Found hamster, possibly injured?

[Lauren&Pigs]

Hello!
My mom just brought home a hamster that she found at the park.
It's orangeish/brown and white, and seems to be breathing hard. (I'm not sure if it's normal breathing or not, i've only had guinea pigs!) It flips over very easily, (maybe a seizure?). His/her's eyes are always closed, and there's a bit of an odor (maybe normal odor for hamsters?)

Can someone give me advice for caring for it at the moment?
I put in some timothy hay, a small water bottle and a bit of lettuce. S/he is not eating or drinking at all and just stays put, breathing hard it seems.

What do they eat? Should I bathe it? Knowing this hamster was found at the park, it may be injured by something (cat, dog?)

I'm totally lost for what I should do. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

[xoLauraox09]

I'd say its a Syrian Hamster.
Dont bathe it because it gets Wet Tail and dies.
Syrian hamsters can only live alone.
And it eats hamster food you buy in the pet shop.
I would bring it to the vet if I was you.
Good luck!

[CavyLuver516]

You should bring it to the vet as it sounds like it has some serious problems.

It might be just "staying put" because it's scared.

The hamster can get a cold if it is givien a bath, so if it is noticabely dirty, you can wipe it down with a damp, luke-warm wash cloth.

For food, it can be feed any kind of hamster pellets/mix form a pet store, although Hazel Hamster is the best mixed food and Mazuri is the best plain pellet. Either is fine, but it might like a mixed food for variety best. Only give it very small amounts of veggie/fruit (1 teaspoon, maybe?) everyday or so. Too much could give it diarehha (called Wet Tail) and that is typically fatal in a hamster. Timothy hay could injure the hamster's cheek pouches and shouldn't be given.

What kind of 'house' do you have the hamster in? Make sure there is lots of loose bedding (shredded paper, aspen shavings, Carefresh, ect.) to keep it warm, a hidey house (igloo, cardboard box...), fresh water in a water bottle, toilet paper tube or some kind of tunnel, something to chew on (piece of wood, petstore chew toy) and a wheel (either wire mesh or plastic, no rungs) in it.

Leave it alone for a day or so to help keep the stress level down for it.

If I think of anything else (which I most likely will), I'll let you know. I hope this helps!!

[JD In Van]

Hamsters are nocturnal too so they're not going to be active during the day especially after having quite the scare. I would take the little guy to a vet (your cavy vet likely would be a good choice) as soon as you can just to make sure he's alright.

[CavyLuver516]

Oop's, the link is XXXXXXXXX , sorry!

[sissy34427]

I had two hamsters but our dog and cat got to them. It eats gerbil/hamster formula. We only had ours for about a week that week was hard. So, we are going to get 1 or 2 guinea pigs and let's hope nothing happens to them. Our dog is rough and our cat is kinda a oddball. Don't give it a bath because it will get "wet tail" and that is possibly fatal. Hope that is any help! Good Luck with the little guy/girl!

[Lauren&Pigs]

Thank you for the replies everyone!
Okay, I won't bathe him(: I'm glad you let me know that info.

I was watching some youtube videos about hamsters, and they recommended Oxbow Healthy Handfuls pellets for hamsters and gerbils. Is this a good pellet?

So, hamsters live more off of their pellets than fruits/veggies? (Guinea pigs are the opposite)

Right now s/he is in a little "bug keeper" which is like a smallish plastic tub. But I think we'll move him to a 10 gal tank. Carefresh is the bedding used.

We're going to the pet store later today to get food, a little igloo, and a wheel.

Thank you very very much!
I hand fed him some water with a syringe. (about 5mL I think?) I want to make sure he's hydrated. He might have been at the park for at least a whole day.

[1frankie7]

I say you should take it to the vet.
They eat hamster mix pellets are now available there is very big pellets if you want.
Dont bathe it it may get a cold wet tail or if it is already sick you could make it worse.
Food recomendatoin, Mazuri,Living world mix, Living world extrusion.
For housing my friend has a hamster and we put hers in a habitrail ovo suite but a regular hamster cage was far better.

So take it to the vet that by far the best option. Call and ask if they see small animals - not all vets do.

[Lauren&Pigs]

Hey everyone, the poor little guy just passed away. ):
thank you for your advice though

[Ash-Ro060708]

At least he had someone who cared for him in his last hours of life, unlike the heartless person who freed him at the park.

[twiztedlilfae]

aww poor little guy . But atleast you cared enough to try and do what's best for him. I'm sure he appreciated having someone loving looking after him. RIP little guy.

[CavyLuver516]

Oh...I'm, like, almost crying right now. = ( I love hamsters so much! Thank you times a billion from the bottom of my heart for taking care of it as much as you could. = ) You probably gave it the best hours of it's life, considering the previous owner dumped it at the park. At least he died right away with a caring person watching over it. = ) Thanks again...= )

[Lauren&Pigs]

Thank you for the kind words everyone.
As disappointed as I am that he didn't pull through with his health, at least he died at peace in his sleep. Just moments before he died, his breathing calmed, and he looked different, like he was really comfortable, wrapped in his warm blanket (:

I'm glad I did get to take care of him

[VoodooJoint]

Originally Posted by Lauren&Pigs

Hey everyone, the poor little guy just passed away. ):
thank you for your advice though

There is nothing you could have done. From the sound of it, even if you rushed him straight to a vet, he would have died. It sounds like he was seriously ill. Thanks for caring enough to try to help and make certain your mother knows that I'm grateful to her too.

Originally Posted by sissy34427

I had two hamsters but our dog and cat got to them. .... So, we are going to get 1 or 2 guinea pigs and let's hope nothing happens to them. Our dog is rough and our cat is kinda a oddball.

Are you kidding me? You HOPE nothing happens? Are you completely heartless and apathetic? If your dog and cat are killing animals then DO NOT bring more prey animals into the house. If you get the guinea pigs and your cat/dog kill or harm them then YOU are at fault because you KNOW there is danger. You need to control your animals and seriously protect the ones that are subject to harm.