So lets talk about aging hamsters.
If you don't follow me on social media you may not know that Honey recently has started
slowing down and just showing a lot more elderly hamster signs.
Honey is 1.6 years old and if you didn't know hamsters on average live 1.5-2 years they
can live a little bit longer but now and days the average is pretty accurate.
Now just because your hamster is over 1.5 years old it doesn't necessarily mean they're
going to start showing elderly hamster signs, there are some hamsters who are two years
old and they still look a young hamster where as theres hamsters who just hit 1.5 and they
started to just look very scruffy and old it's kinda like human beings you can see an
80 year old and they may not even look 80 and you can see a 60 year old and they can
look.... like they're 90.
So it kind just depends on your genetics and so not every hamster is going to start showing
elderly hamster signs but when they get into that age range they are going to be slowing
down a bit more generally.
So some signs of a hamster that's starting to become elderly would include just lack
of activity, you may notice they're going to be sleeping more often or they might come
out for some food and some water and they might go back to their nest rather than run
on their wheel or they may just run on their wheel for a very short period of time and
then go back to sleep, you may also find your hamster sleeping in weird areas they might
fall asleep on the wheel or fall asleep just randomly in the middle of the cage it's a
pretty common thing to happen with elderly people, they kinda just get tired and they're
like "I'm gonna nap right here" so that is something that can happen as well.
Another thing is weight loss, now obviously you don't want a dramatic weight loss like
if your hamster loses 10 grams that's obviously not good but if you start to notice your hamster
is losing 1-2 grams over a long period of time that is normal because you just, you
start to lose your fat and muscle and you start to get smaller.
Another thing with elderly hamsters is hair thinning, this is another common thing you
kinda just- all old people start to not have long luscious hair you eventually start to
kinda thin out and bald out a bit so it is common for a hamster to start looking a little
bit more scruffy and not as young as they used to, their fur may not be shiny anymore.
Honey herself is actually looking a lot more scruffy she has started to thin out on her
face with her hair and the top of her head so you can see a bit more of her skin as well
as her skin has started to wrinkle a bit which is quite interesting but I still love her
anyways.
Decreased appetite is another symptom of a hamster becoming more elderly now if they
stop eating altogether that's not good but if your hamster is slowing down on how fast
they eat their food that is normal.
Another thing is you do want to check out their teeth, an elderly hamster will start
to get more bridle teeth so they are prone to breaking and if the front teeth do break
they might struggle a bit more for eating their food so you can also if your hamster
is struggling to eat more then you can take their pellets in their mix and add some water
and microwave that and make it into a mush for them so that they're getting all the nutrients
they need.
Another thing that i've been doing for Honey is, she still eats her food fine but just
for some added nutrients I've been giving her some safe baby food every night I've been
switching up the different types.
I try to avoid anything with tons of fruits in it because fruits are very sugary and I
want something a bit more healthy.
So this right here is the Love child organics it just has apple, sweet potatos, broccoli
and spinach and there is no added preservatives or unsafe ingredients like onions or garlic.
Another thing that I've personally done for Honey is i've actually went ahead and downgraded
her enclosure, now an elderly hamster still should have a cage that meets the bare minimum
I don't think they should have anything less than that, but if your hamster isn't using
their large cage or their having a harder time getting around I think downgrading to
something a little bit smaller so all their amenities are closer by is okay.
I've just put Honey into one of my old bin cages where her food, water, hideout and wheel
are all a lot closer, as well as for your hamster depending on the hamster some elderly
hamsters might have a harder time doing things like climbing so you might want to remove
anything that's a bit difficult for them.
Arthritis is a thing that can happen with older animals and it can happen with hamsters
as well so you kinda wanna make their enclosure a little bit easier for them to get around.
Dealing with a aging hamster can be quite hard because hamsters don't have long lifespans
like a rabbit or a dog does so you really only get a limited amount of time with them
and you really never really know how long they really are going to live, some can surprise
you and live longer than you think but you kinda never really know.
You basically just have to spend as much time with them as possible, give them a good quality
of life as well as interact with them and show them that they are loved even if they
are an elderly hamster they of course still deserve love.
Another thing I want to add with elderly hamsters is you might want to switch them to a soft
bedding if your not already using a paper based bedding I probably would suggest using
one or just providing more nesting like toilet paper just because they may have a harder
time keeping up their body heat so you kinda just want them to be as cosy and snuggly in
their nest as possible.
So I know this topic isn't obviously the most fun topic to talk about but is the reality
of owning any animal basically and I hope this has been able to help anybody who is
dealing with an aging hamster and I kinda also just wanted to make this video to update
you guys on Honey and how she is starting to show the elderly hamster signs and I just
wanted to let you guys know that.
So yeah guys thank you for watching!
Bye!