Suddenly fat hamster! Possibly bloating? HELP!

[Awcey]

Hello I just joined this site and I have a real problem with my Russian dwarf hamster, Aspen. I've had her for a year now and I've just given her a health check, and she's become abnormally fat! I'm so scared I don't know what's wrong! Her stomach is really big now, but other than that she's behaving normally and I don't see anything else out of place. What could be wrong? Please help :'(

[racinghamster]

Hi Awcey, being abnormally round in the belly can mean something is going on internally like a tumour, or ascites (fluid build up) or just visceral fat. I would say if you are concerned about this or if her weight is affecting her mobility, then see a local vet for their opinion and a check up. Abnormal swelling can sometimes look weird because they look as if they have swallowed a golf ball and their abdomen looks and feels firm. If she`s squishy and not restricted in movement and otherwise seems healthy, she could just be a little overweight, but remember some hamsters do like their food!

Is she able to run on a good wheel in her cage? Is she quite active? x

[cypher]

How sudden is the change Awcey? It's not that common for hams to get fat & if this is a sudden change I agree with RH that it is either fluid retention causing your ham to appear fat or something else internally, it sounds as though a check with your vet would be helpful so you at least have some idea of what might be going on.

[Awcey]

The firm abdomen would be a fitting description in her situation... The change seems quite sudden, she was fine the other day. It doesn't appear to affect her mobility. She's quite an active hamster and runs on her wheel often. It might be a tumor, but today I was cleaning her cage because it was making me anxious, and I discovered some very very tiny little bugs. They look like they might be larvae of some kind, but they are so tiny that I was lucky I noticed them. I disposed of their source and am currently looking for the best course of action in getting rid of them. My hamster is safely away from them right now. Do you think they could be parasites that could have caused the bloating? Or is this an entirely different problem? I have to wait until later today to contact my vet to see if they have any experience with small mammals... Thank you for replying

[souffle]

I wonder if your hamster might be diabetic and this is causing her to become bloated.
Diabetic hamsters produce urine which has sugar in it so what happens is that flies are attracted to the sweet urine (tiny fruit flies) and these could be the maggots you are seeing. Are there any little flies around the cage? I doubt these are parasites.
I would get your hamster tested for diabetes as well as a full check at the vet.
There is info on diabetes here:
http://vectishams.webs.com/diabetesinhamsters.htm

[Awcey]

Thank you for the info! I think I saw a tiny fly in her cage today.. The little larvae were mainly on an edible hide that had honey in it, so that might be the case! I haven't seen them around urine, though. I'll have to wait and see if she really is diabetic. That would be kind of weird considering one of my dogs is diabetic too. Thanks again!

[souffle]

I'd avoid any sweet treats or hide type treats for dwarves. The sugar is too much and as well as putting on weight it can strain the system and start diabetes in a hamster that is already prone to it. I personally don't give the hide type o very dense, gloopy type of food which could get stuck unprocessed inside them as they don't have any fibre in them and hamsters must have fibre to keep the bowel working properly/

[Awcey]

I should've thought about the hide earlier, considering I found out hamsters are prone to diabetes when I was doing research before I got her. Ah well, I'll be more cautious about that now. I'm going to call the vet today. Thanks to everyone for help, it had helped me feel less anxious about the situation