Hammie has lost a lot of weight

[Charlie82]

Hey all.
My 2 year old male Syrian has become very thin in the last few weeks.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be the problem?
He is still bright & active coming out of his cage for 40-60 mins for a run daily, we've had a fan on in the hammie room throughout the hot weather, he still takes all food offered and he has a full, fresh water bowl every day.
The only thing he suffers from is a sticky eye which we use a cotton bud on every day.
Any thoughts? Is he just getting a bit old? xx

[Ria P]

They can lose some weight as they get older and it's a good idea to weigh them now and again. I use an electronic kitchen scale which i bought cheaply at The Range shop.

He may be hoarding some of the food and i would supplement his regular hamster food with some soft foods like porridge, babyfood or soaked Science Selective in case his teeth are giving him trouble in his old age. I'd also check his teeth if you can. Extra sunflower seeds and a bit of scrambled egg would also help him to put on some weight.
I give mine a tiny piece of cheese on a Sunday which he enjoys.

I've recently had the same worry with my 19 months old male Syrian who dropped from 230g down to 184g due to an infection which was treated with medication and he's put some weight back on.

[cypher]

I agree it would be good to check his teeth if you don’t. do that as part of a regular health check, even if the teeth look ok they can often struggle a bit with normal hard foods when they get older so the softer supplements in addition to normal food that Ria mentioned are good, a sticky eye is common too but could possibly be related to a tooth problem so another reason to give them a check over.
i wouldn’t give any extras that are too high in protein at that age as it puts too much strain on the kidneys that don’t always function so well as they age.

[Ria P]

Originally Posted by cypher

i wouldn’t give any extras that are too high in protein at that age as it puts too much strain on the kidneys that don’t always function so well as they age.

Are eggs and cheese high in protein? I have already cut back on Henry's egg and cheese consumption due to him getting older. Which ones are high protein foods? I know that mealworms are but i'm not that clued up on food.

Sorry Charlie82, don't mean to hog your thread but this may be of interest for you as well.

[cypher]

Egg & cheese are both high in protein, a little once in a while is fine but I wouldn’t give them too often, better to stick to porridge & baby foods for more frequent extras.
Nuts & seeds are also fairly high protein foods so not too much of those either, higher protein foods in moderation are ok, it depends how much of the regular mix they eat too if that has adequate protein.