83 replies to this topic

[Yukionna]

If veterinary care is not available, you lack funds, or if you just favor a natural treatment these are the methods that I've found useful using the herb fenugreek to treat diabetic hamsters.

First, if you have a diabetic hamster you are likely using a seed mix high in sugar. To help this concern I suggest you buy a mix known as Hazel Hamster. This mix contains no added sugar, you will only need to remove the corn, flaked corn, and flaked peas from the mix. There's also a debate about peanuts and their toxicity in small animals (I generally don't give my hamster more than one peanut a day, or a whole shelled peanut that comes in the mix that's good for her teeth and makes her fight for it)
Of course, the issue with removing items from the food is that the hamster may not get some vitamins that it needs, I'll discuss this after I discuss the uses of fenugreek to treat as it will involve the use of raw vegetables.

Second, you can find fenugreek seeds (powders added to water are generally unsuccessful) in health-food stores of organic supermarkets such as Clark's. If you don't have one of these stores in your area I'm sure a variety of sites ship the herbs. They're generally inexpensive, around 5 dollars for way more than you'll ever need.

Once you have the fenugreek you should start to feed your hamsters these seeds. The quantity should probably be in the amount between 3-10 seeds per day. The amount should NOT exceed 20 per day. You are going to have to play with the amount, you can tell by how your hamster responds to treatment. One thing that I absolutely recommend is to divide your hamster's dose per day into two groups, one to be fed during the day and the other at night. The larger quantity should be during the day. So, for example, if you give your hamster 5 seeds per day you could divide the seeds so that 3 or 4 are fed in the morning and one was fed at night. (I feed my hamster 10 seeds, 6 in the morning and 4 at night)

One of the major issues with diabetic dwarf hamsters is that they drink too little and become dehydrated. First off, make sure that the water bottle is fairly close to their home so that if they get up they can easily get to the water. If a hamster is dehydrated they are less likely to be active and want to come out, if it's halfway across the cage they may not bother and that is definitely not good. I've found, in treating my hamster, that food that we would generally consider a "use in moderation" food, because of high water content, can be given in a little bit higher amounts to diabetic dwarf hamsters. For instance, I give my hamster Yuki 2 or 3 of the larger chinese bean sprouts which I would normally be afraid to give a normal hamster in a large amount. Other good veggies they tend to like are broccoli, cabbage (red is fine too, so if you buy mixed salads for yourself you can use the red cabbage out of what you would normally eat!). Of course, you want to avoid fruit altogether, and avoid carrots (which are high in sugar). My advice is that you introduce these in moderation and slowly increase the amount so that you can make sure your hamster doesn't get diarrhea or soft stools.

I also suggest providing the hamster with items that are high in fiber. A pinch of oatmeal every morning and evening can do wonders for your hamster. If your hamster becomes particularly ill with the disease I suggest broccoli. I'm pretty sure this saved my Yuki's life when she was really sick with this disease. Broccoli is high in fiber, which helps to soak up excess sugar in the blood, it is also high in water and will hydrate the hamster.

I'm in the process of trying out vitamin drops in my hamster's water, I will let you guys know how this progresses.

A special thank you to MissPixy and Meowmies who helped me a lot with treating Yuki and giving me the advice to use fenugreek in the first place. I hope that this guide will help a lot of people and that everyone's diabetic hammies will live a long and happy life.

Edited by Yukionna, 23 February 2010 - 03:13 PM.

[missPixy]

i pinned this topic because i'm sure many many HH members (and even those
researching online) will find this information really useful. because we know not
everyone has access to an experienced hamster vet, or else they might not
have the money or have to rely on the whims of their parents.

what you present here is a very valuable alternative for those who have
diabetic dwarfs and need an option besides glipizide. really great information!

[Yukionna]

Thank you, MissPixy. I'm also in the process of trying out a hamster multi-vitamin as I mentioned above. So far, this is also having good results (after only one day). I'm going to continue to use it and update you guys in about a week.

[kabs996]

If veterinary care is not available, you lack funds, or if you just favor a natural treatment these are the methods that I've found useful using the herb fenugreek to treat diabetic hamsters.

