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Old 09-17-2018, 10:14 PM   #1
Nichole
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Default Underweight syrian hamster ?

Hello, I have a syrian female hamster that’s about 4-5 months old. A little story about her background, I bought her at my local pet shop which has terrible housing conditions for them , they were on chipsi bedding which is a softwood type bedding and was feed a pellet type food which has no brand. They don’t even have a wheel, a hideout or a toy for them !!! I even found some adult Syrians housed together or even worse housed with dwarf hamsters!! I was so sad and wanted to safe at least one of them. She was about 2 months old when I brought her in and really skittish and skinny. I’ve feed her Versele laga hamster nature mixture with cunipic natural and versele laga hamster and gerbil complete diet . She really loves her wheel and constantly runs on it. She also has a knack for escaping and climbing stuff. She’s about 100grams when I weight her two days ago ,is she considered skinny ?
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Old 09-17-2018, 11:10 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Underweight syrian hamster ?

It's a job to tell from the photos but as far as I can see she doesn't look skinny, their weight varies a lot & a pet shop ham will often not get to the size of a breeder ham.
I would go by how she feels as much as how she weighs, if she doesn't feel bony at all & she's eating well then I wouldn't worry.
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Old 09-18-2018, 01:07 AM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Underweight syrian hamster ?

She is absolutely gorgeous. 100g is on the low side but maybe she's a very small hamster. As Cypher says, go by how she feels - if she doesn't feel like skin and bone she is fine - you can always feels their bones to some degree. If you're concerned you could supplement with a few fresh treats. When our last Syrian was losing weight in old age, I researched high calorie healthy foods. Pecan nuts have the highest calories of any nuts - high in fat but it's healthy fat. Not salted ones obviously and shelled. You could maybe give her half a pecan nut once a week. Also hemp seeds are supposed to contain every vitamin and mineral in existence so will help build her up. Other extras like sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds can also build weight (especially sunflower seeds so you may need to cut back on them if she gets too much the other way!)

Also have you checked her teeth? The top ones can overgrow meaning they have difficulty eating. She looks fine. Not sure which country you're in but am wondering if it's Germany if she was on Chipsi bedding. There are better mixes than the Versele Laga one and it's better to use one specifically for hamsters rather than Hamsters and Gerbils. Protein should be between 16 and 18%. If it's a bit low you can supplement with mealworms, freeze dried chicken and the occasional nut.

Last edited by Pebbles82; 09-18-2018 at 01:29 AM.
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Old 09-18-2018, 06:27 AM   #4
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Default Re: Underweight syrian hamster ?

Thanks for your input!! Miso(my hammy) is a really active girl and when I play with her she feels ok to me, but when’s she walks on all fours she looks really skinny. I live in Malaysia and majority of pet shops here only sell chipsi or unlabeled wood shavings . Paper based bedding and aspen are really hard to find and I can only get it either online or going to a big chained pet store. She’s currently using Critter care natural which is a paper based bedding. Also we don’t hazel hamster or harry hamsters here, the only ones I could find that have high protein content was versele laga brand , others were either unnamed brands or have low quality stuff in them .One of the versele laga had a vets recommendation written there and it’s a pellet type food so I’m not sure whether it’s good for them or not.Although I tried giving her some dried mealworms she doesn’t like them so I will try supplementing her diet with other protein rich foods. I heard pedigree milk bones are great for their teeth is it true ?
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Old 09-18-2018, 08:04 AM   #5
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Underweight syrian hamster ?

Ok - sounds like the Versele Laga is the best option then - they do better with a muesli than a pellet food - but you could add a few pellets to the muesli to make sure she's getting all the nutrients and protein. I personally don't use dog biscuits. Some think they are ok and some are very anti! They do need chews to keep their teeth trim - hence a hard muesli mix helps. Can you get the whimzee toothbrush dog chews? They are just vegetable based and hamsters seem to love them and chew them a lot. I stick little seeds in the bristles as well so it tempts them to chew. Chewing wood is good for their teeth too - mine have never been interested in any wood chews but will happily chew the wood legs off the house!
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Old 09-18-2018, 12:46 PM   #6
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Default Re: Underweight syrian hamster ?

Some dog biscuits are ok but I'm not really a fan of the milk bones tbh, as long as they have normal hard food they don't really need any chews their teeth should wear down just fine, some do enjoying chewing though, if you can get hazel or apple wood sticks your ham might enjoy those, I'm not sure that you can get whimzees where you are but definitely worth checking it out.
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Old 09-18-2018, 11:49 PM   #7
Nichole
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Default Re: Underweight syrian hamster ?

She has a wooden bridge that she chews sometimes so I’m not worried about her teeth over growing. I can’t find whimzees dog chews but I can some whimzees cat chews online but they are pretty expensive.As an alternative , is it advisable to rub some peanut butter onto her wooden chews ?
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Old 09-18-2018, 11:52 PM   #8
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Default Re: Underweight syrian hamster ?

I have no idea what's in the whimzee cat chews so probably better not to use them, I wouldn't put anything on the chews, peanut butter isn't good for them putting anything like that or some people use juice on chews can just lead to mould so best avoided imo.
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Old 09-19-2018, 05:37 AM   #9
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Default Re: Underweight syrian hamster ?

Ok thanks everyone for their suggestions!!! I’ll try to invest in some applewood chews for her .
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