3478. A 2.5-year-old dwarf hamster becomes emaciated and hunched - overgrown tooth

"My dwarf hamster has not been eating much for the last few weeks and has lost a lot of weight," the father and son consulted me. "He has a hunched back. He eats only the soft seeds and very few of them. He could eat cooked rice."

"His tooth is overgrown!" said the young adult son who had researched the internet, like numerous young Singaporean pet owners.

"The overgrown right lower front tooth poked into the upper gum, causing oral pain and infection," I explained. "The hamster is emaciated and dehydrated. He is unable to crack the seeds with overgrown front tooth and drink properly." 

Treatment was by clipping short the overgrown right lower tooth to the same level as the left lower one, oral antibiotic, pain-killer and multi-vitamins.  He ate 20-30 sunflower seeds without the shells overnight and was active and not dehydrated by Day 7 of in-patient treatment. He was sent home.

"How long does the dwarf hamster live?" the mother asked when she and her husband picked up the hamster on Apr 6, 2019.

"Around 2.5 - 3 years if healthy," I replied. "Your hamster is aged. He has no tumours and should live to a ripe old age of 3 years." 

Successful outcomes in treating emaciated hamsters are not guaranteed as many are very ill.
Whenever your hamster loses appetite, examine his front teeth and consult your vet early as dehydration, infections and emaciation will lead to early death.

-------------------------------------------------------------

FB post

Apr 7, 2019 - Overgrown tooth and long curved toe nails

Old dwarf hamsters that lose a lot of weight will die due to illness or malnutrition and dehydration. Some owners think the hamster is very old at 2.5 years of age and th erefore this appetite loss is natural. Why waste money in veterinary treatment when the dwarf hamster's life span is 2.5 - 3 years?

In this case, the young adult son must have researched the internet and correctly diagnosed "overgrown front tooth" as a cause of emaciation. But is it too late as inappetance occurred for the past few weeks?

The 2.5-year-old dwarf hamster ate little and only soft pieces of hamster food and cooked rice for the past few weeks.

His toe nails are very long as he is too weak to exercise in the wheel. The cause of his emaciation and dehydration can be treated by clipping his overgrown tooth short to level with the other tooth. After 6 days of in-patient treatment, his stool pellets have increased in number, indicating he has recovered. More details are at:

Blog

https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2019/04/3478-25-year-old-dwarf-hamster-becomes.html.

The Youtube videos of Day 1 and Day 7 of treatment are at:

Day 1 - admitted as an in-patient

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmrzWGFbYRA

Day 7 - goes home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOJJX9sllSo