If you plan to adopt this rodent, it is very important to know the most common diseases in hamsters to prevent any problems that may affect your pet on time. As night creatures, many of the first symptoms of their most common diseases can go unnoticed, so we recommend that you do a weekly physical exam on your pet, so you can detect possible conditions as soon as possible. In addition to proper feeding and hygiene of the hamster cage, you must provide your pet with the care it needs and prevent the most common diseases that we will show you below in Animal Expert.
Abscesses are pieces of pus sucesano, usually red and protruding, painful and can form anywhere in the body due to a reaction of the hamster’s immune system. They differ from tumors because abscesses often contain traces of the wounds that formed them.
- These lumps occur.
- Usually due to bacterial or parasitic infections.
- Or poorly cured cuts and bites.
- Treatment depends on the severity of the infection or abscess.
- But usually it is usually only necessary to open it.
- Properly clean the infected area and heal the wound with a little ointment.
- If this is not enough.
- The veterinarian may recommend antibiotics.
- If necessary.
- To eliminate infections.
Dust mites and fungi are another of the most common diseases in hamsters. These parasites are usually present in our pets but can get worse if there is stress, the immune system is weak, bacterial or skin infections, poor diet or poor cage hygiene. They can also occur from contagion with other animals infected with parasites.
Symptoms that mites or fungi produce in the hamsters cause excessive itching, irritated or skinless areas, eczema or scab formation and more movement and agitation in the cage than normal.
Treatment will depend on the type of mites or fungi contracted by our animal, but it is generally sufficient to disinfect the animal (and its cage) with specific products (always provided by a veterinarian), maintain proper nutrition and hygiene of its cage. and, if the infestation is caused by scabies on the skin, it will be necessary to urgently take the hamster to the veterinarian, although this disease can be distinguished from the milder conditions as it also produces blisters on the limbs, ears and snout.
The common cold is one of the most common diseases in hamsters that can cause bronchitis and/or pneumonia if they have not healed well. This condition usually occurs when the animal is affected by sudden changes in temperature or because it is frequently exposed to air currents.
Symptoms range from shortness of breath, loss of appetite, sneezing, watery eyes, tremors or runny nose. But if the cold doesn’t heal well and these symptoms persist with coughing, constant nasal discharge, redness of the snout, and wheezing, the hamster may very well have bronchitis or even pneumonia.
Treatment in these cases is very similar to that of humans. So you should give him a warm, dry place, plenty of rest, nutritious food and take it to the vet as he may need antibiotics and other medications.
The wet tail or proliferative ileitis is one of the most well-known and contagious diseases in hamsters. It is a very similar condition to diarrhea and often confuses, but it is not the same.
Wet tail disease often affects younger hamsters (3 to 10 weeks), especially those that have recently been weaned, due to stress or overcrowding, or poor nutrition or hygiene in the cage. The cause is a bacteria inherent in the intestines of these animals, called coli-bacteria, but that can be activated by some of these previous causes. The incubation period is 7 days and the most obvious symptoms are abundant and watery diarrhea, tail and very dirty and wet area in appearance, loss of appetite and dehydration resulting, and wraps the animal.
Treatment for this condition is very similar to gastroenteritis or diarrhea. You should rehydrate and feed the animal properly, isolate it from your other companions so as not to spread the disease, take it to the veterinarian so that it prescribes antibiotics and completely disinfect the cage and all its components so as not to affect other animals.
Diarrhoea and constipation are two common diseases in hamsters that have completely opposite symptoms and can therefore be well differentiated.
In case of diarrhea, the animal has pasty or liquid stools, lack of appetite and lack of activity, and the area is very dirty (so it is often confused with wet tail disease). Diarrhoea can be caused by bacterial infections, overeating with many fresh products, poor hygiene of the cage and its components, sudden changes in temperature, etc. In this case, treatment should consist of moisturizing the hamster with plenty of water, eliminating fresh food. of your diet (lax fruits and vegetables, giving you astringent foods such as cooked rice, cleaning the area to avoid infections and consulting the veterinarian for antibiotics if necessary).
On the other hand, in case of constipation, there is a lack or decrease of the stool, which will be small and hard, the hamster will have a swollen and slightly moist anus, and may present pain, lack of appetite and swelling of the abdomen. . It is usually caused by poor or unbalanced feeding and treatment involves giving the animal plenty of water and laxative fruits and vegetables.
Hamsters have cheek pockets to store food and can sometimes become clogged and affected by injuries and/or abscesses. Unlike humans, the cheek bags of these animals are dry and not wet, so sometimes injuries or abscesses can occur if they ingest food in poor or sticky conditions, which prevents them from emptying their cheeks. If your pet has this condition, you may notice swelling in your cheeks.
In this case, you can treat the hamster by taking it to the veterinarian to clean and thoroughly empty the bags, extracting all the food that is left inside and performing the respective treatments.
Hamsters are often in contact with others of their species and in some of their fights or even while playing, they can bite or cause body injuries.
Affected hamsters usually clean the slightest wounds and heal within a few days. But if we realize that you have a serious injury or bleeding, we should treat it by treating it better, cutting the hair of the affected area, cleaning the wound and applying an antibiotic ointment, so as not to catch you. In case of infection, it is recommended to consult a veterinarian.
Eye irritation or hamster infections are also another of the most common diseases in these animals. Whether it’s a fight with another hamster, something like dust, dirt, a haystack or a wood chip, or a bacterial infection, the eyes of our animals can be injured in different ways.
Symptoms that occur are excessive tears, bulging and/or infected eyes and an excess of rashes. In this case, if the eye injury is benign, the affected eye can be cleaned with a cloth soaked in warm water until the animal opens the eye, and once opened apply saline or eye drops. If the eye injury is severe, we should consult a veterinarian to prescribe the appropriate medicines such as antibiotic ointments, for example.
Tumors are internal or external lumps that develop hamsters, like other species, due to an increase in the cells that make up them, which can be benign or malignant. If the tumor is malignant and has the ability to invade and metastasize in places other than the original tumor, it’s called cancer.
These lumps can be distinguished from other conditions such as fatty lumps or cysts, because touching them does not move and usually appear by multiple factors, but the most common is due to the aging of the animal. The most noticeable symptoms are both external and internal lumps (although these are more difficult to detect and are generally not detected in time), a generally sick appearance with lack of appetite, low activity and weight and hair loss.
External tumors can be removed by an operation performed by a qualified veterinarian, although there is no guarantee that they will not recur. And internal tumors are also operable, but much harder to detect and remove, mainly because of hamster size. Treatment will depend on the age and condition of the animal’s bumps.
This article is for informational purposes only, in Animal Expert.com.br we cannot prescribe veterinary treatments or make any kind of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any type of condition or discomfort.
If you would like to read articles similar to, we recommend that you visit our Prevention section.