Advice on weight & food allowance?

[Noodles]

Well, I'm on "reading week" this week so rather than unneccessarily worrying about school/new flat/new job/boyfriend etc etc, Noodles has come under my scrutiny!!

Problem no. 1 This should prob. be in a different bit but it kinda links to my next problem.

OK, so she is about a year old (I think she was 8 weeks when we got her last August - she was big compared to the others and on her own so I'm not sure if they "underestimated" her age to make her more appealing (not that it mattered to us but...)) and she weighs according to my cheapo scales - 150g ish.

This seems pretty small now I've seen other hamsters - I know I can't compare her to your show ones (However, do bear in mind that she does only a little exercise in wheel and rarely in ball) but could someone tell me how much their pet shop hammies weighed at that age ish??

She looks well though (IMO anyway ) -



Problem no. 2

I have also been checking how much she eats and I don't think she eats enough - I have a "traditional hamster bowl" (one of those boring brown ones - see pic) and she doesn't even eat a whole bowl of that a week - I think she probably only eats less than 1/2 a bowl a week (I'm not 100% sure because I change it but it isn't much) but someone (Matty?? said he feeds every 2 days and that's chinese (if Matty!!!)



She also picks out the bits she likes - in my Harry Hamster, I have identified the following bits (I try to make sure she gets all but obviously not 100% sure);

an orange half moon biscuit,
an orange circular biscuit,
a green circular biscuit (as orange above but green)
a brown clover biscuit,
a green "split pea"
a yellow "split corn"
a brown smooth stick
a brown rough stick
a pale beigy smooth stick
a little brown seed
sunflower seed
almond thing
peanut
dried sweetcorn
monkey nuts (not on picture but I add my own as not many in)


(Just so my poor descriptions are a bit clearer)

Out of this - she NEVER eats;

the little brown seeds,
the split peas,
the beige sticks,
the orange rounds

She RARELY eats;

the sunflower seeds
the split corn
the dried sweetcorn.

She seems to like the brown smooth sticks and the brown rough sticks. She likes crunching the monkey nuts but doesn't eat the peanuts inside. I also mix in the Roots and Fruits mix thing and she eats that.
I'm sure she used to eat more than she does now.
So by doing this, is she missing out on anything she needs and what can I do if so?

My boyfriend just read this over my shoulder and he says "It's because you give her too many treats" so I guess I should mention she has baby rice every other day or so, fresh veggies mostdays and general treats quite a bit too - either a raviolio or other hammy biscuit, a few bits of green popcorn etc! But I only give her so much to make sure she's had something and when I cut down she still doesn't eat more food.

So really could you just tell me if she's a normal size and if she's eating enough?!!! (After that massive post!)

[Mollz]

Right.

Lets begin with problem no. 1: She looks a perfectly healthy size/weight to me and as you say, her weight can't be compared to that of show hamster's. I have 2 pet shop hamsters, they are both quite small boys; one ways 129g and the other weighs 122g - so Noodles is a fine weight.

Now for problem no. 2: I guess it depends on how big the bowl is really! A lot of us on here do only feed every other day (BVH feeds every 3rd day) as this prevents them picking out the bits they want to and encourages them to eat all of it - but when I say every other day, I don't give a bowlful every other day I give a small amount. I wouldn't leave a large bowlful of food in permanently as this really does just give her the chance to eat whichever bits she wants, preventing her from getting a balanced diet. If you don't feel confident feeding every other day then I would definitely give her her food daily. Keep checking her store: if there is lots in it then reduce the amount you are feeding slightly and if she has no store at all then increase the amount you are giving slightly.
The baby rice and veggies shouldn't be much of a problem as a lot of us give the same as you have mentioned, but if she is getting a lot of shop bought or sweet treats then she may be preferring to eat these than the "boring" bits in her food, so maybe you could try reducing any of these you give her?

I hope that helps!

[Noodles]

Thanks Mollz! You're a star!

That's great - as long as she isn't too thin then that's all I was worried about. I always thought she was a good size but I just worry a bit about her and none of my friends have hamsters that I can judge against. Also I'm not sure where everybody got their hammies from on the forum so I just wanted to check specifically if that makes sense!

She doesn't have a massive store of food (just whatever biscuit bit is left and the peanuts from her monkey nuts) but she still won't touch those bits I said about - they are just left in the bowl and even when I didn't give her any extra she won't touch them.

I don't give her masses of sweet treats - just biscuits to keep her teeth down and the odd extra or two - Ed is just being mean!!

As long as she is a healthy size, I don't mind if she leaves bits of food though! I will give her less food and maybe that'll help but as long as she seems happy, I will try not to worry!

Thanks again xxx

[Mollz]

No problem, I'm happy to help

[hamsterman]

Can anyone give a breakdown as to what all the bits are in the food that is pictured.

[hamsterman]

I know there is a list printed, but can anyone give a FULL description of all of the bits - thanks.

[souffle]

Not sure which are which hamsterman sorry!

[liam4mail]

So we do not leave food in permanently? And how do we check their pouches? Oh and why can we not compare our hamsters to show hamsters?

[souffle]

Yes Liam we do leave the food in permanently, dry mix that is. We feed every two days for adults which encourages them to eat a bit of everything hopefully. You should aim for your hamster to have a small store but not a huge larderful as that is wasteful. Remove uneaten wet food as it can go bad. There is no need to check pouches as they only use them to transport food. As part of your daily health check you should observe the pouches though and make sure there is no swelling or permanenly full pouch or bad smell from the mouth.
There is often a difference in size in pet shop hamsters and show hamsters. Show hamsters are selectively bred from larger parents as the standard states they should be 'as large as possible'. A Show hamster will weigh usually between 180 and 250g where as pet shop hamsters average 100-140g as a rule.
As long as your hamster is active, curious, bright eyed and glossy you should not worry to much about size as this is likely genetically determined.

[liam4mail]

Thank you souffle!