Potential Cushings Dilemma...I’m stuck

[Pebbles82]

Once separated they must be kept apart unfortunately- it would be far too stressful for them to have any contact once separated. The territorial solitary instincts also kick in very quickly after separation.

Egg would be a nice treat. They actually shouldn’t have too much protein when they’re older so the but treats should only be once a week really. When they’re younger they need a lot of protein but over a year old too much protein can actually be bad for them. But the occasional treat of a bit of egg or a nut goes down well. The linseeds they can have all the time.

Yes I would got to an exotic vet and ask for a skin scraping. They will also have a general look at her and suggest things. Mites can occur at any time if the immune system is low for some reason (and stress is one cause). They naturally have mites all the time but when the immune system is low, the mites proliferate and that is when the problem occurs.

Good that you’ve removed her sister’s scent from the cage. I’m not sure how often you clean them out but too many clean outs can cause stress. It’s best to spot clean mainly and not change all the substrate too often and not clean everything at the same time. I used to clean half the cage at a time so one half was always undisturbed and smelled famikiar. Also best not to throw away their hoards- unless they get peed on or start taking over and then you can prune them. Sorry if you know all that already.

[Periwinklepets]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Once separated they must be kept apart unfortunately- it would be far too stressful for them to have any contact once separated. The territorial solitary instincts also kick in very quickly after separation.

Egg would be a nice treat. They actually shouldn’t have too much protein when they’re older so the but treats should only be once a week really. When they’re younger they need a lot of protein but over a year old too much protein can actually be bad for them. But the occasional treat of a bit of egg or a nut goes down well. The linseeds they can have all the time.

Yes I would got to an exotic vet and ask for a skin scraping. They will also have a general look at her and suggest things. Mites can occur at any time if the immune system is low for some reason (and stress is one cause). They naturally have mites all the time but when the immune system is low, the mites proliferate and that is when the problem occurs.

Good that you’ve removed her sister’s scent from the cage. I’m not sure how often you clean them out but too many clean outs can cause stress. It’s best to spot clean mainly and not change all the substrate too often and not clean everything at the same time. I used to clean half the cage at a time so one half was always undisturbed and smelled famikiar. Also best not to throw away their hoards- unless they get peed on or start taking over and then you can prune them. Sorry if you know all that already.

Thank you for your response! and Ah I see, I moved them to different rooms as well in case hearing/ smelling Rosemary causes Bijou stress too. I hope they won’t become depressed or upset without each other, but eliminating stress for Bijou is most important. I’ll make sure to give treats in moderation, I called around yesterday to see if any stores had linseed; I believe linseed is the same as flaxseed which I already have at home! So I’ll start giving her that tonight. I’m also going to set up a second bin for nightly runs so that Bijous bin doesn’t have any Rosemary scent on it. I didn’t know that about cage cleaning, thank you for telling me! I like the idea of cleaning half the cage and spot cleaning while leaving her hoard untouched, I completely cleaned the cage the other day when they separated, but I’ll make sure to leave some familiar scents from now on. I’m still thinking of waiting a bit before I go to any vets, she was on her wheel last night and doesn’t seem unhappy, but if she continues to bald despite the new housing situation and flax/linseeds, I’ll have to seek some help for her. I’m hoping things will start to look up a bit😕🤞

[Pebbles82]

I do hope she does ok. If it is mainly balding then there can be all kinds of causes for that, especially as they get older. Tlc sounds good for now The thing is, if she is losing hair and doing grooming as normal (and it is normal for them to groom and scratch a bit) then her skin will be more susceptible to being scratched. So it might be an idea to check her nails. If her nails have got a bit long then she could make her skin sore and have little cuts or scratches. I would not attempt to clip a robo's nails personally- they are such tiny little things and if clipped too far back it can cut the quick and they can bleed profusely (plus it's painful for them then). So if you think her nails look a bit long and are starting to curve over, then that might be something she would need doing at the vets. Or having a rough stone under her water bottle might help wear them down. I always have that under the water bottle to try and prevent them getting too long. But if they have got long they'll need clipping. The stone will just help prevent them getting long again.

