I know I heard it on the news a few days ago, that humans are getting sick from hamsters.
We got my son a hamster for his birthday last month, and it died yesterday morning.
I’m pretty sure that it died from one of my daughters giving it a bath and maybe not drying it well enough. But on the other hand it was pooing alot and sleeping alot before the bath. Hence the bathing.
Cage cleaned every other day, food and water every day. Nice big cage with tunnels and a wheel.
My problem is I am not sure if it was sick when we got it or if it got sick and died from the bath. I cannot remember what I heard on the news.
I cannot find anything through google on hamsters making humans ill either.
Anybody else figure out what I am talking about. Most of the time I don’t know myself really.
Sounds like it was nothing to do with the bath. Hamsters are prone to diarrhea, from a variety of causes, and this could have been enough to dehydrate or malnourish the poor thing.
The only thing I’ve ever heard of being transmitted to humans is a virus which shows no symptoms in the hamster, but in humans can (rarely) cause meningitis.
I can’t be 100% sure, but I’ve owned several hamsters, and it sounds, to me, like the little hamster had a condition called “wet tail.”
And here.
As for people contracting any illnesses from the little buggers, I haven’t heard anything about it, but I’ll be keeping my eyes and ears open.
Oh, well, there you go! Thanks for posting that, Q.E.D. As a hamster lover, this is good to know.
Man, ever since College whenever I hear Tularemia I get that Irish song stuck in my head … “too la roo la roo la”.
From what I could recall of Tularemia it was common in rabbits and people could get in from handling dead rabbits (as in skinning and cleaning them). So I went to the CDC site to refresh my memory and saw it listed as a potential bioweapon.
So now we don’t just have to worry about terrorists smuggling in dirty bombs but we also have to worry about “Hamsters of Mass Destruction”*?
*BAND NAME!
(Sorry, if this comes off as tactless. I certainly hope that you have nothing to worry about in regards to Tularemia and I’m sorry you lost your little pet. The previous poster is correct that Wet tail is a common problem in hamsters. If you are considering getting another hamster you should probably wait a while and thoroughly disinfect the cage and dishes if you reuse them.)
Thank you, thank you!
Not sure about the wet tail thing. I mean it’s possible because we have a large family and everybody wanted to gather around the hamster right away which I am sure is a bit frightening.
Although there was alot of poo it looked normal. But I was curious about the fact the he was pooing all over his little lookout cubby. I thought they were a bit cleaner than that?
QED has been right there to answer my last two questions. Are you stalking me? Cause if you are that’s okay. 
Hijack, I still have to go through grampas call cards, I just can’t bring myself to do it yet.
Many thanks to all again.
Any other information on hamsters much appreciated as I’m sure in a few months Big T will be replaced after an acceptable mourning time for an eight year old.
It was so sad. My son can have such a gentle soul sometimes. He and his father held a service outside under the kitchen window for Big T and dad made sure the cage is MIA for a while.
I just wanted to reassure you, Kricket, if your hamster did happen to have wet tail, especially after only a month, it would have likely got it from the pet store. Not all pet stores clean the cages as often as they should, and wet tail can develop because of unsanitary conditions. Your little hamster may have had it (if he did indeed have it at all) when you first got him, but may not have shown any symptoms until a couple of weeks later. Some pet stores have guarantees about wet tail, like if within the first two weeks your hamster has it, you can get a refund. I didn’t realise the pet store I had gotten a couple of my hamsters from was irreputable until I did some looking up, and heard complaints from others who had adopted pets from that particular chain.
Any stress may have come from the pet store, your home was probably a welcome sanctuary.
And, of course, hamsters are the source of one of the most addictive substances known to man, as everybody here is well aware.
It’s true? :eek:
I thought only Sims had to worry about death by hamster. 
Polycarp please educate me??? 
Or maybe not? 
Harmless, that is the first thing I said when I heard the report on the radio!
What in the new one you have to play checkers with death or something? In that case my family would be in trouble.
You know, the whole “Hamsters running the SDMB”, which definitely is the most addictive thing I’ve ever come across.
What if the hamsters on the SDMB are infected?
:eek:
Flee! Flee for your lives!
And Yea though I walk through the Valley of the Search Engine of Cecil, I shall fear no timeout, for Thou art with me.