So, our dear little friend is now a geriatric hammie, it seems. He has got cataracts in both eyes and has really slowed down. The vet says it's his age. Apparently he was quite old when we brought him home.
He is down to 51 grams and doesn't seem to want to run in his wheel very much at night anymore. He is still happy to come out of his cage to be fussed over. He will not eat a treat until he's had a suitable period of pets and snuggles. Then he will eat it as long as one of us is holding him. Lately, though, he starts eating and then seems to forget what he's doing. He can be reminded of the lovely treat and will immediately grab it again as if he's not seen it before and happily munch it. And in a few moments forget again.
I suspect he's got a bit of hamster dementia going on. He seems happy and he is eating and drinking, , but he now is starting to look and act like an old hamster. I know how this is going to play out over the next several months, but I really do wish we could have found him when he was quite young. Still, we've enjoyed the heck out of having him in our family, and there's still time, but I'm not sure what else I can be doing to help him have a pleasant life.
He loves cheese, by the way. He does not seem to recognize fresh carrot as food. (Which is odd, all our other dwarf hamsters always loved a bit of carrot.) He won't touch parsley but sometimes likes a bit of cilantro - but only sometimes. He likes "Crunch Around" treats, but only for the flax seeds on the outside. Apparently the peanut center is not food.
Any suggestions? Is there a special high-calorie supplement I can get for him to make up for his forgetfulness at suppertime?