Owning a hamster can be a very rewarding experience because they can be a fun and surprisingly friendly and welcoming animal once they become comfortable with you.
However, hamsters may also experience a few common problems that affect their overall health and cause concerns with their owners. The most typical of these issues is likely the hamster nose bleed, an issue that occurs in many of these pets.
A nose bleed in a hamster can occur at just about any time and will cause a flow of blood that might be pretty minor or which could grow into a severe issue.
This concern is something that has to be addressed immediately: any time one of your pets bleeds, you need to figure out what is wrong. Thankfully, nose bleeds in hamsters are typically not a life-threatening situation and can be resolved reasonably quickly.
In this article, you’ll learn more about why hamsters get nose bleeds, what you should do if this situation develops, and whether or not your hamster is at any serious risk.
With this information, you can help figure out what is happening with your hamster and ensure that they don’t experience any worsened symptoms.
You’ll also know when it is time to call a veterinarian to get the help that your hamster needs to stay healthy and happy for many years to come.
Why Do Hamsters Get Nose Bleeds?
A hamster nose bleed may occur for many different reasons, most of which are pretty minor and can be easily treated by their owner.
However, the most common of these reasons is likely colder and drier weather, which may dry out your hamster’s nose and cause it to bleed. This situation is easy to resolve by warming up their room and putting in a humidifier to minimize dryness in their nose.
That said, some hamsters may also experience problems with fragile blood vessels, infections throughout the nose lining, allergies, bumps or falls, or even clots throughout their nose.
Allergies are particularly common and will cause your hamster to sneeze regularly and may cause unfortunate nose bleeds. This situation may require help from a veterinarian to assess and treat to keep your hamster safe properly.
Thankfully, you can consider a video call with a veterinarian to learn more about this problem. These experts will carefully work with you during the video call to learn more about your hamster and check out what is happening.
In this way, you can save money on an in-person visit and get an idea of what steps you need to take. However, in most cases, you should handle this situation on your own without much difficulty.
How To Treat A Hamster Nose Bleed!
If your hamster’s nose is bleeding, it is usually relatively simple to treat this problem with minimal difficulty, managing it as you would a human’s nose bleed.
In some cases, the nose may stop bleeding reasonably shortly once the blood starts clotting inside of the nose and throughout its vessels.
However, you may need to take other steps to address this issue if your hamster keeps bleeding, and you can’t figure out what is happening to them and why they’re bleeding in this way.
For example, you can pick up your hamster and take a tiny bit of cotton or gauze and apply it to the bleeding area. They may struggle against you, but hold onto them and keep the pressure on the bleeding nostril.
Eventually, the blood should clot, and the bleeding should end. However, it may be necessary to check on your hamster again if the blood unclots or if their nose starts bleeding again unexpectedly and starts causing more complex health issues.
If your hamster’s nose bleed remains persistent, and you’re worried, take them to a veterinarian right away to get treatment.
A constant nose bleed could be a symptom of more problematic issues, including concerns as severe as cancerous tumors.
Tumors are not uncommon in aging hamsters and, if your hamster has one, it is probably time to put them down for their own sake. Otherwise, they’ll just be suffering needlessly in a way that may be very upsetting and unnecessary.
Can A Hamster Die From A Nose Bleed?
While your hamster’s nose bleed is going to be pretty frightening and may upset you at first, you usually don’t have to worry about a high risk of death or suffering.
A hamster nose bleed is usually not enough to seriously impact their health or put them at any risk of death. However, there are rare instances in which your hamster could be at risk, and understanding them can help you catch them before they worsen.
Is there any situation in which your hamster might die from a nose bleed? It is possible that a sick hamster that already has underlying health issues could die from a nose bleed.
For example, if they are older and in poor health, a persistent nose bleed could cause health complications or even trigger a heart attack due to the strain the loss of blood may put on their poor little body.
In other cases, a non-stop bleeding nose may develop while you’re away from home or sleeping. Your hamster may then experience excessive blood loss and could die as a result.
Thankfully, this type of problem is pretty rare and only occurs if there are other underlying health issues (such as cancerous tumors) that may affect their overall health and cause more problems.
Take Care Of Your Hamster
If you take control of this situation and handle your hamster nose bleed properly, it shouldn’t be a big deal or anything that causes needless suffering to your hamster.
While these pets can be somewhat delicate and do need specialized veterinarian care, they are sturdy enough to handle a minor nose bleed and will rarely end up experiencing any long-term complications.
However, you may need to talk with your veterinarian about persistent nose bleeds to provide treatment to minimize this issue.
