to feed a hamster specific mix that ideally is sugar free (dwarf hamsters can be prone to diabetes but that tends to come on later in life if they're going to get it). He could have an infection and need antibiotics. I looked up the food you mentioned quickly and couldn't see a list of ingredients, but looking at it, it does seem to be mainly pellets.

Are you in the US? Higgins Vita Garden would be a better option. Although you'll need to supplement the protein with some fresh food extras each week. Or alternatively, add some Science Selective hamster food pellets to the mix each day.
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yesterday he came out to eat and drink as soon as i fed him, but today he is refusing to come out of his house, which worries me because i think he is getting worse. ive attached a photo of what they eat.

i clean their cages out completely once a week, which might be too little, perhaps?

i live in malaysia and i will try to find a seller on the sites my mom uses for the supplements and specialised food.1000006954.jpg
 
Maz said:
Just to add. Although you've moved him to a hospital cage because he's unwell. he may still have found it a stressful move and feel too exposed and anxious with not much in there. What you could do to make it cosier is add a very big pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper. For nesting material. He can then build a cosy nest with that so he feels more secure. You could also add some simple cardboard items so he has some hidey places. Eg a kitchen roll inner tube or toilet roll tube or a tissue box hide.

I'd also check his water bottle is letting water out correctly in case it's dehydration. If you can give him a tiny bit of cucumber each day (no bigger than his ear) he will enjoy that and feel happier maybe, and it also helps with hydration.
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i will try to ask my mom for cucumbers i can feed my hamster. i give water to them in a bowl, but please tell me if that may cause problems. ill give him some cardboard things and paper to make a nest of.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum!
You have already had good advice and hope that you will take the young hamster to the vet.

Please don't put your hamsters in the playpen together. They could fight or get very stressed. Hamsters do better to live alone in their own cages and to spend time in the playpen on their own. One after another and not together. If you would have known this sooner you wouldn't have ended up with injured, dead, an ill hamster and a vet bill. It is not your fault though if no one told you and we all had and still have to learn a lot about hamsters.

I'm glad you have joined this forum where people will help you to learn to care for your hamsters so they can live a happy life and stay safe.
 
peyoton25 said:
yesterday he came out to eat and drink as soon as i fed him, but today he is refusing to come out of his house, which worries me because i think he is getting worse. ive attached a photo of what they eat.

i clean their cages out completely once a week, which might be too little, perhaps?

i live in malaysia and i will try to find a seller on the sites my mom uses for the supplements and specialised food.View attachment 3959
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i tried turning off all the lights and watching him and he came out to eat after a couple seconds of darkness!! i am glas he is eating but he never had any problems with eating in the light before, which is worrying.
 
There are a lot of companies who make unsafe things for hamsters so I would stick to aspen as that is safe. I know this may be difficult because your Mum may not agree.

A little piece of cucumber for your hamster is fine but try not to feed too much as it can cause an upset stomach.

It is so good your hamster has eaten. Perhaps he feels safer to eat in the dark as he is not feeling very well right now.
 
Beryl said:
Hello and welcome to the forum!
You have already had good advice and hope that you will take the young hamster to the vet.

Please don't put your hamsters in the playpen together. They could fight or get very stressed. Hamsters do better to live alone in their own cages and to spend time in the playpen on their own. One after another and not together. If you would have known this sooner you wouldn't have ended up with injured, dead, an ill hamster and a vet bill. It is not your fault though if no one told you and we all had and still have to learn a lot about hamsters.

I'm glad you have joined this forum where people will help you to learn to care for your hamsters so they can live a happy life and stay safe.
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i no longer have them play in the same playpen and instead have them take turns. should i be setting up three separate playpens for each of the hamsters?
 
Hello & welcome to the forum.
It is hard to know what’s wrong with your hamster but you’ve already had good advice about food & the wood shavings so if you can possibly make some changes there that may help but it does sound as though he needs to be seen by a vet.

Giving water in a bowl is fine as long as the bowl isn’t too big or could get tipped over.

Cleaning the cages once a week is actually too much, doing complete cleans is stressful for them & stress can also make them unwell.
You only really need to remove any bedding that has been peed on, then maybe do more of a clean every few months but not the whole cage.

As he is unwell he will be feeling vulnerable which is probably why he won’t come out with the light on as he normally would, try to keep him quiet & undisturbed as much as possible.
 
Taking turns is fine but i would keep the ill hamster separate for now in case he has an illness he can pass on to the others. Maybe you could make him his own playpen and let mum and dad take it in turns in the other.

I have a few hamsters and they have to take it in turns to come out to play. One hamster was ill and i gave him his own area the others didn't play in.

Cleaning weekly is seen as too often really but it does depend on how much bedding you use. The more substrate you use the less cleaning you need to do. The cage floor needs a thick covering of substrate and ideally the hamster should have an area with deep bedding to burrow in. It will make them feel safe.

