my golden hampster is overwieght!!!

Question
my golden hampster (Paris) is overweight and i know i should not take away her bowl of food but i try to give her little amounts at a time...but everytime i give her the bowl of food she knocks it over and im not positive if shes eating it after she knocks it over,,,or if the food is just going under the bedding....her butt is getting to the point were she can not even hardly walk any more..about a month ago she used to be all over the place and i could not keep up with her...now she can't even get up off her back...i just recently took away her wheel and im not sure that is the reason..but i took it away because it was stinking really bad and it stunk even when i washed it out GOOD! i really need a suggestion about this.......thanx

~~~~~~~Lexus

Answer
Hi Lexus,

All hamsters need an exercise wheel to stop them from getting over weight and also to stop them from becoming bored.  Try to use a pet disenfectant to wash the wheel out every two days and that should stop it from smelling.

Most Syrian hamsters will hoard all of their food in their nesting or sleeping area so it is always difficult to judge how much food they have.

Giving your hamster a small handful of food every two days will be plenty to stop him from starving and will not be too much either so keep his food down for the next few weeks and give him back his wheel and his weight should come down to normal.

Also, do not give him any treats either until his weight has gone down.

If the above doesnt work after a few weeks then he could have some sort of medical problem so it will be best to take him to the vets just to get him checked out and to be one the safe side.

Kind Regards,

Tammy