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Hamster weight is an indication of health or loss of health. Vets usually recommend you weigh your hamster quite regularly. Some people say once a week but personally I don't think this is necessary when a hamster is active and well. But weighing them occasionally gives you the chance to see if their weight has remained stable, whether they have had too many treats and gained a bit too much! And signifcant loss of weight can be a sign of ill health. You would normally notice a hamster getting thinner, but not always, because they're so furry. It's fairly normal for older hamsters to lose a bit of weight and get leaner, but then it just needs keeping an eye on.
There are various ways to weigh a hamster, but often hamsters don't like it and find it stressful. For example, vets sometimes pop them in a glass jar on the scales (then deduct the weight of the jar). I know my robo absolutely hated that and found it stressful.
I find the easiest way to weigh a hamster, that doesn't cause them any stress, is to use flatbed digital weighing scales. Kitchen scales are fine. I've had these for some time now and they're great for weighing hamsters.
The scales themselves need to be on a hard surface or they can register incorrectly. Eg a table, a hard floor in a playpen. Not on carpet. I put a book on the carpet first to give a hard surface and put the scales on the book.
You just put a tempting, smelly treat on the scales - eg cucumber. And then zero them. While the hamster is out - eg in the playpen. The hamster goes to get the smelly treat and conveniently sits on the scales eating it usually! So then you can read their weight.
There are various ways to weigh a hamster, but often hamsters don't like it and find it stressful. For example, vets sometimes pop them in a glass jar on the scales (then deduct the weight of the jar). I know my robo absolutely hated that and found it stressful.
I find the easiest way to weigh a hamster, that doesn't cause them any stress, is to use flatbed digital weighing scales. Kitchen scales are fine. I've had these for some time now and they're great for weighing hamsters.
The scales themselves need to be on a hard surface or they can register incorrectly. Eg a table, a hard floor in a playpen. Not on carpet. I put a book on the carpet first to give a hard surface and put the scales on the book.
You just put a tempting, smelly treat on the scales - eg cucumber. And then zero them. While the hamster is out - eg in the playpen. The hamster goes to get the smelly treat and conveniently sits on the scales eating it usually! So then you can read their weight.
