Help! My hamster won't eat :-(

[SarahisToin]

Hi everyone, I noticed that my hamster Mason seemed to be losing weight and generally looked unhealthy so I took him to the vets and it turns out that he has got an abscess in one of his pouches! I'm currently giving him antibiotics and the vet said it should take a week to two weeks for it to go away, but in the mean time he just won't eat ANYTHING and he is getting thinner and thinner. I've tried his normal food, grapes, cucumber and shredded carrot but he hasn't touched any of it. Does anyone know of any other foods I can try him on? I've heard baby food can be used, but are there any flavours that seem to be more popular? Any help would be greatly appreciated :-)

[olga]

Baby food sounds a good idea. Avoid any with onion in them.
Have you tried a ready brek/hot oat cereal with milk? Mason may be tempted by something like that. Or scrambled egg perhaps (don't add salt obviously.)
You could also try liquidising a small amount of his dry food to make it ground up and easier for him to eat.
Good luck and hope Mason picks up soon.

[Lougarry]

Grandma's Sunday dinner baby food is popular. Also macaroni cheese and baby porridge.

Have you tried Silver's mix?

My hamsters like cooked pasta, raw broccoli, fish and chicken.

[racinghamster]

Sorry to hear about your hamster and hope the antibiotics reduce the swelling. He must be feeling it uncomfortable if he`s not eating normally, so I can suggest a few soft foods that would be beneficial both to being easy to eat/digest and would keep his weight/body heat up.

Buckwheat: You can buy this in most supermarkets and healthfood shops. Soak some in hot, boiled water from the kettle in a small ceramic dish. Let it cool. Once soft, hamsters love it and it`s a really good fuel food full of nutrition.

Porridge oats: Feed dry. Just a spoonful in his dish to see if he eats them. Oats can also be softened using Cow`s milk, Soya mlk or Oatly milk. If using cows milk, drain the milk off as hamsters shouldn`t drink cows milk, but it`s fine to soak soft foods in it.

Mung beans: Again, these can be bought in a supermarket. They are dark green small seeds. Soak some in COLD water in a dish. Rinse them a few times a day and add fresh water. Leave for 48 hours until the green outer shell comes away and floats in the water. The white soft bean underneath will then show and form a tail. Mung beans are highly nutritious and hamsters love them. Just feed a few a day, but up to four or five is okay.

Pasta: Just add boiling water to a piece of pasta spiral and leave it to soften.

Wholegrain rice: Cook as per packet instructions, drain and feed.

Just remember to keep the water fresh in the mung beans and change it three/four times a day and leave overnight.

Crush up any larger biscuits in his dry mix to help him eat. Shell some sunflower seeds and some other nuts like walnuts/peanuts and mash these into a paste.

[SarahisToin]

Thank you so much to everyone that has replied, I'm getting really worried about him as he normally loves his food! I'll try the pasta tonight and grounding up some of his larger biscuits, then go to the supermarket tomorrow and get some baby food and see if I can find any mung beans or maybe some porridge oats!

[souffle]

I think you should call the vet. If the pouch is swollen he may be in so much pain that he can't eat. It may be that he needs the abcess opened up and drained and this will give relief. Pouches can get impacted with food which goes bad and causes the abcess to get even worse. He cannot go too long without food as they must keep eating. He may need syringe fed or even kept in to stabilise his eating. I'd have him seen again.

[SarahisToin]

Well last night I put a blob of my first Sunday dinner baby food in his dish and he went straight to it and ate it all up! So it looks like its the hard foods he can't manage at the moment because of the abscess. The antibiotics are working as the swelling is going down and he is due at the vets again on Christmas Eve so fingers crossed he will get better soon!! Thanks to everyone for their advice it's really appreciated :-)

[racinghamster]

That`s really good that he`s still eating and wanting to eat. Do try most of the suggestions above in the meantime because they are all beneficial for a hamster who is having mouth problems and it will help keep his metabolism and body heat well. :) Really hope your vet gives you some good news next week. x

[Ilovehamsters]

Hiya you could get the pellets out of his food and put a bit of warm water in and try and mash it up, this method also come in handy with elderly hamsters :D

[MimiXoXo]

thats the same with my hamster but my mum wont take him to the vets :( what shoul i do? my hamster is very old though :( xx

[DrKMcK]

thats the same with my hamster but my mum wont take him to the vets :( what shoul i do? my hamster is very old though :( xx

Hello MimiXoXo. This is a very old thread you are responding to. If your hamster is very old , soft foods like baby food can help them. If your ham won't eat at all or drink, it may be his time to go to the bridge. How old is he?

[StarlightSerenity]

thats the same with my hamster but my mum wont take him to the vets :( what shoul i do? my hamster is very old though :( xx

Is she aware that it's illegal not to provide veterinary treatment to a pet?

Can you check his teeth? How old is he? What species is he?

[BrainGirl]

Perhaps someone needs to send a pm to Mimixoxo? This is the hamster who is supposedly 8.5 years old and though this has been brought up on other threads I wonder if the poster knows how to check for replies:-?

[StarlightSerenity]

Perhaps someone needs to send a pm to Mimixoxo? This is the hamster who is supposedly 8.5 years old and though this has been brought up on other threads I wonder if the poster knows how to check for replies:-?

Ah, didn't realise it was that one.

[DrKMcK]

Perhaps someone needs to send a pm to Mimixoxo? This is the hamster who is supposedly 8.5 years old and though this has been brought up on other threads I wonder if the poster knows how to check for replies:-?

Would s/he know how to find a pm? :-( I remember that post Braingirl. :-( Maybe a Mod can email?

[BrainGirl]

Would s/he know how to find a pm? :-( I remember that post Braingirl. :-( Maybe a Mod can email?

That might be the best way DrKMcK, hope her hammy can get some help:(