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Old 05-16-2019, 04:17 AM  
Shannonmcn
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Posts: 3,192
Default Re: Advice appreciated

Overweight is hard to define in hamsters, since the quality of the breeding has a lot to do with the body size and therefore what a healthy weight would be and that's a complete mystery bag when it comes to pet shop hams who are bred completely indiscriminately.

If they are moving well, able to run on the wheel and don't have like, visible fat rolls I'd say they're fine. Similarly if they have a healthy coat, good energy levels and don't feel or look boney they're probably okay. Changes in weight are more significant than their steady bodyweight.

If one ham is more dominant, it will be getting the lion's share of the food. Even though they aren't fighting it can still be very stressful for pairs to be kept together, for both the dominant and non-dominant hams. If you separated them you might find the little one fattens up because he isn't having to let his brother eat first. You might also find the territorial one becomes a bit more friendly when he has his own space and isn't feeling like he has to defend it all the time.

One other thing with dwarf hybrids is the possibility of diabetes. You could get some ketostix off amazon and try and test their pee. It could explain why one is so drastically larger even tho they are from the same litter (presumably).

Last edited by Shannonmcn; 05-16-2019 at 04:23 AM.
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