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Old 04-18-2017, 07:56 AM   #1
climber008
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Default Sensitive Stomach AND a Picky Eater

Hello everyone!

I posted a thread on Kilian's sensitive stomach a while ago, but I wanted to repost this thread since there have been some changes.

I know that my current diet for Kilian is not the best diet for him; however, Kilian's stomach has been so sensitive that I get concerned to change his food in case of soft poo.

Kilian has had a sensitive stomach from the time that we got him, and I have a feeling that it is due to his genetics. I don't think he has the best genetic make-up, and I know that this has affected his stomach greatly.

Even now, when I don't change ANYTHING in his diet, Kilian still will have occasional bouts of "soft poo" every other week or so. His poo is not diarrhea. It is just softer than a normal poo pellet and it will occasionally smear when he drags his bum behind him. This doesn't seem healthy, but he doesn't have anything that can be treated by a vet. Just food sensitivity. He normally has regular poo, but every other week he will have a day with soft poo.

I believe the last time I asked about this, someone suggested feeding him a probiotic; however, this has been impossible for me to find. The only probiotic suitable for hams had to be ordered online, and I currently can not order anything with a credit/debit card.

I stopped feeding him fresh veggies, tofu, chicken, etc. in hopes that his stomach could regulate before I began feeding this to him again; yet, he still has occasional bouts of soft poo. I'd like to begin feeding him these things, as this has been happening on and off since his adoption day. (December 17th) I haven't fed him any "human food" for over two months now, and his fur length is not as long as it used to be. (Kilian is a long-haired Syrian for those who don't know.)

Here is a current list of foods I feed him:

Mealworms

Vitakraft Vitsmart Hamster

Oxbow Essentials

LM Farms Mouse and Rat Lab Blocks

Whimzees as a Treat

These are all the foods that I feed him, although I have begun to start to feed him only the sunflower seeds from this mix:

Publix Brand (But ONLY the sunflower seeds in here!)

I'm not sure if this is a good diet to continue him on, but I'm not sure what else to feed him. Some of the foods are not necessarily the best, anyways like the Oxbow or Vitakraft. However, we don't have many options of hamster food where I live. These are the only foods that he can eat that doesn't have fruit or something bad for him. (Like tomatoes or leeks.) Kilian is also starting to become picky, which limits his food intake as well. He seems to only want to eat mealworms, corn pieces from the Vitakraft, his Whimzee treat, and sunflower seeds. He'll also eat his LM Farms lab blocks once everything he likes is gone, but I want him to be able to eat other things then just treats and corn flakes. I have been picking out the corn pieces from his food so he can maybe eat other things, but I am afraid that he might lose some weight if I do this.

Please, any suggestions on his sensitivity, diet, or anything else?

Thanks everyone!
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Last edited by climber008; 04-18-2017 at 08:03 AM.
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Old 04-18-2017, 08:13 AM   #2
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Default Re: Sensitive Stomach AND a Picky Eater

Ordering food online is definitely a good idea.You're most certainly right about the current diet not being good,but diet change isn't necessarily a bad thing for sensitive stomachs.Between sourcing probiotics of high quality(no animal digest or dyes and such,stick to plain probiotics with nothing added like silica dioxide or the other mentioned things or BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin),feeding an appropriate diet(not the current one),and probably plain pureed pumpkin as well(old fashioned remedy to help with diarrhea or even just soft stools mostly known in the dog community,sort of absorbs the moisture due to fiber content without causing constipation,you can mix the probiotics with this).

Personally,my current diet is one that I'd recommend.It's very simple,doesn't require a scale(the big problem with a Higgins Sunburst/Mazuri mix although good quality),and is actually a very affordable diet as well.1 tablespoon Carefresh hamster/gerbil food,1/2 tablespoon(7.5 ml I believe)Higgins Sunburst,a pinch of flax seed,and a few pieces of freeze dried chicken is what I feed either daily or every other day.The Carefresh/Higgins combination on its own is just barely too low in protein to be completely suitable,so the two extras add enough protein(and other health benefits).It's much better than your current diet though,completely safe and species appropriate!

On the note of ordering things online,you don't necessarily need to use a credit or debit card.Paypal can be your best friend,always remember that,and it's much safer to use!
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Old 04-18-2017, 08:25 AM   #3
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Default Re: Sensitive Stomach AND a Picky Eater

@AmityvilleHams Thanks so much for responding!

