On This Page:

What I Intend to have on this page when complete:

Introduction

Health Problems and their treatment

What To Expect When You Go To The Vet

Misc Comments and Information

Links

And a selection of books about Hamster Care and related topics

On Other Pages:

Exotic Pet Page

Guinea Pigs
Ferrets
Rabbits
HedgeHogs
Birds


Home/Contents: Animal Pet Doctor







Introduction to Hamsters

Hamsters in the wild are desert creatures from Syria and live in burrows.  Apparently, almost all the hamsters sold in the US as pets are descended from one family of hamsters captured in the 1930's, but there are other lines of hamsters available known as Siberian, Chinese, European, and American.

Basic Info:

Hamsters are fun because you can make intriguing habitats for them with lots of tunnels and burrows and exercise wheels and so forth.  The worst thing about these little creatures, though, is that they have fairly short life spans of about 2 years.

Hamsters are solitary creatures and usually do best when housed alone or small numbers if the cage is big.  Speaking of cages, be sure it is chew proof.

Many vets have had people bring in hamsters that they thought were very sick or even dead, when all that was wrong was that the little guys were HIBERNATING!
They do this if the environment gets too cold.  Ideal temperature for these creatures is between 65 and 75 F (just like us)

Another common problem we vets see in hamsters are impacted cheek pouches or cheek abscess’.  We’ll get to more veterinary problems and comments later, but in the meantime, here’s some basic info:

Average weights are 85-150 grams with the FEMALE more likely to be larger!  Maybe that’s why hamsters aren’t typically Muslim Fundamentalists, even though they’re from Syria.

Normal body temp is 99-101 F
Resp rate ranges from 34-150
Heart rate ranges from 250-500

Hamsters in the wild are omnivores. The best diet for pets, though, are the commercial hamster pellets although it’s okay and appreciated by the hamster is you supplement with fruits, nuts, and cereal.  Hamsters like to bury or hoard food, so don’t supplement with large quantities of things that might go “bad”.

Puberty is at just 10 weeks of age
Gestation is just 15 days plus or minus one day
Litter size is up to 10
Babies need to nurse for about 3 weeks
When females are in heat, they have a lot of white vaginal discharge and like cats will keep coming into heat until bred.  Hamsters are so called seasonally estrus, but all that means is that they are MORE LIKELY to go into heat during the Spring than at other times of the year.


Veterinary Problems we frequently see in hamsters are similar to those we see in Guinea Pigs except that instead of vitamin C deficiencies, we see vitamin E deficiencies.  Other problems include skin abscess’s , mange, and rashes.  Overgrown front teeth that need to be trimmed, and bladder infections and stones.


Coming soon:

Health Problems and their treatment

What To Expect When You Go To The Vet

Misc Comments and Information

Hamsters
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Website Directory

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"What To Expect When You Go To The Vet"
if your pet should have a problem with ...

Abscesses, wounds, and injuries

Arthritis, Lameness, Fractures, and Ligament Injuries
To include Femoral Head Removal, Hip Dysplasia, Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries, Panosteitis, Radiographic Demonstrations, Disc Disease, and Bone Surgery

Bladder, Urinary Tract, & Kidney Problems

Blood Diseases, Anemias etc
Strokes, Vascular Diseases, Anemias, DVT, DIC, Blood Parasites, Rat Poison, & Bleeding disorders

Cancer, Masses, Lumps and Bumps

Cardiology  Heart disease in Cats, Cardiac Hypertrophy, Valvular disease, Cardiac Insufficiency, Congestive Heart Failure, Heartworm Disease, and a little history about the milestones in treating heart disease

Cats: general information page and directory of diseases and problems specific to cats including vaccine recommendations, leukemia, feline viral infections, feline upper respiratory disease and cats that just aren't feeling well.

Dentistry and problems of the mouth and throat

Dermatology: Skin problems including allergies, rashes, bacterial infections, and itching. Hair Loss, Yeast Infections, Hormonal Problems

Diabetes

Ear Infections and Other Ear Problems

Eye Problems  and Ophthalmic Diseases

Exotics:  Pocket Pets, Rabbits, Hamsters etc

Fleas, Ticks, and other parasite problems

Heart disease; Cardiac diseases, vascular diseases, stroke, & heartworms

Hormone Diseases: Diabetes, Thyroid Disease, Cushing's Disease or Hypercortisolism, Addison's disease or Hypocortisolism, Pancreatitis, obesity as a disease

Infectious Diseases  Colds, Distemper, Parvo, Leptospirosis, Bruceellosis, Panleukopenia, Feline AIDS, Leukemia, Hepatitis, Kennel Cough, Ringworm, Rabies, FIP, Canine Herpes, Toxic Shock Syndrome, & More

Intestinal problems: diarrhea, constipation, torsion, indigestion, and gas. Also pancreatitis, vomiting, esophagitis, colitis, parvo and other types of dysentery

Kidney Disease

Liver Diseases     

Metabolic Diseases: Diabetes, Thyroid Disease, Cushing's Disease or Hypercortisolism, Addison's disease or Hypocortisolism, Pancreatitis, obesity as a disease

Neural Problems and Diseases: Epilepsy, Rabies, Distemper, FIP, Paralysis, Tetanus, Seizures, Disc Disease, Toxoplasmosis & others

Obesity; new information and about Pfizer's new FDA approved treatment

Pancreatitis

Parasite Problems Fleas, Ticks, Heartworms, Intestinal Worms, Mosquitos, Lice, Mites, and other welfare recipients

Poisons  Snakes, Insects, household chemicals, plants, and foods that might poison your pet

Respiratory Diseases

Senior Pet Page: Geriatric Medicine

Skeletal-Muscular Problems Arthritis, Fractures, ACL, Ligament Injuries, Disc Disease, Pannus, and many other problems of the bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments

Skin Problems: allergies, rashes, bacterial infections, and itching. Hair Loss, Yeast Infections, Hormonal Problems

Surgery: Spays, Castrations, Testicle Recipes, Soft Tissue Surgery, Hard Tissue Surgery (Bones), C- Sections, Declawing, Tumor Removal and Cancer Surgery

Wounds, punctures, injuries, and abscesses

Urinary Tract Diseases and Problems


Other Topics on This Site

The Human-Animal Bond

History of Veterinary Medicine; lots of interesting stuff    

Zoonotics: Diseases, worms, and parasites people get from pets.

Lab Tests and what they tell us

Medications/Pharmacy Page

Nutrition & Diets
Includes information about Prescription diets used to treat disease, and a discussion about the pet food industry

Reproduction, breeding, & rearing information
Includes information about feline and canine heat or estrus, breeding, C-Sections, pyometra or Infected Uterus, dystocia, no milk, mastitis, & brucellosis
Also newborn care, undescended testicles, and alternative to spaying and castration

Vaccine and other preventive health recommendations

WildLife Page:  Taking care of baby bunnies, squirrels, and birds.  A very funny story about beavers, and other misc information

Our Dog Page:  a directory of problems of concern in dogs including parvovirus, distemper, canine herpes, and other diseases

Veterinary Pet Insurance

Home        How we treat different medical problems in pets; What to Expect        FoxNest Hospital       About our No Kill Shelter       
The History of Veterinary Medicine         The Human-Animal Bond    
There is a complete site map at the bottom of this page

This page in it's first draft... please be patient