Hamster weight loss ?

[RodentsRule]

hi i got new hamsters mashmallow and sherbet and have never had a problem with the weight before but they seem to be getting skinny lately they have one bowl of hamster mix of ratrations and a bowl of nuts and grains they get a bunch of treats when i clean there cage out once a week they get baby food every other day not sure why there loosing so much is it something im giving them :P, sherbet seems not to be getting up much lately i have to wake her up every night.

[Gazmo]

how old are they both?

[caro317]

Are they definitely eating, or just hoarding the food? Do you see them eat? If you're worried they're not as active is there any noght you might be able to stay up a bit later to see if actually their behaviour is normal after a certain time? It's difficult to say sometimes what they get up to while we're asleep! Do you put in a new toy every few days to keep them interested?

[HollyHamster]

Hello and sorry your hams are worrying you so much.

First off, I need to ask you what species of hamsters you have? I am assuming they are a dwarf species of some sort. Perhaps hybrids? Knowing what species you have will help us to better pinpoint the problem. In the meantime, here are a few common ailments that might explain their weight loss.

It could be that they both have wonky teeth in need of a trim. I would check to see if they have swollen faces, are drooling and look overall malnourished.

They could also have a cheek pouch impaction, which means that something is stuck in the cheek pouch and they can't get it out by themselves.

Both of these cases warrants a trip to the vet to either get the teeth trimmed, or to remove the offending debris from the cheek pouch.

Another reason could be that they are both sick, having contracted a highly communicable disease. Seeing as both are displaying the same symptoms, this could be a possibility.

Another likely possibility is that they aren't either being fed enough, or are being fed a poor quality diet. I noticed that you say you feed Silver's mix from the Rat Ration's website.

Silver's mixes are intended to be supplements to a base commercial mix and not to be used by themselves. Its best to go ahead and by a commercial mix like Harry Hamster or Burgess Dwarf Hamster Mix and use that as your base mix, and then mix it together with Silver's Rat Rations' mix in a big food container. Then fill the bowl with the combined mixes and serve to your hams. As long as you just keep filling their bowls when they are empty, you'll have a complete and healthy diet being fed at the right amounts, and that should give them all the nutrients they need to get to and maintain a healthy weight.

[RodentsRule]

They are both Syrian and live in different cages and are about a year and a half.

[racinghamster]

They might need a change to a good commercial mix rather than the Rat Rations one. I`m not knocking the rat rations foods because they do have plenty of variety, but sometimes that variety (if added to or one of the actual ingredients within the mix) can stop the absorbtion of all the nutrients within the food properly. Syrians don`t always do well on small seeds like millets for example.

Have they been fed on shop bought or branded mixes before? If so, which ones did they have and did they eat them?

I can recommend a few like Tesco`s Hamster mix, WAGG Hamster,Gebil,Mouse Munch or perhaps one of the other commercially available foods out there. Harry Hamster was never a favourite of mine or my Syrian when he was alive. I appreciate that the rat rations mixes have great variety, but I can`t say if they have much nutritional fact as a whole mix that has been analysed by people who are nutritionally able to confirm that each ingredient has gone through a process of being something that a hamster actually requires to be healthy.