Vladimir- the narrator on hamster renal system
Created | Updated May 6, 2006
How do you know that your beloved pet has a dicky renal system?
The very first fawn that Mother had was called Hengis Pod, for those of you who remember the Carry On Cleo film you will recognise the name and the character and you pretty much have our Hengis.
He was nippy and bad tempered, a bit glass coke bottle in shape, a feature that becomes more pronounced as the years pass. He drank copious quantities of water with just as much appearing the other end, had a large appetite but never gained an ounce of weight. No matter what he ate he was getting thinner and thinner.
It came to crunch time, he was a poorly hamster. Mother and Grandmother whipped him off to a vet who knew his hamsters. After much poking and prodding from the vet and biting from Hengis a possible diagnosis was tendered. Kidneys up the spout. A trial of steroids to be administered through his water for seven days would give the vet a better idea of what was going on. Thus seven days later a chirpier and less ill tempered Hengis returned to the same vet. They regarded each other across the width of the exam table, eyeing each other up, each remembering the last encounter and the vet still sporting stitches in one of his fingers. The diagnosis was confirmed- Hengis had kidney failure.
What is Kidney Failure
What is happeneing to your hamster, how your hamster will be feeling.
What To Look For
The symptoms are pretty much the same whether you are male or female. Intial stages:-
Drinking a lot
Large appetite but weight loss not weight gain
Heavy urination
Ill tempered because of discomfort
A taste for the spicey
Body shape, glass coke bottle shape
Later Stages:-
Possible absesses on paws
tiny bloody scabs under the fur
swollen legs and paws
More pronounced weight loss
More pronounced change in body shape
Appetite diminshed
Sleeping more
Drinking three or four bowls of water in a day
Hallucinating
nightmares (squeak mares!)
Sensitivity to being touched
difficulty keeping warm
What to do next
Including what vets will say.
Kidney failure and Diet
What hamsters with kidney failure can and can't eat
