Sick hamster

[ham_0u]

My Russian dwarf hamster has recently been losing weight on the daily (about 1gram everyday).
He used to weigh around 65-60gr and be very active and curious but only recently he started becoming very lethargic and eating much less.
In march I had to leave him in care to a family member for a month and when I got back that's when I noticed his weight had gone down from his usual 60s to 53 grams. He was still very active, running on his wheel every night and just doing his own things, but from then he had only dropped weight, at first only a couple grams every week but now it's almost daily.

His behavior changed too: he became very picky on his food. I used to feed him the dwarf mix from in the nature and he took it without issues, then I switched to a mix of the dwarf and syrian muesli mix from real nature and he still ate it willingly, supplementing all of these with a mix of mealworms, lactose free yogurt, fresh veggies and occasionally fruits as a treat. Then I tried the vitakraft hamster mix and that's where I noticed he'd rarely eat anything and only eat the fresh food I'd offer him. When he started losing more weight I decided to switch him back to his original mix, he has been eating it but it's only a little bit.
I've now supplemented him with chicken flavored baby food (Mellin) and he has been eating it, but he's still losing weight and becoming more lethargic.
I've tried anything to get his weight back on, but he started refusing treats he used to love or just being uninterested (various nuts, seeds, egg...).
He's now dropped to 35grams and I'm very worried for the worst...

Again, I've checked with vets but none take exotic pets.

 

[Maz]

35g does seem quite low. How old is he? I would maybe leave out the fruit as some russian dwarfs develop diabetes so avoiding sugars (even fruit sugars) is best. You could maybe check his urine - you can buy ketodiastix on amazon (or maybe at a pharmacy) - the same ones used for humans - they can show if there's sugar in the urine (although if there is, you can sometimes smell it). It's always hard to know how much they actually eat because they tend to only eat from their hoards, which we don't see. And he may still be eating but losing weight for some other reason.

For weight gain, giving a pinch of hemp seeds daily can help - they are high calorie with healthy fats and also provide most of the vitamins and minerals needed. If you can find shelled hemp seeds, they are easier to eat (in case he has tooth ache and can't eat harder foods well). So that is the other thing - his teeth. Can you see if he has all his teeth or if they are overgrown? Eg when he yawns. If he can't eat hamster mix/hard food then he will lose weight.

 

[ham_0u]

He has been with me for a year but I think he's about a year and half now

 

[Maz]

Sorry I just edited/updated my post above Have another look.

 

[ham_0u]

I have checked his den too and I haven't seen him hoard any food. He usually only eats it directly from his bowl, I've never seen him pouch it very often, only when I offer him treats when I play with him outside of his cage

 

[ham_0u]

I will go buy a glucose test as soon as I can, I have noticed him drinking a lot so that might be the case. I'll cut off the fruit and keep giving him veggies.

 

[Maz]

So at 1.5 years he is officially in the "old age" bracket. And weight loss can be caused by many things as mentioned above. Diabetes, toothache, missing teeth, overgrown front teeth, or something else. Can you get science selective hamster food? That is an all in one pellet food and it can be softened so it's like a mush they can eat easily and ensure they get the nutrients needed - and easier to eat if he has tooth or jaw ache.

 

[Maz]

I will go buy a glucose test as soon as I can, I have noticed him drinking a lot so that might be the case. I'll cut off the fruit and keep giving him veggies.

Drinking a lot is fairly normal when they get older - their kidneys don't function as well. Usually drinking more and peeing more, but they can still be well, healthy and active and it's just a symptom really.

 

[Maz]

I would get some science selective and some shelled hemp seeds if you can. To ensure he's getting the nutrition. Still keep putting his regular hamster mix out as well, because even if they don't eat it, they like the familiarity of it being there and having the option! It is very unusual if he isn't hoarding at all as that is a normal behaviour. How often does he get cleaned out?

 

[ham_0u]

Yes I can try getting the pellet food for him. It will take a while to get here tho because I haven't seen it in stores so I have to order it and I'm worried that his health will deteriorate further :,(

I usually clean the cage every couple weeks, I simply remove half of his substrate and leave half of the old one so he doesn't stress out.
I've never seen him hoard very much food, maybe a little bit when he was healthy and chubbier but it has never been much, mostly just treats and maybe a few smaller seeds.
Even then I mostly remove the pee and poop from his den and leave his treats and old bedding in it.

 

[Maz]

Which country are you in? If it's hard to get hold of the Science selective? There may be something else to suggest instead in that case. I would try cleaning him out less often. You only really need to spot clean the pee area mostly, providing he has plenty of bedding/substrate. The more bedding they have, the less often you need to clean out.

As for checking his teeth - sometimes it's a case of waiting to see them yawn Do you see that very often? If you don;t, then when holding him you could gently lift the side of his cheeks up a bit so you can see. Don't fully scruff as that can distress them and also be harmful if not done correctly. The easiest way is to have another person there, with a camera, in front of the hamster, so when you gently pull the cheeks up at the sides, they can snap a photo and it's all done quickly! Then look at the photo and see what his teeth look like.

 

[ham_0u]

I'm in Italy, I just ordered the pellets and they should arrive on Monday!
I've checked his teeth and they look pretty normal (his lower incisors are about double the length of the top ones). The only thing I can notice is that they're slightly yellow/white-ish.
I'm cleaning his cage much less often now and only spot cleaning the pee. Since he isn't very active it's not very messy.

