Maia!

[dwarfhamstermom]

Hello!
This is the diary of our dwarf hamster Maia.
We believe she was born in October 2025, but it is unclear as she came from irresponsible breeding.
We picked her up and brought her home on 31 October. She is a spooky hamster!

She lives in a 100 x 52 cm Pawhut habitat, which has two different substrates and moss in addition to the base paper substrate. She has a 21 cm Bucatstate wheel.

Her staple diet is Rodipet hybrid dwarf hamster food. We only have one container left, and if the shop doesn't reopen, we'll switch to Bunny Expert. As well as their daily foraging for flowers and leaves!
In addition, she obviously gets fresh vegetables and protein on a daily basis. We restrict her fruit intake quite a bit to prevent diabetes, as she is predisposed to it.

She really likes interacting with us and from the third or fourth day she started climbing onto our hands and letting us stroke her a lot. Her favourite foods are sunflower seeds, walnuts, flax seeds... And she hates boiled chicken. But in general she likes practically everything we feed her, as well as running on the wheel.

Like all dwarf hamsters, she usually comes out several times during the day, which we love, being at home on a day off when we're not working and finding her there!
She is in the same room as our other Syrian hamster and they have a camera that helps us know when they are there and check that everything is okay at night with recordings.

Right now, her nails are a little long, so it will soon be time to visit the vet for a pedicure!

 

[Maz]

Hello Maia She's looking healthy and adorable A real shame about the Rodipet food - was it the hybrid mix you had? The Bunny dream dwarf one was popular with my robos so that's ok as well. It's not specifically a hybrid mix, but if you give a parsley leaf once a week that should help make it an anti diabetic diet

 

[Socks' Mum]

Maia is gorgeous

 

[dwarfhamstermom]

Hello Maia She's looking healthy and adorable A real shame about the Rodipet food - was it the hybrid mix you had? The Bunny dream dwarf one was popular with my robos so that's ok as well. It's not specifically a hybrid mix, but if you give a parsley leaf once a week that should help make it an anti diabetic diet

Yeah we still have 1 container of Rodipet hybrid mix, and I forgot to write but yes, Maia and Moka get a parsley leaf weekly (I know Moka as a syrian doesn’t have this predisposition to have diabetes but anyways she eats anything and looks like she likes it)

 

[dwarfhamstermom]

Maia's update!!!

Sorry for not posting for so long... The truth is that quite a lot has happened over these last three months! Firstly, Maia unfortunately had an episode of intestinal parasites which caused her to lose quite a bit of weight (about 8 grams); luckily she’s fine now and has recovered thanks to the vet’s medication, but she hasn’t managed to put the weight back on. The vet has reassured us that she doesn’t look unwell despite weighing less; in other words, her body condition looks fine, she’s active and leading a completely normal life.

However, we were still worried about her weight, so the vet recommended we do some urine tests, and it turned out she has kidney problems, so for the time being she’s on lifelong medication to prevent further issues. It makes me feel bad because she’s a young hamster, only six months old, but well, better safe than sorry...

We’ve also decided to improve Maia’s habitat. As you know, she used to live in a wooden Pawhut measuring 100 x 58 x 38 cm, and we could see she was stressed because she was always trying to climb up the top mesh and do ‘monkey bars’, and she’d fall... So now she lives in the Bucatstate 3.0 (120 x 60 cm), and she seems much happier!

If you’d like me to post photos of her cage, I’ll try to do so in the right section of the forum!

 

[Maz]

So sorry Maia has kidney issues I'm curious to know what the lifelong medication is that she's on. In terms of helping with weight gain, a pinch of hemp seeds daily is very helpful. Even if they're in an existing mix, it's a separate daily dose. They are fairly high calorie and supposed to contain all vitamins and minerals needed so are also a good health supplement generally. Dwarf hamsters like pine nuts as well, which will help with calories and protein. Other nuts also help with calories, but something like a half walnut or pecan nut should only be given once a week max for a dwarf hammy, unlike pine nuts which can be given more regularly. You can actually get shelled hemp seeds which are sort of fluffy - I use those for older hamsters with teeth issues. Hamsters love them and just lick them up - they smell nutty. Whole hemp seeds are harder to chew but she may just lick those up and eat them as well. I put them on a separate little dish, separate from the main food (ie a different location on a platform) - eg a jar lid.