With cage cleaning, it's good to leave the substrate as long as possible and then just spot clean. When I had our robo it never seemed to smell of pee and I had no idea where he was peeing! They pee such small amounts I think it evaporates mostly. So basically, if it doesn't smell it can be left for quite some time. Then I would replace the substrate at one side of the cage - but it's always good to put some of the old substrate back on top so it smells familiar (there is usually some of the old substrate that isn't whiffy). Then a couple of weeks later I'd do the other half of the cage. Then a different week again clean the wheel and a different week again any toys or the house.

If she doesn't pee in her nest (our robo never pee'd in his nest) then the nest can be left really quite a long time - they tend to refurbish it themselves if you keep putting out a small pile of toilet paper strips (plain white toilet paper torn into strips - it's the safest nesting material). Not sure if you know about fluffy bedding but that is dangerous so if she has any - best to remove that and add a pile of toilet paper strips and she'll rebuild her nest from it.

They are very precious about their nest and hoards and can get stressed if those are taken away. When I did the half of the cage with the nest and hoard, I would check them and remove any hoard at the bottom if it was looking like it was going a bit funny (condensation eg), but leave the top half in tact. If you ever do need to remove the hoard, if it's going manky or pee'd on then the recommendation is to always put new food back in exactly the same place. They are hard wired to have hoards for emergencies and can get stressed without their hoard. They soon get used to a cleaning routine but are happier if things don't change too much.

You actually use quite a bit less substrate overall if you put more in (4 to 5" deep minimum) because most of it stays clean and it needs cleaning out less often. It reduces stress for the hamster and makes our lives a bit simpler as well.

So with her new cage and less clean outs she may settle down. I would love to know if the Linseeds/flax seeds make any difference - it can take a couple of months to notice any difference. Even if her fur doesn't grow back it will help her skin to be healthy.

So in terms of cage cleaning I only did it about every 6 to 8 weeks, half at a time with the substrate and other items as and when. So something always smells familiar. And replacing a little bit of clean old substrate on top of the new.

I found "spot cleaning" wasn't really possible with a robo as I didn't know where he was peeing. Although at one point I gave him a large house with rooms and put a litter tray in one room and he used it. But not all the time!

So that is one other thing that really helps them feel relaxed and secure - a house that's dark inside so they can retreat somewhere dark if they need to. Our robo ignored all the little houses I put in and just nested under the substrate (which he would pile up on top of his nest), and that used to collapse regularly. But if you give them a part buried house it mimics a burrow and she might move into it.

A good option for that is a small shoe box - eg a child's shoe box. Cut the base out and keep the lid as a lift off roof. And cut a hole in one of the long sides for an entrance. Then sort of bury the house in the substrate (5 to 6" substrate is an ideal depth). so that only the top third is sticking out. You can channel a bit of substrate away around the door area. The house roof then also makes a little platform to climb on as well or somewhere to put the food bowl.

The idea of the lift off roof is, you can check inside the house occasionally without having to take it out - so their nest stays intact. Not too often - I found if I lifted the top off too often our robo would move out into his second nest! He had one on each side of the cage and when I was cleaning one half he would abandon that nest for a while and go to the one on the other side for a while. So it worked out quite well.

She will probably move in if there's an underground house/burrow that is big enough to build a cosy nest and bury hoards in as well.

They usually eat from their hoards while in the nest. Most of the food they take from the food bowl they just pouch and hoard it then eat later.

Another thing you could do is scatter a bit of her food. So put some in the food bowl as usual and scatter a little bit around on the substrate as well. They get quite stimulated by that and it fulfills their foraging instinct.

I've added an article about hair loss in hamsters - it's mainly about Syrians but also general. It can just be old age or genetic. I wouldn't use added vitamins though - the linseeds should provide most of those along with her hamster mix. The lack of protein is more for fur loss in younger hamsters - with older hamsters, too much protein can affect their kidneys and kidney problems can cause fur loss! So it's about just having a balanced diet.