We don't live in an ideal world and Aspen may be expensive where you live or your mom may prefer to buy the wood shavings. If you can get it sometimes i would mix it in with the wood shavings. You could also look into paper based bedding which is what a lot of people on here use.
 
elusive said:
Hello & welcome to the forum.
It is hard to know what’s wrong with your hamster but you’ve already had good advice about food & the wood shavings so if you can possibly make some changes there that may help but it does sound as though he needs to be seen by a vet.

Giving water in a bowl is fine as long as the bowl isn’t too big or could get tipped over.

Cleaning the cages once a week is actually too much, doing complete cleans is stressful for them & stress can also make them unwell.
You only really need to remove any bedding that has been peed on, then maybe do more of a clean every few months but not the whole cage.

As he is unwell he will be feeling vulnerable which is probably why he won’t come out with the light on as he normally would, try to keep him quiet & undisturbed as much as possible.
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oh i see!! i thought that they would fall ill if their cages got too dirty, ill stop cleaning their cages so often from now on... thank you for your advice!!

should i move his cage to somewhere more quiet n dark or is it ok to keep him where he is? he is not shaded completely at the moment.
 
Beryl said:
Taking turns is fine but i would keep the ill hamster separate for now in case he has an illness he can pass on to the others. Maybe you could make him his own playpen and let mum and dad take it in turns in the other.

I have a few hamsters and they have to take it in turns to come out to play. One hamster was ill and i gave him his own area the others didn't play in.

Cleaning weekly is seen as too often really but it does depend on how much bedding you use. The more substrate you use the less cleaning you need to do. The cage floor needs a thick covering of substrate and ideally the hamster should have an area with deep bedding to burrow in. It will make them feel safe.

We don't live in an ideal world and Aspen may be expensive where you live or your mom may prefer to buy the wood shavings. If you can get it sometimes i would mix it in with the wood shavings. You could also look into paper based bedding which is what a lot of people on here use.
Click to expand...
i am very sorry if this should be common knowledge but what is the difference between bedding and substrate? should i just give them more bedding so they can dig around in it? ive noticed that they can only cover themselves in the bedding and not tunnel properly because it cant hold itself up, is that the difference?
 
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Bedding & substrate usually mean the same thing, you can give extra nesting material like torn up plain white toilet tissue but both bedding & substrate refer to the main wood shavings, apen or paper bedding or whatever it may be that’s used for the cage.
Aspen is good for burrowing & tunneling, it may be that the wood shavings you have either won’t hold burrows or maybe isn’t deep enough.

You probably don’t need to move his cage as long as he has something he can hide away in if he wants to & can make a comfortable nest there & you just do his food & water but otherwise don’t disturb him any more than you need to.
 
peyoton25 said:
i am very sorry if this should be common knowledge but what is the difference between bedding and substrate? should i just give them more bedding so they can dig around in it? ive noticed that they can only cover themselves in the bedding and not tunnel properly because it cant hold itself up, is that the difference?
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Some people call it substrate and others bedding but it's the same. Dwarf hamsters like to burrow and paper based bedding holds burrows well. I would give them more bedding and see what happens. Also plenty of torn into strips plain white toilet paper for making a nest.
If you like, you could post a photo of your cages and set ups so people can get a better idea.
 
Beryl said:
Some people call it substrate and others bedding but it's the same. Dwarf hamsters like to burrow and paper based bedding holds burrows well. I would give them more bedding and see what happens. Also plenty of torn into strips plain white toilet paper for making a nest.
If you like, you could post a photo of your cages and set ups so people can get a better idea.
Click to expand...
He's in a hospital cage at the moment :-)

That is really good news he came out to eat something :-) As Rainbow says, he's not feeling well at the moment so probably hiding away a bit, but it might also be if he's been moved the hospital cage recently. A cage change can really make them regress in confidence but usually within a few days to a week they feel less like they're in a strange place. If you have a familiar toy or tunnel from his old cage, that could help him feel more at home. Something that still has his scent on. That could make him feel more at home.

As the others say, weekly clean outs are not really done any more - but - as Beryl says, it depends how much substrate there is in the cage. I think you said he had a thinner layer at the moment when he's unwell, so it might need cleaning out more often than if there was a thicker layer. But the main thing is to not clean everything at the same time as that causes them stress when all their familiar scent is removed at once.

So if there's an obvious pee area, you could change that bit of substrate, wipe that bit of floor under it and replace the substrate in that one area, but leave the rest of it if it's clean. The only thing that is unhygienic really is their pee. There's no need to clean houses and toys regularly - unless they are pee'd on.

The other thing that helps them feel secure is a cosy nest and their hoard. So it's important not to throw their hoard away. If it gets pee'd on you will need to remove it, but then replace it with a handful of new food in the same place to replace it, to keep him happy and so he doesn't get paranoid that a thief has been in his house :)

The nest can be left alone (if made from strips of plain white toilet paper or tissue paper eg) if it's not peed in.

Basically it's more about "partial" cleans than full clean outs, so something always feels and smells familiar.
 
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