She is looking gorgeous and fluffy there.

Kidney issues can mimic or overlap with diabetes. Has she been tested for diabetes?

 

[dwarfhamstermom]

Oh! Thanks for the advice, we’ll bear it in mind. We’ve also been recommended other nuts such as hazelnuts and cashews (raw and unsalted). She was having Critical Care but it was making her feel full and she was neglecting her seeds, so we’re going to phase it out and give her more calorie-dense seeds or sprays, such as flax.

 

[Maz]

Just updated my post a bit above

 

[Maz]

Pecan nuts are the highest in calories. Walnuts are usually very popular. Unsalted cashews are fine. I'm always a bit cautious with hazelnuts due to the shape. Brazil nuts contain something that helps boost the immune system, but a whole brazil nut is quite large so I tend to give a cut off piece.

 

[dwarfhamstermom]

I’ll go to a shop that sells a wide variety of nuts in bulk – ones that aren’t roasted, salted or seasoned in any way. We haven’t had him tested for diabetes because, in fact, he’s only been diagnosed with early-stage kidney disease associated with proteinuria. His kidney is fine for now; it’s simply a preventive treatment, so we’ll have to see how things develop in four months’ time.

 

[Maz]

So proteinuria (too much protein in urine) can also be a sign of diabetes. And dwarf hamsters are prone to diabetes. Giving nuts too much will increase the protein levels so that could be an issue.

Elusive always used to say pine nuts were better for dwarf hamsters who are prone to diabetes. If you can get some ketodiastix from a pharmacy (human grade ones) you can dip one of those in some of his urine and see if he has sugar in his urine as well. Even if he doesn't, dwarf hamsters have predisposition to getting diabetes and this could be an early sign of it developing, so I would personally focus on a diabetes prevention diet as well as a calorie diet without increasing the protein too much.

So I'd suggest hemp seeds, pine nuts, a parsley leaf once a week. And if you can get some asparagus and artichoke for occasionaly veg as well they are also good for preventing diabetes (as is parsley). The idea being to slow down any potential onset.

Maybe one small piece of pecan nut weekly and not lots of other nuts or it could be too much protein.

There are other foods that are high calorie as well that won't affect the protein and sugar element. Even the occasional bit of hard cheese (not blue cheese).

Sunflower seeds increase calories quite a lot and so do mealworms if she likes those. So they are fine.

 

[dwarfhamstermom]

Thanks for the advice, we’ll bear it in mind! We have also being told that is bad giving them too much parsley, so we give it to her just every two weeks... She doesn't have much nuts at all. A wallnut per month maybe.

 

[Maz]

I haven't heard that before. Every day would be too much yes but I'd have thought weekly was ok. Anyway two weekly sounds fine as well And you could intersperse with occasional asparagus or artichoke maybe. The Rodipet hybrid dwarf mix used to contain those. And yes it's so awful Rodipet are no longer there!

 

[dwarfhamstermom]

Hii! I’ve been quite thoughtful about the possibility of Maia having diabetes. I’ll buy tomorrow the urine test for humans and try to make Maia pee on the floor so I can soak the strip in it.

I’d like to ask which are the “obvious” signs of diabetes in dwarf hamsters, thank you!

 

[Socks' Mum]

Hii! I’ve been quite thoughtful about the possibility of Maia having diabetes. I’ll buy tomorrow the urine test for humans and try to make Maia pee on the floor so I can soak the strip in it.

I’d like to ask which are the “obvious” signs of diabetes in dwarf hamsters, thank you!

