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Pebbles82 · 07-05-2022, 07:10 AM

I think maybe don't remove her hoard. They feel more secure with a good hoard they build up. Leave it as long as you can. I tend to leave it till the next substrate change and then I "prune" the bottom half away (from underneath) and leave the top half in tact. But then I only do a substrate change every 3 to 4 months.

She could well be older than 18 months so I'd start adding soft food as well as her usual hamster mix. They tend to eat from their hoard. They pouch the new food and hoard it and then tend to eat from their hoard. So if the hoard is always new food it might be affecting her eating habits possibly.

If the hoard gets pee'd on then you do need to remove it but can usually find some of it to leave behind that isn't pee'd on - and add a bit more to that. But that should be a temporary thing really. It usually stops them peeing on it when you have to remove it.

You can get in an itch scratch cycle though - in that if you take the hoard away they pee on it more - to deter thieves! Then it needs removing again. So if it's pee'd on and you need to remove it, try and leave some of the old hoard behind and put it on top of the new food - and put it back in a slightly different place - just next to where the old hoard was - it can help break the cycle.

Even so I would start giving her soaked science selective in addition to her regular food - so she regains the weight. And is getting all the nutrients needed. She may have toothache in the back teeth and not be eating properly.

If she doesn't regain weight within a week or two then something else is going on.

07-05-2022, 07:10 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Hamster losing weight I think maybe don't remove her hoard. They feel more secure with a good hoard they build up. Leave it as long as you can. I tend to leave it till the next substrate change and then I "prune" the bottom half away (from underneath) and leave the top half in tact. But then I only do a substrate change every 3 to 4 months. She could well be older than 18 months so I'd start adding soft food as well as her usual hamster mix. They tend to eat from their hoard. They pouch the new food and hoard it and then tend to eat from their hoard. So if the hoard is always new food it might be affecting her eating habits possibly. If the hoard gets pee'd on then you do need to remove it but can usually find some of it to leave behind that isn't pee'd on - and add a bit more to that. But that should be a temporary thing really. It usually stops them peeing on it when you have to remove it. You can get in an itch scratch cycle though - in that if you take the hoard away they pee on it more - to deter thieves! Then it needs removing again. So if it's pee'd on and you need to remove it, try and leave some of the old hoard behind and put it on top of the new food - and put it back in a slightly different place - just next to where the old hoard was - it can help break the cycle. Even so I would start giving her soaked science selective in addition to her regular food - so she regains the weight. And is getting all the nutrients needed. She may have toothache in the back teeth and not be eating properly. If she doesn't regain weight within a week or two then something else is going on.