I DO currently have Higgins Sunburst mix in my hamster storage bin. (I think you were the one that recommended it to me.) I fed it to him in the beginning before I discovered his food sensitivity, and I have been hesitant to feed it to him since due to the fruits in there.

I guess I could try re-introducing it to him without the fruits, as I KNOW it is a good food! I'm also going to try and find some of that Carefresh food too. Also, where do you find Freeze Dried Chicken? I haven't seen that before...but I'd love to get some! I have seen flax seed at the grocery store, but I just didn't know what kind to get? (organic?)

Also, what type of probiotic would you recommend?

Thanks again for the help Amity!
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Old 04-18-2017, 08:27 AM   #4
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Default Re: Sensitive Stomach AND a Picky Eater

Did you ever try those probiotics I suggested some time ago?
If not it would definitely be worth a go as it could help resolve the problem & allow Killan to eat a normal diet.
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Old 04-18-2017, 08:29 AM   #5
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Default Re: Sensitive Stomach AND a Picky Eater

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
Did you ever try those probiotics I suggested some time ago?
If not it would definitely be worth a go as it could help resolve the problem & allow Killan to eat a normal diet.
I have not yet tried them, but I am probably going to be buying some within the next week or two. I have just been unable to buy any because I wasn't able to use a credit/debit card. However, I will probably just do what Amity suggested and use Paypal.

I think I still have the link you suggested, cypher, so I'll be getting some of that!

Thank you both for helping!

Edit: Wait a second... Do you need a credit card for ordering off this site? I'm not too sure... It almost seems like you order it through a catalog over the phone or through the mail?
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Last edited by climber008; 04-18-2017 at 08:34 AM.
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Old 04-18-2017, 08:31 AM   #6
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Default Re: Sensitive Stomach AND a Picky Eater

Here it is!:

Probiotics
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Old 04-18-2017, 09:16 AM   #7
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Default Re: Sensitive Stomach AND a Picky Eater

Freeze dried chicken can be found at pet stores I've tried Pure Bites and Simply Nourish myself(Petsmart for Simply Nourish,Pure Bites can be found in almost any pet store but Petco does good deals if you get the rewards card thing whatever it is called which I highly recommend for discounted pricing and such as well as the Petsmart version),and both are excellent so it comes down to whichever is the most cost effective when you purchase them.There are other brands too though,but if it comes from a reputable brand that's fine.I know Orijen and Acana should have some,not sure if it's pure meat though!

I honestly forget which brand of flax seed I purchased,but as long as it's pure flax it's fine.Discount grocery type stores and certain other general discount stores(Big Lots,Ross,etc)tend to have decent prices on flax,while it can be a bit more expensive in regular grocery stores.If organic is possible by all means go for it,but it's definitely not as bad to use something that isn't organic is it could be to use plenty other awful things

A lot of probiotics that are inexpensive(including Bene-Bac)add artificial sweeteners which you really shouldn't have The decent ones I've seen aren't hamster specific but that's not too important,as the probiotics are generally the same for dog and cat products.

https://www.chewy.com/animal-essenti...nzyme/dp/49372
https://www.chewy.com/nusentia-probi...mium/dp/132149
https://www.chewy.com/holistic-blend...tive/dp/120872

Those are the only ones I could feel comfortable with from Chewy,so unfortunately selection does seem to be small.No pure probiotics to be seen unfortunately,but they're certainly not the worst choices with other products containing artificial sweeteners,horrible unspecified biproducts(generally labelled as digest,just as unsafe as any other unspecified biproduct),dyes,etc.

As for the pumpkin side of the situation that is the easy part.I personally have Soulistic cat pouches(the pureed pumpkin ones,just pumpkin and water)which are exclusive to Petco unless Drs Foster and Smith stocks them.I know there are other sources for that kind of thing,but the brand must be reputable(not Evanger's for example,nor should anything made in China or irradiated by used at all including treats).The Soulistic pouches are really convenient though,being a small but decent size that isn't too massive for hamster usage.You can freeze leftover pureed pumpkin and thaw it out if necessary though,so even if you end up getting a canned version it's not a problem

Just saw the new post and I wouldn't use the Oasis probiotics.They have dextrose(processed and unnatural,something you don't want)as well as sucrose(same problems as dextrose and such),and whey(milk derived and likely problematic with a sensitive stomach).
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