I find that if I put Socks in a hamster carrier with no bedding in it during the day he will usually do his business in the carrier but girls might be different of course. I hope it works

 

[dwarfhamstermom]

I find that if I put Socks in a hamster carrier with no bedding in it during the day he will usually do his business in the carrier but girls might be different of course. I hope it works

Oh, we have already needed to collect urine and it was pretty easy! We used our playpen which is just putting up some removable panels to enclose the area, and she’ll do her business on the floor (tiles) herself, so you simply need to suck up the urine with a syringe or, in this case, place the test strip on top of it.

 

[Maz]

Oh, we have already needed to collect urine and it was pretty easy! We used our playpen which is just putting up some removable panels to enclose the area, and she’ll do her business on the floor (tiles) herself, so you simply need to suck up the urine with a syringe or, in this case, place the test strip on top of it.

Glad you found an easy way! Maybe you could start a thread on how to do that and I'll pin it! And others can add their methods as well. It's a question people often ask - how to get a urine sample.

As for signs of diabetes. Well sugar in the urine is one - and possibly protein in the urine (the diastix should show both actually but you already know about the protein). But in terms of behaviour. Maybe being a bit off colour, lethargy. Some older hamsters can have slight mental/emotional effects - be a bit grumpy. Some just are a bit unwell. Sometimes you can smell sweetness in the urine.

Try not to worry, there are ways of delaying any potential onset.

 

[dwarfhamstermom]

Glad you found an easy way! Maybe you could start a thread on how to do that and I'll pin it! And others can add their methods as well. It's a question people often ask - how to get a urine sample.

As for signs of diabetes. Well sugar in the urine is one - and possibly protein in the urine (the diastix should show both actually but you already know about the protein). But in terms of behaviour. Maybe being a bit off colour, lethargy. Some older hamsters can have slight mental/emotional effects - be a bit grumpy. Some just are a bit unwell. Sometimes you can smell sweetness in the urine.

Try not to worry, there are ways of delaying any potential onset.

It seems Maia understands humans! We literally told her, ‘We're putting you here so you can wee.’ We left her in her pen with the plastic panels so she wouldn’t wander off where she shouldn’t and get into danger; we left her a couple of cardboard toys and a little ceramic house (in case she did her wee there, so it would be easy to collect), but the four or five times we needed to collect a sample for the test I mentioned, she did it on the floor. Without even drinking any water (even though she had it available). All we did was suck it up with the syringe. It was incredible!!!

And yes, I’ll give it a go. To be honest, I’m not really sure if they’ll sell the diabetes urine tests in the local pharmacies; I don’t know if it’s the same as in the UK, so I’ll check it out in a few of them. If not, I’ll let the vet know. It really surprises me that she’s having problems at such a young age; I feel bad for her, too.
When it comes to her behaviour, she seems active (though she always has been, she is young so I guess is pretty normal)– she always seems keen to be outside with us, running about everywhere... And she’s never once been grumpy; quite the opposite, in fact...

 

[Maz]

They're called Ketodiastix (or similar) - I am sure they will sell them as they are for humans with diabetes etc. Amazon.es sells them under glucose testing strips but they are a bit expensive.

GLUCOSE URINE STRIP 100 STRIPS COVETRUS : Amazon.es: Health & Household

GLUCOSE URINE STRIP 100 STRIPS COVETRUS : Amazon.es: Health & Household

www.amazon.es

 

[dwarfhamstermom]

They're called Ketodiastix (or similar) - I am sure they will sell them as they are for humans with diabetes etc. Amazon.es sells them under glucose testing strips but they are a bit expensive.

GLUCOSE URINE STRIP 100 STRIPS COVETRUS : Amazon.es: Health & Household

GLUCOSE URINE STRIP 100 STRIPS COVETRUS : Amazon.es: Health & Household

www.amazon.es

Oh! I'll take a look before in some local pharmacies, but I keep this as an option, it's expensive but not outrageously so. Thank you!!