The most common diseases of hamsters: symptoms and treatment

When a hamster appears in the apartment, the house is filled with joy. And if the animal suddenly falls ill, the household falls into despair. Diseases in hamsters can occur due to improper care, poor nutrition, or pathogens. It is important to recognize the symptoms of the disease in time and treat the animal. To prevent the animal from getting sick in the future, take preventive measures.

Classification of diseases

Hamster diseases can be classified according to various indicators. For example, depending on where the pain occurs, it can be gastrointestinal, skin, associated with the respiratory system, limb injuries, etc. There are also congenital (genetic) and acquired ailments. But most often the classification is based on the factor that causes the disease.

The following causes of hamster diseases are identified:

1. Bacteria. They cause skin lesions, inflammation, gastrointestinal problems, and eye diseases.
2. Viruses. They provoke the development of tumors and pathologies of the nervous system.
3. Microscopic fungi. Affects the skin.
4. Metabolic disease. The most striking example is diabetes mellitus in Djungarian hamsters.
5. Stress factors. They affect not only the emotional state of the animals, but also the skin and condition of the fur.

When keeping animals at home, dislocations, fractures, and bruises caused by falls sometimes occur. They are characterized by severe pain and swelling.

Neoplasms, tumors

Tumors (malignant, benign), pathological growths on the body, legs. ears is a fairly commonly diagnosed pathology in rodents, which can develop for a variety of reasons. Bumps can appear due to injuries, severe bruises, or falls from a height. To begin treatment, you need to establish a diagnosis, so take your pet to a veterinarian.

For benign and malignant tumors, surgical treatment will be prescribed. If the cancer is localized in a hard-to-reach area (oral cavity), or the tumor has metastasized, veterinarians recommend euthanizing the hamster, since no treatment method will give the desired result.

When to sound the alarm?

Few owners notice changes in the condition of their pets in the early stages of the disease. But early diagnosis is the key to a speedy recovery of the animal. How can you tell if your pet has health problems? Of course, conduct an external examination and observe the fluffy for a couple of days. You should:

• assess the animal’s activity: if Homa suddenly becomes lethargic, he is clearly unwell;
• watch your appetite. Healthy animals love to snack. If a pet refuses even its favorite treat, it is seriously ill;
• check the weight. An adult Syrian hamster must weigh at least 90 g; for all other breeds, including Djungarian hamsters, the weight must not be less than 30 g;
• examine your pet's face. The eyes should be shiny, without cloudiness or mucus. Nose – cool, without discharge. Check your ears for flaking. Pay attention to the incisors: they should grow evenly;
• make sure that there are no skin growths or tumors on the neck, armpits and abdomen;
• inspect the butt and the area of ​​fur under the tail, they should not be wet or dirty;
• the living space also needs to be examined: if the rodent has an intestinal disorder, the stool will be liquid, and if it has cystitis or diabetes, you will understand it by the smell.

If at least one sign is detected, it is worth taking the fluffy to the veterinarian so that he can make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

What does a healthy hamster look like?

Before you start treating your own hamster, you should find out in detail what a healthy animal looks like. Often this is quite easy to identify, since a healthy hamster is cheerful, playful, and also actively interacts with humans.

However, in some cases, the activity of an animal does not always indicate its level of health. Therefore, before taking your pet to the veterinarian, carefully examine it.

Find out which breed of hamster to choose, and also familiarize yourself with the features of keeping the steppe hamster, Syrian hamster, Djungarian hamster.
A healthy rodent always has:

• clean and dry eyes, without any mucous secretions, with a bright shade and shiny surface;
• dry, clean, shiny and uniform hair;
• calm and uniform breathing, without sudden sighs or other disturbances;
• short or medium-long marigolds with a solid surface and uniform structure;
• dense body and elastic tissues;
• good appetite, and always strive to stock up on any available food;
• high activity, the animal shows curiosity about the world around it.

