I got my daughter a syrian hamster on the24 may 09. I asked the pet shop for a male and was asured that it was. we got a free vet health check which i thought was really good only harry the hamster turned out to be a female (hannah). (tipical) and she came out of a all male cage. (aaahhh) and could be haveing babys. iv had hamsters as a youngster but allways had males! so i dont no if her behavior is normal? so here it goes! she constantly wake up in the day. she has started to sneeze ( thats what it sounds like) but not all the time. and last nite she was in her play box and she started to act strange! eg: rubing her self all over the side of the box. walking nearly flat with her tail up. so we put her in her ball to have a run round she seemed ok at first then she started to shake or more like vibrate so we put her back in he rotastak and she seems ok! iv got loads of hamster books and none tells me why this happens. is this normal my daughter loves her i hope shes gunna be ok. sorry its a long post. can any one help please

She could have a hamster cold.
The rubbing up the side of the cage could me something to do with mites. Have you noticed any bald patches on her fur, and does she scratch much?
Also, whats her poo like? Sounds dogey, but if distressed, some hamsters can get wet tail

thanks for your reply she does clean herself alot but the vet told me when she went for health check that she was ok no mites ect its been really hot so im not sure she has a cold it has crossed my mind but im not ruling that out i have resently changed her beeding so im wondering if the sneezing could have something to do with that? im going to change it back to what she had before. her poo is ok too

Sounds like she could be on heat. They rub themselves on the side of the cage to spread their scent about. Also, the going flat and sticking her tail up thing is her way of preparing for mating (I think!).

The shaking concerns me more. If you are worried consider taking her to the vets.

yes shes due another check on the 12/6/09 to see if shes having babys but if shes in heat she cant be can she??? i wish they gave me a male there so much easyer that was the first time she ever done that. and shes lively at nite i just dont understand it.

That was my thought as well. It also happens in female rats. It's called lordosis.


The shaking could also be part of the same behaviour. With female rats they tend to "vibrate" when touched; you can see their ears wiggling as they do it.

why are males easier?

the general care of a syrian is the same for both sexes...

also by the 12th is will be far too late to see if she's pregnant, she'll have had them by then or be ready to have them that night!

Sneezing - get dust free sawdust. Pets at home sell it.

Next time you buy a hammy head turn it upside down and check for balls!

Hope she gets better soon.

males tend to be calmer than females as they dont get in heat and i was garanteed a male by a girl at pets at home. I didnt check took her word for it!!! Anyway got hannah out to nite still acting strange licking my hand and jumpy as though shes getting a shock constant. shes lively enough again its really strange. I phoned vets cant get her in till 12th

i've never experienced a difference in behaviour across males and females personally

also, pets at home, don't take their word on ANYTHING, especially something as obvious to part as a syrian hamster

anything you buy from there, ask if you can check the animals over first
people over the road ended up with a male/female pairing of guinea pigs out of PAH

how hard is it to tell the difference? honestly...
ugh. can;t believe i;m probably going to end up working there one day ;-/

I no i wont be doing that again. Anyway managed to get hannah an appointment at vets to nite so hopefully i'l find out if she is haveing baby hammys (hope not) and i should find out why shes shaking aswell. when i got my daughter a hamster i didnt no it was gunna be this much trouble i'l let you all no what happens to nite anyway.

well we went to the vets and they still dont no if shes pregnant but they think she has some sort of infection wee or a cold. Hence the sneezing and they think she has a temp hence the shakeing. They put hannah on antibiotics for a week (liquid gunna be a laugh giving it to her) ANY IDEAS WELCOME And we just goto hope shes gunna be ok. anyway must go give hannah med i'l let you no how thing go and thank you all for your help

Is there any chance you could try using non text speak and punctuation, along with the odd capital letter?

It would make your posts so much easier to read.

I would use the large wood-chippings instead of sawdust, also with bedding...try not to use the 'fur' type - use the stranded material type instead as there is much lesser dust particles. Another tip is always wash your hands BEFORE handling hamsters as they can be prone to the slightest of infections from humans. one of our hamsters (last november) had 'wet-tail' and we thought it was the runs...luckily after a visit to the vets and some medication he made a full recovery as it was caught just in time.

