weak hamster

Question
Hi Sheila,

     My female hamster just gave birth but as soon as I found her with her litter, I wasn't sure if she ate them all or even how many there were in the litter.  But after she gave birth, she is now very very weak.  She lost a lot of weight but she apparently is very thirsty all the time.  Is there anything I can do to make her stronger and make her gain back her weight?  What do you think happened to her?

Answer
Hi

Sorry to hear about your hamster.

You can give her human baby food and/or Complan.  If you give her human baby food, the powdered variety is best (creamy porridge oats is always a favorite) as a packet lasts longer than the jar food which needs to be discarded every day or two.  Mix a small amount with water and give to her night and morning - this has lots of extra nutrients.  If you give her Complan, mix with water - this is because milk can be indigestible.  if you want to give her milk - get the cat milk as this is better for her. You can drop small pieces of bread in this or baby rusks - discard any that isn't eaten daily otherwise it will go bad and make ill.  Keep feeding her the usual hamster mix, along with fresh vegetables every evening and nuts, seeds etc.

You can also buy vitamin drops that are specially designed for small animals - these are usually added to the drinking water.

Monitor the amount of water she is drinking.  It is possible she is diabetic.  This is very common in dwarf Campbells, but Syrians can suffer from it too.  In which case they drink loads and pee all the time.  If this is the case, you want to cut out any sugary food - such as treats, some of the hamster mixes have dried fruit which she won't be able to have so you'll need to get a different brand, any dried or fresh fruit.  Hopefully if this is what is wrong with her she might be able to stabilize her sugar levels.  One of mine is diabetic and she's managed to balance it herself.

Another reason for drinking excessively is kidney problems or tumors.  If she continues to lose weight and keeps drinking then I would suggest you get her to a vet so that they can rule out these possibilities.

Sometimes hamsters eat/kill their young for no real reason.  If they are frightened, ill (or the litter is sick) or if they think there isn't enough food etc. can cause them to kill them.  But there isn't always an explanation.  It could be that your hamster isn't well and that the pregnancy has sapped all her strength and she knew she wouldn't be able to cope with the litter.  It is very sad, but unfortunately part of nature.

Hope you get on OK.

Regards

Hi

Just seen your comment on my response.  I didn't mean to scare you with my answer - I just wanted to be realistic as there is clearly something wrong.  Hopefully your vet will be able to put your mind at ease - a quick examination from him should be able to confirm if there is something to worry about.

Hope it all turns out OK.
Regards