4884. Why is my hamster drinking so much water?

IS MY HAMSTER DRINKING ENOUGH WATER?

1.  The amount of water that hamsters drink in a day does depend on the size of the hamster. Generally  a hamster should drink 10 to 30 milliliters of water per day, which is about one ounce at most.

2.   A six-inch male Syrian hamster may drink about a half-ounce of water every day.

 3.  The short answer is that a hamster usually needs around 10 ml/100 gr of hamster, every day.
An adult dwarf hamster weighs around 50 g, will need around 5 ml per day.
An adult Syrian hamster weighs around 170 g, will need around 17 ml per day.

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Another factor is your hamster’s diet. What you feed your hamster will make him drink more or less water. If you feed your hammy exclusively dry food (pellets, grains, seeds) he will drink more water. But if you give him mostly vegetables then he will draw a lot of water from them, and not use the water bottle much.

Hamsters should be fed a mixture of hamster pellets and hamster-safe produce like carrots or spinach. It should be a 90/10 ratio with hamster food pellets making up 90 percent of their diet and other foods making up ten percent.  Ensure that the 10% treats is safe.

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A wide range of treats a hamster can safely eat. Some may cause kidney damage and lead to more water being drunk.

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WATER BOTTLES

Those water bottles have a small tube that goes into the cage itself, and have a small ball at the end, to make sure water doesn’t flow freely. But your hamster can easily drink like that, since all he has to do is push the ball with his tongue when drinking.

A valveless sipper water bottle is a great option to help your hamster reach their hydration needs for the day.

 

Determining its water intake. One way is to fill its water bottle up with fresh, filtered water and use a marker to indicate where the line is each day. You should also know the breed of your hamster and how much it weighs to determine how much water it should be drinking.

Collect urine in a sterile 3 ml syringe for vet check up. GLYCOURIA.

Hard to do blood test - diabetes, kidney disease.

DIABETES IN CHINESE HAMSTER

Chinese hamsters have diabetes ranging from mild to severe. Animals weighing 25 g can excrete up to 75 ml of urine containing 3 g of glucose per day. Fasting blood glucose as high as 500 mg/dl and 10 mumol/ml of beta-hydroxybutyrate have been reported.

OTHER CAUSES:
1. Illness
2. Skin itchiness
3. Kidney, liver, heart diseases
4. Tumours causing irritation

VET EXAMINATION
1. Urine sample. 
2. Water intake data