How to Give A Hamster Health Check
Hamster health checks are important for catching problems in your hamster. Catching health issues early can save not only money, but your hamster’s life. There are multiple steps to a health check. Some steps are not possible for an untamed hamster, but doing as many as possible is much better than nothing. Also, you can work with your hamster to make health checks and vet visits easier.
Health checks are not a vet visit substitute. They give you a baseline for what is healthy, and allow you to realize when something is off, so you can monitor or take them to a vet if necessary. Each part of your hamster could get hurt differently; understanding how and why helps prevent and catch it early.
A crucial part of keeping your hammy healthy is providing proper care in the first place. Having too small of a cage, providing an improper diet, and having the wrong bedding can all contribute to and worsen health issues. It is a good idea to review your pet care by studying new research to ensure you are providing the best, most updated care out there. This way, your hamster has the best chance to live his/her happiest, healthiest life.
Hamster health check: Weight
How To
You need a kitchen scale for this one. When your hamster’s cheeks are empty, turn on the scale, tare it, then set it to grams. Next, set your hamster on the scale. Keep a record of the weights in a notebook, on Google Documents, or anywhere easy for you to find.
The hamster may not want to sit still for you. Blocking the exit with your hand may work, but if it doesn’t, you can set a cup on the scale. After taring the scale, put your hamster in the cup and check the weight. Their carrier is another option to put them in, but if it is too heavy, it might not work even with taring.
The reason I say grams instead of ounces is ounces are going to all be fractions, especially with dwarves. Grams has solid, whole numbers which are easier to read and understand. For example, the average weight for a roborovski hamster would be 0.71 – 0.88 ounces, but in grams it is 20 – 25g.
Regular weight checks raise the alarm if your hamster gains or loses weight. Weight loss is an early sign of health issues. Sickness, injury, teeth problems, and infection all cause weight loss. Old age makes it more difficult to keep weight on as well. Elderly hammies may need more protein and fat to help maintain a healthy weight.
What is Normal?
Each hamster has their own healthy weight. Below are species weight averages.
Roborovski
20g – 25g
Winter White
40g – 60g
Campbell's Dwarf
40g – 60g
Chinese Dwarf
43g – 51g
Syrian
150g – 200g
My Hamsters' Averages
I owned every domestic hamster species except roborovski, or robo, hamsters. Despite being below average, all my hamsters are healthy weights. (Note: the averages below include weights when they were still growing, which may skew the average lower)
Quinn, my Campbell/Winter White cross was 32.9g on average. Her lowest weight was 27g and her highest was 45g. She was a pet store hamster.
Sora, my Chinese Dwarf, was 33.1g on average. Her lowest weight was 28g, her highest being 41g. She was a pet store hamster.
Jess, my Syrian hamster, averages 96g. I only have 3 weights on her and 2 from when she was still growing, so while her lowest is 68g, her highest, 138g, is closer to an accurate average. She’s the youngest of my current two. She is a pet store hamster.
Raven, my Syrian hamster, averages 192.7g. Her lowest is 130g and her highest is 238, though it’s noted there was some food in her pouch. 230 might be more accurate. She is from Nantucket Hamstery.
You might wonder why it matters if they were from a pet store hamster or not for weight. I have one Syrian from a pet store and another from a breeder. One is larger, providing some evidence to her better genetics.
Hamster health Check: Body
Feel and look around the body for any lumps, scabs, hair loss, sore spots, and wounds. Get to know what your hamster’s normal is. Look for abnormal coloration as well.
How does the belly feel when you press there? It should have some give. If it does not, or it feels hard and lumpy, your hamster may have constipation, tumors, or megacolon.
Hamster Health Check: Belly
Either pick your hamster up, or raise their front paws to expose their belly. You may need to ease them into being held on their back for brief periods, because not a single hamster I owned enjoyed having their belly up. For less tame hamsters, put them on a transparent surface like glass and look up at them from below.
In females, check teats for leakage, puss, swelling, lumps, enlargement, and foul odor. Check the vaginal entrance for abnormal smells and discharge. Females can get pyometra, or a uterine infection, which can kill without a spay. For males, check testicles for abnormal lumps, swelling, and irritation.
Hamsters can have rectal prolapse, which is fixable if caught early. So it’s good to look during the health checks and get familiar with what normal looks like. As soon as something abnormal happens, red flags raise which may save their life. Diarrhea, known as wet tail in hamsters, symptoms present as a wet, stinky butt from loose stool. Unlike with people, the condition can be deadly within a few days if untreated and needs immediate vet attention.
