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Old 03-06-2020, 12:54 AM   #1
Benefitsben
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Default Is my boy overweight?

My syrian is only 9 weeks old and weighs 175g. Is he overweight? He is a pretty big boy, around 6.5 inches and as he's still young he might grow some more
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Old 03-06-2020, 04:07 AM   #2
LunaTheHamster1
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Default Re: Is my boy overweight?

No is the quick answer. Nothing to worry about. My tiny Syrian hamster weighs 150 /160 grams. My big girl Luna weighed 180gram and when she got older and ill (so less active) she weighed 230grams. I worried about that a lot but in hindsight it was nothing to worry about.
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Old 03-06-2020, 05:45 AM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Is my boy overweight?

Also no In fact he may still have some growing to do. Our last two Syrians were both big and weighed 225g. It’s like people - the bigger you are the more you weigh. Large Syrians are great. Pet shop hamsters often tend to be smaller due to the breeding. You certainly don’t want to be worrying about him being overweight. Average weight is anything from about 160g to 225g or more depending on their adult size basically. It does sound like he is going to be a large Syrian if he’s 6.5 inches long. Sounds similar to our first hammy Charlie. He was a pet shop hamster but they bred their own which is maybe why he wasn’t small. We used to say his Dad must have been a guinea pig haha. I even went back to the pet shop and said are you sure this is a hamster - he’s huge! But he certainly was and a lovely big cuddly one with a lazy gentle nature - he would go to sleep on my knee.

Anyway - don’t start cutting back on food or anything - they really need a good diet to support growing especially in the first year and particularly protein for building blocks. They can actually get sick if they don’t get enough protein. Which hamster mix are you using?

It’s also why rat toys are better fir Syrians as large Syrians can get stuck in holes and tubes that aren’t big enough. You want to be looking at having at least 7cm
Diameter entrances/tunnels.

Last edited by Pebbles82; 03-06-2020 at 03:13 PM. Reason: typo
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Old 03-06-2020, 10:01 AM   #4
Benefitsben
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Talking Re: Is my boy overweight?

Quote:
Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1 View Post
No is the quick answer. Nothing to worry about. My tiny Syrian hamster weighs 150 /160 grams. My big girl Luna weighed 180gram and when she got older and ill (so less active) she weighed 230grams. I worried about that a lot but in hindsight it was nothing to worry about.
OK thank you :)
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Old 03-06-2020, 10:08 AM   #5
Benefitsben
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Also no :-) In fact he may still have some growing to do. Our last two Syrians were both big and weighed 225g. It’s like people - the bigger you are the more you weigh. Large Syrians are great. Pet shop hamsters often tend to be smaller due to the breeding. You certainly don’t want to be worrying about him being overweight. Average weight is anything from about 160g to 225g or more depending on their adult size basically. It does sound like he is going to be a large Syrian if he’s 6.5 inches long. Sounds similar to our first hammy Charlie. He was a pet shop hamster but they bred their own which is maybe why he wasn’t small. We used to say his Dad must have been a guinea pig haha. I even went back to the pet shop and said are you sure this is a hamster - he’s huge! But he certainly was and a lovely big cuddly one with a lazy gentle nature - he would go to sleep on my knee.

Anyway - don’t start cutting back on food or anything - they really need a good diet to support growing especially in the first year and particularly protein for building blocks. They can actually get sick if they don’t get enough protein. Which hamster mix are you using?

It’s also why eat toys are better fir Syrians as large Syrians can get stuck in holes and tubes that aren’t big enough. You want to be looking at having at least 7cm
Diameter entrances/tunnels.
Thank you for replying! He was from a pet shop, but like Charlie the shop bred their own hamsters. And dw, I'm not cutting back on his food, I was just wondering. I'm using Harry hamster with some hamster select for extra protein currently, as the masuri/Higgins mix isn't available here in the UK. He has a few tunnels with a smaller diameter that were left from my previous dwarf, and the only red Al reason I put them in his cage is because they're made of wood so he can chew on them. I used to have a long, wide, bendy plastic tube that was perfect, but he started to munch a hole in it so I had to take it out. I'll be sure to look into rat toys/tunnels :)
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Old 03-06-2020, 10:33 AM   #6
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Is my boy overweight?

I would just give the Harry Hamster and not supplement with anything else except a bit of fresh veg every day or the occasional fresh treat. The Harry Hamster has the correct levels of protein and all other vitamins etc needed.
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Old 03-06-2020, 10:45 AM   #7
Benefitsben
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
I would just give the Harry Hamster and not supplement with anything else except a bit of fresh veg every day or the occasional fresh treat. The Harry Hamster has the correct levels of protein and all other vitamins etc needed.
OK thank you :)
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Old 03-06-2020, 12:04 PM   #8
Ria P
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Default Re: Is my boy overweight?

I also wondered at one point if my 230g petshop hamster was overweight and posted photos of him here. Like you, i was reassured that he's a good healthy weight. I also feed him Harry Hamster and some fresh food daily, daily brown linseeds to keep his coat in good condition, the odd mealworm, sunflower and pumkin seeds and he shares our breakfast every morning, porridge or scrambled egg or a bit of toast, whatever we are having. He gets bits of our nibbles too like a tiny bit of cheese or oatcake, cracker and the odd strand of spaghetti or boiled chicken. He has a variety of millet sprays in his cage and a nibble stick but not the sugary type.

I guess he is a bit of a foodie and a huge hoarder. He surrounds himself with food and likes nothing more than chilling in his nest while nibbling from his hoard....but....he is not overweight! So don't worry and post us a photo of your hamster instead.
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Old 03-06-2020, 04:45 PM   #9
Benefitsben
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ria P View Post
I also wondered at one point if my 230g petshop hamster was overweight and posted photos of him here. Like you, i was reassured that he's a good healthy weight. I also feed him Harry Hamster and some fresh food daily, daily brown linseeds to keep his coat in good condition, the odd mealworm, sunflower and pumkin seeds and he shares our breakfast every morning, porridge or scrambled egg or a bit of toast, whatever we are having. He gets bits of our nibbles too like a tiny bit of cheese or oatcake, cracker and the odd strand of spaghetti or boiled chicken. He has a variety of millet sprays in his cage and a nibble stick but not the sugary type.

I guess he is a bit of a foodie and a huge hoarder. He surrounds himself with food and likes nothing more than chilling in his nest while nibbling from his hoard....but....he is not overweight! So don't worry and post us a photo of your hamster instead.
OK thank you, and as requested, a photo of the boy :)
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Old 03-07-2020, 03:17 AM   #10
Ria P
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Default Re: Is my boy overweight?

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OK thank you, and as requested, a photo of the boy
The boy is absolutely gorgeous!! What a lovely face and he looks perfect to me.
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