Bacterial infections

Fluffies are the most susceptible to bacterial diseases. They can be picked up from another animal, from stale food, or directly from the cage if it is not cleaned for a long time. Let's look at their types, symptoms and treatment.

By the way, some ailments caused by bacteria can be transmitted to animals from humans and vice versa!

Tuberculosis

The reason is the proliferation of tuberculosis bacilli in the intestines or respiratory tract, respectively, and the forms of the disease are intestinal and pulmonary. The routes of entry of pathogenic microorganisms are airborne droplets, less often with food.

The disease causes shortness of breath, a significant decrease in appetite, which leads to complete exhaustion of the body. In the pulmonary form, animals experience a cough, and in the intestinal form, severe diarrhea occurs. At the last stage, the fluffy's eyes become cloudy. Due to the fact that tuberculosis in rodents is incurable, it is more humane to euthanize the homa.

To prevent your pet from picking up this infection, the cage should be kept clean and the dairy and meat products included in the hamster’s diet should be cooked. You should also limit the animal’s interaction with infected people and other rodents.

Colibacillosis

A dangerous infection caused by an increased content of E. coli in the digestive tract. The disease is very contagious, so if hamsters are kept together, tests will have to be taken from all of them, and all of them will have to be treated together.

This hamster disease is also called “wet tail” because the main symptom is severe diarrhea. But at the initial stage the following are noted:

• decreased appetite;
• weight loss;
• lethargy;
• restless behavior;
• trying to curl up into a ball;
• wet fur on the butt.

If you have severe diarrhea, your hamster's stool will look more like urine. This explains why the hamster is wet but not dirty.

If you find these signs in your furry, consult a doctor who will tell you how to treat colibacillosis. Veterinarians typically prescribe tetracycline medications as a supplement to water and food, or (in rare cases) chloramphenicol injections.

It is possible to cure the animal only in the early stages of the development of the disease. A preventive measure is to keep animals in separate cages and clean them up more often.

Cystitis

A very unpleasant disease of Djungarian hamsters and Syrians. The urinary system suffers. At the same time, the hamster has pain in the lower abdomen, he experiences severe pain and a burning sensation when urinating. The animal loses a lot of water and is constantly thirsty. This disease appears after hypothermia of the body, which can even be caused by a fan!

Cystitis is treated with antibiotics. The main thing is to make the correct diagnosis, because the disease can be confused with colibacillosis. Both of these sores can answer the question “why does a hamster have wet fur?”

Prevention. Make sure that your pet does not become overcooled; do not place the cage near an open window.

Diplococcosis

A respiratory tract infection caused by round bacteria called diplococci. Common symptoms are lethargy and weakness. The animal is trembling slightly and his nose is running. Sometimes the animal may stop paying attention to food.

It is treated with a special serum, which should be administered as early as possible, since diplococcosis can take the life of a pet in 2-3 days.

Salmonellosis

Acute intestinal sore. It is provoked by salmonella bacilli. In addition to general lethargy and the desire to hide in a dark corner, foamy diarrhea and light green discharge, possibly with blood, are observed. Often the animal's tummy is swollen, the temperature fluctuates from very low to abnormally high.

Salmonellosis can kill an animal in 2 days, so emergency diagnosis and treatment are necessary!

Pneumonia

Develops due to increased activity of pneumococci against the background of a general weakening of the immune system. Usually occurs after severe hypothermia and due to a lack of vitamins in the rodent’s body.

Symptoms of this disease in hamsters are:

• lethargy, inactivity;
• lack of appetite;
• wheezing and cough;
• mucous discharge from the nose.

Pneumonia is often accompanied by eye sores. Most often this is conjunctivitis.

The disease is not dangerous: with a course of vitamins and antibiotics, the animal recovers completely within a week.

Conjunctivitis

Eye disease. Symptoms include heaviness and a feeling of glued eyelids. The most common cause is a cold, but some bacteria can also cause it. It is necessary to rinse your pet's eyes with salted water and use drops prescribed by your veterinarian.

