Hammy

[Zara]

Thank you. I’ve noticed recently his coat has started to turn a little brown in places. Could this be a sign of him now being 1.5yrs old? He’s the opposite of me, I’m going brown to grey and he’s going grey to a few browns

 

[Maz]

He's looking really well and I love his colouring. They can get fur colour changes with age sometimes. I had a black and white Syrian (Moo) whose black patches started to go brown in places. Unless he's been rolling in something!

 

[Zenshii]

Hammy is so cute!! I love seeing these photos of him! He has a really pretty coat pattern and color!

 

[Zara]

We've had some work done in the house today so Hams cage has spent the day sitting on our bed, as I was a bit concerned about any paint fumes. I checked in on him a couple of times, once was when there was hammering and drilling, but he seemed ok. He's back in his usual corner of the dining room now and has come out quickly for a leg stretch tonight. Seems like the extra noise has not fazed him at all.



Tonight's playpen

 

[RainbowBrite]

It sounds like Hams is, confident not to let the noise bother him. The playpen looks like a lot of fun.

 

[Member ID2]

Aww, Hams. Looking as cute as always.
Sometimes i think that we worry more about noise than they do.

 

[Maz]

Aw Hams is a happy chilled hamster He feels secure in your family and is a real trooper! I love the playpen set up.

 

[Zara]

After a bit of advice please. Hams came out tonight and has a sore on his tail . I tried getting him onto my lap for a proper look but this resulted in a bite as I was obviously looking around near his bottom, however, I did not give up and I think this made him think again and he sat still for just long enough and it does look like a graze? Does everyone think it will be ok to keep an eye on it maybe with a view to a vet trip after the bank hol? I did Google it and could try a bit of saline water on a baby bud to clean, but the area looks dry and clean.

I noticed his sand tray which is plastic has been chewed and has rough edges, perhaps he has done this when he's been rolling about? So I've swapped it with a high backed Trixie one for now until I can get out tomorrow and look for a larger tray.

Has anyone else seen anything similar? Photo is not great as he kept moving. He's perfectly happy in himself and doing everything as usual. Thanks (it's near the base of his tail)

 

[Zara]

He's been chewing his ramp (which you can also see in the photo) so I need to get this swapped out but don't think this would've caused it. It looks quite rough in the photo but has no sharp bits.

 

[Maz]

Is it the little red spot where his tail meets his fur? It does look like he's caught it on something. Dabbing it with saline sounds a good idea. It's a strange place to get a sore though. Maybe swapping the toilet it will have sorted it. Hopefully it'll just heal up quickly and not come back. Apart from that, Hams looks very nice and furry from the back

 

[Member ID2]

It looks like an abrasion and should heal up by itself. I think you are right that he caught it on something. If it's dry i wouldn't wet it because it should form a scab soon.
Personally, i'd give it a day or two to see if it starts to heal up but if not or if it starts to look infected he'd need to be seen by a vet.

Rodney chewed his bendy bridge but i had no idea why. I left it in because it wasn't sharp.

 

[Maz]

You have better eyesight than me then I thought it looked a bit raw.

 

[Member ID2]

You have better eyesight than me then I thought it looked a bit raw.

It does look raw like a fresh abrasion. Could be something else of course but doesn't look infected or like an abcess.

I'm no vet so can only voice an opinion of what i would do.

I wonder if Hams got his tail stuck somewhere? Hamsters do pretty crazy things sometimes.

 

[Maz]

It doesn't look too bad - whether you decide to clean it with saline or not.

 

[elusive]

It doesn’t look as though it needs any immediate attention, agree it looks as though he’s caught it on something so hopefully you’ve found anything that might be causing a problem.
I’d just keep an eye on it, as long as it stays clean & begins to heal over I don’t think you really need saline, so I would just keep an eye on it for now.

 

[Zara]

Thanks all, I’ll keep a watchful eye. If it looks any redder I’ll get him checked over for peace of mind. Going to take the top right off his HH tonight while he’s out playing and have a really good look around.

 

[Member ID2]

Could have been one of those freak accidents. I mean, where can a hamster hurt his tail, unless he maybe reversed into something?...

 

[Zara]

Could have been one of those freak accidents. I mean, where can a hamster hurt his tail, unless he maybe reversed into something?...

Yes, I think this could have been it. The sand tray has some fairly sharp edges where he's been chewing the plastic and then when he reverses to wee over the back edge of it and rolls about too I wonder if that's how it's happened, silly thing.

Had a chuckle tonight as he's not too impressed with the small Trixie potty that I've put his sand in until I can get another larger sand tray (hopefully tomorrow) most of the sand is now on the floor but at least he couldn't wee over the back

 

[Maz]

I had one hamster who started chewing the plastic potty. Not sure why - he didn't chew anything else. I got him a ceramic one after that.

 

[Maz]

Sorry I meant to add I had to laugh at that pile of sand Did he kick it all out?