A simple yet surprising advice from a Markham veterinary clinic.
Hamsters are special little rodents. They are nocturnal, meaning their main activity is during the night. If you can’t sleep because your little hammy is spinning its wheel at two o’clock am, then rest assured (this pun is funny intended), your hammy is doing well on his exercise program.
But how can you tell whether your hamster is actually eating?
The obvious answer: If hammy goes to the dish and takes the seeds, grains, pellets and puts them in the mouth he must be eating? Wrong. Veterinarians with experience with pocket pets in Markham know that Hamsters have
cheek pouches. These are basically shopping bags where they carry their food home to their private storage pile. This storage is often in the hamster house where s/he spends her day sleeping.
Hamsters carry not only food but even their newborns in the pouches if necessary.
The only way you can tell whether he ate is looking for the droppings. Hamsters should have a lot of them. Dark green, soft, and slightly elongated. Markham veterinarians as well as veterinarians elsewhere therefore recommend to bring your hamster to the appointment in his original cage with food, bedding and all belongings (before you clean out the cage). It gives us so much information.
Fecal pellets can also be palpated by an experienced veterinarian and x-rays can show them as well.
If you found this blog informative, please share it with your friends on Facebook. Please call us at our veterinary clinic on Highway 7 at (905)477-2323 for any questions or search for more articles on our website: http://unionvet.ca/resources/client-education/
Your Careteam
Animal Hospital of Unionville, a veterinary clinic on Hwy 7, serving all pets in Markham, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, Stouffville, and North York since 1966. We are your family vets for dogs, cats, pocket pets (rabbits, chinchillas, gerbils, mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, skinny pigs, etc.), ferrets, and birds (budgies, cockatiel, parrots, amazon, cockatoo, love birds, conures, African greys, finches, canaries, etc.).
Disclaimer: No part of this website constitutes medical advice. Readers are advised to consult with their veterinarian.