Scent glands
All hamsters have scent glands. Dwarves have one on their belly. Syrians have two in front of their hips. They might feel waxy or greasy. Look for irritation, inflammation, swelling, unusual lumps or growth, bleeding, strange discharge, and impaction. An unpleasant, musky odor is natural. A sick, rotting odor is not. Book a vet appointment if anything is off with your hamster’s scent glands.
Hamster Health Check: Teeth
To check a hamster’s teeth, you will need to scruff them. The method varies depending on if you have a dwarf or a Syrian hamster. Make sure their pouches are empty.
Dwarf Hamsters
For dwarf hamsters, start with your thumb and index finger on the lower part of where their pouches are and gently pinch/pull up. It should gather skin between their haunches and make them open their mouths. You can pick them up this way.
Syrian Hamsters
For Syrians, you can not pick them up. Support their back feet to prevent injury because they are too heavy.
What to look for
I recommend scruffing under a light or in a well lit room, so you can get a good look as quick as possible. You are looking for teeth discoloration, malocclusion or improper positioning, and chips or breaks. Normal tooth color is yellow or orange. Bright white teeth are abnormal unless the hamster is very young. Crooked teeth can’t wear down properly, causing overgrowth which may puncture sensitive flesh or their skull. Teeth malocclusion requires a vet for pulling or correction. Chipped teeth usually fix themselves by growing to the proper length. However, they need monitoring to make sure they don’t grow back crooked or cause sores. The hamster might need a softer diet during this time. You can make a soft diet by soaking the rodent block. You are also sniffing for rot or decay, which may show infection.
Hamster Health Check: Hearing
I like to hold them to the side and make a click click sound to check hearing. Then repeat on the other side. Their ears should twitch towards your voice.
Hamster Health Check: Pouches
Pouches can get impacted. If a hammy can’t clear it on their own, they may need vet help to prevent infection. Normally this doesn’t happen unless they pouch something they shouldn’t, like gum, crayons, cotton fluff, wax, or soft sticky stuff, but if your ham ever has full pouches for over a day, you may need to check it out. During a health check, you can feel their pouches for stuff inside them, which is important to know when checking weights.
Do not empty a hamster’s pouches, let them do it on their own. Doing it yourself could hurt and stress them out. If a hamster’s pouches get impacted, let a vet do it.
Hamster Health Check: Behavior
Normal behavior is one of the easiest things to check. You don’t even have to pick them up. Signs of lethargy, airplane ears, puffed fur, and hunched posture are all red flags. Lethargy signs are slower movement, reluctance to move, squinty eyes, and less reactivity. Low reactivity examples are your hamster not running to get a treat, caring less if you pick it up, or not trying to steady itself if a leg is dangling.
If you see any of these, pick up your hammy and give it a very good look over. Then keep them in a smaller cage with shallow bedding, food, water, and a basic hide for better observation. There may be another visual indicator showing what is wrong, but even if there isn’t, I recommend a vet.
Making It Easier
Your hamster might be afraid of people, or not like being handled. Earning their trust by spending time next to the cage when they are out and offering treats is a big step in making health checks easier. Few hamsters enjoy exposing their belly. You can get them used to it by picking them up, holding them on their back, then turning them upright and giving them a treat. Do it for only a second at first, then increase the time over a few weeks.
Frequency
Doing health checks once a week or every two weeks can alert you to stuff going wrong that may need either further observation or a vet appointment/call. If your hamster has a problem, take pictures for the vet every day if possible to monitor progression/improvement. If there are other symptoms, document those too. You are the first line of defense against finding hammy health issues. The more you know, the stronger your walls.
References And Further Reading
Warning: Many of these links contain medical and surgical gore. They also contain image examples of visually disturbing health issues. I included these because they are excellent information sources for hamster health problems. They show how a vet may treat it so you are more prepared for the event this happens to your hamster. They also give more knowledge of what to watch for, so you are more likely to catch the problem sooner, when it is easier to treat.
Disclaimer: You are not a vet. Never attempt to perform surgical procedures, leave that to the professional. Do not use this information to self treat your hamster. Use it to mentally and financially prepare yourself for what might need done, and to catch problems sooner and get your hamster to a vet faster so they will survive.
Merk Manual Veterinary Manual Professional Version Hamsters
Exotic Veterinary Magazine – Surgical Techniques in Pet Hamsters (PDF)
Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital – Common Problems in Hamsters
(Contains no graphic images) MSD Manual Veterinary Manual PET OWNER VERSION Disorders and Diseases of Hamsters
Management of Rectal Prolapse in a Hamster- A Case Report (PDF)
