OP
OP
She was the last one in her section so ive no idea what she was with. Maybe she got a full bowl of food to herself avery night and ate through boredom.
My New Friend
- Thread starter black angel
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RandomWiktor
Rabid Betta Activist
What is she being fed? If it is a seed mix, that could explain her obesity - if it is obesity, and not pregnancy. I would suggest moving her to a high quality lab block, such as those made by Mazuri or Zupreme. It should help get her weight down, will be more nutritionally complete, and will help keep her teeth down. 
If she is preggers, you can sometimes see prominent teats, esp. if she is this far along. Might be worth checking for. If she does have babies, make sure she has plenty of nesting material and even more privacy. A dark, warm, quiet area of the house would be ideal. When cleaning, you don't want to directly touch the babies; if you can scoop out most of the dirty litter without even removing the nest, that would be best. If you need to remove the babies, get the scent of the mother and the bedding all over your hands, then scoop the whole nest out and put it in a secure container until the cleaning is over - maybe without the mother so she doesn't munch on 'em while they're in the container together. Good luck!
If she is preggers, you can sometimes see prominent teats, esp. if she is this far along. Might be worth checking for. If she does have babies, make sure she has plenty of nesting material and even more privacy. A dark, warm, quiet area of the house would be ideal. When cleaning, you don't want to directly touch the babies; if you can scoop out most of the dirty litter without even removing the nest, that would be best. If you need to remove the babies, get the scent of the mother and the bedding all over your hands, then scoop the whole nest out and put it in a secure container until the cleaning is over - maybe without the mother so she doesn't munch on 'em while they're in the container together. Good luck!
fish_fetish65
Fish Crazy
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actually, at 11 weeks, and being the only one in the cage, it's not unusual for a hamster to be that large. i work at petsmart, and most of our hamsters are... slightly overweight, to put it nicely. 
in pet stores, it's difficult for them to get much exercise, and they spend most of the time sleeping or bothering one another. i have seen hamsters much larger than this one, even those that are younger than 11 weeks. i wouldn't worry, really. there's the possibility that she's pregnant, but it is an unlikely one. i have seen pregnant hamsters before, and that hamster doesn't look pregnant to me. however, i could be wrong. the pictures may not do the situation justice.
either way, i would just keep an eye on her. she is quite adorable. as for baby hamster care, the mother does most of it until they get older... then she will start to fight with them, and they will start to fight one another. at that point, you will have to sell them or separate them.
good luck!
-ash
in pet stores, it's difficult for them to get much exercise, and they spend most of the time sleeping or bothering one another. i have seen hamsters much larger than this one, even those that are younger than 11 weeks. i wouldn't worry, really. there's the possibility that she's pregnant, but it is an unlikely one. i have seen pregnant hamsters before, and that hamster doesn't look pregnant to me. however, i could be wrong. the pictures may not do the situation justice.
either way, i would just keep an eye on her. she is quite adorable.
as for baby hamster care, the mother does most of it until they get older... then she will start to fight with them, and they will start to fight one another. at that point, you will have to sell them or separate them. good luck!
-ash
OP
OP
Had her out for a wander tonight to stretch her legs a bit and get used to us.
Ive had a feel and a look and her belly feels soft to me and no prominent nipples so it may be that she is just a tellytubby but will keep close tabs on her. Will check her again in a couple of days time.
I dont know what she was fed at the store just a general mix so im feeding her roughly the same but not a bowlful each night, and theres no sunflowers in it either.
Thank you everyone thats replied and I will update if anything happens
Ive had a feel and a look and her belly feels soft to me and no prominent nipples so it may be that she is just a tellytubby but will keep close tabs on her. Will check her again in a couple of days time.
I dont know what she was fed at the store just a general mix so im feeding her roughly the same but not a bowlful each night, and theres no sunflowers in it either.
Thank you everyone thats replied and I will update if anything happens
LisaLQ
Fish Gatherer
She's ginormous, if she's not pregnant then she is certainly obese, and needs lots of play times and exercise (not those horrible balls though in this weather!).
But considering her origin (pet shop), I would think it was most likely she is pregnant - as 99% of the time, pet shops cant accurately sex their animals, and some just cant be bothered - knowing the babies will come back to them for free, for them to sell on for a profit.
Maybe I'm just a bit biased, personally I'd love to see the end of live animals sales in pet shops, potential buyer being passed on to reputable breeders or rescues. So many pets end up in rescues nowadays purely because they were impulse buys
Oooh heck, sorry for going all soft then...
But considering her origin (pet shop), I would think it was most likely she is pregnant - as 99% of the time, pet shops cant accurately sex their animals, and some just cant be bothered - knowing the babies will come back to them for free, for them to sell on for a profit.
Maybe I'm just a bit biased, personally I'd love to see the end of live animals sales in pet shops, potential buyer being passed on to reputable breeders or rescues. So many pets end up in rescues nowadays purely because they were impulse buys
Oooh heck, sorry for going all soft then...
You can supplement her diet with fresh fruit & veg as well as a small piece of bread soked in milk. Take out excess after couple of hours however otherwise will go off in current weather. This helps with the pregnancy by fattening her up + extra vitamins etc.
After they are born do the same but in smaller amounts.
After they are born do the same but in smaller amounts.
OP
OP
So far so good, no babies
Tokis-Phoenix
^_^
Syrian hamsters can grow quite large, if it is just overweight, make certain that her excercise wheel is more than big enough for her- many excercise wheels sold for hamsters are far too small (i have had to upgrade my hamsters wheels 3 times, they are now using guinea pig sized ones), as if the hamster is uncomfortable in it, it will refuse to excercise.
