how much water? diabetes? please help mitsy!!!

[pinkpink33]

how much water is a dwarf hamster supposed to drink? i've had mitsy a few months now, and she's always drunk a little more than my other hams, so i thought id note how much more over a few days.
in 3 days, my syrian has drunk 30ml, pepper has drunk 20, and mitsy has drunk 50. mitsy is a lot more active than pepper (who is a wake for around 2 hours per day and night) and ferret, but do you think she needs testing for diabetes? do i take her to the vet for this or can i get a home pee-testing kit? diabetes can be controlled via food right? can i diabetic hamster live a long and happy life?
thanks

[pinkpink33]

i have researched this, im just panicing now as im worried for mitsy - she's my lovliest little ham!

[Sandy Da Cutie]

Aww good luck! I would try to help you, but Im still gathering information on hamsters, as I dont know too much about them.

[Deermouse]

Misty may be diabetic, but besides drinking a lot, she would be lethargic. It really sounds like she is quite active. Her activity may be why she is drinking more than the others. I don't think she is drinking that much anyway. When my diabetic mouse Athena was drinking a lot, she was drinking about 4 ounces a day, about 20 times what the other mice were drinking. If you want to test her urine, you can get a urine test strip from the vet. They are expensive, about $80 a bottle of a hundred, but the vet should give you a couple if you ask. You can read more about Athena and how I treated her in the article on my site.

http://mouseranch.com/FYI/diabetes.php

good luck,
paul

[pinkpink33]

o wow that's really useful thanks! i will defintily look into making my own food now, i use harry hamster with the sunflower seeds picked out. my hams dont touch the corn, and they get the seeds as treats!
i was going to go to the chemist, as i've read you can get strips that test for glucose and ketone levels in pee? do you know if these work?
im a bit confused now, she's suddenly become very vocal. i went to get her out and she cheeped very loudly for around 5 minutes! i can usually only hear pepper cheeping if i hold her to my ear, and it wasnt annoyed chittering as i've heard this from my syrian. it was very cute, having her crawl over me cheeping, but unusual.

[palmbreeze]

This all sounds so familar. Excessive drinking can be caused by other thing other than diabetes. She could have a kidney infection or some other type of infection. Maybe she is more active than the other hammies. Does her urine smell strongly sweetish? If we are looking at diabetes you need to buy some urine test strips that measure Keytones AND Glucose. They may be purchased at Walgreens. Test her urine and use this link for the test results...

http://www.petwebsite.com/article_read.asp?cat_id=63&parent_id=14&parent_name=Hamsters&sub_name=Hamster%20Care%20And%20Health&id=221&title=Is%20Your%20Dwarf%20Hamster%20Diabetic?

I am going throught the diabetic thing right now, among other things. There is a food called Hazel Hamster that is sugar free. You would need to pick out the peas and corn. My hammies hair is fallling out and I'm thinking since I changed his diet that he may not be getting enough protein, so you might want to research additional foods to give your little girl. I've heard of cooked turkey and tofu. Let me know how the test goes. That would be the first step.

[pinkpink33]

no, i cant smell anything from her cage - she's the only litter trained ham, and i change this every other day or so (or she refuses to use it lol) and i've had a sniff (gross i know) but i smell nothing!
im using harry hamster atm, which i hear is the same thing?
couldnt make it out today as i get sick a lot during summer (even when it's not sunny lol) so im going first thing tomorrow. she doesnt seem to pee excessively, though i cant compare as i've never found a wet patch in pepper's cage.
either way, mitsy gets gets up every hour or so for drink, so i will definitely be testing her.
do you know what foods you can feed a diabetic hamster, as in to make my own mix if she is? as she's got harry hamster at the moment, and she's still drinking loads, so this may need changing.
i couldnt bear to lose her, she's my sweetest girl ever. she is more active than the others, but she's drinking nearly double what my syrian drinks, who is pretty active too. :( well i will find out tomorrow, fingers crossed.
if the test is negative, should i take her to the vet for different tests? she's never been before, poor little thing.

