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Hi all, this is my first post.
My golden Syrian, Porkchop, is 2 years old. I had a night Angel wooden 3 compartment shelter for his hideout up until about a month ago. Since I changed his hideout, he has gained a significant amount of weight, become fidgety, waddles and flops.
I changed his hideout bec he was using his toilet where he was storing his food (always has done that) and the walls were becoming moldy. I change his dirty bedding regularly, but always leave the “not dirty” bedding as to not freak him out. It was becoming more of a challenge bec he potties on his food stash and the wooden walls of his hideout were growing mold. I would use vinegar to wipe everything clean and then dry it with a hair dryer. It was becoming quite the task and just more and more mold. His entire enclosure is a glass terrarium.
I replaced his hideout with an extremely similar acrylic one with a wooden top. He didn’t not scream, he did not show any signs of stress… that is until about a week after I notice he was panting and body movement was wobbly.
I was holding him and he just went and played dead out of what seemed like nowhere. Then my husband picked him up and Porkchop started screaming. We put him back and he waddled back to his hide out. He then came back out and was begging to be picked up again. (Standing on his haunches in his sandbox where we normally place our hand for him to crawl on).
Ive kind of left him alone since… but not completely. I feed him, talk to him and gently pet him while he’s still in his enclosure.
Today I noticed that he has gained a significant amount of weight. He has rolls. He cannot climb on low level platforms or ramps he used to easily conquer. He flipped off and rolled at one point. Also, his balls used to be obvious and visible at all times and they have seemed to disappear.
I tried placing him in his exercise ball. He mostly cleaned himself and walked a little bit, but no running around. After about 8 minutes I placed him back in his enclosure. Also, he does not use his nite angel wheel. He never has.
I what do I do? I feel like I am failing as a hamster mom. He’s my baby, I adopted him from a humane resource with the intent of giving him the best quality of life and I’m afraid he is stressed and unhappy. I have got a temperature regulator for his enclosure bec it has been extremely cold lately and I was worried about him being cold.
Any helpful input is welcome. Thank you
P.S. Pictures were taken when he was healthy
My golden Syrian, Porkchop, is 2 years old. I had a night Angel wooden 3 compartment shelter for his hideout up until about a month ago. Since I changed his hideout, he has gained a significant amount of weight, become fidgety, waddles and flops.
I changed his hideout bec he was using his toilet where he was storing his food (always has done that) and the walls were becoming moldy. I change his dirty bedding regularly, but always leave the “not dirty” bedding as to not freak him out. It was becoming more of a challenge bec he potties on his food stash and the wooden walls of his hideout were growing mold. I would use vinegar to wipe everything clean and then dry it with a hair dryer. It was becoming quite the task and just more and more mold. His entire enclosure is a glass terrarium.
I replaced his hideout with an extremely similar acrylic one with a wooden top. He didn’t not scream, he did not show any signs of stress… that is until about a week after I notice he was panting and body movement was wobbly.
I was holding him and he just went and played dead out of what seemed like nowhere. Then my husband picked him up and Porkchop started screaming. We put him back and he waddled back to his hide out. He then came back out and was begging to be picked up again. (Standing on his haunches in his sandbox where we normally place our hand for him to crawl on).
Ive kind of left him alone since… but not completely. I feed him, talk to him and gently pet him while he’s still in his enclosure.
Today I noticed that he has gained a significant amount of weight. He has rolls. He cannot climb on low level platforms or ramps he used to easily conquer. He flipped off and rolled at one point. Also, his balls used to be obvious and visible at all times and they have seemed to disappear.
I tried placing him in his exercise ball. He mostly cleaned himself and walked a little bit, but no running around. After about 8 minutes I placed him back in his enclosure. Also, he does not use his nite angel wheel. He never has.
I what do I do? I feel like I am failing as a hamster mom. He’s my baby, I adopted him from a humane resource with the intent of giving him the best quality of life and I’m afraid he is stressed and unhappy. I have got a temperature regulator for his enclosure bec it has been extremely cold lately and I was worried about him being cold.
Any helpful input is welcome. Thank you
P.S. Pictures were taken when he was healthy
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