There are a great many diseases and not a single article is enough to describe them all. Yes, this is not necessary. The main thing is to notice the symptoms in time that something has happened to your pet. And then, if possible, immediately go to the veterinary clinic. The best person to help your pet is a doctor. After all, there they will conduct the necessary tests for you, accurately diagnose you, and prescribe effective pills.

Endometritis

A disease characteristic of females. At its core, it is an inflammation of the uterus and appendages caused by streptococci. The disease occurs with frequent sexual intercourse and childbirth. The only chance to save the pet is to take it to surgery.

Oral inflammation

It usually starts on the inside of the cheeks. In wounds from hard foods, various bacteria develop, causing an inflammatory process. The hamster may develop swelling on its face.

This sore is very unpleasant, but not dangerous. The doctor carefully turns out the pet’s cheeks, removes the remains of rotting food from the wounds and treats them with bactericidal ointments and solutions. After two days, the homa will no longer feel discomfort. The main thing is not to feed the animal for the first 12 hours after cleaning.

And as a preventive measure, make sure that the animal’s food meets the requirements: it is not too hard and does not contain sharp jagged edges.

The listed bacterial infections plague rodents more often than others. Homa can also contract tularemia and listeriosis, but they are much less common.

Viral diseases

Hamsters, like many other mammals, are susceptible to viral attacks. It is harder for tiny creatures to fight viruses, because their immunity is extremely fragile.

Common viral illnesses are:

1. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis. It can be transmitted from a sick hamster to its cubs. Expressed in weakness of the body, sudden weight loss. Choriomeningitis can be treated in the early stages, and it is necessary to treat the animal, because its disease can be transmitted to its owners!
2. False rabies (Aujeszky's disease). The nervous system suffers. The behavior of a sick animal is characterized by increased restlessness; it twitches and constantly tries to scratch itself. In order for the pet to recover, a special serum is injected into it. In advanced cases, paralysis and death occur.
3. Respiratory infections. Few people know that hamsters can develop acute respiratory infections, but this is true. Viruses actively attack the fluffy’s weak body, and as a result, the homa may die. There are no specific antiviral drugs for hamsters, so you should take care of their immunity by giving enough fresh vegetables and herbs. If your pet has a cold, he must cope with the disease himself, without medication.
4. Tumors. There are types of viruses that can provoke the development of neoplasms. It is impossible to cure such illnesses.

Viral infections are difficult to fight, so prevention is important. You should think over the diet of rodents and give them food containing vitamins.

Video “Rabies: what is the danger from cute animals?”

In this video, epizootologist Evgenia Shilova will tell you why rabies is dangerous in hamsters and about known cases of their disease.

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Fungal infections

Fungi parasitize the skin epithelium of furry animals and can be located on the paws and ears. As a result, hamsters develop various sores, dandruff, and itchy skin on their bodies. If the problem is not solved in time, the animal will scratch itself into deep scratches, bacteria will settle in them and inflammatory and putrefactive processes will begin.

What do hamsters suffer from, what mycoses?

1. Dermatophytosis. The skin peels off, ulcers appear, and the fur begins to come out. Dermatophytosis must be treated with special solutions (chlorhexidine, miramistin), ointments or shampoos, which must be prescribed by a veterinarian.
2. Lichen. In areas that have lost hair, fresh wounds and drying crusts are visible. The disease is contagious, so do not keep a healthy hamster in the same cage as a sick one. The sore is diagnosed by scraping and treated with special creams and ointments. If the hamster has no wounds or peeling on the skin, but the hair has fallen out, then this is not lichen, but vitamin deficiency.
3. Trichomonosis. A hamster can become infected with this parasite through dirty water or low-quality food. Young animals under the age of one year become ill more often. The symptom is unique and easy to recognize: a yellow tint to the throat from the inside. Over time, a swelling appears there, preventing the animal from breathing. To prevent infection, it is necessary to frequently disinfect the cage, monitor the quality of food and utensils, and the cleanliness of all objects with which the animal comes into contact.

