Hamster, newbie questions, please help

Person_one

dustinjames wrote: »

pets at home is the only pet shop i know, its well known and not too far from my home. if i find a little pet shop, i dont know how ethical they are anyway.

http://www.britishhamsterassociation.org.uk/locate_breeder.php

http://www.northernhamsterclub.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=28

http://www.southernhamsterclub.co.uk/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=68

dustinjames

thanks to everyone here, for advice and links. Have emailed a breeder, and found a local independant pet shop ill be visiting.

Ive decided on a russian dwarf, but not sure about which one (cambell or winter white).
ive read winter white is more friendly to humans, but that it has hi pitched squeel.....
do both types of russian dwarfs have this hi pitched squeel? i dont want my neighbour complaining about noise....and
it could disturb my sleep?

also read that cambell is more prone to diabetes and other illnesses.

would tap water be ok for the hamster to drink?
should it be cold or warm? check the temperature of water?

also i keep my window permanently open, so thinking it may be too cold sometimes for the
hamster cage in living room..... what temperature room is good for a hamster? i think i need
a temperature thermometer for room, agree?
should the hamster be kept in a room with fresh air flowing through it? or a completely closed off room is ok?

im a bit confused about bedding.
what is bedding? just the base of the cage? bedding is used for what exactly? just comfort?
and what is nesting?

i have wooly bedding (but ive read this shouldnt be used with dwarfs)
i have softwood shavings & Wood shavings...... so this stuff should be the base of the cage?

i also have intershred comfibed natural fibres "bedding and nesting", it says place a handful in cage.....
so i would place woodshavings and then a handful of this nesting stuff in corner?

ill get a food tray.

what about litter training..... should i have a pan for the hamster to poop into? and urinate?
or does the hamster urinate / poop wherever it wants in the cage?????

and i have linkpet original hamster food.... and wagg hamster munch....food.
both packs say "complimentary food".....so this means what exactly? that it shouldnt
be fed to hamster daily? only sometimes????

sorry for all q's.

thankyou

RachyD_3

Nimeth wrote: »

I would definitely recommend Syrians for a first time owner, they are larger and less aggressive than dwarf hamsters.

Oh gosh:rotfl:obviously that's your experience but this did make me laugh! At uni we have lots of hamsters (well animals in general) and if you're going to get bitten (and bitten good) it's either a syrian hamster or a spiny mouse.

Dustin - Hamsters aren't noisy at all in terms of squealing. DOn't panic your neighbour won't know it's their! They tend to squeal when they're frightened but I don't imagine you'll ever hear yours squeal. A hamster that's not been handled well/often will throw itself on it's back and squeal but you're going to handle yours everyday so you'll both be fine. I would say that they can be noisy in the night, not squealing but running around, using their wheel and 'swinging' from the bars. I've had to move the hamsters into the bathroom overnight on a couple of occasions because I couldnn't sleep but most of the time I just got used to it.

Tap water will be fine, just out of the cold water tap is fine. You can get vitamins and minerals to add to the water but as long as you're feeding the hamster properly and it's not sick then you don't need to worry about adding anything.

Hamsters will be fine in a room if you're comfortable. They don't mind the window being open in summer just make sure they're not in a draught!! They will try to hibernate if they get too cold so it's important in winter that the window is closed when it's cold (i.e. most of the time!). You can't let them hibernate as they don't have the fat reserves they need and they will die. Not good. As long as you'd be comfortable in the room (in terms of hot/cold fresh air/closed off) then your hamster generally will be too. Avoid putting the cage near radiators.

For bedding then woodshavings on the bottom give the hammy something to bury into and absorb and waste etc. For 'nesting' material you can get woolly or paper. I'd always go for the shredded paper type as I had a hamster get the woolly stuff stuck in his cheek pouches. Intershred sounds good - just a handful in a corner/in a 'house' or similar if you have one.

I've never had success litter training a hamster, mine always just went where they felt like it (usually in their bed - eeew!). You can get little litter trays though so I guess some people try! I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Complimentary food means that it doesn't contain all the nutrients that your hamster will need. Most hamster foods will say complimentary on them as you should also be offering them small amounts of other foods. Fresh fruit and veg (tiny amounts of carrot, apple, sultanas, brocolli etc) is great but make sure you take any uneaten food out by the end of the day otherwise it will rot. Try to make sure your hamster isn't hoarding it in their nest either or the same thing will happen. If you watch the hammy eating you'll see if they're actually eating or stuffing it in their cheeks to carry off. You can also feed them small amounts of things like bran flakes, weetabix, special hamster treats etc. As long as you've got a good book you won't go far wrong. Try not to feed sugary foods - like us it's bad for their teeth and health!

