How do you know when ur hamster is dehydrated?

Question

and how can u help at home?

(w/o a vet)

Answer 1

A good way to see if your hamster is dehydrated is if he seems sluggish. Another way is see if he licks the side of the tank. that is a way if him saying that he is thisty. Offer him fresh water. if he doesnt take to that than offer him foods like lettuce that he can get some water from.  but in no circumstance should only lettuce be offered.  always have water available.

Answer 2

First off, a vet wouldn't really help.  There's not much it could do for a hamster since they're so tiny..

As for you, you can look up symptoms of dehydration.  Google isn't helping me much this time, but I found that hamsters may appear to have dry ears when they are dehydrated.

Dehydration is also a symptom of wet tail as hamsters will refuse to eat or drink.  You can buy medicine for them at the Pet Store to help with that.

As for what you can do, well, think common sense.  If it is dying from thirst, give it water!  If it refuses room temperature water, try giving it fresh water.  If that doesn't help, cold ice water (still in the bottle; crushed ice in the bottle).  

A unique thing to try is perhaps giving your hamster an ice cube.  This is merely water and nothing bad for him and it may help if he's hot, too.

Finally, the last thing I can think of to do is get an eye dropper and try giving it a little water.  You have to be extremely careful though and this is not recommended unless you are completely desperate because this alone could kill the hamster.  The hamster may get nervous and breath harder and inhale the water instead of swallowing it.  Leading to respiratory problems and essentially, death.  So, I wouldn't really recommend this unless you were POSITIVE it was the only way left to get water in him.

If you have any problems or need further advice, please feel free to contact me.  (:

Answer 3

If you think your hamster is not drinking, if his behavior is at all off, take him to a vet. Not drinking would be a symptom of an underlying problem if the hamster has water and can reach it. No one can diagnose your pet via the internet and contrary to some people's beliefs, vets can and do help small animals. I have had my rats, hamsters and mice treated on a regular basis as needed. You need to stay on top of things, however. Their metabolisms are very fast, however, so when they start to get it, it tends to progress very quickly.

Answer 4

The signs of dehydration are listlessness, dull, sunken eyes, and loss of skin elasticity. Gather the loose skin behind the hamster's neck gently in your fingers and lift it away from the hamster's body. It should snap back quickly to shape when released. If not, the dehydration is already severe and the hamster is very uncomfortable and at great risk.

Dehydration kills hamsters quickly, and must be diagnosed and treated by a vet. Best always is prevention -- making sure the water bottle is cleaned and refilled with fresh water daily, hung at an appropriate height, and touching the tip several times a day (with very clean hands) to be sure it hasn't become clogged with food or malfunctioned in some way.

If you feel your hamster looks dehydrated, you can force feed him water with a syringe. You can also use Pedialyte solution mixed with water to feed your hamster through a syringe.Hold him gently and put the syringe in his mouth and press gently so that the water falls drop by drop into his mouth. Do not bother if the water drop comes out of his mouth, he will l**k it himself as part of his automatic grooming.

If you feel your hamster is unable to drink from his bottle, leave a heavy dish of water in his cage to help himselves until he learns how to drink from the new bottle. Use a heavy based dish so that they do not tip it over and spoil the bedding.

My guess is that the hamster is a bit confused and still getting used to his new cage. This happens to hamsters when introduced to new environment since they are creatures of habit. I am sure he would figure out himselves how to use the bottle in a few days, until then leave a water dish in his cage and make sure that there is always a drop of water hanging from the tip of the hamster bottle so that your hamster gets attracted to it and learns to drink from the bottle.

Answer 5

WHEN THEY START DRINKING ALOT.  BEWARE THEY GET DIABETES AND YOU MIGHT HAVE TO TAKE YOUR HAMSTER TO THE VET.

Answer 6

Make sure it has plenty of water.  Might even put a very small dish of water in it's cage incase it doesnt like the water bottle.

Answer 7

first off, how long has it been since hes had water? if its been more than a day call your vet just to ask them about it. try taking him out of the cage and putting him next to a little dish with water on it. if that doesnt work you might want to get a pet syringe and squirt some water into his mouth.

Answer 8

You'll know if your hamster stops eating and is lethargic. (which means he won't move for a long time)

If you suspect your hamster is dehydrated, buy a syringe (used for dispensing water or medicene into a rodents mouth.) The syringe will supply your hamster with water. Make sure his water bottle is filled at all times and he can find it.

In case you might not know, here is what a syringe looks like:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21...

Also, I disagree with some of the other people...if it gets to be out of your control, a vet CAN help you, if they're an exotic vet.

Answer 9

Well, you should always have a rodent water bottle/source of water for them nearby. Keep them in a room with a moderate temperature. If your hamster goes to the water bottle to drink and there is nothing left, you know they are thirsty.