OMG...Is that normal For Hamsters?

[Fluff N Roll]

I have a long hair hamster and she has been sneezing.. alot! I gave her a bath and once she sneezed black stuff onto the tube. Although it could have been left over from her food. But if any one knows what could bee happening please let me know! is this normal for a hamster?
-DAkota :wave:

[o0sapphirerat0o]

Well first off, hamsters are TERRIFIED of water and the ONLY water they should come in contact with is their water bottle. If you want to clean them get chinchilla SAND (NOT dust)...

a vet trip may be nesesary. I've never heard of black stuff coming out of a hamster, and does not sound healthy at all.

[J mouse]

What kind of food does she eat? Did you see her sneeze it out?

[Chaos]

I don't know about the black stuff, I think she needs a vet ASAP. Did you actually see her sneeze it? Like Sapphire said hamsters have a natural fear of water. theres absolutely no reason to bathe them considering they spend nearly 1/3 of their waking lives grooming. If your hamster has an odour let her roll in chinchilla sand or get unscented (must be unscented) baby wipes.

[SnowPrincess]

you know i had a sneezing/ breathing problem two years ago....what kind of bedding are you using??

about two years ago i was using pine bedding....my rabbits, mice, and hamsters were having sneezing and breathing problems.

i called my vet because i was so upset and i didn't know what to do. and it seemed weird that ALL my animals were having this problem.

he told me there are chemicals in pine and cedar bedding and to use aspen because apparently they don't have these chemicals (i dunno).

but ever since i changed it there haven't been anymore problems like that.

about that black stuff? i would call the vet asap. that's not right.

and i'd change the bedding too....just to be safe.

[lilforjc]

hey fluff-what part of TX are you in? try to call the vet-a lot of good ones will talk to you over the phone...I believe theirs a vet who does small animals at the animal hospital in Southlake-it can't hurt to call...how old are you? are you able to get your hammie to the vet? keep us updated...

[Fluff N Roll]

Hi, I'm going to swich her bedding as soon as i can because i am useing pine shavings! That sound like a great factor! She's eating Nuriphase If any one can tell me of a better food that would be great too! As for the black stuff i think that was food because i looked at her and she hasn't done that since. She has been sneezing, but i'm going to see about the bedding!! Thanks
-Dakota

[Chaos]

Hi, I'm going to swich her bedding as soon as i can because i am useing pine shavings! That sound like a great factor! She's eating Nuriphase If any one can tell me of a better food that would be great too! As for the black stuff i think that was food because i looked at her and she hasn't done that since. She has been sneezing, but i'm going to see about the bedding!! Thanks
-Dakota

Nutriphase has Ethoxyquin in the ingredients. I feed half Mazuri lab blocks and half a home made diet at the moment. I may go all home made pretty soon.
Seed diets are only nutritionally balanced if the hamster finishes all the food every day. Theres also useless filler ingredients in there.

Taken from Hamsterific:

Ethoxyquin is a controversial preservative. It is found in many low quality feeds (Kaytee)for small and larger animals alike. I recommend not using a feed containing ethoxyquin, to be safe.

"Ethoxyquin is not used as a preservative for HUMAN foods with the following exception: . It is permitted to "promote color retention" in paprika and ground chili pepper in a maximum concentration of 100 ppm.

The maximum allowable residue in eggs, meat, poultry, apples, pears, poultry fat and livers for HUMAN use is 0.5 ppm.

In ANIMAL feeds, the maximum allowable concentration of ethoxyquin is 150 ppm."

Being that hamsters and other small animals are more fragile than humans, it seems risky to feed something that is limited for human intake.

In studies I have read on the internet, here is what I have found:

"-Chronic feeding studies in rats of 0.2 % of ethoxyquin in the diet caused transient depression in growth rate, At necropsy, damage to kidneys, liver and thyroid gland were seen in many of the male rats but not in the females.

-In another study, diets containing 0.5 % ethoxyquin fed to rats for up to 18 months, produced renal lesions in all of the study animals.

-Continuous administration to rats fed a diet of 0.2 % ethoxyquin, caused tumors in some of the animals."

With this information, I believe it is a good idea to stay away from ethoxyquin. It is found in many animal feeds, including dogs, cats, birds, and small animals. Just food for thought.

[hamstermoo]

that's right, it could be a respiratory infection.

although i gave my hammies baths when i was a kid and they were fine. they could dog paddle and everything.

[Jiffykat]

I'd go with corn cob bedding, I have yet to hear of a little beastie have problems with it.