# Worried about my hamster



## SilentChev (Aug 27, 2009)

Hey, Some of you may remember me as i used to be active on here a few months ago.

Basically, I've got two dwarf hamstesr which i keep together, Had them around 8 months now, Give or take a couple weeks.

Well i've got several problems really

1. They've started fighting, Well one of them seems to attack the other while he just sits and lets him but makes shouty noises. Now obviously i'm gonna split them up. My mates dropping an old cage round tomorrow morning.
Should i separate them now? I've got an old fishtank which i put them in while claening out the cage. It's about 40cm long by 20 wide. Will this be alright for a day or two?

2. I think they COULD have mites of some kind, Kili spends about 80% of his time inching these days. I cleaned they're cage out yesterday and saw a couple little black bugs, Would these be mites? Bare in mind my hamsters have itched quite often since i first got them but i''ve never seen signs before of Mites before. I check they're fur often to be on the safe side.

3. This morning i've noticed Kili's got a wet patch on his belly, More of less from head to toe. What could this be? He's also moving slower than usual.
I'm worried that it could be "Wet tail" but i'v never had a hamster with that before so dont really know, Plus i've read that it rarely effects dwarf hamsters.

Please, Can someone help me with atleast one of these questions ASAP. 
I'm panicing as it's all happend all of a sudden, Couple of weeks ago they got along fine now everyings messed up and i'm worried.

I've recently got out of hospital after having an operation so i couldnt interact with them as much for around a week and a half.
I dont want to appear like a bad owner, I do care about them i just dont know what to do.

Sorry if i sound like a girl or something, i aint usually good at asking for help over the internet.


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## SilentChev (Aug 27, 2009)

Also, i've recently moved the hamster cage into the living room instead of my bedroom, Which is warmer and sunnier. Could this have just caused them to start sweating more than usual? It's just odd that only one of the hamsters has the wet belly and the other one doesnt.


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## Chloeh (Apr 1, 2010)

Hey I have two dwarf hamsters as well, Mine fight a lot of the time and one, Sparta, makes a lot of noise when they are but they don't hurt each other. 

I usually just break up the fight by pushing one of them to the side then they give over.

As long as theres no blood then they are fine. They usually do play fight when in pairs.

Hope this helps


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

i agree...i wouldn't separate them unless there i blood! Tho the wet patch...that isn't blood is it? If you've seen bugs then i'd go 2 a vets or at least a pet shop and buy "spot on" treatment. But i'd make a vet appt 2 see if they can inject them as if you can see bugs it's probably a worse problem. Also the itching may be making them grumpy with each other. A wet patch...if not blood i don't know. Might be overgrown teeth which is causing him to dribble. But don't know. Xx


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## SilentChev (Aug 27, 2009)

I moved them back into my room last night, and claened them out.
This morning Kili didnt have his wetpatch, So i think it was mainly sweat.

Fighting-wise, Theres no blood yet but Kili doesnt fight back and just lets Fili bite him and that. I dont like the idea of one of them being bullied.

I'm popping to [email protected] on monday to get some spot on stuff, I assume syrian mite treatment will work on dwarfs.


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

just keep an eye on the fighting. Often is just squabbling 4 dominance so it will be just one. Good luck. Xx


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## dee o gee (May 21, 2010)

I have only one dwarf at the moment but used to have two. Sometimes they used to play fight, it was never too serious, but when I thought they were getting a little too rough id make a loud sharp noise (I squeeked at them ) and they would stop to look around them and then forget they were ever fighting! At times it would look like they were killing each other, and they used to make loud squeeking noises but there was never any blood. What cage have you them in? I have heard with the habitrail type cages that have a few compartments connected by tubes, it can cause rows over territory when one hamster decides that a certain area is his. 

As regards the scratching, hamsters I think have scent glands on their sides and they rub their feet against them and walk over an area to scent mark it, could this be the scratching that your seeing? This would also tie in with the territorial fighting that I mentioned above if one of them has started scent marking an area as his.

How long has he had the wet belly? Sometimes iv noticed some of my smallies (have had dwarfs, syrians and gerbils) would occasionally have a wet belly as you said from top to bottom but always put it down to that they have just washed themselves as it would dry again after a while.  If it persists then I would definetely bring him to a vet, especially as you say he is moving slower than usual. Im not sure about wet tail, I think its more common in syrians, but as its brought on by stress (among other things as far as I can remember ) it could possibly be as they would be under more stress if they've been fighting.

I wouldn't be too quick giving them any drops for the possible mites, as I once found little black things in my dwarves cage when cleaning them out, but it turned out to be little insects coming from their food box that was stored beside the cage. If you get some white toilet paper or kitchen roll (doesn't matter as long as its snow white) and give them a good rub with it if they have anything on them you should see it on the paper. Otherwise id just give the cage a really good cleaning and disinfecting, and check in any boxes or bags outside the cage for any of the little buggers, as like me it could be that they were brought in when you bought their food, especially if you get it from a petshop that you scoop the food out of a big bin!  

Good luck with the littles 'uns, they may be small but they can cause such stress in us humans! 

ETA: Im so slow at writing back and didn't see your last post! I wouldn't use spot-on made for syrians as dwarfs are much smaller so it could be too strong for them. If you do put anything on them you will have to keep them separated until they dry as they will just groom it off each other! 
I wouldn't worry if its just little squabbles as as the above poster said its probably just dominance, one of my dwarfs was slightly bigger than the other and was the dominant one so there used to be little squabbles over food and such. I would just keep an eye on them and only separate them if there is blood, but other than that just let them sort it out themselves, and as I said above just make a sharp noise to distract them if it gets too rough.


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## SilentChev (Aug 27, 2009)

Thanks, I'll try the tip about the toilet roll for mites tomorrow.
I think he had just cleaned himeslf which was why he was hot, Either that or waas sweating. They're both been fine all day today and Kili's moving like normal again. Suppose he was just annoyed about the fighting me trying to get involved with them.

I usually just push Fili off Kili when he's biting him. It's odd though because Kili's quite abit bigger than Fili yet Fili appears to be the boss.

Once again, thanks to those who posted


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