What to Do If Your Hamster is in Shock
Hamsters are very sensitive pets. Seeing the hamster’s shriving body with sadness and insecurity in its eyes means they are in shock. And if you are in this scenario, you need to identify the causes and act accordingly.
So, what to do if your hamster is in Shock? Firstly, ensure comfort and safety. Secondly, start to talk to it in a soft voice and provide some treats. Third, provide it with a toy and chewing objects. Furthermore, if the situation has not improved, take it to the vet.
The shock context has a deeper scenario. If your hamster encounters distress frequently, it may die. So, you must identify the root causes and take action against the orientation of the triggering factors (for shock). Let’s, check in detail.
Depressed, Shocked, Scared, Or In Pain
In different types of unpleasant situations, hamsters display different symptoms. So, it is always better to have some knowledge regarding the scenario of being depressed, shocked, scared, or in pain.
The below table delves into a comparison;
| Issue | Symptom |
|---|---|
| Depressed | Aggressive; chewing nearly everything |
| Shocked | Low body temperature, shriving, confused, etc. |
| Scared | Standing on back legs, teeth are visible |
| In-pain | Tough to detect, facing difficulties in movements |
Check this video to know whether your hamster is in pain:
How to Identify Your Hamster is in Shock?
If you notice any of the following symptoms, your hamster is most likely in shock.
- The body is cold; its normal temperature is 36.2°C to 38.9°C
- Hamster is shivering continuously
- No movement with wide-open eyes
- It is trying to dig out of the cage
- Nearly zero breathing
- It became totally frozen with a confused look
- You can sense its heartbeat is very high
- It has taken a position of concealment
What To Do If Your Hamster Is In Shock?
In this section, we describe a prompt solution if your hamster is in shock. In addition, we also describe the actions that must be taken to restrict the orientation of the hamster-in-shock context.
Prompt Actions to Take
If you become sure that your tiny friend is experiencing shock, follow the below step-by-step guidelines.
Step 1: Start by rubbing its body to increase blood circulation
Step 2: Check for any sort of physical injury (if you find one, take it to the vet without delay)
Step 3: Place the cage in a more quiet and warm place. It will be nice if you can arrange a place with less light
Step 4: Give it some treats with its favorite food
Step 5: Give it a new toy and chewing objects
Step 6: Take it to the vet if there is no improvement
Preventive Actions
Being shocked in a frequent manner is harmful to hamsters’ overall well-being. You can restrict such occurrences by employing the below-listed approaches.
1. Withdraw Unfamilier Presence
It is applicable to humans and objects. Hamsters always become shocked and stressed in case they sense the presence of a new person in your room. Even they become distressed with the transpositions within the interior of the room.
Possible Precautions
- Do not allow any newcomers near the cage
- Try to maintain the same setting (furniture, decor pieces, etc.) within the surrounding
2. Restricting Discomfort
Hamsters need nice housing with ample comforts and a suitable environment. For instance, even if its bed is wet, it may get shocked.
Possible Precautions
Here is what you can do:
- Allocate five minutes each day to check the cage’s inside condition
- Ensure the room temperature is at least
- Avoid placing the cage in a noisy environment (if there is construction work or an event going on, try to implement some soundproof measures within the room)
- Very bright light is not suitable for them. Try to maintain consistency in brightness inside the room
3. Restrict Injury
Well, this one might be confusing for you as it falls into the “in-pain” category. But hamsters are very good at hiding their pain in case they get injured or hit. This hiding is not intentional or shy; it is their short-term memory duration, which is less than three seconds.
So, when they get an injury, they used to forget the event and become shocked (you can say surprised) with the without-cause-pain in the body.
Possible Precautions
- Don’t allow your pet to climb heights
- Regularly check the in-cage toys and exercise tools. Get rid of torn wires, playing objects, etc.
- Also, you should not allow any sharp-edged objects inside the cage
- Allow children to play with your hamster under your supervision
4. Restrict Diseases
A sudden degradation (pain is a good example) within the metabolic system can shock hamsters.
Possible Precautions
You should take care of the following:
- Don’t overfeed
- Maintain standard hygiene inside the cage
- Provide food in the composition of store-bought food and fresh vegetables
- Perform weekly health checkups by yourself
- Maintain a standard environment (quiet, not too cold, not too hot, dust-free, dry, etc.)
FAQs
In this section, we answer some common questions.
Q: What are the symptoms of a hamster dying from shock?
No breathing and no movement for a longer duration is a sign of its death. However, choppy and heavy breathing with disappearing puls is the symptom that it is dying.
Q: How do you comfort a shocked hamster?
The best things to do are: rubbing its body, talking softly with it, giving a treat, providing a new toy, and in worse cases taking it to the vet.
Q: Will the hamster get shocked when traveling with me in a car?
Yes, hamsters become shocked while traveling in a car with you. They will try to escape by digging the bedding inside the cage. If you cannot avoid such traveling, we suggest you take the hamster in a covered cage and restrict the cage from shaking as much as possible.
Final Words
So now you know in detail what to do if your hamster is in shock. Being calm is essential here; it will help you take the necessary actions to restore the situation to normal. Also, you need to ensure greater comfort and security in and out of the cage.
However, if you want your tiny friend to live multiple years, you have to restrict your hamster from being shocked frequently. Moreover, it is better to take it to the vet if you see that your hamster is in shock frequently.
