Expert: Shawntiah Jones - 10/8/2007

Question
my hamster is one come december, i just started him gradually on a new type of food. his pee is caramelish in color...this is kinda funny cuz is name is caramel lol, any its sort of thick, or maybe its liquid poo...idk, it smells like pee and i really think it is. what do u think is wrong. also he has two little patches in his fur, is this ok. he is otherwise very healthy, active and his usual mischeivious self. i recently started to go to college and i only see him every other weekend when i come home. he still remembers me right, he seems to but just asking. i know its a lot of questions but i really need answers especially about the pee.

p.s. whenever i put him in his temporary cage to clean his normal one he goes crazy spinning around and climbing and biting. i feel bad about it and onfused because it wa shis cage as a baby one of those crittertrail ones and i put some of his used bedding in there so he can have a familiar smell, but still he goes crazy.

Answer
hello Nye,
i want to address the pee issue first. A hamsters pee can yellowish or milky white and will look cloudy and thick. It won't look like normal pee. It's actually normal. Hamsters can have a good memory and mine is actually at college with me and he remembers my family quite well. as hamsters age they will lose a little bit of fur and start to thin out. I don't think anything is wrong with him other than old age and just being the usual mischievous self.
Also, as far as the spinning nad getting upset when you put him in a different cage, mine does that too. I have a transport cage and I do the same thing you do and he still goes crazy, I honestly haven't figured out why they do that. Maybe they think it's their new home or something, I have no idea and honestly can't explain why they do that. I try and put some food or a special treat in there to calm him down and most of the time that works. :)