Drinking lots of water?

[racinghamster]

Hamsters love fresh nibblets of sweet corn as a daily treat. I buy the small frozen corns and keep one in the small freezer inside my fridge. I break off about six nibblets from the frozen corn, place these in a cup of cold water and leave them for an hour. This defrosts them naturally. Then just refresh the water in the cup each day and use them up s necessary.

Apple is also a nice treat. You just want a thumbnail size once a day. Carrot is also fine. Dry porridge oats sprinkled into the food dish every other day will also be enjoyed. These are a good fibre source.

The rule of thumb is, if a hamster is just being introduced to fresh veggies, a very small amount should be fed just to make sure his gut doesn't react t having a change in his diet. Most hamsters won`t show any runny poo unless they are eating too much, so no bigger than a fingernail in size of each daily and go from there. x

[Princess42]

Originally Posted by racinghamster

Hamsters love fresh nibblets of sweet corn as a daily treat. I buy the small frozen corns and keep one in the small freezer inside my fridge. I break off about six nibblets from the frozen corn, place these in a cup of cold water and leave them for an hour. This defrosts them naturally. Then just refresh the water in the cup each day and use them up s necessary.

Apple is also a nice treat. You just want a thumbnail size once a day. Carrot is also fine. Dry porridge oats sprinkled into the food dish every other day will also be enjoyed. These are a good fibre source.

The rule of thumb is, if a hamster is just being introduced to fresh veggies, a very small amount should be fed just to make sure his gut doesn't react t having a change in his diet. Most hamsters won`t show any runny poo unless they are eating too much, so no bigger than a fingernail in size of each daily and go from there. x

Thank you for your reply he has already been introduced to fresh veggies and has had them occasionally all his life so when I give them himnhe has quite a bit anyway. The veggies I gave him yesterday seem to have slowed his water intake. Is this a good thing?
Thank you x

[racinghamster]

Possibly, because he will be getting moisture from the vegetables.

Hamsters who have kidney issues or diabetes will drink a LOT of water, sometimes emptying their water bottle in less than a day. But remember too that weather changes can cause a behavioural change and if it feels milder, the hamster may well want to drink more. So measuring each day how many ML`s the water goes down, or how often he goes for a drink will indicate this better. x