[digibod]

and sleep a bit, he also doesnt use his wheel as much. he is only 6 months old. is this normal?

Have you recently put your heating on?

[crazychris12]

No. Ours started doing that and we took him to the PDSA vet and she said he had a urine infection and gave us an antibiotic.

[rockerchick]

can hamsters be diabetic?

[Taboo]

Get him checked out. Could be diabetic,which is quite common.

[digibod]

Originally Posted by kima2904

Have you recently put your heating on?

yes i have

[Taboo]

Originally Posted by kima2904

Have you recently put your heating on?

I dont think that should make a difference tbh...they are desert animals afterall

[tink07]

It does make a difference, they can go into hibernation if there is a sudden change in heat. Best just to take him to the vet incase.

[Taboo]

Originally Posted by tink07

It does make a difference, they can go into hibernation if there is a sudden change in heat. Best just to take him to the vet incase.

Only if it dramatically drops in temperature,not the other way round

[lym]

Take him to the vet, it could be either diabetes or a kidney infection.

[digibod]

Originally Posted by lym

Take him to the vet, it could be either diabetes or a kidney infection.

how much will that cost?

[dollymarie]

Originally Posted by digibod

how much will that cost?

Sorry but when you decided to get a pet you also decided that you would look after them if they got sick. Cost shouldnt be an issue. If you are struggling financially then the PDSA can help, but sadly its all part of being a responsible owner of a pet.

I struggle financially but if one of my pets was ill I would just go without something for myself that week instead.

Originally Posted by dollymarie

Sorry but when you decided to get a pet you also decided that you would look after them if they got sick. Cost shouldnt be an issue. If you are struggling financially then the PDSA can help, but sadly its all part of being a responsible owner of a pet.

I struggle financially but if one of my pets was ill I would just go without something for myself that week instead.

I'd remortgage my house without a second thought if one of my cats got really sick

[crazychris12]

Originally Posted by digibod

how much will that cost?

A lot.

A check up for my gerbil when he had a tumor on his belly was about £20. Then it cost me £120 more to have him operated on.

It would have cost another £25 (as opposed to the £120) to have him put down and I was also warned he might die on the table but I didn't care. He lived another 6 months and it was worth every penny!!

[pixieboots]

Originally Posted by digibod

how much will that cost?

Considerably less than an xbox bring the gerbil to the vet and take your kids in while the vet examines the gerbil, they will learn a lot and most kids love doing stuff like this.

[williams96]

When did this hamster morph into a gerbil?

Increased drinking can be a sign for a lot of things (thankfully it's a he not a she as that's one less serious problem) and definitely take him to the vet if you are seeing other symptoms alongside this. It costs about £20 for me to take my hamster to the vet but you can always ring in and ask before making an appointment.

Make sure you observe him quite a lot before you take him, so you can give the vet as much help as possible, that way you are less likely to waste money in the long run trying to work out what is wrong / if there is something wrong.

My hamster doesn't use her wheel as much anymore - she's 4 and a half months old. So it may be another symptom or a coincidence, as from my experience younger hamsters tend to use their wheel a lot more to start with.

As for diabetes, have you noticed any weight loss as that can be another symptom? Also have you moved the cage recently or anything that may have caused stress? The test for diabetes is really simple.