First, if you have a diabetic hamster you are likely using a seed mix high in sugar. To help this concern I suggest you buy a mix known as Hazel Hamster. This mix contains no added sugar, you will only need to remove the corn, flaked corn, and flaked peas from the mix. There's also a debate about peanuts and their toxicity in small animals (I generally don't give my hamster more than one peanut a day, or a whole shelled peanut that comes in the mix that's good for her teeth and makes her fight for it)
Of course, the issue with removing items from the food is that the hamster may not get some vitamins that it needs, I'll discuss this after I discuss the uses of fenugreek to treat as it will involve the use of raw vegetables.

Second, you can find fenugreek seeds (powders added to water are generally unsuccessful) in health-food stores of organic supermarkets such as Clark's. If you don't have one of these stores in your area I'm sure a variety of sites ship the herbs. They're generally inexpensive, around 5 dollars for way more than you'll ever need.

Once you have the fenugreek you should start to feed your hamsters these seeds. The quantity should probably be in the amount between 3-10 seeds per day. The amount should NOT exceed 20 per day. You are going to have to play with the amount, you can tell by how your hamster responds to treatment. One thing that I absolutely recommend is to divide your hamster's dose per day into two groups, one to be fed during the day and the other at night. The larger quantity should be during the day. So, for example, if you give your hamster 5 seeds per day you could divide the seeds so that 3 or 4 are fed in the morning and one was fed at night. (I feed my hamster 10 seeds, 6 in the morning and 4 at night)

One of the major issues with diabetic dwarf hamsters is that they drink too little and become dehydrated. First off, make sure that the water bottle is fairly close to their home so that if they get up they can easily get to the water. If a hamster is dehydrated they are less likely to be active and want to come out, if it's halfway across the cage they may not bother and that is definitely not good. I've found, in treating my hamster, that food that we would generally consider a "use in moderation" food, because of high water content, can be given in a little bit higher amounts to diabetic dwarf hamsters. For instance, I give my hamster Yuki 2 or 3 of the larger chinese bean sprouts which I would normally be afraid to give a normal hamster in a large amount. Other good veggies they tend to like are broccoli, cabbage (red is fine too, so if you buy mixed salads for yourself you can use the red cabbage out of what you would normally eat!). Of course, you want to avoid fruit altogether, and avoid carrots (which are high in sugar). My advice is that you introduce these in moderation and slowly increase the amount so that you can make sure your hamster doesn't get diarrhea or soft stools.

I also suggest providing the hamster with items that are high in fiber. A pinch of oatmeal every morning and evening can do wonders for your hamster. If your hamster becomes particularly ill with the disease I suggest broccoli. I'm pretty sure this saved my Yuki's life when she was really sick with this disease. Broccoli is high in fiber, which helps to soak up excess sugar in the blood, it is also high in water and will hydrate the hamster.

I'm in the process of trying out vitamin drops in my hamster's water, I will let you guys know how this progresses.

A special thank you to MissPixy and Meowmies who helped me a lot with treating Yuki and giving me the advice to use fenugreek in the first place. I hope that this guide will help a lot of people and that everyone's diabetic hammies will live a long and happy life.

My cute, sweet hamster Luigi has diabetes. I researched online about it and tested him at home with Keto Diastix urine test strips. Thats how I found out. Anyway, Ive been testing him daily since the first diagnosis and his glucose and ketones are changing. At first he had negative ketones, high glucose and the treatment recommended was a complete sugar free diet. Now that he is on that diet he has sky rocket ketones.......I dont know how to manage this for the poor little guy. Bringing him to a Vet seems unreasonable if I can treat it at home with diet. Oh and the recommended treatment for the high ketones was 50/50 pedialite-water. But the pedialyte has glucose in it??? I have also bought some fenugreek but it was in tea bags all crushed up. I sprinkled some in his food dish and he loved it. How much should i give him?? I also got him the hazel hamster food and picked out the peas, and corn flakes. I hope i'm managing him correctly...poor little guy.

