Dwarf Hamster not putting on weight

[souffle]

Salt does look quite thin in the face there.
It is not so much the not getting to the food that is the issue but the stress hormones being constantly released if Salt is constantly being bullied all be it 'mentally' just at the moment which is does look like he is. The buzzing about is a sign of this. Does he sleep apart? Remember two mature males living together is not really a natural situation. At this age it is not a case of company but more competition for territory / food and mates and the hormonal stress reaction will provide a 'winner' .
Personally I would separate them before a fight breaks out. House them well apart and see how he progresses. They do very well alone and become more people friendly too.

[donnahull]

Ok, weight update. Today Pepper is 67g and Salt is 46g - so a big jump for Salt. I'm hoping that's the change in food to the Burgess. The still leave certain bits of it, but I'm relieved he's putting on weight.
I'll continue to keep a very close eye on them both and take them to the playpen whenever I spy them awake. Still waiting on the new cage to be delivered, and hopefully both boys can move into it. It would be difficult to have 2 cages (but not impossible).

[mangoandmimi]

Happy to hear he’s bulked up a bit - that’s a big jump up. Burgess does generally go down well with them. The cage change can cause a territorial fall out especially as it’s a big upgrade, so just a warning! I do hope they enjoy it though

[donnahull]

I think I'll hang onto the new cage for a bit and monitor Salt's weight before I introduce any changes. I don't want to make things worse, and if I have to seperate them, I can just move one into the new cage.
If all goes well and Salt improves, I can move them both together at some later time.
Hmm, weighed him this evening, 43g.

[donnahull]

I can only assume he had his cheeks stuffed when he weighed 46. He's still at 43g. How much weight should he put on over a set time? Say per week or per month?

[mangoandmimi]

There isn’t a set amount of weight he should gain, it’s just until he looks healthy. How is he doing now?

[donnahull]

Originally Posted by mangoandmimi

There isn’t a set amount of weight he should gain, it’s just until he looks healthy. How is he doing now?

He's 45g, so slowly creeping up, I'm hoping that a good sign. We were away Sat/Sun and when we returned last night he didn't look quite so skinny (tho maybe that's my imagination). I decided to put them both into the new cage on Fri, so they now have a lot more space, 2 larger wheels, 2 multi room houses, 2 feeding bowls, 2 water bottles.

I used all the substrate from their old house and added it to the new one, particularly in their houses. They have an enclosed nest box that I moved so the contents weren't disturbed. And their sand bath/litter tray. I also scattered some food about for them.

We then left them undisturbed to get used to the new setup - my boys are itching to take them out and play with them, but have been good about just watching them for now.

Salt certainly seemed happy last night, exploring and eating lots of food. he's definitely a picky eater, even with the Burgess, he gets into the bowl and digs about to get the bits he likes - scatters the other bits everywhere lol. I'm mixing the old and new food as he seems to eat bits from each.

Pepper on the other hand, just eats.

[donnahull]

Salt is now a healthy 52g �� We weigh him about twice a week while he's out in the play pen.I don't know if it's the new bigger setup or the change in food, but he's in fine form. Still far more active than the lazy skitter Pepper, but not so manic around the cage.
Food wise, we now have 2 mixes plus fresh veg. One bowl of the Burgess dwarf hamster food, and one bowl of Silver's mix with vitamins added. They seem to like both, so I'll carry on with both. Some bits of the Burgess gets left and binned, but they eat all of the Silver mix.