Not sure which hamster mix you are giving her but some are much better than others and you can get dwarf specific hamster mixes. Unfortunately the Burgess dwarf specific one (which was the easiest one to get hold of) isn't made any more. Harry hamster would be fine although the pieces are a bit large for a robo (but it does contain all vitamins and minerals needed). Any other dwarf hamster mixes are probably only available online. If you can order online that could be a good option. If not then Harry Hamster is easily available.

This is a good dwarf hamster mix - from Zooplus. The only difficulty is I think there is a minimum purchase of £15 each time you order, so I used to get 3 bags in one go. But then it lasts forever!

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...er_food/620085


Hamster fur loss

It's probably best not to change her cage set up too much if she has just moved - at least for the first couple of weeks - but adding something new is usually accepted well so you could maybe add an underground house. If you don't have a small shoe box then any kind of small cardboard box would do - eg a square tissue box. The hole from the tissue box flap could be the open roof and just put another piece of card on top of that to lift off

In terms of vitamin supplements, I also used to give a pinch of hemp seeds as well as a pinch of linseeds. They might eat some one day and some another day but they seem to like these as well. Hemp seeds are supposed to contain all vitamins and minerals and it's a more natural way than adding synthetic vitamins - plus they like them. To supplement the hamster food mix.

It will help her condition if it is vitamin related. If it doesn't break the bank I used to get these - Holland and Barrett sell them. I'd just put them on the house roof on their own and they'd get licked up - with the linseeds nearby. They're actually meant for humans to put on their cereals!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0141KL1...ing=UTF8&psc=1

For added treats, pumpkin seeds are popular too - I just scatter a few of those once a week.

For a rough stone, something like a terracotta plant pot base under the water bottle can work. It also soaks up any drips! It's quite heavy though so then it either needs to be on a shelf or house roof with the bottle above it - or supported underneath if it's sat on the substrate - or they can tunnel under it and get squashed! I had another little house underground so the roof provided a support for the heavy item.

Another thing to think about is checking her teeth. If you can see them when she yawns or if you can manage to get a look. As they get older, their bottom teeth can get too long and overgrown and then they have difficulty eating so don't get enough nutrients. A chew stick usually helps keep their teeth from getting too long. But as they get older they can also get toothache which stops them chewing chew sticks so the teeth can get too long.

So if that seems to be an issue you can supplement with soft food as well (a couple of science selective pellets softened with water and the odd bit of egg or baby food). But if they have got so long she can't open her mouth properly then they may need clipping at the vets.

Hopefully that isn't an issue.

These are the science selective pellets. They're an all in one food. They do much better with a muesli mix as they like the variety and it stimulates them. But adding one or two of these (whether softened or not) doesn't do any harm as it makes sure she gets all the nutrients.

It's available most places - pet shops eg

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Supreme-Sci...sr=1-1-catcorr

[Periwinklepets]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I do hope she does ok. If it is mainly balding then there can be all kinds of causes for that, especially as they get older. Tlc sounds good for now The thing is, if she is losing hair and doing grooming as normal (and it is normal for them to groom and scratch a bit) then her skin will be more susceptible to being scratched. So it might be an idea to check her nails. If her nails have got a bit long then she could make her skin sore and have little cuts or scratches. I would not attempt to clip a robo's nails personally- they are such tiny little things and if clipped too far back it can cut the quick and they can bleed profusely (plus it's painful for them then). So if you think her nails look a bit long and are starting to curve over, then that might be something she would need doing at the vets. Or having a rough stone under her water bottle might help wear them down. I always have that under the water bottle to try and prevent them getting too long. But if they have got long they'll need clipping. The stone will just help prevent them getting long again.

