My 5-week hamster is small, bald, and weak. Will he grow or survive?

There is very little you can do. This is the reason hamsters have so many babies. There will always be a few runts and it is quite possible that they will either not be healthy (with congenital deficiencies) or not strong enough to fight their way to the nipples. Mama will take care of them as she sees fit, and if they are not ok she will either eat them or abandon them to ensure that the other strong ones have a good chance of survival. So while it is sad if some die due to being weak or very small, it ensures that the others will have a better chance to live. Do not disturb the nest much, as stress can also cause the mother to kill babies. If the house with the nest has a lid you can gently lift the lid once a day to visually check the little ones and remove a dead one, if it occurs. Otherwise leave them be as much as possible in order not to cause stress.

Thanks for reaching out about Miko. Different pups grow at different rates. If acting well and seems healthy, monitor. Competition for food can slow growth, try providing multiple feeding stations to reduce competition. If you believe she is ill, a veterinary visit is recommended. Good luck.

Thanks for reaching out about Vasia. It would be a mild concern that she has lost 20% of his body weight. Age is not a disease, and some organ system is probably responsible for the weight loss. Renal disease is fairly common in aging hamsters. Try and monitor water consumption and urination. Good luck.

I am sorry to hear that Pepper is so ill. I worry that he may likely have dental issues that are preventing him from eating. Certainly there can be other problems but dental disease is the most common. I would highly encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian as soon as possible. They can not survive long without eating. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hi there! So very sorry to hear about Jasper! I certainly think you're on the right track thinking about mites. This diagnosis however should be confirmed or ruled out by your veterinarian who can scrape the skin for mites and identify them under the microscope. The itchiness from the mites can cause stress and weight loss. Other causes of itchy skin can be sensitivity to any new products in the environment that may be causing itch and irritation. Also, hamsters can develop Cushing's disease, which effects the adrenal glands - tiny glands around the kidneys that control hormone levels. These hormone levels can become disrupted in this disease process and cause thinning skin and weight loss. Either way, I'd bring your little guy in to see his veterinarian, so he can have an exam and some testing done. One of the mites we can see on pets is called a scabies mite, and those are contagious to humans. Therefore I'd have him seen as soon as you can!

I agree that it sounds like Buckwheat is the runt of the litter, and they do tend to struggle more than their littermates. You are doing the right thing by supplementing with KMR, and he's unfortunately still too young to wean him. I'm not sure how often you are feeding him with KMR, but I would discuss with your vet increasing supplementation to try to get him to gain some weight. Also make sure he is up to date on his deworming treatments, as intestinal worms can prevent him from gaining weight. Finally, I would have him seen by your vet to discuss additional meals with KMR and the vet may have other suggestions to help him thrive.

If Fatty will allow, check his teeth. They could be overgrown or maloccluded. If so, have him examined by your veterinarian. The teeth can be trimmed or corrected so that he can eat normally. If the teeth are fine, an exam would be recommended to diagnose other illness or injury.