Hamsters are generally very healthy animals and rarely need any special treatment. Male hamsters have very large testicles which may be mistaken for tumours. These are perfectly normal. Female hamsters may occasionally have a discharge from their vulva. In small quantities, this is quite normal but if it is very profuse or smelly, take your hamster to the vet to have it checked out.
Sadly, hamsters only live around 2 years and it may be necessary to have your pet put to sleep if he is suffering at the end of his life. For information on this, please visit the 'saying goodbye' pages.
Skin diseases are very common in hamsters. Most will affect them towards the end of their lives and they can be very difficult to treat.
You should take your hamster to the vet to get the cause of the problem diagnosed and to find out if there is any treatment possible.
Hamsters' teeth grow continuously and if poorly aligned, can grow extremely long. The hamsters front teeth should be straight and meet nicely in the centre. If one or more teeth starts curling up or growing longer than the others, you need to take it to the vet to have its teeth trimmed. Do not leave it until the teeth are growing back into the hamster's mouth as this causes severe pain.
Hamsters may also get cheek pouch impactions, where food is stuck in the cheek pouch. This should be removed before the food starts to rot by gently milking the food out towards the mouth. This is a particular problem in hamsters with an amputated leg.
Diarrhoea (also known as 'Wet tail') is not uncommon in young hamsters and is very serious. It is caused by an overgrowth of bad bacteria in the gut and is frequently fatal.
Affected hamsters should be taken to the vet and isolated from any others. Do not feed any fresh food. Antibiotics and injections of fluid may help to cure the problem.
