Healthy Weights?

[Elliriyanna]

I just got my scale today and this thing is extremely accurate ... After weighing my hamsters though I am a little concerned.

Koda- 18 grams ...
Kodi - 58 grams....
Nami - 25 grams ....

My thing is they are all well fed and look healthy weights for their bodies but Nami and Koda seem TEENY for their ages. And kodi seems huge for a dwarf.

[Demecat]

I don't like saying if it's a healthy weight without being able to examine the hamster.

With any animal the ideal weight is one where the animal's bones aren't prominent to the eye and they don't have excessive fat to the point that they have fat rolls (or you cannot feel the ribs).

Each animal is different. A pet shop bought Syrian hamster is smaller than those bred by breeders so would naturally suite a lighter weight, where as a large built hamster, like Souffle's Mulligan (He is roughly the same size as a rat) would look emaciated if he weighed the same as a pet shop hamster.

[Elliriyanna]

Let me see If I can find decent pictures ... Nami is too fast so there is a video of her turn the sound off though lol
Nami Playing - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXUE7xvGiAY)

Koda
http://i873.photobucket.com/albums/ab297/elliriyanna/Hammies/Koda/DSCN2219.jpg
http://i873.photobucket.com/albums/ab297/elliriyanna/Hammies/Koda/DSCN2203.jpg

Kodi
http://i873.photobucket.com/albums/ab297/elliriyanna/Hammies/Kodi/DSCN2524.jpg

[Demecat]

They look fine and are obviously very active little things!

Keep an eye on the weight, as long as there's no sudden gain/loss of weight, they should be fine.

Also, is Koda very young/old? If young, he/she could put some more weight on as he/she grows.

Older hamsters sometimes loose some weight due to inactivity.

[Elliriyanna]

Kodi is 1 year and he is by far the biggest. Koda is 4-5 months so hopefully he just needs to grow.

Thanks I really appreciate it I just wanted to make sure that there wasnt anything I needed to change just in case.

Btw Nami is my only female sorry lol forgot to mention.

[Hamtastic]

Hrm, are you sure you measured correctly? 18g is like robo weight. Lucy is down from 59g to 33g due to her kidney condition. Isabel is 58 grams. My robos are 25-30 grams.

[Elliriyanna]

Its a digital scale I set it to grams and it got everyone elses right ... So yes I am very sure I measured correctly.

[Jaybee]

18 seems really really low, at that weight I would be worried that something is wrong

[Elliriyanna]

I know he is the one I am worried about he is freakishly small and fast. not more than 2 inches long. he is pretty much Robo size. Hopefully he will grow and it will be ok.

I am feeding them Hazel Hamster ( with corn peas etc removed) Oxbow healthy handfuls, A homemade seed mix thats just seeds and a teeny part of their diet Harlan lab blocks (now and then) Proteins dark veggies and thats about it I can think of.

[Jaybee]

The other hamster groups I am a part of do not suggest using Oxbow for hamsters at all. I wouldn't use it. Maybe try switching off the Oxbows?

[Elliriyanna]

They dont eat it anyway Its ALWAYS left in their bowls so pretty much i am just offering it and usually I dont bother but I figured I should still list it.

[Hamtastic]

The diet you list sounds fine. Oxbow had some problems in the past, but I'm not sure the current Healthy Handfuls are bad at all. They are just bland, so I'd only give them as a supplemental food to someone who's diabetic or known to have diabetes in their family. It could be something not diet related at all. My Lucy turned out to have chronic kidney disease after I finally brought her to a vet to check on her dramatic weight loss over a few months. She's not old, so I didn't even think of it--I thought she had a parasite or something more benign. If you're worried about your hamsters' weight, I'd monitor them and write down their weights over time to see if there are any changes. Take out the Healthy Handfuls and add more sunflowers, millet, mealworms (live if they don't like dried), oat flakes, etc. Then your best bet would be a vet visit if nothing changes or changes for the worse... 18g is very small for a campbell, unless it's a baby.

[Elliriyanna]

Well he is young but he has not grown since I got him. I will offer some more Millet and try to find some raw sunflower seeds. I will definitely keep track of their weights.