How often do you have a health check-up? When did you last have your eyes checked? When is your next visit to the dentist to have your teeth examined? How many times have you had your blood tested?

I suppose you take good care of your personal hygiene and check with your family doctor regularly to be sure you preserve your health in a good condition. Do you do the alike for your hamster, though? Your hamster will rely on you for its whole life, and that includes its health and well-being, but before you rush it to the vet, you can get it examined by …you!

Here is a routine and practical tips to perform a check-up on your hamster:

 Steps

1. Put your hamster on your lap, or on a safe surface.
2. You can occupy it with a treat that it often likes. 
3. For the first checkup routine, spread its fur so you can see your hamster’s skin. It should be a shade of pink, but the shades may vary depending on the hamster itself, or how much light it gets.
4. Also check for tumors. There are external and internal tumors. You can identify external tumors by lumps that grow quickly. Internal tumors are harder to see, and are usually not found quickly enough, but your hamster may have lost weight or just seem sick in general.
5. Make sure the skin is not too dry, and not too wet near the tail. If it is wet near the tail, it may have diarrhea or wet tail. If the skin is dry, it may have mites, ringworm, or another disease.
6. Look at the nails, and make sure that they aren’t too long. If they are, you could get a rock (big enough so your hamster won’t eat it, but small enough to fit in a corner of the cage), rinse it in warm water and soap, then place it in the cage, or have your hamster walk over sandpaper, which will quickly file down the nails.
7. Lift up your hamster’s mouth. This may be difficult, and your hamster may not particularly like it, but you can best do this by scruffing. Pull the extra skin and fur on its neck back, and place it stomach up on your hand. You should usually be able to see its teeth. The teeth should be touching, and yellow, not white.
8. Observe how your hamster usually looks so you can tell any change.. Ex: Crusty eyes, limp in its walk, etc. Any of these can be symptoms to a disease your hamster has.
9. Check reliable veterinary sites on the web to view pictures and information about any symptoms that your hamster may have and the possible diseases. It helps a lot.
10. Do this every week. If you find a disease or sickness, or if you are not sure about your hamster’s health, bring it to the vet immediately.

Warning

• Make sure your hamster is already tame, because hamsters that are not tame may bite or be very hard to get to stand still during the check up.
• This advice does not replace any regular professional instruction.

Tip

• Hamsters’ teeth never stop growing, even through old age, so make sure you have plenty of chews for the hamster so its teeth don’t get uncomfortable.

The above article has been adapted from the original article provided by wikiHow, a wiki building the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Perform a Check Up on Your Hamster . Content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons License.

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