Update & new Hamster!

[bbbarker]

I haven't posted a thread on here for a while due to grieving from Bruno's death which I have just posted a thread about.
So I thought I would do an update on how Tibbles my female Syrian is doing. I have a feeling she is aging due to her fur thinning out and I have also noticed she has lost weight, I am slightly worried about her weight because I can feel bones and she has gone from being a chunky girl to loosing quite a bit of weight. I haven't changed her diet so I'm just assuming its due to aging, I don't know her age because I got her from a lady that could no longer care for her and she didn't know her age. Other than this she is doing great, I recently bought her a new 12inch Trixie wheel which he is obsessed with, she isn't even bothered about coming out of her cage anymore she is just constantly on her wheel and its great to see her happy. I am also so happy with the way her cage is looking at the minute. https://scontent-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t34.0-12/11267651_424464164400082_1759550590_n.jpg?oh=a7e6d 3cdaad4f1c68906a0e42567d164&oe=555AE0B7https://scontent-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t34.0-12/11156836_418774838302348_1893313503_n.jpg?oh=94030 d7afcb70ad4fc9c6b34d2066139&oe=555B023B

Finally we have a new Hamster, Gracie she is a female Syrian and is around 7-8months old. She is such a little character and is already settling in great. Unfortunately due to her previous owner giving her a wheel too small she has a spinal deformity, instead of her tail sticking up it sticks underneath her which means she urinates on herself which can get very smelly. But with some bathing sand she does a good job at cleaning her and dealing with her condition very well. She behaves like any normal Hamster and loves her big 12inch wheel. She is very tame but due to her only coming to us yesterday she is still settling in and needs time trust us. Shes short haired and is a gorgeous silvery-white color.
We got Gracie from a rescue in Doncaster called Austins Hamster Haven https://www.facebook.com/Austinshamsterhaven?fref=ts the lady who runs this rescue is such a lovely lady and drops the Hamsters off to do a home check and make sure you have a suitable cage and wheel. She does travel quite far to rescue Hamsters and to also take them to their forever homes so if you are interested visit the link above and give her a message.
https://scontent-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t34.0-12/11256521_1436144763354192_994171406_n.jpg?oh=2a4a1 b52544f7c12f86426613d74966d&oe=555AB822

[Piccle101]

It makes me so happy to know that Gracie has a 12 inch wheel. :p I absolutely hate to see that archive back. I hope Gracie settles in and you enjoy having a new hamster :wink:!!

[cypher]

Little Tibbles is looking lovely & her cage looks great!
If she's enjoying her wheel that much she must be ok but if you are worried about her weight have you tried giving her things like extra mealworms, baby foods or porridge to build her up a bit?

Gracie is totally gorgeous too, that's such a shame about the damage to her spine but she must be such a happy ham now she has a lovely new forever home with you!

I hope having two such lovely girls is helping you to cope with losing Bruno.

[bbbarker]

I have tried her with mealworms before and she has always turned her nose up to them. I haven't tried porridge or baby foods but that is definitely something I can try. Is there any baby foods you could recommend and would plain porridge be ok?
I'm going to weigh her tonight to see if her weight is ok:)

[cypher]

Some syrians just don't like mealworms so that's not so strange, plain porridge is fine, you do have to check the ingredients of baby food as a lot contain sugar or other things like leek or onion you might not want to give her, I've only used a Heinz cauliflower & broccoli cheese one but that went down well.
If you haven't already you could also try a little cooked chicken or scrambled egg.

[Erin.R]

They are both cuties. If I were you, I would try some baby food. I have a little man that is now almost 2 and a half years old. he has always been on the skinny side, around 112 g but a few months ago he went down to about 100g. I started giving him baby food overnight and he is up to 125g which for him is heavy lol. Mine really love the meat based baby food, ham, turkey, chicken and another favorite is squash. I don't do too much fruit as I am afraid the amount he would need to keep his weight up may have too much sugar as well as possible making his stool too soft. As Cypher said, you want to avoid anything with onion, garlic or any of the foods on the list of harmful to hamsters.
I am sorry for your loss with Bruno. It is so hard to lose one of these sweet little faces. But it is nice to see another hammy that has had an awesome life and now you can give Gracie one too!

[bbbarker]

I'm definitely going to grab some baby food for her then, holding Gracie yesterday really did make me realise how much Tibbles is on the smaller side. Should I give Tibbles the baby food alongside her Harry Hamster mix?

[cypher]

I would continue to give her mix as usual then just give maybe a teaspoon of baby food as extra, it doesn't keep that long once you open it but you can make portions in an ice cube tray freeze & just defrost one when you need it.

[Scarlett Empress]

Tibbles is lovely, her cage looks like lots of fun and it's great that she loves her new wheel! Aw Gracie is pretty - so sad about her spine but good to hear she can cope with it and still enjoy her life.

[DrKMcK]

Tibbles is lovely! I just adore her little face. :-D And I agree with everyone else about the porridge and baby food. The cooked chicken and scrambled egg is also a good idea. It all just helps slow down the weight loss that is so common in aging hammies. Your new little one is adorable. It is such a shame about her back. Having an appropriate wheel may help her over time. You've got a beautiful pair of girls there. :-D

[Thin Lizzy]

Tibbles is looking so cute and love her new cage - truly Fab!
Thank goodness Gracie is in your care, that's awful about her spine. So glad she's loving her 12 inch wheel.
Baby food helps a lot and I recommend it.
Cauliflower cheese, Brocolli cauliflower cheese, carrot and sweet potato and peas with courgette are favourites of my 2 hams.

[bbbarker]

Thanks everyone for the advice and kind words. I've just cooked some scrambled egg and chicken so when they cool down I'm going to give her some. I know she likes scrambled eggs because she's had them in the past I'm just not sure whether she likes chicken but I'm looking forward to trying it with her. I'm also going to pick up some baby food tomorrow:)

[bbbarker]

I also weighed Tibbles tonight and she is 4ounces, is that ok for a female syrian?

[DrKMcK]

That is an okay weight for an older ham. They can tend to lose weight as they age. :-) You definitely should give her some nice extras, like porridge, babyfood, and the rest.

[Thin Lizzy]

What's 4 ounces in grams bbbarker?
So did Gracie like the chicken?

[bbbarker]

I think it's around 113gram, someone please correct me if I'm wrong. She liked the chicken, I bought her a jar of peas and courgette baby food for her to try to see if she liked it and she loves it! I gave her a teaspoon of it yesterday and she ate it and today I got her out on my bed and she was licking it off the spoon and it was gone in like a minute. I'm going to buy her some more baby food soon once she's eat the ones I've frozen. Asda have a deal on baby food at minute so I'm going to stock up on it and Gracie can have some as a treat once in a while. Hopefully this fattens her because compared to Gracie she's tiny. She's definitely aging though because she has grey fur in some areas.

[Thin Lizzy]

Glad Gracie loved the chicken and the baby food.
I bought that deal from asda.

[bbbarker]

So Tibbles has been on the baby food for about a week now so I weighed her tonight and she's put an ounce on! Holding her I can tell she has, I'm super happy. My aim now is to fatten her up!:)

[cypher]

That's a lot! Well done Tibbles, & you of course! :)