Metabolic disorders

Do you know what hamsters get sick with besides viral, fungal and cold infections? Some individuals experience metabolic disorders. Sometimes they are hereditary, but sometimes humans are also to blame, as is the case with diabetes mellitus among the Djungarians.

Diabetes

Interestingly, the symptoms of diabetes in hamsters are the same as in humans:

• irrepressible thirst and increased appetite;
• sharp fluctuations in weight (quickly losing weight or getting fat);
• physiological fluids smell like acetone (urine, saliva);
• increased interest in the wheel: the animal is able to spin it longer than usual without stopping.

Diabetes mellitus is diagnosed using a laboratory blood test - checking glucose levels. After the diagnosis is established, drug treatment and a diet with a high protein content and a small amount of “fast” carbohydrates are prescribed.

Stroke

Metabolic diseases also include vascular diseases that occur in old age. Stroke in hamsters is often caused by the deposition of cholesterol plaques in the vessels of the head (that is, lipid metabolism is impaired). When the plaque completely covers the lumen of the vessel, blood accumulates, and the walls of the vein or artery stretch under its pressure. But they cannot stretch forever, the vessel bursts and hemorrhage occurs.

Stone disease

Stone disease is a very dangerous condition for hamsters. It occurs when salt metabolism is disrupted, as a result, sand gradually accumulates in the kidneys, bladder and bile ducts, combining into pebbles. When the stone moves, it causes hellish pain, the hamster screams heart-rendingly. Also, with this disease, the hamster's tail is tucked, the animal rarely pees, and there is blood in the urine. In small rodents the disease is not treated.

Obesity

In nature, hamsters are in a state of perpetual motion. And in our home they are often deprived of many active activities. There is a particularly high risk of decreased activity due to obesity, which can lead to even more dire consequences. After all, obesity is the first path to cardiovascular diseases and muscle atrophy. To avoid problems, carefully monitor your pet’s diet and make sure that his cage has enough “horizontal bars” for exercise: a running wheel, ladders, free space, tunnels. Let the animal out for a free run more often, the main thing is to carefully ensure that it does not run anywhere and get hurt.

Obesity, like urolithiasis, is typical for mature hamsters. It occurs infrequently in active dwarf hamsters (unless accompanied by diabetes); Syrian hamsters have a greater predisposition.

The photo shows an obese hamster.

Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a hormonal disorder in hamsters. The main cause of hormonal imbalances is frequent childbirth. At the same time, the hamster becomes lethargic, irritable, and her tummy is slightly swollen, bowel movements are irregular. It is possible to cure a female, but it cannot be done without surgery.

Hormonal changes coupled with poor nutrition can cause hemorrhoids in a hamster. This is a painful condition in which it is painful for the animal to defecate; in the hamster, blood can be seen on the fur under the tail.

Obesity

Hamsters are extremely active animals. In nature, they have their own grounds, which they run around every night. During the night they run many kilometers in search of food. If a hamster is deprived of the opportunity to lead an active lifestyle, he may well become obese. What diseases can a hamster develop as a result of obesity? Problems with the cardiovascular system, fatty liver, problems with the kidneys and other internal organs.

To avoid obesity, you should strictly monitor compliance with the standards for keeping your hamster. First of all, he must have a cage of the correct size:

• for the Djungarian hamster the bottom is greater than or equal to 50*30 cm;
• for the Syrian hamster the bottom is greater than or equal to 60*40 cm.

A hamster must have a wheel in its cage. Short walks with the owner will not replace a long and energy-consuming run in a wheel, to which the hamster’s instincts push it. A small wheel is not useful, and even dangerous for a hamster. Using a wheel that is too small can cause spinal curvature in larger species, which can cause Syrian hamsters to develop illnesses that cannot be treated.

