Recovery after pyometra, spay and weight loss

[Aleesha]

Hello everyone my hamster Oreo is around 8 months old but I can't be certain. She was spayed 2 weeks ago for pyometra.

The vet also noticed she has become underweight. Unfortunately I wasn't weighing her regularly so I didn't notice the weight loss and I'm not sure if it was caused by the pyometra. I've increased her food and she is always happy to gather food and treats each night, but she still hasn't regained any weight since the spay.

She's also not out very much at night, only an hour or so, and is napping more in her playpen. For the most part though she is her usual, mischievous self.

Is there anything more I should do or is it just a case of waiting for her to recover and build her strength back up? Thanks so much!

 

[Maz]

Hello. What a beautiful hammy Poor thing having pyometra, and I really hope the spay has sorted it out. As it was only two weeks ago, don't beat yourself up about not weighing her Most people do it as an occasional thing. Do you know what her current weight is?

Without wanting to state the obvious, she has had bits removed! So she is bound to weigh a bit less. But being underweight is something different. She looks very well on the photo. It may be the after effects of surgery, it's hard to know, but you could supplement her diet a bit to help perhaps.

What hamster mix is she on and does she get any "extras" at the moment. At 8 months old she still needs plenty of protein at least until she's a year old. There are also some high calorie extras she could enjoy that are healthy as well.

 

[Aleesha]

Hello. What a beautiful hammy Poor thing having pyometra, and I really hope the spay has sorted it out. As it was only two weeks ago, don't beat yourself up about not weighing her Most people do it as an occasional thing. Do you know what her current weight is?

Without wanting to state the obvious, she has had bits removed! So she is bound to weigh a bit less. But being underweight is something different. She looks very well on the photo. It may be the after effects of surgery, it's hard to know, but you could supplement her diet a bit to help perhaps.

What hamster mix is she on and does she get any "extras" at the moment. At 8 months old she still needs plenty of protein at least until she's a year old. There are also some high calorie extras she could enjoy that are healthy as well.

Hi Maz, thank you for responding, and your kind words. She is wonderful

She is currently 150g. Back in July she weighed 172g, but that seemed a bit high for her so I cut back a bit on treats. I think she went down to 165g. She's on a big mix of Science Selective, Bunny Hamster Dream Expert Vegetable, and Getzoo Golden Hamster food at the moment. She also gets a little piece of cooked pasta or vegetable each night which she loves.

I've decided to try peanuts and some porridge as well. She enjoyed her porridge last night

 

[Maz]

That sounds ok I'd maybe give her a pinch of hemp seeds daily on a separate dish as well. They are supposed to be high in calorie and also contain most vitamins and minerals needed. It'll be a bit of a tonic maybe.

Also maybe as a treat, half a walnut or pecan once or twice a week. Pecans are supposed to be high in calories but I wouldn't give those more than once a week. Hamsters usually go crazy for half a walnut. And maybe fresh veg daily - any pasta could be an extra treat.

Hopefully she'll be back to her old self soon. 172 g doesn't sound overweight - but hamsters vary in size I have one who was about 270g! Not overweight at all - just a big chunky boy.

With Syrians I think I'd be more concerned about underweight than overweight. I am sure she will build up soon

 

[Maz]

And anything she really enjoys - porridge as well in between all that She just needs to get her mojo back. She probably doesn't feel quite herself after the spay.

 

[Aleesha]

That sounds ok I'd maybe give her a pinch of hemp seeds daily on a separate dish as well. They are supposed to be high in calorie and also contain most vitamins and minerals needed. It'll be a bit of a tonic maybe.

Also maybe as a treat, half a walnut or pecan once or twice a week. Pecans are supposed to be high in calories but I wouldn't give those more than once a week. Hamsters usually go crazy for half a walnut. And maybe fresh veg daily - any pasta could be an extra treat.

Hopefully she'll be back to her old self soon. 172 g doesn't sound overweight - but hamsters vary in size I have one who was about 270g! Not overweight at all - just a big chunky boy.

With Syrians I think I'd be more concerned about underweight than overweight. I am sure she will build up soon

Thank you for your advice. I will definitely give it all a try! I was worried I'd gone overboard on the treats when she got up to 172 but I won't worry so much now

Good news though! I put her on the scale again yesterday and somehow she's up to 155g! She seemed in good spirits and had a nice run around and didn't want to go home I'm not so worried now

 

[Socks' Mum]

Well done, it's lovely when they start to regain condition

 

[Maz]

Great news . Surgery can really take it out of thrm for a while - she sounds to be doing well and I’m sure she’ll enjoy treats . They love any fresh human food! A bit of chopped boiled egg or scrambled egg or porridge and a tiny bit of fruit or veg to look forward to each day. I tend to rotate between cucumber, broccoli, a blueberry, a piece of apple and occasionally a bit of baby corn.

 

[Maz]

Maybe you’d like to start a thread for her in the Syrian section - some of us have a kind of diary thread for the hamster there - then we can follow her progress . And we love seeing hammy pics and videos