Having kept various types of hamsters over the last 15 years...the symptoms you explain are NOT uncommon.

Firstly...you say the hamster wakes up in the day? Well MY hamster which is a Roborovski (http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/r...i_hamsters.htm) is quite the OPPOSITE to most hamsters. He actually SLEEPS at night and comes out most of the day...why? because where he is kept - which is the hall, it is quite dark even during the day so he has no real sense of time so he comes out early morning around 6.00am until around 3.00pm in the afternoon. Not ALL animals of that species are actually 'nocturnal' as most people think.

Rubbing against the sides of the cage IS quite normal on occasions and...they even roll on their backs as well...BUT not constantly. If you have other pets such as dogs etc...it could be a flea or mite infection. The thing that is worrying is when you say the hamster 'crawls' with it's tail up...THIS could BE the start of 'wet tail' which could be fatal for a hamster. The crawling could be pain of which he/she cannot walk properly so I would definately keep an eye underneath and check her discharges every few hours. If there is ANY signs of what looks like dihorreah...then it is more than likely 'wet-tail' and it needs to be acted on URGENTLY and taken to a vet. If wet-tail IS caught at the very earliest stages...then they normally recover if they are young...but please...constantly check underneath the hamster and check to see if it does solid discharges...if they ARE solid and there is NO wetness around there...then it is NOT wet-tail...if at all there IS dark and wet dampness...then act immediately.

Thank you for your advice she has been checked for mites and we have no other pets her droppings seem ok but i'l make sure i keep an eye on it in case theres any change. though she seems lively enough she's still really shakey.I just hope things settle down soon and the antibiotics start to work.

http://img30.imageshack.us/my.php?im...4ab99e0cc8.jpg

Maybe it's been radicalized.

It might be planning a suicide attack on some innocent field mice.

Saw dust could be causing the sneezing, I would also recommend Wood shavings instead, and make sure they are unscented.

Also although they look fun, Rotastack cages are not suitable for Syrians beyond 3 or 4 months of age as they simply do not have the amount of room to move around and exercise in that they need.

as an aside... the OP probably IS using woodshavings

after being on animal care for two years now, i've found people mix the names up a lot
i've even done it on occasion

well still no babys yet. Though she is gettin big round the middle. shes still sneezing a little. though shes lively still. noticed one of her eyes looks a bit sticky. She got out her rotastack the other day. managed to get her in the morning she loves chocolate drops. and couldnt resist. Anyway i'l let you no if any babys arrive there due tonight or thu. It works out 15 or 18 days from conceving is that right?

yeah that's about right, she should ideally give birth on the 16th night

if her eye is sticky and keeps being sticky you may want to bathe it with clean water and a small amount of cotton wool, just to ease it up a bit

Pets at Home have a poor record on the health of the animals they sell. It's good that the vet is keeping an eye on Hannah.

I had a female Syrian who would try out all sorts of odd and loopy behaviours, despite being healthy and never being pregnant. She was really funny.
I noticed you mentioned a hamster ball in your OP; sorry to be all finger-waggy, but those things aren't really a very good idea and Hannah is better off exercising by running up and down your arm, or tootling round on top of a bed, with supervision, of course.

PAH are especially bad with their fish...

horrible state of affairs.

thankfully the hamsters i've bought from there were fine

You shouldn't ever give hamsters chocolate.

It gets melted in their pouches and causes all kinds of problems.

They probably mean hamster chocolate drops.

I agree with others about P@H, I have only had one syrian from them and he almost died due to diarrhoea, however they do vary a lot in quality from place to place. Some are very good.

After almost two months of care, even though it is worrying and a hassle at the time it's very rewarding. My little boy is now 4 months old.

I don't understand the problem with hamster balls, as long as they are an adequate size and supervised (along with the hamster enjoying it) they are fine. It's personal preference.

Let us know how she's doing!

Small animals don't like being enclosed in small spaces they cannot get out of. It's not like a wheel, where the critter can jump in and out at will, or ignore it entirely.

Hamsters in those ball things aren't "exploring", they're trying to get out.