Saffron

What diet is she on out of interest? Fingers crossed the extra protein helps. Yes it's unusual if her nails are soft so good thinking. Do you give linseeds as well? I find a pinch of those a day works wonders for hair growth as well - noticeable after about two weeks. I put them on a separate dish and they just lick them up. I think a lack of b vitamins or iron can cause hair loss as well. Whether it's her diet or the fact she's not processing nutrients is a possibility as well. But hopefully things will improve with dietary changes. I'm wondering if it might be an idea to add two or three science selective pellets to her daily food as well? They contain everything needed and hamsters usually really like them.
 
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I feed the bunny nature dwarf hamster food with some science selective pellets alongside, then a small selection of whatever veggies the guinea pigs get each day/every other day depending on what it is, then twice a week I give something for more protein so dried insects, cottage cheese, quail egg, chicken etc but I've added extra science selective pellets and changed the extra protein item to 3xs a week. Once a week/every other week I do a small amount of porridge or natural yoghurt with brewers yeast and linseed mixed in.

The only thing different is I used to give Orsa and Pasha the occasional safe dog biscuit but I ended up throwing the ones I had away because the cat kept getting into them 🤦‍♀️
 
The Bunny nature food is quite low in protein, only about 15% I think, I would give extra protein daily with that mix so she gets all she needs every day, it only needs to be a fairly small amount of protein food usually but better a smaller amount daily than giving it every few days, if she eats enough of the science selective then she might be getting adequate protein from that but if she eats more of the seed mix then probably better to give more of the protein foods.
 
Will do, I figured I'd start slowly as I'd imagine too much protein is just as bad as too little, she does seem to love the science selective pellets as she usually picks out those first, but no problem giving her a small amount of something every day, she certainly enjoys her food.. being a little chubby I've tried reducing her food intake a little while trying to up the protein but she's only lost a couple grams, she definitely doesn't look as chubby when comparing the pictures of her belly though.
Thinking about it, I used to also occasionally feed a mix from rat rations which had dried shrimp in it.. I haven't seen it available for a while. I wonder if she would enjoy shrimp 🤔
 
A lot of Russian hams do enjoy the dried shrimps so she might well enjoy those, they’re a bit lower in fat than mealworms too.
Russian hams can look a bit round & chubby but rarely get overweight really so I wouldn’t try to reduce her food, as long as she doesn’t get too many fatty treats she should be fine.
It’s a bit difficult to know how much extra protein she might need when she’s having the science selective with her mix but just a small amount of protein food daily isn’t likely to be too much, it’s mainly when they get older & their kidneys don’t tend to function quite so well that too much protein can be a problem.
 
Good to know! She was 61g which is well over what I'd seen most as 😅 and the vet mentioned she was a little chunky if I remember right so I figured I'd try to get a little off before it also started to cause problems. I'm hoping now she's had a change of diet she will have more energy, as it seems to be inactivity rather than too much food causing her weight to be on the higher side. She only uses her wheel to pee and nap in, I've drawn a line on the top of it to see if it ever moves and it's only once in a blue moon these days. I've been persevering with the play pen though to get her active which she seems to be getting used to as long as I dont try to touch or pick her up.
 
61g isn’t that high for a Russian, they do vary a lot though & can be anything from around 40-80g roughly, it does sound more like inactivity than food if she doesn’t use her wheel, it’s good that she’s getting used to playpen time more now.
Have you thought about trying a different wheel? It might not make any difference but some do seem to have preferences for the type of wheel they’re more comfortable using.
If she’s getting more protein now she may become a bit more active & should get a bit stronger so she might start using it more.
It might take a bit of time to see a marked difference in her with the diet change but hopefully things will keep improving for her now.
 
Yes I was considering getting her a bigger wheel, possibly a wooden one, the toys and houses she seems to like most are wooden so maybe she dislikes plastic for some reason? At the moment she has a 21cm one, but I've been looking at the niteangel ones, theirs seem much nicer for them to use.
 
My dwarf hamster loves his Niteangel wheel. He has a 10 inch acrylic one. :)
 
The Bunny Dream Dwarf mix is a really nice one :-) As Elusive says, the protein is a bit low - but I'm sure you'll find various options for supplementing it. You can buy dried shrimps on amazon. But chopped hard boiled egg is an option as well as other things. The fact she's been eating the science selective pellets as well, she probably has been getting all the nutrients. I can't remember how old she is? If she's under a year, they do need a lot of protein. After a year old, the Bunny Dream mix is about right.
 
