Runt of the litter?

marzipan · 02-26-2011, 09:49 AM

Hi,

I got Babe from pets at home on tuesday. They told me she was the runt of the litter and to make sure she was ok. They said to be careful with her as she was the runt and make sure she is getting drink and food. My mum asked them if being a runt meant that she could be prone to health problems but the person didnt answer. She just kept saying be careful. So basically i just want to know if there is anything i need to watch out for, and if there is any difference between being a runt and all the other hamsters. Any advice would be great. thanks

KatiePillow · 02-26-2011, 10:01 AM

I don't know about hamsters, but my dog was the runt and she's never had any extra health problems, she's smaller than most of her breed, but absolutely fine with it..

I think it mostly would have made a difference when they were competing for food etc in the shop? Just feed her up is all I can think of >.< hopefully somebody will be along to help you further

marzipan · 02-26-2011, 10:03 AM

Thanks Katie i thought the same. The pet shop worried me though as they kept saying it over and over. Babe is dong fine at the moment, she is very very nervous though. When she sees or hears movement she freezes. She got a lot better last night though and came and took treats of me for the 1st time.

KatiePillow · 02-26-2011, 10:13 AM

Some hamsters just take more time, I have a hamster who I adopted at 6 months as unwanted from p@h, and it's been 2 months and she's still scared of me (she's chinese though, who are notoriously timid)
Syrians in general seem to come around to being less afraid, I'm sure she'll be confident in no time (now she knows you are the food bringer

)
She's probably a little nervous as she was the smallest, and if her siblings were to pick on anybody, I'd think they'd pick on her.
But I'll leave it for somebody who's more likely to give you a factual answer now

souffle · 02-26-2011, 10:25 AM

How big is she marzipan? Sometimes runts are so small because they do have health issues that are preventing them developing normally however often they are just small because they were in a bad position inside mum or they were a large litter and the runt was weaker. They usually catch up by around 6 months though some stay small. If they grow on OK they can expect a normal lifespan.
It seems odd that they keep saying this one was the runt as the staff do not usually know this as the hamsters are not bred by them. It could be that yours was a younger one that slipped through the net so may need my feeding as a very young pup than an older one would.
If she is nervous I would be very careful not to stress her as this could lead to wet tail and if she is small she will have lesser ability to fight it off.
I would be feeding her things like a tiny bit of egg, a teaspoon of porridge or babyfood, fingernail sized bits of chicken, cube of tofu, tiny bit of cheese. I emphasise though only ONE per day and make sure they agree with her. She may benifit from some small seeds like sunflower hearts and some bird mix added to her food.
Take taming very slowly to keep stress at a mimimum. Have a look at our taming tips on the WIKI and start with the scented tissue to get her used to your smell.
Good luck and looking forward to meeting her.

marzipan · 02-26-2011, 10:38 AM

thanks for replying Souffle. She was in a cage with about 7 other hammies. One of the others was about twice the size of her (width and length), and Babe kept very close to her. The others were all alot bigger than her but nowhere near as big as the biggest (if that makes sense).

I suppose she could be a younger hamster as i went to look at hamsters the day before i got her and the person bought a cage out from the back and she was in that. I saw her then and decided she was the one i wanted. I went back the next day with my mum to get her and i described to the lady what she looked liked. The lady kept going out the back and bringing out different cages. Then she bought out the right one and said she wasnt sure is she was old enough to be sold yet. She said the others looked old enough but that babe looked too small and thats when she started going on aout the runt.

I will add some sunflower hearts and bird mix to her food, how much do you think i should add. She currently has pets at home muesli as thats what they fed her on.

Sorry my replies so long

souffle · 02-26-2011, 10:45 AM

Introduce it gradually. Mix about 1 teaspoon in her bowlful I'd say. Is she bright enough? Don't let her over run on a wheel if she is small. You may want to only let her have a wheel for 2 hrs a night still she starts to put on weight. I'd give her a little bit of maybe egg tomorow as it is protein.
Give her plenty bedding as she will miss the warmth of the others. I'm sure she will be fine

marzipan · 02-26-2011, 10:54 AM

This is going to sound really stupid, but with the egg, is it hard boiled egg? Sorry if that is a really really stupid question but im not sure and i dont want to do wrong.

She does love her wheel the 1st night she ran in it alot. I noticed last night that she is using her other toys aswell now. For the 1st few nights she didnt use much apart from her wheel. She doesnt seem as scared when people walk by now and so stays out in her toys.

Her cage has lots of bedding in it. She has 2 houses in it, the one that comes built in with the imac fantasy and another house. But she keeps sleeping in her crittertrail playground. She has slept in it ever night and as she sleeps in the middle of it where theres not much space for bedding. She has took some out of her other house but not alot.

suga · 02-26-2011, 10:55 AM

Babe sounds like such a soul. Looking forward to meeting her when she's ready. Take your time as Souffle has said.

souffle · 02-26-2011, 11:04 AM

Either scamble it and give her half a teaspoon or preferably boil an egg hard then give her a little bit of the white part as that has the protein in it. Other things she may like are a little bit of cooked pasta & some boiled rice. I would wait about a week or so before starting on teeny bits of fresh fruit and veg trying one at a time.