# Syrian Hamster in Deep Sleep but don't think it's Torpor? HELP



## Nyah626 (Jul 23, 2017)

This afternoon I found my syrian hamster Toffee in an almost unresponsive state of deep sleep, she moves and twitches occasionally and she is breathing but her body temp is super low. I've been trying to warm her up and I know the symptoms look a lot like torpor but my bedroom is pretty warm so i don't think it could be that. I'm super worried for her as i don't know what's wrong or how to help so any information would be super useful. I would go to a vet but i don't know of any small animal vets that i could get her to and I'm not taking her to my local vet to be told that they don't know what's wrong as I've brought hamsters to them and they don't know anything about hamsters.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

Hi. No one has responded so I'll try and help. I think it's torpor. Just because it's warm for you, doesn't mean it's warm for her. They can go into torpor or full Hibernation when temperatures start to drop below 15°C. Are you sure that there isn't a draft? Is there enough bedding in her environment to keep her warm? Has she got plenty of food and water available? In full Hibernation signs of life are very subtle while it can be a bit more obvious with torpor. 

Hamsters are from warm, dry climates. It may be dropping in temperature during the day, but more commonly at night. 

If she appears to be in a deep sleep and unresponsive move her limbs. Are they loose and floppy? If yes, chances are she's in torpor or Hibernation. If she appears stiff then I'm afraid she has passed.

If it is indeed torpor or Hibernation, you are on the right line of trying to warm her up. Holding her against your body for 30 mins may help. Or put her in a towel and place her by a warm water bottle (not too hot) for about an hour. 

While she's 'warming up' have a look online for how to gently bring a hamster out of Hibernation and what to expect. Let me know how things are going, I hope all is well


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## Nyah626 (Jul 23, 2017)

Aaa, i totally forgot about this thread that i posted . So unfortunately this happened twice to Toffee, the first time this happened I treated it like torpor and i warmed her back up again and eventually got some food into her, i was talking to her breeder and she said the symptoms sounded like she had suffered a stroke . I took her to the (exotic) vet the next day but they said that from what they saw her as then she was fine and there was nothing they could do. Previously her cage had a sand area and an area for bedding that was at least 10cm thick, she got plenty of bedding and my room is one of the warmer rooms in the house so it definitely could never have dropped below 15 degrees, also this happened during the day while i was in school and never at night when my room gets much colder than daytime so torpor really wasn't possible, after the first incident i gave Toffee a lot more nesting material than she could ever need and placed hot water bottles near her nest on colder days, I also simplified the layout of her cage a lot so she could find everything easily as i noticed that her mobility was not as good as before. Despite all my efforts 6 days after the first incident i found Toffee face-down in her sand with the same symptoms of last time, sand was jammed up her nose and mouth and it's a miracle she was still breathing then, i cleared away the sand and a tried to warm her up like last time but she wasn't recovering as fast and although i tried my best to save her I didn't have high hopes.. 
She only lasted a few hours before she passed..
I'm not sure what exactly she was suffering but I don't know how much it matters anymore to know, strokes sound plausible enough to me after watching what Toffee went through. I'm heartbroken to lose her but I'm at least glad that her suffering is now over and I was there to say goodbye and tell her that she is loved greatly before she left.


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## Smolmaus (Oct 3, 2019)

I'm so sorry about Toffee  

I also think it sounds like a stroke, one my my past hams had very similar symptoms and did the same thing, recovered for a while then it happened again. Vet also said it was stroke in that case. I think there are worse ways to go tbh, and at least you know that you couldn't have done any more for her. 

RIP Toffee


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

RIP Toffee.

I'm so sorry to hear this, are you ok? I'm sure you have given her a wonderful life.


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