How do I help my panda hamster lose weight?

Question

I've recently noticed that my hamster has been getting larger and larger. He doesn't seem to have any of the symptoms of any common hamster diseases so I'm convinced that he has just gotten fat. He's so big that he just sits in his ball most of the time i get him in it. He doesnt often move either. I really need help finding a good way for my hamster to lose some weight.

Answer 1

Less food and do everything the hamster xpert said she got all of what i was goin to say.

Answer 2

Try reducing treats and fatty foods and get a huge tub and let him run around in there. More exercise should help him trim down.

Answer 3

Give him less hamster treats and fattening foods, just give him hamster food and plenty of water.

If he's a bit old its likely he might be less interested in excercise than he was when he was young.

Or if he's young and you only recently bought him, theres a chance it could be a pregnant female, sometimes when you buy them from the pet store they have been with males that have been incorrectly sexed.

Answer 4

lmfao

Answer 5

How old is your hamster? It is possible that when you got him young he was still a pup and now he is growing into an adult, hence getting bigger.

If you rule that out and your hamster is already an adult, then he could be bored. Check out the following to ensure that boredom has not resulted in his weight gain -

How big is his cage? Panda hamsters require a big cage with second storeys so that he has enough space to move around. A cramped cage results in a bored and obese hamster since he does not have any place to move around.

Have you equipped his cage with exercise wheel, tubes and mazes? A hamster would be more active when the above are there in his cage.

Stop giving him sunflower seeds or other fattening items as treats. Perhaps he is eating only the sunflower seeds in his food and getting fat. When you put his food mix in the tray, remove sunflower seeds from it too since some commercial food mixes for hamsters comes mixed with the seeds.

Scatter his food in the bedding of his cage rather than using a food bowl so that he is compelled to burrow  and search for his food and exercise himself.

Rearrange parts of the cage frequently so that he does not get used to one set up only and get bored with that.

Some hamsters do not like hamster balls. My previous dwarf hamster also considered the ball as a sleeping place. As soon as I put him in the ball, he would curl in it and go to sleep. For such hamsters, the better option would be to make a hamster proof area in your house and let them explore. Hamsters being curious by nature, can never resist this option of exercise. Ensure that there are no gaps in the hamster proof area of your house so that he cannot escape and supervise him properly when he is out of his cage.

Hamsters love to burrow and I have not yet seen a hamster that can avoid the craving to burrow. Give him a big container with bedding (aspen shavings or even plain ripped toilet paper, make sure that toilet paper is unbleached, untreated and non fragrant type) or add a bin to your cage (if your existing cage is cramped up) with bedding in it and I am sure he will start burrowing.

Hamsters love to dig and run and explore tunnels but are not the playing type like other animals. As long as you provide the correct equipment to dig, run and explore tunnels, then he would be a very active hamster.

Answer 6

you could give him less food, for one. and maybe make/get a playpen type thing with some toys and maybe put small amounts of treats at the other end and see if it'll motivate him to move around some. not all critters enjoy the balls, so try to find something else he'd like to get him moving =)