[Yukionna]

My suggestion would be to not use pedialyte. What this medication is doing is to supplement the hamster's diet with vitamins it may not be getting from the items you picked out. Something that I've found has basically made it so my hamster shows NO signs of diabetes whatsoever is using small dog milkbones, the unflavored kind, and using the fenugreek. Hamsters actually do love the taste of fenugreek. Anyway, what you want to do is to give him a high protein, high fiber, low fat diet. Which means you can give him a little bit of oatmeal in the mornings (raw oatmeal) and broccoli is just excellent in hamster size portions. Also you're just going to have to experiment with the fenugreek seeds for the number. If he has high ketones I would start out with maybe 5 in the morning and 2 at night, keep checking the sticks and see if things improve and just adjust it according to how he responds. Also still be careful with seeds of any kind, you want to make sure that he doesn't gain a lot of weight as this is going to complicate the diabetes. I give mine no more than 4 seeds as treats a day. But she's a runty little ham. If your hamster is a bit heavy you're not going to want to give him probably more than 1 or 2 per day. Anyway, the milkbones are vitamin fortified and they let them chew to their hearts content. Yuki will run around with hers in her mouth like a little dog. It's really adorable, but sort of noisy when she goes in her tube. Place to watch for furloss is in the wheel. You'll see little hairs in the wheel. It's a good way of monitoring the effect of the medication. Yuki will only lose fur right after I've cleaned her cage, other than that she doesn't. If they're losing a lot of fur you should up the dosage a little and feed high fiber things. Also make sure he gets plenty of water. Sometimes it's best to keep the water closer to their homes when they're not feeling well as I mentioned before. If you have more questions just let me know.

But, REMEMBER, do not exceed 20 fenugreek seeds per day!!

Edited by Yukionna, 11 April 2010 - 11:36 AM.

[angela1684]

If veterinary care is not available, you lack funds, or if you just favor a natural treatment these are the methods that I've found useful using the herb fenugreek to treat diabetic hamsters.

First, if you have a diabetic hamster you are likely using a seed mix high in sugar. To help this concern I suggest you buy a mix known as Hazel Hamster. This mix contains no added sugar, you will only need to remove the corn, flaked corn, and flaked peas from the mix. There's also a debate about peanuts and their toxicity in small animals (I generally don't give my hamster more than one peanut a day, or a whole shelled peanut that comes in the mix that's good for her teeth and makes her fight for it)
Of course, the issue with removing items from the food is that the hamster may not get some vitamins that it needs, I'll discuss this after I discuss the uses of fenugreek to treat as it will involve the use of raw vegetables.

Second, you can find fenugreek seeds (powders added to water are generally unsuccessful) in health-food stores of organic supermarkets such as Clark's. If you don't have one of these stores in your area I'm sure a variety of sites ship the herbs. They're generally inexpensive, around 5 dollars for way more than you'll ever need.

Once you have the fenugreek you should start to feed your hamsters these seeds. The quantity should probably be in the amount between 3-10 seeds per day. The amount should NOT exceed 20 per day. You are going to have to play with the amount, you can tell by how your hamster responds to treatment. One thing that I absolutely recommend is to divide your hamster's dose per day into two groups, one to be fed during the day and the other at night. The larger quantity should be during the day. So, for example, if you give your hamster 5 seeds per day you could divide the seeds so that 3 or 4 are fed in the morning and one was fed at night. (I feed my hamster 10 seeds, 6 in the morning and 4 at night)

One of the major issues with diabetic dwarf hamsters is that they drink too little and become dehydrated. First off, make sure that the water bottle is fairly close to their home so that if they get up they can easily get to the water. If a hamster is dehydrated they are less likely to be active and want to come out, if it's halfway across the cage they may not bother and that is definitely not good. I've found, in treating my hamster, that food that we would generally consider a "use in moderation" food, because of high water content, can be given in a little bit higher amounts to diabetic dwarf hamsters. For instance, I give my hamster Yuki 2 or 3 of the larger chinese bean sprouts which I would normally be afraid to give a normal hamster in a large amount. Other good veggies they tend to like are broccoli, cabbage (red is fine too, so if you buy mixed salads for yourself you can use the red cabbage out of what you would normally eat!). Of course, you want to avoid fruit altogether, and avoid carrots (which are high in sugar). My advice is that you introduce these in moderation and slowly increase the amount so that you can make sure your hamster doesn't get diarrhea or soft stools.