With cage cleaning, it's good to leave the substrate as long as possible and then just spot clean. When I had our robo it never seemed to smell of pee and I had no idea where he was peeing! They pee such small amounts I think it evaporates mostly. So basically, if it doesn't smell it can be left for quite some time. Then I would replace the substrate at one side of the cage - but it's always good to put some of the old substrate back on top so it smells familiar (there is usually some of the old substrate that isn't whiffy). Then a couple of weeks later I'd do the other half of the cage. Then a different week again clean the wheel and a different week again any toys or the house.

If she doesn't pee in her nest (our robo never pee'd in his nest) then the nest can be left really quite a long time - they tend to refurbish it themselves if you keep putting out a small pile of toilet paper strips (plain white toilet paper torn into strips - it's the safest nesting material). Not sure if you know about fluffy bedding but that is dangerous so if she has any - best to remove that and add a pile of toilet paper strips and she'll rebuild her nest from it.

They are very precious about their nest and hoards and can get stressed if those are taken away. When I did the half of the cage with the nest and hoard, I would check them and remove any hoard at the bottom if it was looking like it was going a bit funny (condensation eg), but leave the top half in tact. If you ever do need to remove the hoard, if it's going manky or pee'd on then the recommendation is to always put new food back in exactly the same place. They are hard wired to have hoards for emergencies and can get stressed without their hoard. They soon get used to a cleaning routine but are happier if things don't change too much.

You actually use quite a bit less substrate overall if you put more in (4 to 5" deep minimum) because most of it stays clean and it needs cleaning out less often. It reduces stress for the hamster and makes our lives a bit simpler as well.

So with her new cage and less clean outs she may settle down. I would love to know if the Linseeds/flax seeds make any difference - it can take a couple of months to notice any difference. Even if her fur doesn't grow back it will help her skin to be healthy.

So in terms of cage cleaning I only did it about every 6 to 8 weeks, half at a time with the substrate and other items as and when. So something always smells familiar. And replacing a little bit of clean old substrate on top of the new.

I found "spot cleaning" wasn't really possible with a robo as I didn't know where he was peeing. Although at one point I gave him a large house with rooms and put a litter tray in one room and he used it. But not all the time!

So that is one other thing that really helps them feel relaxed and secure - a house that's dark inside so they can retreat somewhere dark if they need to. Our robo ignored all the little houses I put in and just nested under the substrate (which he would pile up on top of his nest), and that used to collapse regularly. But if you give them a part buried house it mimics a burrow and she might move into it.

A good option for that is a small shoe box - eg a child's shoe box. Cut the base out and keep the lid as a lift off roof. And cut a hole in one of the long sides for an entrance. Then sort of bury the house in the substrate (5 to 6" substrate is an ideal depth). so that only the top third is sticking out. You can channel a bit of substrate away around the door area. The house roof then also makes a little platform to climb on as well or somewhere to put the food bowl.

The idea of the lift off roof is, you can check inside the house occasionally without having to take it out - so their nest stays intact. Not too often - I found if I lifted the top off too often our robo would move out into his second nest! He had one on each side of the cage and when I was cleaning one half he would abandon that nest for a while and go to the one on the other side for a while. So it worked out quite well.

She will probably move in if there's an underground house/burrow that is big enough to build a cosy nest and bury hoards in as well.

They usually eat from their hoards while in the nest. Most of the food they take from the food bowl they just pouch and hoard it then eat later.

Another thing you could do is scatter a bit of her food. So put some in the food bowl as usual and scatter a little bit around on the substrate as well. They get quite stimulated by that and it fulfills their foraging instinct.

I've added an article about hair loss in hamsters - it's mainly about Syrians but also general. It can just be old age or genetic. I wouldn't use added vitamins though - the linseeds should provide most of those along with her hamster mix. The lack of protein is more for fur loss in younger hamsters - with older hamsters, too much protein can affect their kidneys and kidney problems can cause fur loss! So it's about just having a balanced diet.