[pixibubbles]

yes harry is the same as hazel... different name different country same make.

some hamsters just drink more than others... peewee seems to be forever atatched to the water pot... he even manages to drink with his eyes shut and easrs down lol. if it wasnt for the sippy sip i'd sweaqr he was asleep. whereas his sister clover... i;ve only seen her drink once in about 10 days. Are you sure she's actually drinking it all? could the bottle be faulty / leaking?

if you suspect diabetes cut the suger gradually out of the diet and consult a vet. i would also suspect other things... is there any discharge? (kidney or urine infection) any hunching when walking? etc

[CookieDough24]

Have you checked with a vet yet, or atleast called one? Just wondering :o

[pinkpink33]

no, been researching and am getting test strips tomorrow. was in the process of finding a new vet, he's nice and all, just doesnt seem to know that much about hamsters. still, i will probably be going to see him tomorrow afternoon. they always have loads of appointments as they're open from 8-8 :) i usually get one within the hour (that's not for emergencies either).
yes, sometimes she does make the water bottle leak bu pushing bedding up against it - i cant count the number of mornings when i've woken up and she's sat on wet sawdust and looking up at me expectantly, as she has no water left! but no, i checked all the bedding, there was none wet anywhere. of course last night when i refilled it, she's soaked the bedding by thismorning, so i couldnt measure how much she'd drunk in 24 hours.
i've read that egg whites are also good protein sources? cooked of course!
i dont know what i'd prefer - finding it's positive and keeping her diet controlled forever, or finding it's negative and having to have loads of tests done at the vets :(
as i said, it's not a new thing, it just seems to have gradually crept up (the water consumption). is this common in diabetes, or does it usually shoot up, does anyone know?
thanks

[pinkpink33]

going to bed now, wish mitsy no illnesses tomorrow!

[Deermouse]

I don't think the pee test strips are as accurate as a blood test, but they are easy and cheap and should let you know if there is a problem that needs to be checked out in more detail. Again, I would ask your vet to just give you a couple.

I think being vocal is a good thing, like being active. If she acts healthy there is a good chance that she doesn't have anything wrong. sick rodents often act sick.

paul

[pinkpink33]

ok i've done the tests. she has high glucose but no ketones. i tested the area of sand she always pees in, do you think there's any chance of there being glucose there somehow? i tested it 4 times! she's not up yet, but i may have to wake her soon and get her to pee in a plactic box just to make sure - anyone know how to do this? i read somewhere about squeezing them a little?
now i am sad.

[pixibubbles]

i wouldnt squeeze myself... could you watch her carefully and sort of grab her as soon as she's peed and maybe wipe HER with it?
i dont think the glucose would be absorbed into sand tho.

[pinkpink33]

yeah, she just came out. she's usually more than happy to pee on my bed, but not today lol! decided not to squeeze, she probably wouldnt be happy so will wait. she usally pees when i put her back home, i cant wait for her to pee when she's out as she's my free-roam ham - she doesnt nibble so she gets to play anywhere in the room, including under the bed.
i didnt clean out her litter box thismorning, so it was still wet when i got back - do you think this is a good reading? she has chnichilla sand in her box at the moment.
im so worried about my little girl.

[pinkpink33]

ok have picked out all the nasties from her food, ordered some fenugreek, and am going to get some of the more natural foods to mix in with the harry hamster.
in a while, her glucose levels will have hopefully gone down right? i mean if i test her with the strips again, there should be a decrease in glucose concentration?

thanks for all the help :)

[palmbreeze]

I just waited for mine to pee on something and as soon as he did I dipped the test strip in it. If she has high glucose and no keytones that she doesn't need any Pedialyte, she just needs lots of good water. Sounds like your doing good with the food. Great job!

[pinkpink33]

thanks :) my boyfriend thinks im crazy, i wont walk to the shop if im hungry, i'll just drink loads, but im going up to sainsburies to get loadsa healthy stuff for mitsy!
i just want her to be helathy and happy, she's such a good ham :)