I'm not sure if this isn't a health thread - but as it's for Syrians, I plonked it here!
After seeing some of the marvellous hamsters on show at Topcliffe, I did notice that Hobbs and Bob were underweight, compared to show standard.
No indictment of our treatment of our hamsters - but reflective of the hours, and hours, of exercise ours get; burning off just about every trace of fat!
Well, Hobbs and Bob did very well for first-time entrants, both winning Reserve slots - and we got some great tips for how to adapt their diets and regime, to help them perform better in future shows.
So this is where this thread comes in - I'm going to use it to log their development; to get some diet input; to allow people the chance to join in with their own posts; and let us make comparisons.
Week 1:
Bob (9mth F Syrian) - 150g
Harry (8mth M Syrian) - 125g
Hobbs (14wk M Syrian) - 100g
Wes (7wk F Syrian) - 90g
This is the control week - so we've got their starting weights, to measure future progress against. Hobbs' small stature is very evident against Wes' initial weight - Wes, I will note, who is in no way overweight!
Diet - all living on staple of Harry Hamster, with vitamin supplement; fresh veg every other day. On advice, have begun serving tofu and lactol porridge - small doses only, and served with some chopped apple for taste.
They weren't interested at first, but all have cleaned their dishes! Phew - was holding the rice pudding back, just in case; which I might now eat myself
All hamsters have hanging rice treats and dog biscuits in cages.
Activity - I hadn't thought about the hamsters running themselves ragged; but, having made a note of how much time Hobbs and Harry spend running, agree it could be an issue. Experimenting with restricting wheel time - 8-12 on an evening, with some free-range time. Seemed to have little ill effect last night. Have rearranged toys to ensure no boredom when wheel out. Will see!
Early days! I'm without any sense of target weights, beyond my experience with some of the better-performing hamsters at Topcliffe - I guess the real judge will be Holmfirth in a month - any thoughts on targets?
Would like to introduce them to seeds - spent an age in Holland & Barretts, but couldn't decide - recommendations?
Sorry if this thread might be a little boring - sometimes it's better to write things down; and I think I'm going to find this useful