weight loss despite eating

[Bunsey]

i'm a little concerned about mocha. we had her at the end of July and she was always very petite, but now she seems to have lost a bit of weight and you can see her shoulder bones. she feels like there's nothing there. my mum thinks she's fine because she's so happy and lively, but i just think that there could still be something wrong, even if she's not in pain. she eats and not much stash is found in her bed, so she's not hiding it. she also eats her chewy stick. i give her extra sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. i was thinking perhaps she has a stomach tumour or something similar. my mum said that there's nothing that could be done even if we wound out what was wrong, but i'm concerned about her. i'm not really sure what to do.
she is about 10 months old, btw.

[Spuds Mum]

poor Bunsey! You must be very worried. I would suggest that you try to feed her up a bit (as you have been) over the next few days to see if it makes a difference - maybe give her some porridge with milk or wheetabix along with her normal food. You could also try some treats like a bit of ham or chicken or some tofu.
Have you checked her teeth are ok? I guess they are if she still seems to be eating, but worth a quick look. You say she is happy and healthy, is her fur in good condition? If she is not getting enough nutrition then you can often tell by the condition of the fur.
the other thing I would say is that if you are worried it is worth going to a vet. They can do lots of things now, and with my hamster gang, we have had lots of visits for antibiotics, and eye operation, tooth operation all sorts.
I'm not an expert Bunsey, so I am sure others will have more ideas but these are the things I would try if I was in the same position. I do hope Mocha is ok
:)

[Holly]

How old is she? Both Treacle and (our) Mocha, who are about to turn one, feel and look a bit thinner than they used to - I'd describe them as a bit scraggy looking, really - and both have slightly sticking out shoulder bones. They are both eating normally, I've checked their teeth and both are the same behaviour and activity wise so I'm not unduly worried about them. I'm thinking it's just the normal ageing process - they are both pet shop hams and, Treacle especially, has always been quite slim. Maybe Mocha - if she's a bit older - is the same as them? If she was a baby when you got her then obviously not.

Hope she's ok - I'd also suggest a vet visit if you are worried even though she's normal and active. They won't think you are being over-protective and they should be able to feel any abnormal lumps and bumps which are (hopefully aren't) there. It's relatively inexpensive if there's not much they need to do as well - though I expect you already know that with the brood of hammies you have/have had!

Hope she's ok.

[souffle]

Holly and Spud's mum have given great advice. Have you noticed if she is weeing and drinking a lot? It is possible for syrians to become diabetic and also kidney disease can cause weight loss. You could weigh her every 3 days and see if she continues to drop in weight. She may just be a small lady and the normal weight loss with age may just seem more pronounced in her. Even if she did have a tumour there would be nothing that could be done really and usually the vet would tell you to come back when it became obvious that she was not coping however some other conditions would be treatable successfully so it may be worthwhile taking her for a good checkover. You could try adding some Avipro to her water to try and boost her immune system up. Most vets stock this. I hope she is well soon and keep us posted on how she does.

[Bunsey]

she was 8 months when we had her at the end of july.

she wees loads more than my other hams and it stinks! the diabetes thing sounds like a real possibility! i can't believe i never thought of it! i'll weigh her over the next few days and i'll stop giving her peas and corn and sugary treats. is there a diabetes test the vet can do? what is the treatment for diabetes? is there a medicine as well as diet? poor mocha :cry:

her fur is fine, btw, it's really soft and silky. i think we definately need to take her to the vet. i'll make an appointment for Thursday and weigh her until then. would you say cut out the sugary treats or leave them until the test, because if i cut them out, would the test come up negative even if she had diabetes?

[souffle]

The vet should be able to test the urine with a test strip. You can buy the test strips from a chemist I think too. If you can get her potty almost empty so that you can collect a sample on thursday and take it with you that would help. I think the diet is the only way of controling diabetes in hams and there is a website called Honeyhams that may help. Christine Yule is also experienced with this. It could also be her kidneys if she is weeing a lot and sadly there is no cure for this either but I think with this you need to avoid too much protein so feeding her up on chicken would not help. I would wait till you see the vet and find out what they think it is, diabetes or kidneys or possibly something else and go from there with the diet. You may need to prompt them with some suggestions if they do not have much experience with hammies. Good luck on Thursday.

[Bunsey]

ok, thanks, i won't give her any chicken and i'll have a look for those diabetes test strips. hopefully they'll work on hams! i'm still going to weigh her and see if she maintains her weight or looses more.

[Holly]

Hope she's ok, Bunsey, I'll keep everything crossed for her.

[Spuds Mum]

oh I hope she's ok Bunsey - I didnt think about diabetes :cry: will be hoping that Mocha is fine *keeping fingers crossed*

[lau200]

i hope she is ok

[Bunsey]

mocha weighs 4 ounces. we also weighed fluff, who is fairly petite, but normal, and she weighs 5 ounces, which doesn't sound much more, but it's a quarter of the weight again. it's like the difference between 2 people who weigh 10 stone and 12.5 stone. a big difference. :?

