# How can I fatten up a Hamster



## Abi_Titch (Apr 1, 2009)

Hi there so I have two WW dwarf hamsters one has always been a tub tub the other has always been skinny. 
However the skinny one always eats well but recently he had a bought of mites which made his skin go all "scaly" and his fur really thin and now I can see just how skinny he is. 

I was wondering if there is anyway of getting him to putt a bit of weight on or if there is a treat that I can give that has quite a bit of fat in it? Like waxworms (i only say that as I feed him meal worm occasionally didnt know if you could feed them waxw)

He is also going to be 2 y/o in dec

Thanks Abi


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## lisadew24 (Jul 31, 2010)

What about giving him different types of nuts and seeds also you can give them dried mealworms


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## Abi_Titch (Apr 1, 2009)

there lots of seeds in his food. I feed him the Supa dwarf hamster mix. And it also has dried mealworms


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## johnre14 (Aug 30, 2012)

Maybe try separating them, the fat one might be bullying the other one, might find he puts on some weight if by himself.


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## Middleton Mouse (May 16, 2013)

johnre14 said:


> Maybe try separating them, the fat one might be bullying the other one, might find he puts on some weight if by himself.


This also I tend to feed my hamsters a little porridge or organic baby food (minus onions and garlic) if I have a poorly hamster.


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## Abi_Titch (Apr 1, 2009)

thanks wont the porridge get stuck in pouch as it says not to feed them bananas for this reason?


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

At 2 he will be dropping condition anyway because hes basically an old man. Seeds will fatten him up a fair amount


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## Spideypidey (Jan 23, 2014)

Some hamsters are fat, some are thin and some are "just right" just like us humans and there is no real way around that. When in old age hamsters tend to lose weight and there's no real way around that.

You might take a look at the intake of carbohydrate and fat: Where the intake of carbohydrate is low and the intake of fat is high the effect is the opposite of what we would expect it to be and weight loss is the result. That's how the Atkins diet for humans works.

Hamsters don't need so much protein in old age and too much protein combined with too little carbohydrate can lead to kidney damage. That's the main problem in feeding seeds and meal worms to promote weight gain: In feeding those you are also increasing protein in the diet. Probably carbohydrate is a better idea than protein but be careful with carbohydrate if you suspect that your hamster is diabetic, a particular problem with dwarf hamsters.

I know this is posted late in answer to the OP but I hope it helps someone.


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## KingElf (Sep 23, 2013)

Abi_Titch said:


> thanks wont the porridge get stuck in pouch as it says not to feed them bananas for this reason?


Porridge oats is brilliant for hamsters.
The hamsterlopedia book is well worth reading : victory:, towy vale hamstery states in the book ... elderly hamsters can greatly profit from supplements of milky foods and mashes, when fed to there elderly hamsters contributed to there longevity by providing them easily digestible gluten (porridge oats / and milk)

my wife feeds her Syrians baby food porridge as a supplement (once a week) to there regular hamster food , one of them is nearly the size of a guinea pig :lol2:
link to book here --> Hamsterlopaedia: Amazon.co.uk: Chris Logsdail, Pete Logsdail, Kate Hovers: Books
hope this helps :2thumb:


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