hello,

my dwarf hamster is just running round in circles whenever she's not sleeping. i had a little look on the net and have seen somthing called 'spinning' which is caused by some kind of ear infection which means they lose their balance.

does anybody know if there's anything else it may be? could it be caused by stress? she's not had the best of times lately as she lived with 2 of her sisters but i had to seperate her because she was being picked on.

can this be treated? my expierience with hamsters and vets is that they rarely do anything other than put them to sleep because they're so small.

im really worried because i hate seeing her like this but i dont want to lose her

any help would be much appreciated

have you got any videos of her doing it? how long have you had her? how long has she done it? where did you get her from?

the reason i ask is because spinning in dwarfs can also be down to a genetic neurological condition, they have no control over it and will often spin to exhaustion which can shorten their lives

__________________

not sure exactly how long i've had her, around 12-18 months now.

we got her from pets at home. she's been doing it for allmost 2 weeks now

i will try and find my digital camera to record her. i think she gets up and can walk fairly straight but then after a few mins she cant do anything but run around in circles.

ty

aw poor little hammy, she must be stressed and exhausted if shes had it for 2 weeks, i would take her to vet asap, it could be a middle ear infection and course of baytril might do the trick.

__________________
"If the wolf is to survive, the wolf haters must be outnumbered. They must be outshouted, out financed, and out voted. Their narrow and biased attitude must be outweighed by an attitude based on an understanding of natural processes."
L David Mech

We have doomed the Wolf not for what it is, but for what we have deliberately and mistakenly perceived it to be..the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer..which is, in reality no more than a reflexed images of ourself." -Farley Mowat

yes i will be very soon, it kills me to see her like this.

i guess i wanted to find out weather it could be treated or if she'd have to be put down so i could prepare myself when we go to the vets - i hate it when our animals leave us

ty

if its an inner ear infection it can be treated easily with antibiotics, is the hamster tilting her head?

if it isnt an ear infection itll most likely be a neurological problem like miss said which cannot be treated, does she flip? (not all will flip)

__________________

http://uk.pedigree.com/pedigreeadoptiondrive/ Please take a second to do this vitual dog walk and raise money to save a dogs life! itll only take a minute, thankyou for helping! xx

if its an inner ear infection it can be treated, and she needs to see the vet asap.
however if it isnt, and is infact a neurological condition, there is no cure, BUT that is no reason to euthenasise her, you will just have to keep a close eye on her and moniter her quality of life

__________________

yes we will be going to the vets in the next couple of days.
here's 2 short clips of her, the 1st was when she just got up and the second is when she tries to have a run on her wheel


Untitled on Vimeo