Diabetes?

[HamsterLady]

I adopted two russian dwarves a few weeks back. They'd been kept short term in a rotastak pod and when I picked them up their water bottle was empty.

I bought them home and got extensions for their cage. I realise some two weeks on that I'm filling their water bottle way more than any other hamster (its two thirds empty in 2 days). It is a small rotastak bottle but remembering their large bottle was empty on collection, and hearing them at it quite often, makes me suspect diabetes.

Also note that the woman was feeding them fresh fruit, there was something exotic like kiwi or papaya in the cage on collection. I thought you weren't supposed to give dwarves fresh fruit or sugary treats because of diabetes?

Everything I've read says a vet won't be much help, there's no 'treatment' for diabetes in hamsters. So any advice on what to do or expect?

[Clairealex]

I've not had any personal experience with diabetes but have read a lot up as I have a hybrid too. He usually drinks between 4-6ml over the course of two days, so your wee ones water intake seems excessive, even for two.

Although the best treatment for diabetes is through diet which you would do at home, a vet experienced in exotics may offer diet plans etc to help you get it under control. There is also a chance it may be an infection or something else causing it, so you will need a vet to help determine that.

I'd recommend booking a vet appointment and buying the Ketostix that are used to measure the ketones and glucose in urine. This will give you an idea of what you're dealing with.

Hope you get on ok!

[Vectis Hamstery]

I would agree that it is important to test to find out what's going on before giving any treatment or diet change. There are many things as well as diabetes that can cause water bottles to become empty faster, e.g. leaky bottle, bottle chewing, kidney problems. I would test each hamster separately so if there is a problem you know who it is.

If you get a positive glucose then I would seek advice from a good vet. Diet changes are usually the first step (depending on results and symptoms) but I have used medications in many diabetic hamsters. My experience and research is here: Diabetes in Hamsters - Vectis Hamstery

I hope it's nothing serious, but it's a good idea to check

[HamsterLady]

Thanks really helpful replies, I'll do the test asap x

[NicoleL88]

Hi HL,

Our dwarf hamster Stich has diabetes.

We tested her urine with Keto-Diastix which showed off-the-charts glucose levels. Took her to a vet who suggested she might also have it (this was a few months ago). We have no idea how old she is as we adopted her from the CSPCA back in August. We changed her diet to a mix of the following:

Harry Hamster (with every single piece of corn, crushed corn, flaked corn, sunflower seeds, peanuts and pumpkin seeds removed)
Mealworms
Linseed
Flaxseed
Hempseed
Chia seeds
Wheatgerm
Small tofu pieces with fenugreek seeds (to lower blood sugar level) inserted (about 10)
Small freeze dried pieces of duck

If yours do have diabetes I hope this helps. Believe me, I spent weeks doing the research!

[HamsterLady]

Thanks that's good to know, still struggling to get a urine sample atm though unfortunately! Will update when I do x

[racinghamster]

Diabetes in hamsters can usually only be controlled by diet anyway and kidney issues can also cause similar symptoms, so I would look at their dry mix. Try and keep it basic and just feed a good commercial mix like Burgess dwarf mix. Just don`t feed a mix that has things like dried fruit or any shop bought treats that may contain syrup/sugar/molasses or fructose.

The bottles on the Rotastak are small, so I would look at using two bottles rather than just the one. I would also never have any of the pods `vertical` as hamsters cannot get up and down those tubes or vertical ladders and if your set up is like this, it could mean that the hamster is having issues using it and is then finding himself so thirsty because he couldn`t get to the bottle that he`s drinking more to compensate? Just thought I would mention this in case that`s how your set up is built. If it is, I would connect them horizontally (all on one level on the table) to make using the pods much easier. x

[HamsterLady]

Cheers Racing Hamster, yes I had realised that when I first set them up in their expanded home. I knew Dwarves weren't great climbers but geez this pair are the worst I've ever seen! They only have one vertical tube in their set and it's lined with wire mesh though they still don't exactly race up it. The upstairs is only to allow extra space to play though, I have all they need on the ground floor. Good to mention though as that could have been a reasonable answer! In the end my vet friend came round to drop something off and I nabbed her for an opinion. She was very much "dude - it's a hamster" I'm afraid :-/ She said it could be kidney issues but that they can't exactly take blood and run tests. Soooo, I'll just be doing the diet change thing from home I guess. Thanks for the replies x

[HamsterLady]

Just went to feed him, only saw him drinking an hour ago, and there he was laying dead on his side in the bed bit

[BrainGirl]

I'm so sorry, that must have been such a shock Thoughts are with you x