Diseases

[Care guide|Health]

What you notice	Possible causes you can remedy yourself	Likely diagnosis and treatment by vet
Apathetic Behavior	Enviornment too cold (hibernation)	Could be anything, possibly infection
Bald Spots	One-sided diet	Deficiency symptom
Weight loss	Too little food	Sign of old age or symptom of some disease
Sof to runny stool (with sour smell)	Bad food, damp bedding, drafts, being too cool, one-sided diet, intestinal infection	Diarrhea; wet-tail
Sneezing, rasping breathing	Temperature too cold or hot, air too dry or humid, drafts	Pneumonia
Refusal of food	Conditions that are too cool and damp, overheating, drafts, abnormal position of teeth (after a fall or overgrowth), injury to cheek pouch	A cold; overgrown teeth; wound to cheek pouch
Overgrown teeth, overgrown claws	Lack of oportunity to dig, climb, or eat	Teeth or claws have to be trimmed by a vet
Light bleeding, wounds with scabs	Injury from pointed objects or from fights between rivals	Dab minor injuries with tincture of iodine (wear gloves for saftey); take animal with serious wounds to a vet
Limping; dragging one leg	Injury from pointed ovbects, loss of ability to walk correctly, or from fights between rivals	Contusion or fracture, or possible anti-infection medication
Avoidance of light	Conjuntivitis caused by draft or bad (dusty) bedding (cedar, pine, celulose, aspen)	Inflammation of the eyes, possibly meningitis (LCM, see Health)
Continual scratching, inflamed skin	Unsanitary conditions, poor care, parasites picked up from other pets	Parasites, fungi

Why this would be usefull: To know how serious something you noticed about your hamster is, to know what to do to treat it and/or what it was caused by, and to know what the vet might/should use to fix it.