Old hamsters

[Lorena]

Hello,
I hope all you are good and your hammies too. My little dwarf hamster sweetie now is old, she will be two in October and started to be less active. My heart is worry about her obviously as I know she will not be with me forever. I am blessed because she has been such a joy to me and I keep taking care of her as best as I can. Do you have any kind suggestions about what diet is more appropriate for old hamsters?

Thank you

 

[Socks Mum]

Sending you vibes for continuing health and happiness! @Daisy and @elusive are great with nutrition. They'll be along soon with ideas. Maz is superb too. Well done for helping your hammy reach such a good age. She's gorgeous

 

[Maz]

Hi there. Little Sweetie is such a grand age! She is doing so well. I hope she is doing ok. Is she eating ok and her teeth all there? If she's eating her normal hamster mix and chew sticks etc she probably doesn't have any problems with her teeth but they can still get toothache or arthritis so it can help to supplement with some healthy treats and soft food like porridge or baby food, which they tend to love. It's important to still give the regular hamster mix daily as it's part of their routine to forage, pouch and hoard it (even if they're not actually eating much of it).

So weigh her weekly. If her weight is stable then she is probably doing fine. If she is losing weight then high calorie supplements are good - hemp seeds are good for calories and also full of vitamins and minerals.

If you think she's having difficulty eating then I would give

1) Normal hamster mix as usual
2) 2 or 3 science selective pellets soaked in a drop of boiled water (to make them mushy)
3) A pinch of hemp seeds and a pinch of linseeds - put them on a separate dish like a jar food lid - they just lick them up
4) A bit of baby food or porridge on a teaspoon maybe every 2 or 3 days as a treat

@elusive and @Daisy may have some more tips for supplementary foods specifically for dwarf hamsters.

 

[Daisy]

Here are a few treat/supplementary foods I have used or can recommend:
- Malt paste e.g from Beaphar or GimCat - this is high in fat and some vitamins
- Dreamies Creamy (there are also other brands of the same kind of thing e.g Lick-e-Lix)
- Milled linseed/flaxseed - I would usually give whole linseeds as Maz suggested but milled seeds can be helpful if they are having trouble eating. You can feed it dry for them to lick up or mix with a little water.
- VetCal Pro Gel - this is a very high calorie syrup with vitamins and minerals. I consider it more of a medical supplement really as it's not something I give as a treat (especially as it has sugar in it). I only use with an actively sick animal.
- Nut or seed butters, but you should only ever give these spread thinly on something for her to lick up, never as a lump she can hold and this is a choking and pouch impaction hazard.
- Oily fish like sardines

Some dwarf hamsters do unfortunately die rather young (around 18 months) but others can do really well and live to 2.5 or even a bit older, so if Sweetie still looks quite good there's every chance she could go on for several months yet.

 

[Lorena]

Thank you guys!
I am going to follow your suggestions
She is ok, still eating and drink her water and still very affectionate to me, every time she is awake and knows I’m in the room she come towards the gate cause she want me to pick her up

 

[Socks Mum]

Adorable!

 

[Maz]

That is really lovely.

 

[Lorena]

Hello,
Sweetie is doing fine, she is still here with me and she is eating and drinking and also sometimes still going on her wheel lol.
Thank you guys for your kind words!

 

[Maz]

She's beautiful And has all her fur

 

[Lorena]

She's beautiful And has all her fur

Yes she has

 

[Jain]

Hello,
Sweetie is doing fine, she is still here with me and she is eating and drinking and also sometimes still going on her wheel lol.
Thank you guys for your kind words!

Sweetie perfect name for her she really is a little Sweetie adorable