Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Feeding/Nutrition

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-16-2013, 03:10 PM   #1
Minnie
Hamster Pup
 
Minnie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 57
Default Hypoallergenic hamster food

Hi. My 18 month old Syrian hamster has severe food intolerances. I've moved him from hamster food to human quality food but this has resulted in dry skin through an imbalanced diet.

The vet and I are now looking at alternative food stuffs to feed him, one of which is hypoallergenic hamster food. I know there is hypoallergenic pet food for dogs, horses and cats but I'd like to find out if there is one for hamsters or if anyone knows of a vet specialist who has an interest in this area.

Thanks. Emma and (an itchy) Ollie
__________________
Minnie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2013, 01:14 AM   #2
evel_lin
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
evel_lin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Bedfordshire, UK
Posts: 1,833
Default Re: Hypoallergenic hamster food

I've never heard of a hamster with food intolerances, what happens if he has normal hamster food?

Hope you're able to find something that works for him
__________________


Missing my Sherly-bum
evel_lin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2013, 02:33 AM   #3
slatted
Hamster Overlord
 
slatted's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Gloucestershire
Posts: 840
Default Re: Hypoallergenic hamster food

What makes of food have you already tried? and what makes you and the vet believe it is an intolerance to "hamster" food?

If it is itching I would have thought it more likely to be a reaction to substrate or other environmentals.

Have you tried adding a multivitamin supplement to his diet/water?
slatted is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2013, 04:32 AM   #4
Vectis Hamstery
Moderator
 
Vectis Hamstery's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Southampton, UK
Posts: 4,577
Default Re: Hypoallergenic hamster food

I'm sorry to hear your little ham is under the weather. As you've seen your vet, I expect s/he has excluded other causes of itching such as mites, cutaneous cancers or substrate/bedding allergy. I have heard of mice having extreme itching problems which is thought to be related to higher protein content foods, but I haven't experienced/heard of this in hamsters.

What is Ollie's food intolerance to? There is no specific 'hypoallergenic' hamster food so you would need to find/make a food without whatever he is allergic to. I had a hamster with a gluten intolerance following a bowel infection (which manifested as diarrhoea rather than itching). We identified this by using an exclusion diet - starting with just boiled chicken and rice for a week (no extras, no dog biccies etc) which entirely resolved her symptoms and then reintroducing one component at a time and monitoring the results. I ended up making her a food based on rice flakes as all commercial foods have gluten in.

I would recommend supplementing Ollie's food with a vitamin mix, such as Dr Squiggles, if he isn't having a commercial hamster mix.

In terms of recommending a vet, it would help if you mentioned the rough area you live in, e.g. county/city/state and country

I hope he feels better soon.
__________________
Vectis Hamstery is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
allergies, food, hypoallergenic, specialist

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:25 AM.