| Hamster Illness and Vets |
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| Hamsters get ill just as people get ill. Since the animals are so small, they usually deteriorate extremely rapidly when ill. Health care must be sought immediately for the hamster to have his best chances for recovery. We do have some articles on hamster health in our newsletter, and we'd encourage you to read those before or immediately after acquiring a hamster. Waiting until they are ill can waste valuable time (and some of the articles help you identify problems when they are still minor). There is also a very good health section on the Pet Web Site. We would encourage you to review this section regularly and to use it at the first sign of any potential problem. Remember that in an emergency, though, rapid access to a vet is the only responsible route to take. Pet Web Site health section In the case of any emergency, please do not call or e-mail us. A trained small animal vet (often called an "exotics" vet) is the best choice for you and your hamster. The California Hamster Association does not have any special access to trained veternarians. We have no members who are vets. Many of us have, though, taken our animals to Southern California vets. We encourage you to seek out a responsible and well-trained vet before or immediately upon acquiring a hamster. Waiting to find a vet until the animal is sick will waste valuable time. In response to frequent requests, we will post some of the vets in our area who treat hamsters. At least one member has used each of these vets and found the care for their animal and that particular condition to be satisfactory. We do not however recommend any of these vets. We make no guarantee of fees or services for any vet listed here nor do we endorse their care in any way. We encourage each person who is considering the use of any vet to research the qualifications of that vet and make their own assessment of the vet's qualifications and treatment for the care of their hamsters. If you have recently purchased your hamster from a pet store or breeder or you discover that the problem was a genetic problem, please also notify the pet store or breeder. They need to know this information to know how to prevent this problem from affecting other hamsters. Please check with each office to obtain their current fees and hours. Claremont Dr. Ann McDowell Chaparral Pet Hospital 915 W. Foothill Blvd. Claremont, Ca 91711 909-625-1561 Hawthorne (intersection of Inglewood and Rosecrans) Dr. Rosskopf 4871 W. Rosecrans Avenue Hawthorne, CA 310-679-0693 Alternate vet used at office: Dr. Woerfel Lake Forest (intersection of Lake Forest and Trabuco) Dr. Scott Weldy Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital 21771 Lake Forest Drive #111 Lake Forest, CA 92630 949-855-9744 Long Beach Dr. William Ridgeway, DVM Long Beach Animal Hospital 3816 E. Anaheim Street Long Beach, CA 90804-4005 (562) 434-9966 www.LBAH.com Pacific Palisades Dr. Debbie Oliver, D.V.M. Blue Cross Pet Hospital 15239 La Cruz Dr. Pacific Palisades, CA 310-454-2633 |