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Old 05-15-2020, 07:24 PM   #1
sarahhhh
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Default Concerns over my hamster's weight.

Hi,
I got my hammy's as rescues and they seemed underweight but I'm concerned I've fed her too much and that now she's overweight.
I'm going to attach 2 pictures; one from when I first got her, and one from today.
Please can someone help me and judge her weight on both pictures compared to the healthy weight of dwarfs. Please be completely honest as I want her to be 100% healthy.
Thank you in advance x
Attached Images
File Type: jpg skinny hammy.jpg (838.2 KB, 31 views)
File Type: jpg chunky hammy.jpg (848.6 KB, 35 views)
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Old 05-15-2020, 10:15 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Concerns over my hamster's weight.

She looks fine & healthy to me. Russian hybrid weight can vary an awful lot, anything from about 50g even up to 80g, as long as you feed a good quality food, don't give too many fatty treats & your ham is active with an appropriate size wheel (20cm) then it is unlikely that she would become overweight, hams don't tend to overeat & will just hoard excess food.
It's a good idea to weigh your ham as part of a regular health check all the same, that way you can spot any changes in weight that could be a sign of a health problem. It's best to get them to climb into something like a large mug or little box then pop them on the scales in that.
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Old 05-16-2020, 01:48 AM   #3
Petite
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Default Re: Concerns over my hamster's weight.

Thanks for posting this, sarahhhh; I have a similar concern about my hybrid winter white. Does this come under the category of "Russian dwarf"? I plan on weighing her this weekend, but she definitely looks more like Chunky Hammy than Skinny Hammy. I had read that hamsters don't overeat, but this one and my last one (also a hybrid WW) both seem to live to eat, and with this one I'm in constant danger of being eaten alive.

Freya hoards food, but mostly only the bits she is less keen on - one particular type in her food mix. The rest gets hoovered up very quickly, and even though she's incredibly active at night, she looks more chunky than is good for her. I would say she is around the same size now as her predecessor was when a vet remarked that she was "a little on the plump side", and I began to be very careful with how much I fed her - especially peanuts and sunflower seeds. I'm doing that now with Freya. How much should a dwarf eat per day? I would say she has no more than a rounded teaspoon per day, and even with all the activity she still looks a bit hefty to me.
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Old 05-16-2020, 02:10 AM   #4
Charlie Dunn
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Default Re: Concerns over my hamster's weight.

What a sweet looking ham. She looks absolutely fine to me. She does not look over weight at all. My dwarf ham weighs about 70g. They do not over eat and so long as she seems happy and does hamstering at night I would not worry x
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Old 05-16-2020, 03:47 AM   #5
cypher
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Default Re: Concerns over my hamster's weight.

Petite I really wouldn't worry so much, a rounded teaspoon of food a day is certainly not too much, no one wants their hams to be very overweight but a skinny ham is going to have less resistance to health problems that one than may be just a bit on the chunky side, I think I mentioned to you before that as your ham is still growing it is essential not to cut back on food at all, they grow fast too & just that growth can give a misleading impression if you're not expecting it.
I'm not sure if you're a little confused about the terms Russian dwarf or hybrid? It's easiest to just refer to them all as either Russian dwarf or hybrid, basically the same thing, you can't actually have a WW or Campbell's hybrid as a hybrid is always a mix of both species.
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Old 05-16-2020, 04:10 AM   #6
Petite
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Default Re: Concerns over my hamster's weight.

Thanks for your reply, Cypher. I'm afraid I'm a natural born-and-bred-worrier! Yes, I recall you mentioning about the fact that she was still growing, and as a result made sure she always had enough to eat. But I think she can't be far off adult size now? It does concern me that she sometimes seems too big to get through "dwarf-sized" holes in some of her toys, although I appreciate that some retailers of hamster goods can generalise about their products.

Thanks for clarifying re Russian dwarf and hybrid. Originally I was confused because my last hamster was sold as a winter white, and I only discovered later (thanks to this forum) that she was in fact a hybrid as she had red eyes - not a characteristic seen, I believe, in genuine winter whites. I realise Freya is a hybrid, but she looks more WW than anything else - thus my misnaming her!

Last edited by Petite; 05-16-2020 at 04:16 AM.
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Old 05-16-2020, 05:48 AM   #7
sarahhhh
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Default Re: Concerns over my hamster's weight.

Thank you everyone! I was giving her too many sunflower seeds and because they were eating museli she was picking them out.
I've recently changed her diet to include fruits and veggies so that shes getting a treat that isn't filled with oil.
Thank you so much, I'm just concerned I'm not doing a good job since I've never owned hammy's before.
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Old 05-16-2020, 07:24 AM   #8
cypher
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Default Re: Concerns over my hamster's weight.

Petite I wouldn't worry if she seems to big to get through the holes in somethings, there are so many things sold with holes that are too small even for dwarf ham.
I must admit I've really lost track of time now with the lockdown so I can't remember how long you've had her or how old she might be!

sarahhhh Veggies are a great addition to the diet but I wouldn't give fruit except maybe as a very rare treat as the sugar levels are too high & fruit is also acidic which isn't good for them.
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Old 05-27-2020, 10:23 AM   #9
Petite
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Default Re: Concerns over my hamster's weight.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
Petite I wouldn't worry if she seems to big to get through the holes in somethings, there are so many things sold with holes that are too small even for dwarf ham.
I must admit I've really lost track of time now with the lockdown so I can't remember how long you've had her or how old she might be!
At last I've got round to weighing her - she's 53 grams, and perhaps not quite fully grown yet. We got her the week before the lockdown, so I would guess she is between four and five months old. Not sure how old "fully grown" usually is.
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Old 05-27-2020, 11:28 PM   #10
cypher
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Default Re: Concerns over my hamster's weight.

She's probably pretty much fully grown now, they can continue to grow up to about 6 months but she won't grow much more now, her weight sounds fine to me.
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