How To Fatten Up A Skinny Hamster?

A hamster’s weight might change frequently. However, weight loss that occurs quickly or suddenly indicates an issue that must be resolved.

Nutritional deficiencies and underfeeding cause hamsters to grow skinny. Diseases like renal inflammation and wet tail may be the reason for the underweight.

Similarly, if the hamsters’ teeth grow out long, then it will make it difficult for your hamster to consume. Hamsters can also lose weight as a result of their increased exercise. The little fur balls are

Since hamsters are available in various sizes and forms, it can be challenging to determine whether they are losing weight. Ask a veterinarian to examine your hamster if you notice it has lost weight.

Since they are low-risk pets, hamsters are a preferred option for most Americans. They are not immune to many diseases, though. Weighing your hamster on the weighing scales is the simplest way to check whether it has a healthy weight.

Weighing your hamsters weekly will allow you to monitor their rapid growth and determine whether they are suddenly becoming underweight.

By observing how your hamster seems and feels, you can also tell if it’s underweight. Hamsters shouldn’t have any obvious boniness. Next time you handle your hamster, give its shoulders, ribcage, and back a little massage. Your hamster is underweight if you can sense a skeleton rather than a soft layer of flesh.

The popular hamster species that are common in the US are Syrian (120-200g), Roborovski (25-30g), Chinese (30-45g), Winter White (30-45g), and Campbell’s (30-45g). The average weights of these species are written next to them.

Furthermore, pet hamsters are typically smaller due to their upbringing, but pedigree and wild hamsters are larger. Additionally, female hamsters often have bigger body sizes than males.

Table of Contents

How To Fatten Up a Skinny Hamster?

Here we will identify the reasons for the weight loss and provide solutions to overcome the issues and fatten a hamster.

Give It Time

Typically, hamsters are not thin. If your newcomer is underweight, it’s likely that they unknowingly went without nourishment while they waited for you to rescue them. It may not have received the nutrition required if it lived in a more competitive surrounding, or it might have been under stress and unable to eat.

Furthermore, the change in surroundings might affect the hamster, and they may experience tension while getting used to the new home for a few days. However, their appetite should increase as they settle down and feel more at ease. A hamster must have a healthy diet for the rest of its life, not just for the honeymoon period.

Treats For The Hamsters

The occasional treat is something hamsters adore, and they will gladly pack their pouches with these goodies to stash away for a future munch. Your skinny friend might get more mass from cat treats and dog biscuits.

Furthermore, the biscuits for dogs, in particular, will assist the hamster’s teeth in getting ground down. A few more calories may also be added into the hamster’s diet by yogurt snacks explicitly developed for them, but they should only be given in moderation.

These treats frequently include a lot of sugar, which can harm your hamster’s teeth and cause diabetes if consumed excessively.

Add Protein To The Diet

Protein is a fundamental component of a healthy diet for hamsters. Most pet shops and feed retailers sell pre-prepared and packaged hamster food, which ought to include protein and carbs, fats, vitamins, and even minerals.

The extra protein found in hard-boiled eggs, a small number of mealworms, or cooked chicken may help your slender pal gain a little weight. A thin hamster could require some assistance bulking up.

When giving eggs or chicken, carefully discard any unconsumed leftovers. Food that has gone bad will make our small companion ill.

Diseases That Can Cause Weight Loss in Hamsters

Cheek Pouches

Food fragments get lodged here, making the rodent unable to remove them independently.

Since cheek pouches lack salivary glands, they become clogged with sticky meals like wet spaghetti or dry nesting ingredients, which leads to severe abscesses and infections. Hamsters lose weight as a result of their eating difficulties.

Cheek impaction is easier to detect because people can see the pouches. Furthermore, their necks and heads become swollen, and saliva is produced excessively.

These issues, along with the weight loss, are the clear symptoms of cheek impaction, so you’ll have to assist in emptying the cheek pouches so that your hamster can start eating again.

To remove any food that may be stuck, gently rub the cheek bags. Load a syringe with warm water to flush your hamster’s mouth, then squeeze it gently into the animal’s mouth.

Mouth Obstructions

Similar to the pouches in the cheeks, the obstructions in the mouth or the airway make hamsters thinner; mouth and airway blockages can also be more harmful.

Hamsters can get caught while attempting to pouch big nuts or inedible objects, which prevents them from eating. It would help if you moved quickly to stop your hamster from choking or suffocating on the impediment.

Wet Tail

Wet tail is a dangerous ailment that most frequently affects Syrian hamsters between the ages of three and six months and older hamsters who are simply too weak to groom themselves.

An increase in germs brings it on as a result of:

Unhygienic circumstances
Inflammations of the GI tract
Stress
dietary deficiencies
Travel-related illnesses that need antibiotic treatment

The hamster can’t get the nutrients from their food because Wet Tail repeatedly produces diarrhea.

Hamsters will starve to death and lose significant weight if they don’t receive early veterinarian care, which often entails a week-long antibiotic treatment. Sadly, 90% of the time, a wet tail results in death. Also, it would be best to change the bedding of the hamster.

ConstipationHow to Make Your Pet Hamster Skinny

Constipated hamsters lose their desire to eat, leading to weight loss. They also seem exhausted.

Constipation is typically brought on by:

Parasites in the intestines, like tapeworms
Blockages brought on by fibers or bedding
A section of the intestines curls into itself during intussusception.

If your hamster suddenly becomes thinner and stops eating, have it examined by a veterinarian immediately because this illness can be deadly?

Other Issues

Hamsters frequently get sick, and one typical side effect of illness is weight loss. Rodents are prey species. Thus, they conceal their illness to avoid getting devoured by predators. Sometimes weight loss from such a poor appetite is the only indication that the hamster is ill.

Even though some ailments go away, hamsters can develop several serious illnesses, such as kidney infections.

Nephritis, often known as renal inflammation, is typical in older female hamsters, according to the MSD Veterinary Manual. Hamsters exposed to it lose weight, consume too much water, and urinate more frequently than usual.

Common causes of kidney inflammation include:

Viral contamination
A high renal blood pressure level
Immune system conditions

Although the illness worsens over time, several therapies are available, including an antibiotic course, fluids, or a vitamin B complex.

How To Make A Hamster Fatter

Here are some of the techniques that you can regularly use to ensure that your hamster gains weight:

It relies on what you give him to eat. Your hamster will gain weight if you feed it a diet high in nuts and sweets.
Whenever it does not work out enough, it will gain weight if it doesn’t have a wheel to run on, an exercising ball, or any other type of exercise.
When you feed them excessively, they can gain weight. Anything more than two teaspoons of dry chow will be too much for an adult Syrian hamster.
You can add a teaspoonful to her regular mixture if you have plain, unflavored oatmeal in the house. A rich amount of iron is found in sunflowers, pumpkins, and nuts (but not almonds, which are poisonous).

Conclusion

Your little friends need a lot of care and observation. If they are malnourished or underweight, some serious issues might not be detected. They are little creatures always happy in solitary, so it is easier for pet owners to observe slight changes in their pet’s behavior.

Your hamster may be the energy ball, but with any of these underlying causes, it will be difficult to fatten it up. Furthermore, a proper protein diet, treats, and even clean bedding can stimulate hunger in hamsters, so be sure to keep these important aspects in mind while tending to your pets.