Wheel size standards:

• for a dwarf hamster - with a diameter of 16 cm;
• for a Syrian hamster - with a diameter of 18 cm.

Another cause of obesity may be poor quality food. When choosing food for your hamster, be sure to familiarize yourself with its composition. Most of the cheap food sold in pet stores is extremely low quality. Your hamster's diet should also include vegetables and fruits. Protein supplements are also important: dried insects, egg whites, chicken fillet boiled without seasoning. You shouldn’t skimp on your pet’s health; you need to buy high-quality food recommended by breeders.

Diseases caused by stress

Many factors contribute to stress for furbabies. Among them are sharp sounds, persecution by the cat, poor care, poor nutrition, inattention or intrusiveness of the owners. All this disrupts the hamster’s mental balance and causes serious illnesses. Their treatment should first of all be aimed at eliminating stress factors, and then at eliminating symptoms.

What do hamsters get sick with when they are stressed?

1. Eczema. In autumn, the skin becomes sensitive, it peels off, wounds and sores appear, the fur seems to fade before our eyes, becomes dry and hard.
2. Baldness. The wool falls out in large clumps. A specific area may become bald, or there may be islands of skin devoid of hair. Most often it occurs due to the lack of the required amount of vitamins and microelements. However, it can also be caused by simply experiencing severe stress. Therefore, at the first suspicion, make sure your pet is comfortable and eating the right diet. Externally, the problem is similar to lichen, but the skin is smooth and does not have any defects. At first, the two ailments are absolutely identical, so at the first sign, run to the doctor and find out the root cause. In this situation, you cannot rely on chance or traditional methods; it is better to take the necessary tests and get an accurate diagnosis. After all, both diseases are dangerous for the animal.
3. Paralysis and heart attack. A strong sudden fright may well cause cardiac arrest, partial or complete paralysis of the furry.

Many people don’t know what to do to stop their hamster getting sick. First of all, you should think: what doesn’t your pet like? Why is he uncomfortable? We suggest you study the tips on this issue:

• do not yell at your pet or hit it under any circumstances;
• do not allow other pets near the cage;
• Do taming only a few days after acquiring the furry;
• do not force the animal to play or eat;
• monitor your hamster's diet;
• place the cage in places where there are no drafts;
• remove noisy devices from the cage;
• Clean your hamster's house more often.

As you can see, the recommendations are the simplest. But they will provide the animal with peace of mind and will not allow it to get sick from stress.

As you can see, most hamster diseases are the result of unsanitary conditions, improper care and feeding. You have the power to make the life of a funny animal interesting and comfortable, and this will increase its chances of a long and happy life without disease.

Dental problems

Like any other rodent, hamsters' front teeth are in a state of perpetual growth. However, too fast a pace can cause pain and inconvenience to the animal, because it does not have time to grind them down. Sometimes a bad bite leads to pain in the mouth. Such defects are common and often inherited. It can be noticed by increased salivation and refusal even of favorite treats. It is best to take your pet to a veterinarian, as only he can determine the exact cause and prescribe effective treatment.

Drugs used to treat rodents

Some medications are dangerous for the body of hamsters, so it is better to avoid using them. Among them are Penicillin, Ampicillin, Gentamicin and cephalosporins. It is forbidden to use antibiotics without consulting a veterinarian.

To strengthen the body, pets are given vitamin tablets and liquid concentrates.

Fungal infections are treated with the following drugs:

1. Triderm.
2. Fluconazole.
3. Ketoconazole.
4. Griseofulvin.

Inflammation of the pouches

The inside of the cheek pouch can be easily damaged by a sharp object. Since the hamster uses it constantly, pieces of food will get into the wound, which will further aggravate the situation. If you suspect, take your baby to the vet. He examines the animal, turning the bags outward. Under no circumstances try to do this yourself: there is a high risk of harming your pet even more. Such wounds are cleaned with conventional bactericidal agents, but first you need to remove food debris from them with special tweezers.

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