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Old 06-07-2019, 12:17 PM   #1
Ria P
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Default Is my hamster fat?

I bought electronic scales today and weighed my male Syrian Henry who is 5 - 6 months old. He was a small and weedy looking pet shop hamster when I got him but now weighs 210g!
Is he overweight? He looks fine to me but I'm not sure what a hamster should look like. He has grown a lot, in length I mean, since I've had him but is 210g a normal weight for a male?
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Old 06-07-2019, 01:30 PM   #2
LunaTheHamster1
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Default Re: Is my hamster fat?

Hard to say without seeing a photo. My Luna was 153g when I adopted her and over several months put some weight on and got to around 180g, then 190g and then over winter she topped the 200g mark. Eak, I felt bad, but she's slowing down in her old age and still eats the same. I have got her weight back down to around the 190g mark, she is a big girl though. Everyone is always surprised how big, in length she is, they think on photos she looks so small, but in reality she is not. I'm not sure that helped you at all? I thought girls tended to be bigger than boys and weigh more, but maybe males can be big too.
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Old 06-07-2019, 02:03 PM   #3
Ria P
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Default Re: Is my hamster fat?

I took a couple of photos just now. Not sure if i managed to attach them.
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File Type: jpg 20190607_215313.jpg (2.70 MB, 46 views)
File Type: jpg 20190607_215057.jpg (2.54 MB, 42 views)
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Old 06-08-2019, 12:41 AM   #4
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Default Re: Is my hamster fat?

He looks perfect to me! They can go up to 300g for nice chunky breeder hams so 210g isn't even that big.

A bit of extra fat is a good thing, for people and for animals! Especially for hams because they can go downhill so quickly when they're sick I would much rather have a ham be slightly chubby so they have that extra bit in reserve when they need it. If he's not too fat to be a proper hamster (lots of wheel time, out of cage activities etc) I wouldn't worry at all.
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Old 06-08-2019, 12:41 AM   #5
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Default Re: Is my hamster fat?

Henry's cute. I think he looks ok, but I'm not an expert. I just found something that said a syrian, fully grown can weigh 6 or 7 ounces, 7 ounces = 198g, so if you were worried you could maybe try and get Henry to loose 10g. It also said an ounce (28.3g)for every inch of length, have fun trying to measure Henry Before I read that I think I thought syrians should be around 150-200g,with some smaller ones weighing even less. I think as long as you are giving him a healthy diet, his food mix along with some veggies and occasional treat, he should be ok. But say you were giving him a sugary treat every day, then that could be a problem.
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Old 06-08-2019, 12:46 AM   #6
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Default Re: Is my hamster fat?

He looks fine to me. As long as you can't feel rolls of fat along his sides and he feels nice and firm and is active and healthy I wouldn't worry. The pet shop may get hamsters from a breeder and these are always larger. Our Nico is 210g and yes is a large hamster but that is in his genes and he is fit and healthy.
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Old 06-08-2019, 08:46 AM   #7
Ria P
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Default Re: Is my hamster fat?

Thank you all for your comments! I've told Henry that the overall verdict is that he is not fat.

Henry prefers fresh food and gets veg daily, a bit of fruit but not daily, his hamster mix daily, sunflower and pumkin seeds he has to search for and climb to get to, a few daily, insect mix always scattered about, bit of porridge, egg, chicken, pasta, nuts now and again and the odd dandelion or clover leaf from the garden. He's got herby stuff in his cage he sometimes nibbles on and sweetcorn and nutty thing (sugar free) dangling from his roof and he needs to climb to get to them. All basic food and i don't feed him treats, only a crumb from my homemade sugar free biscuits and small piece of cheese as a weekend treat. That's it.
Must remember to give him his cheese when he wakes up. It's Saturday.

Last edited by Ria P; 06-08-2019 at 08:47 AM. Reason: grammar
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Old 06-08-2019, 08:58 AM   #8
Charlie Dunn
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Default Re: Is my hamster fat?

He looks just right to me - gorgeous - and hope he enjoyed his Saturday cheese! X
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Old 06-08-2019, 09:04 AM   #9
Rads
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Default Re: Is my hamster fat?

Ria,
Henry looks just fine, you can tell him that Mistress Poppy doesn't think that he is fat either.
210g is a good weight..!
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Old 06-08-2019, 09:30 AM   #10
Ria P
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Default Re: Is my hamster fat?

He'll enjoy his cheese even more now that he knows that Mistress Poppy doesn't think he's fat.
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