Water intake?

[Melon]

What's the average amount of water a syrian ham should be drinking? I'm not sure if one of mine is drinking a lot - but I don't know how much he should be!

[Bunsey]

not very much, a couple cm a day i think, but it's hard to really know what's normal until you've got a lot of hamsters and can compare. If he's coming out to drink more than every couple hours and is there longer than about a minute, then perhaps he's drinking excessively or can't get it out of the bottle very well.

[souffle]

Hamsters don't drink a lot at all. They are desert animals and are adaped to produce very concentrated urine. We find that as they age they drink more as the kidneys become a bit weaker. As long as your hammy is bright and active and you check the bottle is working properly every day he will be drinking enough.

[Melon]

Thanks! That's put my mind at rest. Yeah he is bright and active... well he's a bit lazy but can run very fast when he wants to