Dwarf hamster aging question

Margaret the dwarf · 06-10-2020, 07:44 PM

My Russian dwarf just turned 1yr old. She has been so great but about a month ago we started noticing changes in her. She sleeps way more than she used to and gets up later at night and doesn't stay up as long as she did. She always ate her seeds and grains out of a bowl but now she wont touch them unless hand fed. We have done research on aging and that is probably what is happening but I guess we are just in denial. Any suggestions or advice on what is happening and if we can help her in any way? This is our first dwarf. Thanks!

cypher · 06-11-2020, 05:43 AM

She's not that old really & i don't expect to see signs of ageing until closer to 18 months.
They do change sleeping/waking patterns sometimes anyway but not eating her food as normal is a concern.
Has she lost any weight? I would give her teeth a check to make sure there's not a problem there. There could be other underlying health problems but it's not possible to guess going on what you've said.

JamieStuart · 09-20-2021, 03:40 PM

Yeah my hamster Heavenli is nearly 3 years old and she kinda drags her bag legs a bit now, she drinks a lot and seems to scratch and clean quite a bit too.

She struggles to climb to the next level whe going up the ramp now too, is this just old age do you think?

Ria P · 09-22-2021, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieStuart

Yeah my hamster Heavenli is nearly 3 years old and she kinda drags her bag legs a bit now, she drinks a lot and seems to scratch and clean quite a bit too.

She struggles to climb to the next level whe going up the ramp now too, is this just old age do you think?

Sounds like it. I would set her up in a bungalow now and have everything on one level so she doesn't need to climb.up ramps.

Ria P · 09-22-2021, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margaret the dwarf

My Russian dwarf just turned 1yr old. She has been so great but about a month ago we started noticing changes in her. She sleeps way more than she used to and gets up later at night and doesn't stay up as long as she did. She always ate her seeds and grains out of a bowl but now she wont touch them unless hand fed. We have done research on aging and that is probably what is happening but I guess we are just in denial. Any suggestions or advice on what is happening and if we can help her in any way? This is our first dwarf. Thanks!

I think that she's too young to show signs of aging but dwarfs are prone to illnesses. I would weigh her weekly to see if she's losing weight. You could also try her with a bit of soft foods like scrambled egg or porridge.