She would have just turned a year old if I remember right, maybe just over? She loves her quails eggs, not sure if they have more or less protein than chicken eggs though. I must admit, since my gecko passed I have stopped buying waxworms.. maybe I should treat her to some of those, too. The others loved those.

I was hoping she might be a bit better tempered as the hair grew back but she's still as spicy as ever 🤣 never mind.
 
Oh dear! Yes if she's over a year old then you'd think the mix plus science selective and eggs would be enough protein. It could still be a hormonal issue. Vitamin B deficiency can cause soft nails and hair loss as well - but you think she'd be getting that from her diet as well. I think hormonal issues can cause vitamin b deficiency. Such a shame vets can't do a blood sample on hamsters. Peas are good for vitamin b though so maybe she'd like peas as veg?
 
Eriathwen said:
She would have just turned a year old if I remember right, maybe just over? She loves her quails eggs, not sure if they have more or less protein than chicken eggs though. I must admit, since my gecko passed I have stopped buying waxworms.. maybe I should treat her to some of those, too. The others loved those.

I was hoping she might be a bit better tempered as the hair grew back but she's still as spicy as ever 🤣 never mind.
Click to expand...
"She's still as spicy as ever".
Made me laugh 🤣
 
I can definitely get her some peas, I usually grow them in the warmer months so that won't be a problem, she can have some pea shoots as well if she likes them.
 
Even at over a year especially if she’s only just over she could still need. more protein, if the problems she’s had are related to the protein in her diet then she will have had a deficiency for some time so I would continue to keep topping it up as you are.
Her diet is pretty good really so it does seem unlikely that she would have other deficiencies really.
Waxworms do have a good amount of protein & usually less fat than mealworms so that would be a good option if she likes them, quails eggs are higher in nutrients all round than hens eggs so she’s doing well there!
 
On second thoughts, apparently diebrain says peas aren't very digestible for dwarf hamsters! I'll see what Elusive thinks.
 
How is Saffron doing? :-) And your piggies?
 
Saffron is doing well, thanks for asking! Still a little ghost ham but I've seen her from time to time and her belly is still looking pretty good! I have totally stepped back with taming for now, although she does still go in her playpen when I have the time as she does seem to have started to enjoy that quite a bit.

Unfortunately the piggies have been quite hit and miss, we lost poor Pumpkin during a dental procedure to an unknown heart issue, but she was an older lady so while it was gutting, it was at least not totally unexpected and I had been considering euthenasia due to her dental issues already, sadly.
Mabel has had a whole heap of diagnostics done from bloodwork, fecal tests etc to ultrasounds and xrays and drug trials of sulfasalazine and metronidazole to try to get on top of her issues which has provided us with some answers but unfortunately no real resolution. But her spine is causing her pain and the nerves that deal with her intestines are likely not working properly causing her malabsorption issues. But we are managing her on higher pain meds and she's not too bad.
Our elderly lady Tilly who will (hopefully) be 9 in August has an abscess under her jaw which we're currently trying to deal with.. and one of my lethal whites Forrest hasn't quite been himself and went for bloodwork which showed he had an infection somewhere so he's on soke incredibly nice smelling banana flavoured antibiotic 😅 it's the veterinary equivalent to the children's Septrin I believe.

Plus Pippin and possibly Bailey have bladder stones, and Pippin may also have ovarian cysts so potentially some surgeries coming up.

So..its been considerably busy!! Not to mention my vet has left, it was his last day on the 27th which was incredibly sad, but I still have the exotics specialist for now and once he settles in a new practice, I'll find him 🤣 I don't care if I have to travel lol but yeah.. a somewhat stressful time!
 
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How lovely to hear Saffron's belly is healing. It is really nice she enjoys her playpen now.

I am so sorry Pumpkin passed away. Although it was unexpected I know it will still hurt. Poor Mable. It is so difficult not to have a resolution. Tilly is a wonderful age! I hope the abscess can be treated. I hope Forest gets better soon. Luckily he will enjoy his medication.

Bladder stones are such a nightmare as are ovarian cysts. I hope the surgeries all go well.

Oh no! Your vet is amazing so what a shame they have left. You have such a lot going on.
 
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