[souffle]

4oz is only about 100g isn't it Bunsey. That is really quite low for a syrian. Our smallest 'pet shop' syrian was about 125g and was happy, healthy and lived a long life though. Can you weigh her in grams at all? Our current smallest is about 170g.

[Bunsey]

yeah, 4oz is 110g. 5 ounces (our next smallest) is 142g, so she really is teeny! i've got her booked into the vets for thursday so we'll see what they say. i would've liked a particular vet, but i didn't want to wait so i just took anyone, i don't know how good they are with hamsters.

Oh my gosh, i just weighed her and she is under 4oz now... about 105g :cry:

[Bunsey]

update: vet tonight basically said there's no way to tell what's wrong with her and there's nothing they can do for diabetes anyway. she just said don't give her sugary treats, whic i knew anyway. great waste of £13. it's just so pointless going to the vets with hamsters unless they've got mites or something treatable like that. it really annoys me how there's no provisions for anything other than cat and dog. anyway, i've got a diabetes pet test stick thing to test her myself.

[Spuds Mum]

oh what a shame Bunsey :cry: I must say my vets are fantastic with my hamsters though they do get to see a lot of us lately!!
I guess you could treat her as though she has diabetes as he suggested, but if she gets worse I would suggest asking around other pet owners to see if you can find a vet who is more amenable to small animals. £13 seems a lot for not much - when Chip had her operation including antibiotics, eye gel an overnight stay and the op itself they only charged £18!!!! :shock: so we must be really lucky.
I don't have any experience of diabetic hamsters but I'm sure more people will be able to give some practical advice.
Good luck to Mocha and you Bunsey x

[babyboos]

some vets are shocking and really give the profession a bad name when it comes to small pets, you can report them to their governing body. They can test for diabetes and should have done as well as showing you how to do it yourself at home and interpret the results. I have not got any sticks in date anymore, I gave the last lot away to someone on another forum to test her Campbell's dwarf, but I got them from eBay when I used to buy them regularly. I haven't had a diabetic Syrian for years, but Honeyhams the Yahoo Group was absolutely invaluable to me, as was Jane on there. I do recommend having a look at the group and reading some of the information they have posted on there.

[souffle]

I am sorry that your vets visit was so unproductive Poor wee hammy. As babyboos said at least they could have tested her and put your mind at ease with a diagnosis as they could have ruled out diabetes if the test was negative. I find with hammies (and many other animals) at vets I usually have to tell them what is wrong. I think there should be more on small animals in vet med degrees really as most are unimpressive in their knowledge though not all. I hope you find out what is up Bunsey and you can do something for the wee lamb. :?

[Holly]

How awful, Bunsey.

Would it be worth looking for another vet? I go to a large city practice where they have small animal specialists and, though I've not had to take a hamster yet, they were always brilliant with my rabbits. I've phoned them for advice and it's always been good.

Hope you manage to sort something for little Mocha.

[Bunsey]

unfortunately, that vet is actually better than my other local vet who didn't even know that syrians live alone. she told me they couldn't do a diabetes test without fresh pee, even though i took a sample of wet sand. i'm just going to treat her as if she might be diabetic and not give her any sugar-containing things.

[souffle]

Have you tried the test strip you had Bunsey? Any results there?

[Christine Yule]

Sorry to hear that your Vet didn't help you at all. What a shame! :( Hamsters CAN be easily tested and treated for Diabetes. I have been doing it for years.

HOWEVER, urine from diabetic hamsters does NOT smell bad. It smells very sweet because of the extra sugar in the urine. If urine becomes bad smelling it is a sure sign of infection. I'd see another Vet or at least go back to the old one and ask for antibiotics.

How is she doing now?

[Bunsey]

we're having trouble catching her peeing! typical, cos before we had the strip we were always cleaning pee up! i'll let you know as soon as we get results. if it comes up blank i'll keep monitoring and take her to a different vet that i've never tried before, a bit further away

[Christine Yule]

we're having trouble catching her peeing! typical, cos before we had the strip we were always cleaning pee up! i'll let you know as soon as we get results. if it comes up blank i'll keep monitoring and take her to a different vet that i've never tried before, a bit further away


I test mine by putting them in a plastic pail or container and leaving them in there until they pee. You have to watch them though since, they will usually walk through it and spread it around. I usually give the hamster some juicy vegetable like cucumber first and then wait and it is also a good idea to wake the hamster up because they usually have to pee when you do that.

Again, a diabetic hamster will pee often, and I really don't have to use the strip (although I always do) if I can't get the hamster to pee.

I really think you should take your hammie to Vet again, and very soon. I am alarmed at how little your hamster weighs. I know that some are normally small but to have her bones sticking out is really unusual. Syrians can die very quickly when they are losing weight. I hope I am wrong.