Syrian hamsters regulate their diet according to how much energy they burn, so it is important to make sure the hamster has a suitable sized excercise wheel and interesting cage to live in. You should also feed them veg every now and then (nothing with high sugar content in it), a couple of times a week is good- always make sure they have a full bowl of food.
You can also add a vitamin/mineral supliment to their water which can help a great deal in helping young hamsters develop healthy bones and coat, and help make sure older hamsters stay healthy and strong.
Try and let her have a run around every day for at least 10mins+, syrian hamsters can sometimes get fustrated being handled too much (although you should still make sure you handle the hamster regually none the less to keep it tame), so sometimes it is best just to take them out when they are awake (don't wake up hamsters to handle them as it can make them very grumpy, if you have to wake the hamster up, put some food by its house and let it come out in its own time) and let them run around a room while you keep an eye on their activities
.
Its best to have their cage in a quiet, cool room- they sleep a lot during the day time, and can suffer badly in the heat. It probably won't be a problem right now, but check your hamsters teeth to make sure they are not getting too long- always provide something for the hamster to chew on so its teeth don't get too long so it can't close its mouth.
Syrian hamsters regulate their diet according to how much energy they burn, so it is important to make sure the hamster has a suitable sized excercise wheel and interesting cage to live in. You should also feed them veg every now and then (nothing with high sugar content in it), a couple of times a week is good- always make sure they have a full bowl of food.
You can also add a vitamin/mineral supliment to their water which can help a great deal in helping young hamsters develop healthy bones and coat, and help make sure older hamsters stay healthy and strong.
Try and let her have a run around every day for at least 10mins+, syrian hamsters can sometimes get fustrated being handled too much (although you should still make sure you handle the hamster regually none the less to keep it tame), so sometimes it is best just to take them out when they are awake (don't wake up hamsters to handle them as it can make them very grumpy, if you have to wake the hamster up, put some food by its house and let it come out in its own time) and let them run around a room while you keep an eye on their activities
. Its best to have their cage in a quiet, cool room- they sleep a lot during the day time, and can suffer badly in the heat. It probably won't be a problem right now, but check your hamsters teeth to make sure they are not getting too long- always provide something for the hamster to chew on so its teeth don't get too long so it can't close its mouth.
OP
OP
Thanks for the info tokis
She is always waiting at around 10pm each night for her wander around. She gets about half an hour to an hour to exercise her legs. When I first got her she couldnt manage 10 minutes without lying down for a rest poor thing.
She is always waiting at around 10pm each night for her wander around. She gets about half an hour to an hour to exercise her legs. When I first got her she couldnt manage 10 minutes without lying down for a rest poor thing.
Tokis-Phoenix
^_^
Thanks for the info tokis
She is always waiting at around 10pm each night for her wander around. She gets about half an hour to an hour to exercise her legs. When I first got her she couldnt manage 10 minutes without lying down for a rest poor thing.
Glad to help and i hope she continues to thrive in your care
! She is a very pretty hamster, she looks almost identical to one of mine .Even though they may look ok on the outside, many young hamsters sold in petshops are not in the best of health, either from malnutrition or lack of excercise or even just general stress.
b.c.f.c
Fishaholic
if she is pregnant rhen you will be expecting babies any day now as syrians tend not to 'bulge' till the very last days of pregnancy, but i wouldnt say she is not pregnant 2bh and i deffinatly wouldnt say shes 11 weeks.
more like 6 to 12 months IMO but shes a rearly lovely looking hammy and dont over feed her and give her plenty of exercise so she loses some weight as she looks to be a little on the fat side lol o and plenty of fruit and veg etc will do her the world of good.
more like 6 to 12 months IMO but shes a rearly lovely looking hammy and dont over feed her and give her plenty of exercise so she loses some weight as she looks to be a little on the fat side lol o and plenty of fruit and veg etc will do her the world of good.
OP
OP
OP
OP
Instead of starting a new topic i wanted to keep it in one thread.
Honey never had babies and lost a lot of weight.
Recently she started breathing heavy and sleeping a lot. My son took her to the vet and he found a solid mass in her belly.
He asked my son if she had been passing poo recently and he said yes though he didnt know that she hadnt. He then told him it was probably a tumour pressing up into her lungs and that she would pass quickly.
If she hadnt been passing anything solid then he would say a blockage but didnt say or do anything more.
So my question is, as shes still eating i want to give her something that might make her go. Anyone think of anything? I can go to the shops and get something . Would peas work? we give them to our fish to get things moving.
just given her a piece of orange which she had a nibble of.
Honey never had babies and lost a lot of weight.
Recently she started breathing heavy and sleeping a lot. My son took her to the vet and he found a solid mass in her belly.
He asked my son if she had been passing poo recently and he said yes though he didnt know that she hadnt. He then told him it was probably a tumour pressing up into her lungs and that she would pass quickly.
If she hadnt been passing anything solid then he would say a blockage but didnt say or do anything more.
So my question is, as shes still eating i want to give her something that might make her go. Anyone think of anything? I can go to the shops and get something . Would peas work? we give them to our fish to get things moving.
just given her a piece of orange which she had a nibble of.
Bex
Fishaholic
Prunes are supposed to be a natural laxative for people. Perhaps try her with a small bit of prune? I have no idea if it works on animals but I have heard it suggested many times for people. It wouldn't hurt though. I've always been amazed at the peas and fish things, as peas don't have the same effect on people do they?
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