i think my hamster has kidney stones…?
I have a male Syrian cream colored hamster. Recently, he’s been acting lethargic and is having problems peeing. He squeaks when he pees, and sometimes there is blood.
I can’t afford to take him to the vet again, however i am giving him antibiotics from a previous visit when he got neutered. We use to give him lots of fresh veg like spinach, carrots and broccoli as well as fresh fruit along with his dry pellet and seed mix. however, in his condition, i’ve removed all fresh food since i don’t know what kind of diet to give a hamster with kidney stones.
How should i proceed with his diet? and what else can i do to help his situation?
ok, the reason i stopped giving him spinach for sure is that i read that it increases oxalate levels which contributes to kidney stones. And i’ve read that high amounts of calcium is not good either.
Right now, i’m just sticking to apples and carrots…
ok, the reason i stopped giving him spinach for sure is that i read that it increases oxalate levels which contributes to kidney stones. And i’ve read that high amounts of calcium is not good either.
Right now, i’m just sticking to apples and carrots…
i mean, i’m sticking to apples and carrots in terms of fresh food along with his daily pellets.
But yeah, i have definitely cut out the seed mix since it is high in fat and protein.
And for the person who said "should have known what i was getting into…"
well my hamster is 2 1/2years old. I think i know what i’m getting into if i took my hamster to the vet. Most of them would say "oh..2 years is a good age!"….good age for what? to die?! so i am doing my best for him seeing as he’s really old. I’m trying to keep him hydrated by offering water in a syringe every few hours, and he has a few nibbles of critical care mix when i tend to him.
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Tagged with: antibiotics • apples • broccoli • calcium • carrots • critical care • diet • fresh food • fresh fruit • hamster • kidney stones • nibbles • oxalate • pellets • protein • seed mix • spinach • Syrian Hamster • syringe • veg • vet
Filed under: Kidney Stones Treatment
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I haven’t heard about hamsters specifically with bladder/kidney stones or bladder infections, but I’ll tell you what info I do have. It’s a chronic condition, but you can control it by proper treatment.
One of the most effective ways to prevent these stones it to drink extra water. I have a cat with bladder crystals. To get her to drink more water, I mix her canned cat food with water to make a kind of soup. So, maybe you could give the hamster a portion of its food cooked or soaked in water. I understand the hamster still needs to use its teeth; it can’t have an all-mushy diet.
There are different kinds of kidney/bladder stones. The most common kind (in humans, cats and dogs; so I’m guessing in hamsters too) is chemically basic, meaning it will dissolve when the urine is acidic. The way to manage this is to give large doses of vitamin C, specifically Ascorbic Acid, the cheap kind. This is an acidic form of vitamin C. When you take "too much" of it, it is excreted in the urine, making the urine more acidic. This is what you want. One vet did tell me that he didn’t recommend Vitamin C because of the oxylates. But another vet disagreed and told me that I should use the vitamin C, and I did. I have used this treatment effectively on my dog, my cat, and various humans. From what I have read, taking "too much too much" Ascorbic Acid over a very long period of time can eventually lead to a different kind of bladder crystals. I haven’t seen this happen.
Another thing to know when dosing with vitamin C is that at some high dosage (it varies per individual) it can cause diarrhea. If this happens, cut back the dosage.
BTW Ascorbic Acid is also a very good treatment for a bladder infection. It makes the urine inhospitable to the germs, and so the infection goes away.
How much to give a hamster? That is a question. I generally give 5,000 mg per day to an adult human, or 500mg to a small cat; I don’t remember how much I gave the dog.
If you do decide to try this, you could probably get chewable C or vitamin C crystals and dissolve it in the water….
Well, I hope this was helpful.
Your hamster NEEDS fresh foods to be healthy.Fresh leafy greens are excellent, though not too much spinach because that isn’t the best for them. A lot of plain lettuce is needed, cabbage is good, the leaves from the tops of celerys are also good. I tend to feed my hamsters timothy hay, alfalfa, or other such "roughage", depending on what they will actually eat. Fruits are good, but only in small quantities. Brocoli is good, celery is good, carrots are good. But the most important is the leafy greens.
Hamsters can not have kidney stones. Its impossible.
Just give him fresh water and clean every inch of his cage.
Fresh vegetables should help him too.
If he does get worse take him to your vet.
you can just call the vet and ask him/her any questions. using medicine from a past visit could be bad..u can cause more harm. give your hamster fresh water daily and dont give it any nuts or seeds..straight food.
you can always do a payment plan with the vet…dont make the hamster suffer bc u cnt afford it..you should of known what u were getting into..
My hamster was two years old. Last week I noticed that she was getting up early hours in the morning and throughout the day which is unusual for her. She was trying to pee but nothing was coming out. On the second day we decided to take get to the vets. The vet had given her a check over and confirmed the bladder was enlarged. She managed to squeeze her and a large amount of urine came out with White bits in it. Sammy was given three injections for pain relief, anti inflammatory and anti biotics. We got told to come back again the next day to see how she is getting on. During our appointment we had been told she had crystals in her bladder that could not be extracted without serious surgery that there had been a huge chance she would not survive due to her age, also is she survived the crystals would come back eventually. We came to the heartbreaking decision to have her put to sleep and put out of pain. On her last day she did deteriate very quickly, not drinking, sleeping constantly and no appetite. Hamsters do get stones and it is very painful for them. The vets struggle with knowledge on hamsters and there needs to be more specialised vets in this area.