Cinnamon Bear

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by Cinnamon Bear

Vita nature has raisens.in it but I think no sugar besides that? I'll have to check that out. I just bought a bag of Vita Garden for Izzy as she needs low protein being older. I think some hybrids can develop diabetes apart from diet? He's drinking again right now. I really need to test his urine if I can?

Definitely test his urine,as that will give you a definite answer.I think even if he is diabetic it is generally recommended to keep sugar to a minimum.Vita Nature has bits of fruit aside from raisins last time I checked the ingredients,like apple and such,so it is kind of sugary compared to Vita Garden which has one sugary ingredient which is relatively unavoidable in the pet food industry.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Maybe he will be getting Vita Garden & Mazuri then. I'll start to switch him over cause he's been drinking way too much water. I think I'll limit his seed intake too. Poor little guy. If he is diabetic I should be able to get him to pee if I leave him in a bin for 20 minutes per night? Think he's not going to be able to hold his bladder very well?

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by Cinnamon Bear

Maybe he will be getting Vita Garden & Mazuri then. I'll start to switch him over cause he's been drinking way too much water. I think I'll limit his seed intake too. Poor little guy. If he is diabetic I should be able to get him to pee if I leave him in a bin for 20 minutes per night? Think he's not going to be able to hold his bladder very well?

Not sure on holding his bladder well,but it's worth trying as long as it doesn't stress him out too badly.I don't think seed intake is a huge problem though since seeds aren't really bad in moderation for any hamster,and the main issue with foods and diabetes is sugar.Seeds aren't exactly that sugary!Vita Garden & Mazuri seems like a great combination though

[Cinnamon Bear]

My diabetic hamster in the past wasn't supposed to have many seeds, but that was awhile ago & I forgot exactly. Looks like I'll have to dig into this again. But Vita Garden & Mazuri is a good direction to go in it looks like.

[Cinnamon Bear]

He keeps gaining weight from a huge appetite, gained 10 gm this month & has squinty eyes which is another sign. He's going into a bin starting tonight for 20 min, he should pee eventually if I keep taking him out, hopefully?

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by Cinnamon Bear

My diabetic hamster in the past wasn't supposed to have many seeds, but that was awhile ago & I forgot exactly. Looks like I'll have to dig into this again. But Vita Garden & Mazuri is a good direction to go in it looks like.

That's strange,diabetic hamsters wouldn't have much reason to not have many seeds.Yes,moderation for any hamster,but there's absolutely no reason for seeds to somehow cause major problems for a hamster at a healthy weight and or help an underweight ham gain weight.As long as he's at a healthy weight overall there's not much reason to limit seeds any more than you'd limit them for a hamster without diabetes.

[Cinnamon Bear]

What do you mean by saying feeding seeds to an underweight hamster won't work? Just curious cause Chloe has been losing weight & is only 32 gm right now. She was 36 gm 3 weeks ago so I'm trying to fatten her up, even feeding her excess sunflower seeds?

[AmityvilleHams]

I meant that they wouldn't do anything to a hamster at a healthy weight,sorry for any confusion there I think my Language Arts teacher would yell at me for the poor sentence structure there but in my defense my brain is a bit jumbled up right now.Extra seeds definitely help for weight gain because of the extra healthy fats,but for a healthy weight hamster it wouldn't do much harm to feed them extra seeds on occasion.It really isn't necessary to limit seeds to just what the mix offers with a healthy weight hamster,but it would make sense if the hamster in question was overweight to consider limiting seeds to just that which the mix provides.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Ok thanks for clearifying, so fattening Chloe up is going to help with fatty seeds along with other healthy foods if I can get her to eat it?

Cinnamon Bear gets lots of seeds & meal worms but they all get the same amount but Cinnamon is the only one drinking constantly.

Hope he pees soon so I can test him.

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by Cinnamon Bear

Ok thanks for clearifying, so fattening Chloe up is going to help with fatty seeds along with other healthy foods if I can get her to eat it?

Cinnamon Bear gets lots of seeds & meal worms but they all get the same amount but Cinnamon is the only one drinking constantly.

Hope he pees soon so I can test him.

You're welcome Yes,definitely lots of healthy foods and healthy fats in general and protein as well.

The cause will sadly remain unknown until the testing is done,but I think treating it as a diabetic case wouldn't hurt just having healthier foods in general and all that.