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Old 07-10-2007, 04:03 PM  
Christine Yule
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 224
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It is hard to say what is considered normal. Are they drinking more just because it is excessively hot? Who really knows for sure?

Since diabetes is such a common problem with Campbell's and Hybrids, I would recommend that you invest in some urine test strips. They are inexpensive and I would recommend that anyone with Campbell's test all their hamsters at least once every 3 months. I buy the test strips from the pharmacy or drug store. Here, we have to ask the pharmacist because they are not kept on the shelves. They are standard sugar level urine strips. You can explain to the pharmacist that you want to test for diabetes in hamsters and I am sure he/she will know what you need. I pay $8 for a package of 50 strips. You can test for sugar levels and also for ketones. But you can just test for sugar levels if you don't want to buy two different kinds of strips.

If your hamsters test negative for sugar in their urine then I wouldn't worry about changing to the seed mix recipe I gave you but if they have high sugar, I would recommend that you try to find a hamster food that is recommended for diabetics. That is where the HoneyHams group can help since it is international.

Hamstermama
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