Feeding eldery russian dwarf

[Veer]

My Hammie is almost 2 years old now.
She lives in a tank in my bedroom, it is a constant 18-19 degrees celsius there.
She did have periods when she lost some weight before, but now she is lossing some again and it worries me because of her age.
She takes all the food i give her, bit i know she is a very big hoarder and i am not sure how much she is eating.
I just gave her some sciense selective pellets soaked in warm water, and she immediately took them and whlent inside her mch with full cheeks. I gave her about 8 pellets.
She also has dry pellets and Bunny expert mix available.
She is still very active and is using her wheel. But she went from 45grams to 39grams in about a week.
Like i said, she did do this before....
Because of her age i don't want her to loose to much weight.
How many soaked pellets should i offer her, and should i do this once or twice a day?
For how long can i leave the soaked pellets out for her? Will they go bad?

 

[Maz]

I usually give about 3 or 4 pellets for a Syrian . But that’s as well as the regular mix. It’s fine putting 8 out though as she’ll just eat what she needs and hoard the rest. Did you soften them? She might have toothache and be struggling to eat harder food.

By the way, have you seen the advent calendar? . Ukkie is on it.

Hamster Advent Calendar 2024

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[Veer]

I soaked them in warm water to soften them.
I don't know if she eats some of her daily food, she hoards a lot and she already had a large hoard....
i have tried to check her teeth but she is very stressed when i try and i am not very comfortable with handling her like that.
Won't the softened pellets go off when she hoards them?

Oooh how nice! I didn't see the advent calendar yet, haven't been on here for a while. Thank you for letting me know.

 

[Maz]

Good point. They could be quite messy. Maybe just give her two or three soaked pellets then. I think even if her teeth looked ok, they can still have toothache in the back teeth or an arthritic jaw, so we just have to assume they need softened food when they get older and start to lose a bit of weight

 

[ilguy]

Can I recommend some sour cream as a special treat for her? I found my ham loves it, no need to worry about her teeth with it. Could help a tiny bit with weight too

 

[Veer]

i give her 8 soaked SS pellets every evening, and she also gets her usual food (Bunny and SS dry)
She dropped weight to 38grams, but now stays around 40gr.
I do see some changes in her behaviour.

She seems a bit agitated and restless; gnawing on the glass from her tank, trying to open te sliding glass door, climbing on the glass plate in front of the sliding door, licking the glass.
I try to ignore this behaviour, because she knows that i take her out when i see her at the door and i don't want this behaviour to become a habit.
i still don't know if she is eating from her dry food, because she hoards a lot.
Do you think she might sbe hungry, causing this behaviou? Should i feed her soaked SS in the morning too?

I did change her tank layout a week or 2 ago,
Took out her MCH to give her more space to burrow, all of this because she was restless, and the changes helpedcalming her down for about a week, but since a couple days she is showing this behaviour with glass licking and biting, climbing and trying to open the tank sliding door.
Maybe is should give her the MCH back again?
She is 24 months old now.

 

[Maz]

I think maybe give her the multichamber house back again She might be a bit stressed by the change. She is doing well for 24 months and I wouldn't worry about her weight, but keep an eye on her behaviour so you can tell if she might be in pain at all.

 

[Veer]

 

[Veer]

In the pictures you can see what she is doing, but it is hard to get on camera. Sometimes she just hangs on the glass wall behind the sliding doors, and bites on the glass.

 

[Veer]

I think maybe give her the multichamber house back again She might be a bit stressed by the change. She is doing well for 24 months and I wouldn't worry about her weight, but keep an eye on her behaviour so you can tell if she might be in pain at all.

How to tell if she is in pain or discomfort?
She is active as always, using her wheel and running around.
She always came to the door when she heard me in the room, but the climbing and licking and biting on the glass is new.

 

[Maz]

It sounds like she's trying to get out and is maybe a bit stressed. Maybe give her a look over when she's out. See how her behaviour and look is and how active she is.