Hamsters are some of the sweetest and most manageable pets to own. They are pint sized and don’t require an extensive care routine to keep them happy and healthy. Hamsters are very active little pets too and tend to have very set routines. Because healthy hamsters tend to fall into patterns of repetition like this it is usually pretty easy to tell when your hamster is in bad health. If your hamster is breaking their typical routine keep an eye on them to see if they exhibit any signs of injury or other sickness. Hamsters (just like any animals) can face many different kinds of health problems. In this blog post though we will go over some of the most common health issues that people see in their pet hamsters and how you can go about getting those illnesses treated. If you are worried about your hamster’s health but can’t find any information here matching your worries there are more extensive lists out there that cover less common illnesses. If your hamster does have a serious health issue it is a good idea to seek professional help and take them to a veterinarian to get checked out and treated.
In this article you can find information on the following things to help you keep your hamster healthy and happy:
- Common problems with hamsters’ ears, eyes, and teeth
- Common skin and fur conditions in hamsters
- Some ways to begin treating hamster health problems and when to seek help from a vet
Common problems with hamster’s ears, eyes, and teeth
Hamsters don’t have particularly good eyesight to begin with. For many hamsters though, cataracts and blindness are very common problems. This is more common especially with older hamsters, but even if your hamster does go blind they will still be able to live out their lives and remain healthy. While blindness, cataracts, pink eye, and other infections are the most common eye problems for hamsters there are more out there that your hamster may be struggling with and this article can help you diagnose and treat some of the less common ones.
A hamster’s teeth never actually stop growing. A hamster’s teeth are one of its most powerful tools and hamsters need incredibly strong teeth for the diets they have. It is common for hamster’s teeth to get overgrown if they don’t have a proper diet or chew toy to keep their teeth a healthy size. A hamster’s tooth could even break or crack which would severely impact their ability to eat.
Because hamster’s don’t have the best eyesight the main way that they navigate is based on their hearing. Often if your hamster seems to be having hearing problems it is likely to be due to either wax build up, an ear infection, or possibly a parasite. There are other possible afflictions your hamster may be dealing with and here you can find out more about them and how to go about treating them.
Common skin and fur conditions in hamsters
Hamsters don’t tend to get very many serious skin or fur conditions because they are very clean animals. Because hamsters clean themselves very often they rarely attract parasites which can cause skin or fur illnesses. Cage hygiene is a different issue. If you’re not keeping your hamster’s cage clean it becomes more likely that your hamster will contract Aspergillus or Ringworm. Aspergillus is a fungus that can form where your hamster pees if their cage is not cleaned regularly enough. This fungus can be incredibly dangerous to your hamster’s health and isn’t good for you either so if you think this may be happening to your hamster you should take them to the vet and do a thorough cleaning of their cage. The same can be said for ringworm if you think your hamster may have it.
Hamsters can also have problems with fleas or mites like many other animals. Fleas are pretty easy to spot if your hamster has them so they’re not hard to diagnose at home. Most flea treatments for larger animals are toxic to smaller pets like hamsters so you will have to find a flea treatment that is safe for your hamster. This is something that you should ask your vet for advice on.
Some ways to begin treating hamster health problems and when to seek help from a vet
One thing that is very common in hamsters (because they have such poor eyesight) is injuries from bad falls. If your hamster has a bad cut or scrape you should take them to the vet to get it checked out. Not only can this happen from falling out of their cage or off a surface but if you are keeping multiple hamsters together they can also injure themselves if they are being rough with each other. If this is happening you will need to keep your hamsters in separate cages to prevent them from injuring themselves. Another thing to keep an eye out for is if your hamster’s weight is changing a lot. If your hamster loses or gains a lot of weight in a short amount of time you should take them to the vet as this could indicate many of the illnesses mentioned in this blog post.
All in all hamsters are pretty low maintenance and resilient animals. You can do a lot to care for them from home, sometimes thought taking them to the vet is the safer and smarter option to keep them in good health.