Not sure which hamster mix you are giving her but some are much better than others and you can get dwarf specific hamster mixes. Unfortunately the Burgess dwarf specific one (which was the easiest one to get hold of) isn't made any more. Harry hamster would be fine although the pieces are a bit large for a robo (but it does contain all vitamins and minerals needed). Any other dwarf hamster mixes are probably only available online. If you can order online that could be a good option. If not then Harry Hamster is easily available.

This is a good dwarf hamster mix - from Zooplus. The only difficulty is I think there is a minimum purchase of £15 each time you order, so I used to get 3 bags in one go. But then it lasts forever!

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...er_food/620085


Hamster fur loss

It's probably best not to change her cage set up too much if she has just moved - at least for the first couple of weeks - but adding something new is usually accepted well so you could maybe add an underground house. If you don't have a small shoe box then any kind of small cardboard box would do - eg a square tissue box. The hole from the tissue box flap could be the open roof and just put another piece of card on top of that to lift off

In terms of vitamin supplements, I also used to give a pinch of hemp seeds as well as a pinch of linseeds. They might eat some one day and some another day but they seem to like these as well. Hemp seeds are supposed to contain all vitamins and minerals and it's a more natural way than adding synthetic vitamins - plus they like them. To supplement the hamster food mix.

It will help her condition if it is vitamin related. If it doesn't break the bank I used to get these - Holland and Barrett sell them. I'd just put them on the house roof on their own and they'd get licked up - with the linseeds nearby. They're actually meant for humans to put on their cereals!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0141KL1...ing=UTF8&psc=1

For added treats, pumpkin seeds are popular too - I just scatter a few of those once a week.

For a rough stone, something like a terracotta plant pot base under the water bottle can work. It also soaks up any drips! It's quite heavy though so then it either needs to be on a shelf or house roof with the bottle above it - or supported underneath if it's sat on the substrate - or they can tunnel under it and get squashed! I had another little house underground so the roof provided a support for the heavy item.

Another thing to think about is checking her teeth. If you can see them when she yawns or if you can manage to get a look. As they get older, their bottom teeth can get too long and overgrown and then they have difficulty eating so don't get enough nutrients. A chew stick usually helps keep their teeth from getting too long. But as they get older they can also get toothache which stops them chewing chew sticks so the teeth can get too long.

So if that seems to be an issue you can supplement with soft food as well (a couple of science selective pellets softened with water and the odd bit of egg or baby food). But if they have got so long she can't open her mouth properly then they may need clipping at the vets.

Hopefully that isn't an issue.

These are the science selective pellets. They're an all in one food. They do much better with a muesli mix as they like the variety and it stimulates them. But adding one or two of these (whether softened or not) doesn't do any harm as it makes sure she gets all the nutrients.

It's available most places - pet shops eg

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Supreme-Sci...sr=1-1-catcorr

