Dwarf hamster smells sweet? Diabetes?

[charlottibiscotti]

Hi, I have two dwarf hamsters who are 4 months old. They live separately. Ever since I got them, Clove has always smelt very sweet like vanilla, whereas the other has no scent at all. I can also feel on Clove’s belly lots of excess hormone secretions which seem to have the same sweet smell, and I’m wondering if this has anything to do with it.

Of course a sweet smell could be something to do with diabetes, BUT she shows absolutely no other symptoms... in fact she hardly drinks at all in the day compared to my other ham.

Also, she has been smelling like it since I got her and I’ve been so so careful to avoid feeding both of them much sugar at all! (Although in the first week I did give them too much sugar, maybe a yogurt drop a day before I remembered about diabetes 😬&#128556

She was previously eating pets at home food before I brought her home so I’m now wondering if the composition is too sugary, or perhaps Clove is in fact a male and Cinnamon is a female and this has caused the difference in smell...

I could buy those strips to test, but how on Earth am I supposed to make her pee on a hard surface? They pee in their sand baths...

Any advice or thoughts on how likely it is that my ham has diabetes, previous experiences or ideas on how to test her would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
-Charlotte

[Ria P]

I adopted a male diabetic dwarf hamster.

I suspected diabetes quite quickly because of his excessive drinking and peeing. I put him in a plastic container and waited until he peed which he did after a few minutes, took him out and tested his pee.

He doesn't smell but his pee has a distinctive smell.

[charlottibiscotti]

Originally Posted by Ria P

I adopted a male diabetic dwarf hamster.

I suspected diabetes quite quickly because of his excessive drinking and peeing. I put him in a plastic container and waited until he peed which he did after a few minutes, took him out and tested his pee.

He doesn't smell but his pee has a distinctive smell.

Thank you, I’ve ordered some ketostix and some diastix to test both ketones and glucose just in case, and I’ll test both hamsters while I’m at it! They should arrive tomorrow, so fingers crossed they’re both alright.