Introducing Amelie

[Mollz]

Just thought I would post an update about Amelie. Well she is a gorgeous little girl and is really blossoming as she ages. I did get some pictures tonight - but they don't show her full bauty so I'll try to get some better ones and put them on tomorrow.

For those of you who don't know, she attended her first show on Saturday at Thame and got Junior best in show with 80 points (is points the right word?). She was only 1/2 a point away from winning her class, 4/5 points away from Best Opposite Sex and 6 points away from Best In Show! And this was all at the tender age of 9 weeks 6 days old.

We just did another weigh in today and at 10 1/2 weeks old she is 170g which sounds pretty good to me. She has put on 16g in the past 2 weeks but has NO sign of fat at all - I have been checking regularly just to make sure.

But above all of this, she makes the perfect pet with a wonderful (but very cheeky personality) and is always begging to come out. I'm just so glad that she is with us :P

[Spuds Mum]

Having seen the photo you sent through I think she is absolutely stunning, and Im glad she has a personality to match!

I just looked at the weigh in thread, and noticed her weight - my goodness, she is one big girl already!

[Mollz]

Originally Posted by Spud's Mum

Having seen the photo you sent through I think she is absolutely stunning, and Im glad she has a personality to match!

Yes, to me it is the personality that is most important (not that I'm moaning about good show results ). I'm glad you think she is pretty too.

I just looked at the weigh in thread, and noticed her weight - my goodness, she is one big girl already!

I know

[Mollz]

Should I worry that she is getting so big? She gets fed exactly the same as all of the others, and if you look at the weigh-in thread you can see that none of the others are anywhere near as big as her. I'm pretty sure I'm not overfeeding her and will keep a watch on her weight, but I can deffinately still easily feel her ribs if I put a tiny bit of pressure on her side (which I read somewhere shows that they are just the right weight). Should I give her fewer supplements (e.g. porridge/chicken/pasta) than the others or just leave it unless she starts getting fat (it seems mean/silly reducing it when she is till growing and not fat!).

[Gust0o]

We just did another weigh in today and at 10 1/2 weeks old she is 170g

Wow, that's some impressive gains! I think Wes is likely to be some distance off that, at the same age!

[pophammy]

I would just keep feeding her as you are now. Hams from breeders tend to be much larger than petshop hams, so it is likely she is just a naturally big girl! Our showing girls got to 220g at their max, and averaged around 180-200g, so I think she is doing just fine! Good to hear she is doing well and congrats for at the show!

[Basia]

She sounds as if she is doing just fine Molz, I certainly wouldn't worry about her getting big - that is a good thing.
As Pophammy says the girls can get quite large, 3 of mine are well over 200g.
Looking forward to some more pictures.

[Gust0o]

Should I worry that she is getting so big? She gets fed exactly the same as all of the others, and if you look at the weigh-in thread you can see that none of the others are anywhere near as big as her

Well, both Harry and Hobbs are pet shop rescues; and Bob is a pet shop purchase - I wouldn't expect them to be comparing with breeder animals on a like-for-like basis.

Also, they were companion animals - plenty of toys, plenty of playtime - which meant they burnt off pretty much every bit of fat they had!

I'm more interested in the comparison with Wesley - as much for my own sake, as I was wondering if I was underfeeding for a while! Which I'm patently not!

[Mollz]

That's good. I didn't want to lower what she is being fed, it's just she is so young and so big!

The strange thing is that she runs on her wheel for about 3/4 hours each evening and is still that big. I guess it just means that she is gaining muscle rather than fat - which is good.

[Gust0o]

Muscle mass would be greater than fat, in any case - so it would explain her strong growth.

You'd be able to feel it when you cuddle her!