Keto-Diastix

dave123791 · 07-19-2014, 04:59 AM

Hi guys

I was reading the HC wiki and noticed a page about diabetes in hamsters. I have 2 robo females approx 4 months old, they live separately. Can they get diabetes? They are not fed too much fruit, tiny piece of apple every 2-3 weeks. They don't get much sugary treats and have a balanced diet. Should i buy the Keto-Diastix and test them for diabetes? What should i do if they do have diabetes? Where can i buy it? The price on amazon was nearly £20!!!. Is it possible to get it cheaper somewhere?

Thanks
Dave

Hekomi · 07-19-2014, 06:14 AM

Robos aren't as prone to diabetes as Russian dwarfs or Chinese hams but they can still get it, as with any animal who has a poor diet and lifestyle. It's much less common though. We got our strips on amazon but found out we could buy them for 10$ in our local drug store.

dave123791 · 07-19-2014, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hekomi

Robos aren't as prone to diabetes as Russian dwarfs or Chinese hams but they can still get it, as with any animal who has a poor diet and lifestyle. It's much less common though. We got our strips on amazon but found out we could buy them for 10$ in our local drug store.

That's good, are there any foods used to prevent/decrease the risk of diabetes? After i get paid i might buy the strips, but I'm not entirely sure yet because my dog needs his vaccination which is £55 and i was planning on buying some stuff from VioVet.

But i will probably buy them at the end of August after my 2nd pay from VioVet

racinghamster · 07-19-2014, 08:29 AM

To be honest dave, I wouldn`t worry about diabetes in robos as they are not a species that are highly prone to it like hybrid russian hamsters can be and Chinese. Kidney issues in older age is more of a deterioration and can have similar symptoms to diabetes with robos, but again, I still feed essential protein even in old age like a few broken up dry mealworms as well as the poultry biscuits in his Burgess mix.

My Fred (approaching three years old according to what his previous owner told us) gets:

Three niblets of fresh sweet corn a DAY! I buy the small corns frozen from farmFoods and defrost one in the fridge and just slice off what I need and rinse under cold water. he actually looks for it and goes mad for it!

He also gets a small 5mm piece of apple a few times a day. And he even gets a little crumb of my rich tea biscuit in the morning when I`m having a cuppa!

Diastix can be an essential tool for testing the urine, but unless ou have a diabetes prone species, I don`t think they are worth persuing, especially as robos don`t pee on demand!

dave123791 · 07-19-2014, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racinghamster

To be honest dave, I wouldn`t worry about diabetes in robos as they are not a species that are highly prone to it like hybrid russian hamsters can be and Chinese. Kidney issues in older age is more of a deterioration and can have similar symptoms to diabetes with robos, but again, I still feed essential protein even in old age like a few broken up dry mealworms as well as the poultry biscuits in his Burgess mix.

My Fred (approaching three years old according to what his previous owner told us) gets:

Three niblets of fresh sweet corn a DAY! I buy the small corns frozen from farmFoods and defrost one in the fridge and just slice off what I need and rinse under cold water. he actually looks for it and goes mad for it!

He also gets a small 5mm piece of apple a few times a day. And he even gets a little crumb of my rich tea biscuit in the morning when I`m having a cuppa!

Diastix can be an essential tool for testing the urine, but unless ou have a diabetes prone species, I don`t think they are worth persuing, especially as robos don`t pee on demand!

Thanks for your advice, you really made me less worried.

**kyrilliondaemon** · 07-20-2014, 04:27 AM

Yeah I'd agree with the others. Diabetes can seem really scary but personally I tend to not test for it unless a hamster is showing symptoms (even in my chinese and hybrids - two of which do have a family history of diabetes). In a pet home I just don't think theres much need, it used to drive me nuts trying to get samples from healthy hams so... We stopped. Our own diabetic ham gave samples much easier when needed but testing his family was a nightmare so we've stopped trying.
Its important for breeders to check at certain times to minimse the risk of breeding a diabetic hamster, but pets don't breed so for them knowing just lets us manage the condition and for those pets testing once they're showing symptoms seems to work nicely.

dave123791 · 07-20-2014, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyrilliondaemon

Yeah I'd agree with the others. Diabetes can seem really scary but personally I tend to not test for it unless a hamster is showing symptoms (even in my chinese and hybrids - two of which do have a family history of diabetes). In a pet home I just don't think theres much need, it used to drive me nuts trying to get samples from healthy hams so... We stopped. Our own diabetic ham gave samples much easier when needed but testing his family was a nightmare so we've stopped trying.
Its important for breeders to check at certain times to minimse the risk of breeding a diabetic hamster, but pets don't breed so for them knowing just lets us manage the condition and for those pets testing once they're showing symptoms seems to work nicely.

Thanks for your help and bothering to answer my questions. I will test for diabetes when i see symptoms then

**kyrilliondaemon** · 07-20-2014, 12:47 PM

I'll keep my fingers crossed that you never need the symptoms and need to test

We keep keto-diastix around but for us its largely because of Polly and Boo's family history (plus we needed them for Ghost while he was with us)

dave123791 · 07-20-2014, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyrilliondaemon

I'll keep my fingers crossed that you never need the symptoms and need to test

We keep keto-diastix around but for us its largely because of Polly and Boo's family history (plus we needed them for Ghost while he was with us)

Thanks

PS: So does that mean diabetes is passed through while breeding(in genes)?

**kyrilliondaemon** · 07-20-2014, 01:25 PM

Er... Its not always genetic (through the genes) but sometimes it is. When two members of the same family develop diabetes theres a fairly high chance it is genetic - hence caring about Polly and Boo's family history.

Sometimes it will be bad luck or something else, othertimes it does seem to hit family members.

If you're still curious about treatment and diagnosis then this page on the Vectis Hamstery website is really helpful