Hope that helps with all your questions so far. Read as much as you can but don't get too worried about all the conflicting advice you read. Everyone's hamster is different, just like every dog is different, so they'll like different foods/make different noises/build different nests. As long as you know the basics then you'll do just fine!

amy104

Personally I'm not a fan of shavings because there is potentially a risk that it can cause respitory problems. I prefer alternatives like carefresh or personally I use either auboise or megazorb but I have other pets so I can buy in bulk.

For his bed I use shredded soft paper type bedding. Avoid the cotton wool type as they can get their limbs stuck in it and potentially do serious injury.

You don't want your hammy to get too cold as they may try to hibernate. Its fine to have an open window on nice days but I would advise against it in winter incase there is a draught.

Tap water is fine. But do change it daily even if it hasn't all been drunk. you wouldn't want to drink stale water and neither does your pet.

Most hammys will pick one corner of the cage to use as a toilet, you can put a little tray here if you wish to make cleaning easier.

My hammy gets pets at home nuggets because its one of the only complete foods I know of on the market. By this I mean each pellet looks the same and has the exact same nutrional value. Great if you have a selective feeder (they only eat their fav bits). Science selective also do a complete food which looks like little biscuit hearts so I give him a couple of these aswell as they are good for handfeeding.

As a rule p@h don't have a very good reputation for animals. I'm not sure they use particularly good breeders and I know lots of people who have had less than healthy pets from there. My hammy was from there though and has been fine, though he'd clearly never been handled and this could be a prob if you are new to hammys. A good breeder will of handled the babies regularly so they should be easier.

ItchyFeet

I had a hamster (Golden i think) when i was a child and he was super friendly and gorgeous. I would set up a little obstacle course around the edges of my bedroom with jumps and tunnels and he would run the whole thing then snuggle up in the crook of my neck on the bed.

We would also let him out in the lounge (once we'd shut the cat out) and he was free to spend the evening exploring and having fun. He did sometimes disappear behind the fire though and we'd have to wait for him to reappear at his leisure. :cool: RIP Fidget!

prowla

Hamsters are quite fun, but:
a. They will bite, and you are going to get a nip at some time.
b. They wake up at night, so the spinning wheel thing usually starts rattling at around 10 in the evening.
c. They can be smelly.
d. All they need to live on is water and hamster muesli stuff.
e. Make sure you check all joints & latches on their cage, and give them some sawdust and fluffy bedding.
f. They live for something like 2 years (variable).
g. The balls that you can get them to walk around in can come apart if they crash them into something solid (eg. a wall).

MiniMoo

I give my hamster tap water but i use paper bedding as my step daughters hamster died because her mum was using cleaning cloths torn up as bedding and her hammy decided to munch on it and it caused an obstruction

Food as stated the hamster mix is fine, temperature wise as said dont allow them to get cold or they will try to hibernate.

I have a winter white and she doesnt squeal at all not even when i have to wake her up to clean her cage out, but they can squeal if they think they are in danger. Even if your does squeal then the neighbours wouldnt hear it, its not that loud but i doubt yours will squeal at all.

I've never attempted to litter train a hamster to be honest i didnt realise you could, its mainly confined to the cage anyhow so its not like it everywhere unless hammy is out on freerun time. My hammy doesnt smell i do clean her out regularly so that probably helps alot.

I would suggest gnawing items though to help keep the teeth in check, you can get these from most pet shops or wilkinson etc.

Moo x

Malicia_Crass

Had a look at previous threads - appears to be a TROLL.

dustinjames

im almost ready now! got the cage and all the bits and bobs.
thanks to everyone here for the help....once i have bought the dwarf, im sure ill be back here
reading again and asking some more q's.

anyone have any experience of using pets at home adoption service?
would a hamster from this be a previously sick/ill one or an older one?

faded_flowers

Please don't adopt a hamster as a first time owner! They usually need special care or attention due to being extra-timid, having health problems etc and are utterly unsuitable for a newb. I adopted my gerbils from them, they were a couple of months past being babies so needed experience to tame them - which was fine they were my third pair But awful for a first time owner.