I also suggest providing the hamster with items that are high in fiber. A pinch of oatmeal every morning and evening can do wonders for your hamster. If your hamster becomes particularly ill with the disease I suggest broccoli. I'm pretty sure this saved my Yuki's life when she was really sick with this disease. Broccoli is high in fiber, which helps to soak up excess sugar in the blood, it is also high in water and will hydrate the hamster.

I'm in the process of trying out vitamin drops in my hamster's water, I will let you guys know how this progresses.

A special thank you to MissPixy and Meowmies who helped me a lot with treating Yuki and giving me the advice to use fenugreek in the first place. I hope that this guide will help a lot of people and that everyone's diabetic hammies will live a long and happy life.

Is it safe to give Fenugreek if you are not 100% sure the dwarf hamster has diabetes?

Edited by Christmas_hamster, 04 August 2010 - 08:30 PM.

[Yukionna]

I wouldn't see why not...just don't give them more than 20, I'm also skeptical about getting close to that number. I don't like to give her more than 14 or so.

I wouldn't give a healthy hamster more than 5...they like them but maybe if they're not sick you shouldn't give them so many. It also makes their urine smell like maple slightly so don't be surprised about that.

Edited by Yukionna, 21 May 2010 - 09:29 AM.

[TheFeldhamster]

Hi there!

I have two questions:

1) what is the reason for the 20 seed limit? Can you cite any sources for this number? Is it only because the hamster might get hypoglycemia = too low values of sugar in the blood? So if the hamster has severe diabetes, do you think it would be ok to feed more than 20 seeds? Or is there another reason, like some toxidity for larger quantities of fenugreek that I am not aware of?

And is this number only for the dry seeds or also if you sprout the seeds in a seed sprouter? Typically, seeds loose some of their potency when they sprout and I feed my Sonic fenugreek sprout because she doesn't really like the dried seeds. Feeding sprouts also prevents the stink - if you feed the dry seeds the hamster will start to smell like the seeds after a while.


2) why do you recommend feeding more seeds in the morning? As far as I could research, fenugreek works by slowing the transfer of glucose from the bowels to the bloodstream. So, to me, it would make the most sense to feed the fenugreek shortly before the main feeding - which most people do in the evening. Also, this would lower the hamster's blood sugar right during the nightly activity phase so the hamster has a chance to really become active when it should.


Also, I would not feed a hamster that does not have diabetes fenugreek - if it works strongly your hamster might get too low levels of sugar in the blood.

[Yukionna]

Firstly, because I was told not to exceed 20 seeds. You'd have to ask meowmies. I assume it has to do with the hypoglycemia as you suggested. But, I think it might be also so that it's not the only thing they're eatting, in which case they may become malnourished. They love them, and hamsters only eat about 2 tablespoons of food per day.

Second, I don't know why it just works better. I assume it's because they sleep during the day, giving the body time to metabolize them, then when they wake up at night their sugar is low enough to be able to run around and play and the remaining seeds keep it down. The more active the hamster, the more seeds it will need. I find that hamsters go through different levels of activity at different times.

[cyinmin]

I suspect one of my hamster Brutus is diabetic, he drinks alot, and pees alot. I've started him on fenugreek today with about 8 seeds. He puts everything in his pouch but didnt eat immediately, I hope he will start munching on them later.

My staples are the commercial hamster mix - Prestige Hamster Nature and Prestige Hamster Crispy (both from Versele-Laga). Do I just remove the corn, raisins & dried appricot? There are other red & green kibbles, I dont know what they are but I guess its herb/fruits/vege mixed. Is that OK?
I cant find Harry Hamster & Hazel Hamster. What other brands do you reckon would also do the job?

Hi Yukionna

You mentioned about furloss. I have started both my dwarfs on fenugreek about 8-10 seeds a day and noticed some strands of fur in the cage. It's just a couple of strands which I happen to come across when I spot clean the cage. Does this mean the fenugreek is working? And should I increase the amount (to less than 20 seeds of course), or remain as is?
Why does their fur shed when they're on fenugreek?

Both my hammies have access to clean water, and I'm slowly swapping their diet to Vitakraft Sunshine. Its the only one i found here that the package says 'no added white sugar'. i had to take out the raisins and corn though. Tofu, plain yogurt, boiled egg whites, brocolli, doggie milk biscuits were given alternate days.

