Hamster weight loss

[John1711]

Hey guys, my hamster for the past couple weeks have stopped eating all of sudden and lost a lot of weight to the point where I can feel his bones. He’s also been drinking water a lot for long periods of time and keeps trying to come out of his cage. Does anyone know why he’s suddenly behaving like this? Thanks

He is also a hamster that loves treats but nowadays he’s ignoring the treats I give him as well..

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome. Really sorry to hear this. How old is he and what species is he? A Syrian hamster? I'm guessing he's an older hamster. When they start drinking more, it's something that does happen in older age as their kidneys stop functioning as well.

 

[John1711]

He is a male Russian dwarf hamster. 1 year and 3 months old.

 

[Maz]

One year three months isn't that old, but they can develop things at any time really. Dwarf hamsters are virtually all hybrids and they can be prone to diabetes which might explain drinking a lot too. You can get **** diastix for humans at a chemist or on Amazon to check his urine for sugar. Have you checked his teeth? If the bottom teeth overgrow, they can't eat.

 

[Maz]

You can test for ketones as well as glucose. Have the hamster in some kind of container until he pees to get a sample. Ideally something he doesn't mind pottering about in for a while - eg a large bowl or jug and something to chew on to distracrt him.

 

[John1711]

I just checked him and I can’t seem to locate his bottom teeth, it seems to be missing. Also his teeth on the top jaw is not visible either, it looks it’s been chipped off.

 

[John1711]

I tried feeding him a treat earlier and when I gave it to him as a whole he tried eating it but couldn’t and just left it. I broke the treat into smaller parts after and he took and ate it a small piece at a time.

 

[Maz]

It sounds like that’s what causing the weight loss then. You’ll need to give him soft food. So something like 4 or 5 science selective pellets soaked in a few drops of boiled water. Wait for it to go cold - maybe about 15 minutes. Then they’re soft and mushy. I put them on a jar lid or similar as a separate dish. Hamsters seem to like them and they contain all the nutrients needed.

You can give other soft food as well - some baby foods are ok but check the safe list (linked below). It’s a nice treat for them. To help regain the weight you can give a pinch of shelled hemp seeds daily which are kind of soft and fluffy and can be licked up. And milled or ground nuts (walnuts, pecans or cashews are fine as long as they are plain and not salted.

Still put out the regular hamster mix as well because they still like to pouch it and hoard it even if they don’t eat it - so they can keep up normal routines.

 

[Maz]

Baby food options

This thread is for baby food options. Eg for an older hamster needing softened food or for a hamster on medication (using baby food to put the medication in). This list will probably change over time and need updating and editing now and then as things stop being available or new things become...

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[Maz]

The nuts and hemp seeds are for calories.

 

[Maz]

You’ll soon fatten him up again . I’d definitely still check for diabetes though. If he does have it, there isn’t any real treatment but a certain diet could help minimise the effects.

You can also get milled seeds like sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Again if they’re ground they can just lick them up.

 

[John1711]

Okay thank you so much for your help, I will buy these products soon and give it to him. Also I was wondering is it possible to just grind the muesli food I’m providing at the moment together to let him eat it for now?

 

[John1711]

Are these hemp seeds the ones that are okay for them?

 

[Maz]

You can soak the Muesli yes, and soften it. It might take longer to soften than the pellets. Those hemp seeds look fine. Are you in the U.K.? Linwoods do them as well and also ground milled nuts and seeds. Health food shops sell them.

 

[John1711]

Ahh okay thank you and yes I am from the UK.

 

[Maz]

Ok I was going to link the Linwoods hemp seeds but can't find them and the ones you found look fine anyway. The nuts you can just crush yourself with two spoons - the back of one inside the dip of the other with the nuts in the dip. Pecans are high calorie. But probably best not to give pecans every day. Maybe alternate with walnuts and cashew nuts.

I had a hamster whose teeth broke/fell out but he was a bit older than yours Please let us know how he gets on! And if he has diabetes then there are some dietary things that can help.

 

[Daisy]

What is his diet like normally? It's unusual for such a young hamster to lose multiple teeth so I'm just wondering about a dietary cause.

Tooth issues are often related to something going wrong internally. I think a vet visit would be a good idea to investigate that possibility. They can assess his general health, feel him for masses etc.

 

[elusive]

Great advice already but I agree it would definitely be a good idea to get him checked over by a vet just to be sure what’s going on.
Teeth issues like this can be dietary as Daisy said the only other cause really is bar chewing or chewing on something else that isn’t suitable or from a high fall that can damage them.

They can manage quite well without their front teeth on a soft food diet so if you find it’s a problem where they aren’t going to grow back he could still be fine.

Does he have a water bottle or bowl? If he has a bottle & isn’t drinking he may do better with a bowl, about the size of a tea light holder.
On a soft food diet with foods that have been soaked & things like porridge his water intake will be higher from food so he’ll drink a bit less then.

 

[Frida]

Hello and welcome to the forum
Lots of good advice above so nothing to add

 

[John1711]

Great advice already but I agree it would definitely be a good idea to get him checked over by a vet just to be sure what’s going on.
Teeth issues like this can be dietary as Daisy said the only other cause really is bar chewing or chewing on something else that isn’t suitable or from a high fall that can damage them.

They can manage quite well without their front teeth on a soft food diet so if you find it’s a problem where they aren’t going to grow back he could still be fine.

Does he have a water bottle or bowl? If he has a bottle & isn’t drinking he may do better with a bowl, about the size of a tea light holder.
On a soft food diet with foods that have been soaked & things like porridge his water intake will be higher from food so he’ll drink a bit less then.

Great advice already but I agree it would definitely be a good idea to get him checked over by a vet just to be sure what’s going on.
Teeth issues like this can be dietary as Daisy said the only other cause really is bar chewing or chewing on something else that isn’t suitable or from a high fall that can damage them.

They can manage quite well without their front teeth on a soft food diet so if you find it’s a problem where they aren’t going to grow back he could still be fine.

Does he have a water bottle or bowl? If he has a bottle & isn’t drinking he may do better with a bowl, about the size of a tea light holder.
On a soft food diet with foods that have been soaked & things like porridge his water intake will be higher from food so he’ll drink a bit less then

Yes he was bar chewing a lot for the last couple weeks during the night. He has a water bottle and has been drinking a lot of water recently.