How Long Can Hamsters Go Without Water? Don’t Leave Them Dehydrated for Too Long
From regulating temperature to the transfer of nutrients, water is a crucial nutrient for all living things. Some can go for years without water by adapting, while others must drink daily. What about hamsters?
How long can hamsters go without water? In average conditions, a hamster can go up to 4 days without water. However, this might vary with the hamsters’ age, environment, and diet, among other factors. If you’re planning to go away for a long, get someone to take care of your pet while you’re away.
Taking care of pets can sometimes conflict with your plans, forcing one of you to suffer. Read more to learn how long your pet can survive without water and how you can improve it.
How Long Can Hamsters Go Without Water and Food?
![How Long Can Hamsters Go Without Water and Food](https://caringtinypets.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/How-Long-Can-Hamsters-Go-Without-Water-and-Food.jpg)
While a 100 grams hamster needs to drink around 10 ml of water daily, this is not always the case when in the wild. The rodents sometimes take less or more and occasionally spend an entire day dehydrated. Whatever the case, there’s a period your hamsters can survive without too much damage to their health without water.
Hamsters can go for between 72 and 96 hours without water before becoming severely dehydrated. However, several factors can affect these figures, reducing them to as low as 24 hours. Below are various factors that might influence the time your pet can stay hydrated:
1. Diet
If a pet eats dry food, it’s likely to compensate for it by using water in the body. Foods like dry pellets, seeds, grains, and other dried foods can make the pet use a lot of its water to process. With an irregular intake, your pet can get severely dehydrated within 48 hours.
2. Health
A pet suffering from a medical condition can also dehydrate quicker than a healthy one. Diarrhea, kidney disease, and diabetes mellitus are some diseases that cause the body to excrete too much water. If the pet is sick and lacks water intake, it can dehydrate within 48 hours.
3. Environment
Air conditioning is low in humidity, which, despite making it cool, leads to drier skin. A too-hot environment can also make your pet use too much of its water for cooling. If the environmental conditions are not favorable for your pet, it can make it dehydrate in less than two days.
4. Insufficient Intake
Your pet needs to take enough water before it goes through a period without water. If your pet’s water is contaminated or blocked, it might not get enough water, dehydrating earlier than anticipated. Also, if water is in a bowl, your pet can spill it within the first day and dehydrate earlier.
If you’re wondering, how long can a hamster survive without a drink? Take all the above factors into consideration. If your pet isn’t likely to go through any of these conditions, it might last up to 4 days without drinking water.
But you should still be careful about whether the pet is severely dehydrated. Use crystalloid fluids like normal saline to hydrate it.
What Happens If Hamsters Stay Long Without Water?
![What Happens If Hamsters Stay Long Without Water](https://caringtinypets.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/What-Happens-If-Hamsters-Stay-Long-Without-Water.jpg)
In the wild, hamsters engage in hoarding behavior which they retain even in captivity. This means they’re naturally tuned to go for a period without resources like food and water. However, there are a lot of possible outcomes when a hamster spends time deprived of its resources.
The pet will become lethargic, look tired most of the time, and sleep much. Your pet might also get constipated due to the reduced or lack of water. Severe dehydration can also cause death, which can happen sooner if other factors affect the body’s water volume.
How To Ensure Hamster Stays Hydrated When You’re Gone?
![How To Ensure Hamster Stays Hydrated When You’re Gone](https://caringtinypets.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/How-To-Ensure-Hamster-Stays-Hydrated-When-Youre-Gone.jpg)
Sometimes you’ll be forced to leave your furry friend behind, especially if you are going for just a few days. Most times, pets will be under the care of a friend, but if not possible, tough decisions are made. The following are factors to consider to ensure it stays hydrated and safe.
1. Use a water bottle – water bottles are more reliable than bowls. Water is not contaminated or spilled, which can negatively impact your pet’s health. Bottles also carry more water, serving them for days.
2. Use multiple water sources – Despite being reliable, bottles are also prone to mechanical problems, and using multiple bottles can be a solution. If an air pocket forms on the pipe of one of the bottles, the pet can use the other. Also, if the water is not full or the bearing ball malfunctions, an extra bottle can be provided till it’s fixed.
3. Ensure it’s healthy – Before leaving, you can check with the vet to ensure the pet is healthy. This will help clear out any underlying disease that can cause dehydration.
4. Adjust diet – Since dry foods use more water to digest, provide your pet with foods high in water. Foods like fresh vegetables contain a high-water content level and can hydrate your pet.
5. Have a friend look by – Sometimes, you must extend your stay away from your pet. If this happens, get someone to feed your pets until you’re back.
FAQs
Since water is a crucial nutrient, it’s a distressing choice to decide what is equitable for pets. When researching, pet owners raise some questions to clear their doubts. Below are some of the frequently asked questions and their answers.
How Long Can Dwarf Hamsters Go Without Water?
Despite being tiny in body size, dwarf hamsters can go for up to three days without water. However, the days can be fewer if factors like diseases, environment, and diet come into play. Check these conditions before leaving your pet to better its survival chances through your absence.
How Do I Diagnose a Dehydrated Hamster?
The first and obvious solution to dehydration is to rehydrate your pet using water, salt, and water. To properly diagnose a dehydrated pet, owners should know a little about fluid therapy. Luckily veterinarians know, and taking your pet to see one should be the next step.
Final Verdict
Humans and animals can go for some periods without food and water. However, this time is limited and also influenced by other factors. Disease, diet, and environment are some of the factors that influence how long living things can go undersupplied.
Hamsters can go for up to four days without water before becoming severely dehydrated. Any longer than this can prove fatal, as most organs start shutting off, leading to death. If you must be away from your pet, take all possible precautions to ensure it stays hydrated until you’re back.