I also noticed just this morning that his left eye was closed and a bit sticky, he doesn't seem bothered by it but I'm worried it might be some kind of infection. It appeared suddenly and I decided to clean it with a clean soaked cotton stick. He managed to open it but whenever he goes back to sleep I find him with his eye closed again.

 

[Maz]

That's good if they arrive on Monday It's normal for the teeth to look yellow And the bottom ones should be longer than the top. It is the bottom ones that can get overgrown, especially when they get older, if they don't chew as much (they can get toothache just like us!). If they get too long it can stop them opening their mouth properly to be able to eat. You could test this by giving him something like a monkey nut (peanut in its shell) and see if he can open his mouth enough to pick it up in his teeth. If he can then that's good. I usually make a starter hole in a monkey nut to get them going on it!

A sticky eye is also really normal when they get older, and you did the right thing, bathing it so it opens again. It might keep doing it. It shouldn't be infected unless it looks swollen or there is a lot of discharge.

 

[ham_0u]

Ok, I will keep cleaning him and check on him often.

I often offer him whole peanuts, I slightly crush it open and leave it so he can peel it out himself. He doesn't really like peanuts but the peanut skin haha, but I find the peanut shell empty by the morning.
I see him peel sunflower seeds but he takes much longer to do it compared to before.

 

[Maz]

So when you get the science selective pellets, put maybe 3 or 4 of them on a little dish (I use a baby food jar lid) close together and just drop a drop or two of boiled kettle water on them. Then leave it to cool - might take 10 to 15 minutes. By which time they will have gone all soft. If you put too much water on they go far too mushy and almost like liquid. It doesn't have to be boiling water either. It can be water that's been boiled in a kettle earlier and cooled down. It still takes about 10 minutes to go soft, whatever the temperature of the water! And put that out each day, as well as his usual hamster mix. And a pinch of shelled hemp seeds somewhere else, separately. I put those on another baby food lid or you could just put them directly on a house roof or platform - somewhere he'll find them. They tend to just lick them up. The hemp seeds will help with weight gain and general health. The soaked science selective is more to just make sure they're getting all the nutrition, if he's being picky with his hamster mix.

So it's time for softened food perhaps, to make sure he gets what's needed. You can also occasionally give a bit of porridge, or softly scrambled egg (very soft so easy to eat) or a bit of baby food - as treats or extras. With baby food you want to get the age 4 months one as they usually have less strong ingredients - so no onion, garlic, pepper or spices. Or the chicken one you're using sounds ok as well

 

[Maz]

Ok, I will keep cleaning him and check on him often.

I often offer him whole peanuts, I slightly crush it open and leave it so he can peel it out himself. He doesn't really like peanuts but the peanut skin haha, but I find the peanut shell empty by the morning.
I see him peel sunflower seeds but he takes much longer to do it compared to before.

Ok it doesn't have to be a peanut in his shell - just something a similar size, or any nut (eg half a shelled walnut) and just watch him to see if he can open his mouth enough to pick it up.

 

[Maz]

What veg does he like? And can you get parsley (the flat leaf parsley is easy to give). A parsley leaf once a week helps control/prevent diabetes apparently.

 

[Maz]

What is his name?

 

[ham_0u]

So when you get the science selective pellets, put maybe 3 or 4 of them on a little dish (I use a baby food jar lid) close together and just drop a drop or two of boiled kettle water on them. Then leave it to cool - might take 10 to 15 minutes. By which time they will have gone all soft. If you put too much water on they go far too mushy and almost like liquid. It doesn't have to be boiling water either. It can be water that's been boiled in a kettle earlier and cooled down. It still takes about 10 minutes to go soft, whatever the temperature of the water! And put that out each day, as well as his usual hamster mix. And a pinch of shelled hemp seeds somewhere else, separately. I put those on another baby food lid or you could just put them directly on a house roof or platform - somewhere he'll find them. They tend to just lick them up. The hemp seeds will help with weight gain and general health. The soaked science selective is more to just make sure they're getting all the nutrition, if he's being picky with his hamster mix.

So it's time for softened food perhaps, to make sure he gets what's needed. You can also occasionally give a bit of porridge, or softly scrambled egg (very soft so easy to eat) or a bit of baby food - as treats or extras. With baby food you want to get the age 4 months one as they usually have less strong ingredients - so no onion, garlic, pepper or spices. Or the chicken one you're using sounds ok as well

Ok, thank you!
I have tried making hamster porridge from his mix for him but he's very picky and sometimes he refuses to eat it. He doesn't like scrambled eggs either or boiled egg yolk, he has always been quite picky with these things.

For veggies I give him salad leaves, spinach, green beans, peas, pumpkin, tomatoes, etc.. but so far he has liked salad, beans and peas the most. He has never been too much of a fan of fruits or anything sweet. I've tried giving him parsley before but he didn't like it and left it on the side.

Also his name is pookie .

 

[Maz]

Pookie sounds like he has selective tastes I think anything chicken flavoured (eg baby foods or the one you use) is usually popular! Salad leaves aren't the most nutritious or best for digestion, and tomato is technically a fruit - but cucumber, broccoli, beans and peas are all fine. Spinach in moderation. Does he like cucumber? they all seem to! You have to be a bit careful with tomato anyway - if it's ripe it's ok but if it's a bit green it can be toxic. Does he like pine nuts?