Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi there, i've kept hamsters in the past, and have been fine with them bringing one through pneumonia three twice, so im pretty well experienced, but yesterday i found an albino syrian male in my veggie patch and im a bit stuck as to his care

- do albinos need any special care compared to their normal counter parts?
-does anyone know how to treat sunburn in hammies? his ears were pretty badly burnt
-does anyone know whether his lifespan will be affected by his being an albino as i know in some speices there are
-also has anyone ever dealt with a blind hamster before? do they need special cage set ups or anything? as im pretty sure this little one is blind, if not before his adventure he certainly is now

if anyone can answer any of my questions ill be REALLY appreciative,

thanks
phoenix

Sounds like your new little guy is an escapee. His white color has no bearings as to needing any extra special care. But, it sounds like he may be a "hidden" roan. When breeding a roan x roan, you will get some eyeless and/or toothless animals. He may actually be a roan. But, that doesn't matter as long as you don't intend to breed him. Check his teeth to make sure they look normal. Actually, hamsters live more by sense of smells and sounds, so him being blind is not too traumatic. As for his ears, try a bit of aleo vera. If there is an open wound on them, try a tiny bit of Neosporin with pain reliever on them. Good luck with the new fellow.

thanks, i think i need all the luck i have, i've been trying to teach him how to use his wheel lol

its not so much his being white that bothers me as his eye seem to be colourless, they have no pupils iris's or anything, its literally like u can see the blood bhind them, but i guess if hes alerady blind theres not much more damage possible... um hat is a roan? lol thats new to me, most of what i know bout hammies is from keeping them, ive never heard some of these technical terms
xx pixi

If he has red eyes, he is a red-eyed, or ruby-eyed white. A hamster will have either dark eyes or ruby eyes. For example, a Golden hamster will have dark eyes. A dilution of the Golden color - Cinnamon, will give the hamster red eyes. The red color of the eye doesn't mean that he is blind.

Hi,

Just because the hamster is an albino it's no different than taking care of any other hamster. What makes you think he's blind?

Well, i think hes blind for a few reasons, he walks into things, donest respond to movement, like if i creep up behind him, or put a hand to his cage he doesnt seem to realise. he nearly got trod on coz my brother werent looking where his feet were, any other hamster iv e had would have moved, or at least reacted,
part of me is hoping his sight will improve, like maybe its tempory sunspotting or summink, but the other part of me doubts it, he couldnt even find his water pot til the second day i had him, it wasnt til i physically picked him up and held his nose against it that he even seemed to realise it was there,
thanks for any responses i get
pixi