Wow thank you for such a great and thorough response!🤗 I apologize for my late reply, the last few days have been quite busy and I wanted to make sure I could sit down and properly update you! Her front nails are quite long, and last night when I took her out she was scratching a fair amount. The red mark on her stomach seems to be like a scab that I’m assuming she is scratching off/irritating...sometimes it looks really red and sometimes it looks more like a glossy skin coloured welt. I’ve attempted to trim her nails in the past, but always end up giving up because it just feels too risky. The weird thing is that when I first noticed Bijous balding, her nails were very long and almost whispy, and just last night when I checked, they’re still long but seem as if they’ve shortened. I’ll definitely get something to wear down her nails so that they don’t get this long in the future, I already have a terracotta plant base so that should be perfect once I add a house/support for it. I like the method of cage cleaning you suggested, I’m going to do this for both of the girls from now on! I agree that one can hardly ever tell where they peed, they’re so small and I don’t think I’ve ever really seen their pee or evidence of it! I’ve always used Kleenex tissues torn up for bedding, is that just as safe as toilet paper? And I’ve never known that about cleaning the hoards, thats super interesting, before I would just empty the entire cage!😵 I think you’re right about spot cleaning being basically impossible with a robo, but what you’re explaining seems like a good alternative that still allows them to keep their hoards. Ive been giving Bijou linseeds in a jar lid, along with nuts/hamster mix/muesli in a bowl and then some apples, broccoli, and carrots in another bowl. Looking at any of the bowls the next day, you would really think she isn’t taking one single bite out of anything, but of course she must be eating something. I’ll keep you updated regarding the Linseeds, I can’t tell if she’s ingesting any but I’m sure she’s had some. I really love the idea of a shoebox/tissue box house as well as scattering the food, I’ll definitely be trying both of those ideas. In terms of hamster mix, there are very few options in my local pet stores, and I’ve never seen a Dwarf specific mix in any of my pet stores unfortunately. I have always given her Kaytee fiesta mix, usually mixed with Oxbow Essentials hamster food. The Kaytee mix seems similar to Harry Hamster, but Harry Hamster isn’t available where I live, same with the Science Selective pellets. The Zooplus one looks really good, I might order some along with the pellets, because Kaytee seems very basic and probably not the best in terms of nutrition and vitamins. In the meantime I’m going to try to track down some hempseeds, her Kaytee mix includes pumpkin seeds but I’d also like to get a separate bag just of them. I haven’t been able to get a proper look at her teeth, she’s just so small! But she does have a chew stick as well as a chewing block too. I don’t see her using them much either, but she will usually eat one mealworm a night from my hand, and from what I can tell she’s able to chew it up pretty well and her jaw moves in a way that looks normal. Thank you so much for including resources like website links and food recommendations, I really appreciate how amazingly helpful you’ve been. ❤️I’ve gone ahead and made a vet appointment because she seems to have balded quite a bit on almost the entire right side of her body, and I’m starting to think this likely isn’t Cushings. I’m hoping it is stress/vitamin caused, but I’d like to rule out mites with a skin scraping, as well as hopefully have her nails trimmed. The vet doesn’t have an opening that works with my work schedule until Thursday evening. I’m worried with how much she’s balding that Thursday would be waiting too long, or “wasting time”, but if I wanted to bring her in sooner I’d have to try a different clinic. The appointment I made is at that vet mentioned before, one I’ve never been to, but they seem like they would be more willing to treat and perform surgery on small animals if needed, as well as being hopefully more experienced in hamsters in general. There are a few other vets in my area that vaguely mention hamsters on their sites, along with the vet Bijou has been to in the past, but this new one seems more promising. :•\

[Pebbles82]

I would definitely change her mix - the kaytee one isn’t great and Oxbow isn’t good for hamsters- even though they sell it for hamsters. You would need to change the food over gradually to the new mix so her stomach adjusts. So mix a bit of the new in for a couple of day’s then a bit more, then half and half by the end of the week. Then mostly the new mix a couple of days later. You can only really get the Bunny dream dwarf mix online from Zooplus but if that is a problem then Harry Hamster is easily available. It’s not dwarf specific but it’s fine and sugar free. Kleenex is ok. The cheaper toilet paper is better as it dissolves easier if swallowed.

[Pebbles82]

The Kaytee one seems very corn based (corn is the first main ingredient) a lot of corn and soya and not great ingredients - includes dried fruit as well - banana chips / which will have sugar and preservatives. It’s better to have a no sugar diet with a dwarf hamster and even fruit is usually avoided due to the sugar. A blueberry once in a blue moon would be ok but I wouldn’t give regular fruit. Just the hamster mix and a tiny bit of veg each day - thumbnail sized- broccoli, cucumber, cauliflower are all fine. I tend to rotate 3 veg so it’s a different one each day. Broccoli and cucumber keep a long ish time in the fridge!

The sugar free thing is because dwarf hamsters are prone to diabetes. You can check for that with diastix that you dip on their urine but might be easier to ask the vet to check.

