My hamster went crazy!

[luluthehammy]

Hi everyone, sooo im a proud mum of a 9 month old hammy, and let me say i am a bit concerned about him. Last month we took him to the vet, i had noticed he had some breathing issues or something during the heat strike (his enclosure is cooled down tho, i make sure its the right temp always). Anyway, the vet weighed him and said he was overweight, she pretty much said i should cut down his food portions by 15-20%, reduce fatty snacks like sunflower seeds, and offer veggies, anddd thats what i did. What im concerned about tho isnt his weight atm, but the fact that since his "diet" he pretty much went crazy! He used to love being handled, very curious and 100% tame, and now- whenever i put my hand in the enclosure, he goes mad and starts biting! I tried everything, he just wont chill.. what should i do? i feel like the less i handle him, the worse it gets! (and i obvi dont fancy getting bitten). Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome I'm sorry to hear you're having this. I'm guessing from your avatar that he is a russian dwarf hamster? They can sometimes get a bit overweight if they have too many sunflower seeds.

What dietary regime is he on at the moment? He might be annoyed about the lack of sunflower seeds! Or they may be some nice healthy treats you can give him instead to keep him happy. How old is he? It's still important they have enough protein in a diet - especially if under 1 year old.

So could it be that the vet visit itself made him go a bit crazy? Rather than the diet? That can happen if it has stressed them a bit. Other reasons could be if they're not feeling too good so it helps us keep an eye on things. I hope it settles down soon. But let us know what his diet is

 

[Socks' Mum]

Welcome to the forum ❤

 

[luluthehammy]

Well, he is 9 months old atm, and i give him a a mix of 2 seed mixes, made specifically for dwarf hamsters. They are rlly various, natural and reccomended a lot. Except that he gets some fresh veggies once a week mealworms, once every 2 weeks some steamed unseasoned chicken, or I put sprays in his enclosure.

 

[Maz]

That sounds good! Assume that is the new diet? Or have you just been advised to put smaller portions of mix out or only every other day or something? If it's the latter I would think he would go crazy! I think they do need fresh mix putting out every day. They don't always take older food if it's still there. The usual amount is about a teaspoonful a day. But if you scatter feed it's not so crucial. They pouch and hoard most of it anyway and only really eat what they need. Some dwarf hamsters can get a bit overweight but that's usually only if they've been having lots of sunflower seeds as treats daily or sugary foods. What is his weight at the moment?