Edited by Christmas_hamster, 04 August 2010 - 08:32 PM.

[Yukionna]

Hi, Fenugreek reduces the sugar levels, but if you're using a mix high in sugar a hamster may continue to shed because their glucose levels are still too high. I noticed that you said you were using a mix with fruit, veg, and seeds. I would not feed a dwarf hamster fruit at all, because of the high sugars. Also remove corn or peas, anything that would have sugar in it must be eliminated. The milkbones help to supplement the diet so that the hamster won't be missing vital nutrients from the foods you've removed.

[cyinmin]

Hi Yukionna

Thanks for your reply.
The mix I have now has kiblets which i cant tell exactly what those are, and with variety of seeds in it. I'm mixing Vitakraft Sunshine + Versele Laga's Prestige Nature & Crispy. I have removed the corn and what I think is peas from those. All dried fruits are also taken out.
As for the milkbones biscuit, the packaging shows there's sugar in it. Is that OK? I think all dog milk biscuits have some sugar/honey.

Thanks.

Hi, Fenugreek reduces the sugar levels, but if you're using a mix high in sugar a hamster may continue to shed because their glucose levels are still too high. I noticed that you said you were using a mix with fruit, veg, and seeds. I would not feed a dwarf hamster fruit at all, because of the high sugars. Also remove corn or peas, anything that would have sugar in it must be eliminated. The milkbones help to supplement the diet so that the hamster won't be missing vital nutrients from the foods you've removed.

Hi

I tested my dwarf Brutus with separate glucose and ketone test strips. The glucose reading indicated normal (neg), but the ketone reading may have been borderline normal (neg) to Slight (+). I compared it to the indicator on the tube, it's the First reading with a plus (+) sign (others are ++, +++..)

Brutus drinks quite alot and he pees alot as well.. I've given him fenugreek for over 2 week now and his food mix is without corn and peas. Only fresh veges but no fruits. Occasional sugar-free yogurt and dog milk biscuit (but this has honey written on the package).
He still drinks/pees alot even on fenugreek (about 10 seeds/day), am i supposed to see a CHANGE in his drink/pee patterns if the fenugreek is working?
Or should I increase more fenugreek seeds? He doesnt eat it immediate but pouch it so I hope overnight he actually consumes all 10 I've been feeding him daily.

Do I need to start him on oral replacement theraphy? Will general brands of salt replacements for human (powder form in sachet to mix with water) safe for hamsters?
I cant find pedialyte here, so an alternative brand would be great.

Thank you.

Edited by Christmas_hamster, 04 August 2010 - 08:35 PM.

[Christmas_hamster]

I totally and completely missed this topic! I've never heard of fenugreek before and I wish that I had of sooner. Thank you for making this topic Yukionna. I'll have try this with my next diabetic hamster, they're so common around here it would be hard to find a RC without diabetes.

[Yukionna]

The small dog milkbone brand biscuits don't contain sugar, at least here so I don't know about that. I don't really know about oral replacement for salt. I have a mineral wheel in with Yuki which is corn flavored and she loves (though I think she liked strawberry better) those work pretty good and contain salt. You won't really see much of a change in peeing until some time after the hamster starts to get better. My Yuki it didn't change for several months. Now she is a really normalish hamster. (Other than she can't see for beans) Umm...but yea. I do'nt actually feed her a lot of vegetables anymore she does just fine by herself with the feed and the milkbones, fenugreek, and the dry stuff.

And you're welcome ChristmasHamster. Yuki's almost a year old now and showing no signs of diabetes, so it does work if you get it under control and keep an eye on them. The only thing, of course, is that you have to make sure they always have fenugreek or they'll get sick again and it could be worse.

Edited by Yukionna, 06 August 2010 - 09:59 AM.

[Christmas_hamster]

And you're welcome ChristmasHamster. Yuki's almost a year old now and showing no signs of diabetes, so it does work if you get it under control and keep an eye on them. The only thing, of course, is that you have to make sure they always have fenugreek or they'll get sick again and it could be worse.

I never had a problem with my diabetic hams so long as I kept them on a strict diet but one ham, Daxx, I think had diabetes. He died about four months after I got him and just as I was suspecting that he was diabetic he passed away. I think his was more severe, a diet like this probably would have done him well.