[minnieandhammy]

Hi. Sorry about little Bijou. My female Syrian developed cushings at about 1year. From your photos she looks the same as Hammy so I would say she does have cushings. The hair loss and underlying skin look the same and the scabs look the same. Hammy had scabs at the top of her legs. She spent most of her time in her nest. As far as I know there isn't any treatment.perhaps someone else can suggest something to soothe her skin. With Hammy I just gave her a nice roomy nest box with lots of bedding. I put her food and water near her nest box and treated her to her favourite foods. I just gave her lots of TLC basically and after about 4 months I just looked at her and she seemed so miserable and it was starting to effect her face so I took her to the vet and she got put to sleep. I felt she could not go on suffering. I wish there was more could be done. At least something to make them more comfortable.

[Pebbles82]

Very sad. It usually ends with them needing to be pts if it is Cushings. I still think, from the history of sharing with a sibling, diet and diet related, that it could be something else that resolves or even diabetes. Either way, tlc and nutrition is the way to go An exotic vet may also be able to rule out diabetes. But sometimes they just look at age and condition and also think tlc is the way to go regardless of diagnosis. It would be good to see an exotic vet though. How old is she again?

[Periwinklepets]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

The Kaytee one seems very corn based (corn is the first main ingredient) a lot of corn and soya and not great ingredients - includes dried fruit as well - banana chips / which will have sugar and preservatives. It’s better to have a no sugar diet with a dwarf hamster and even fruit is usually avoided due to the sugar. A blueberry once in a blue moon would be ok but I wouldn’t give regular fruit. Just the hamster mix and a tiny bit of veg each day - thumbnail sized- broccoli, cucumber, cauliflower are all fine. I tend to rotate 3 veg so it’s a different one each day. Broccoli and cucumber keep a long ish time in the fridge!

The sugar free thing is because dwarf hamsters are prone to diabetes. You can check for that with diastix that you dip on their urine but might be easier to ask the vet to check.

Thank you for your reply!☺️ Hmm, in that case I’d definitely like to switch over to a better food mix for her, and for Rosemary as well. I was just in another pet store today and found this https://www.versele-laga.com/en/comp...e-mini-hamster . I’m not sure if this is a decent mix, it does contain some fruit (pineapple and raisins), but this is the first Dwarf-specific mix I’ve encountered in my city before, maybe I could pick out the fruit if it’s otherwise acceptable? If not I think I’ll try ordering the Zooplus one online, because selection where I live seems to be limited. I’m going to set up the tissue box house tonight with a terracotta slab on top of it, and I think I’ll pick up some cucumber and cauliflower too, maybe rotating the veggies will peak her interest more. She doesn’t seem to be eating the broccoli/carrots/spinach from what I can see. If we go to the vet on Thursday, I’m going to make sure to mention diabetes, demodex mites, Cushings etc, I want to make sure that all of those are taken into consideration/ruled out if possible by this new vet. There don’t seem to be any vets where I live that market themselves as “exotic vets”, but there are a small handful that do claim to see and treat animals other than just dogs and cats. (Unless that’s just what “exotic” means.) :’•) The one I’m seeing on Thursday seems most promising based on their website, other than the only vet they’ve been to, which I honestly wasn’t very satisfied with in the past. I agree that I should focus on tlc, as whether something can be done for Bijou or not, her quality of life is what matters most. In regards to your other reply, I think that Bijou is a bit over a year old. I purchased her and Rosemary in December of 2018. Im keeping my fingers crossed that it isn’t Cushings or demodex mites linked to a tumor/cyst, and instead something less serious like a nutritional deficiency. But hopefully we’ll have a better idea of what’s going on after seeing this vet.��

[Pebbles82]

Whereabouts are you Periwinkle? The Vitakraft one isn't usually recommended either, but if you're in Canada or the US it is very difficult to find good hamster mixes for dwarf hamsters. It probably isn't nutritional deficiencies as such, but some diets are better than others for quality of ingredients and not so much "filler" material. By history I meant stress if she has been living with her sister and her sister has been the dominant one. The stress can cause all sorts but hopefully she'll improve