Fully grown?

Heidi17 · 07-29-2017, 12:50 PM

Hi guys. First post here. I have a female golden syrian who I have had for about 2-3 months now. She has recently had a UTI and so been to the vets for antibiotics. She's better now but her size/weight at the vets got me thinking...
How large should a female syrian be? She hasn't grown since I got her 8-12 weeks ago. She is currently 90g (weighed at vets), and they said she was tiny.
She has unlimited food - is she unlikely to grow any more? Most of the hamsters I see in the pet store seem much larger than her, I assumed when I got her she was a baby but perhaps she will always be tiny?
Thanks

LokiWolf · 07-29-2017, 04:01 PM

I think you might have a runt of a litter. But I know nothing about Syrians so other members would be able to help you better with your questions.

AprilPearl · 07-29-2017, 10:40 PM

She is very small. Hamsters tend to stop growing at 4-6 months old. She was probably around 8 -10 weeks old when you got her (asssuming that she was a baby - and most pet shop hams are). If you have had her for 2-3 months, she will be 4-5 months old. Ordinarily, I would say that at this sort of age she may be fully grown or she may have a little more growing to do.

If she was a baby when you got her, she ought to have grown in the time that you have had her. Have you been weighing her every week? Or, did you just weigh her once when you got her and then again now? If you have not been weighing her weekly, then she may well have grown quite a bit but then lost a lot of weight due to her UTI. I would strongly recommend that you start weighing weekly if you do not already, because it can be a strong indicator of health and weight loss is often a symptom of illness.

Does she feel very skinny? Can you feel/see her shoulder blades, back bone and/or hip bones? Did the vet seem concerned about her weight, or just think that she was very small?

How big a hamster ends up is largely dependent on genetics, so without knowing how big her parents were, it is difficult to know how big your girl will grow. Generally, adult Syrians are 100-200g, although some can be over 200g or even over 300g. The larger hamsters tend to be from breeders, though and pet shop hamsters are usually smaller. Female syrians are on average bigger than males.

Your girl is very tiny. It is possible that she is naturally and healthily this size. However, it could also be that the UTI has caused her to lose weight or not grow properly.

cypher · 07-29-2017, 11:02 PM

She is rather a tiny little ham, even for a small ham that is a low weight.
What food do you give her?

Heidi17 · 07-30-2017, 02:59 AM

Thanks for replies, the vet didn't seem concerned and she definitely hasn't got smaller or thinner since being under the weather. She is still eating as she did beforehand. She has a muesli mix and the occasional bit of fruit/raisins etc.
Definitely can't see any bones and she doesn't look skinny, but she doesn't look big and round either. I've never weighed her before so I will start. Perhaps it's that I see her all the time and haven't noticed her getting bigger, but to me she's still the little baby I picked up a few months ago

cypher · 07-30-2017, 03:09 AM

If she doesn't look or feel skinny then she may just be a particularly small ham but it is possible she may not be getting all the nutrients she needs to grow well, sorry I wasn't clear before but I meant what brand of food are you using.

AprilPearl · 07-30-2017, 03:12 AM

She probably has grown since you got her

without weighing them, it can be hard to tell if you see them every day! Plus, like I said, she may have lost some weight after being unwell.

So long as she is getting enough of a good quality mix (1 tablespoon of Harry Hamster muesli a day is the best for Syrians) then if she has lost weight she should gain it back. And, if she isn’t growing but feels healthy then that is probably her natural size.

Heidi17 · 07-30-2017, 03:35 AM

Thanks - its Tiny Friends Farm Harry Hamster and she gets as much as she wants. I think she's just going to be a wee girly

which is nice I suppose because she will have a comparatively bigger cage in her eyes

AprilPearl · 07-30-2017, 03:40 AM

That’s just the one I meant

sounds like she is getting a good diet. So long as she is not being selective and only eating the bits of the mix that she likes, then it will be providing her with all the nutrition that she needs.

cypher · 07-30-2017, 03:59 AM

That's good, she should be getting all she needs then so it does seem she's just going to be a tiny one!