Hamsters (merged)

samboette

Hi there

We have 8 hamsters - 4 Syrians and 4 Roborovski Dwarfs.

Cages - The cages they sell in Pets@Home aren't really satisfactory for Syrian Hamsters IMO. They are far too small!! However, if it's a baby, it will do for now and if all goes well you'll be able to upgrade to something larger when the hamster grows. We have 2 of our Syrians in tanks and 2 in Imac Fantasy Cages with extensions. I wholly recommend these cages, they are easily cleaned and you can buy extensions to make them bigger, they often come up on Ebay quite cheap, you can also buy them in The Range if you have one close?! I think the tubey/pod cage you are referring to is something buy Rotastak - TBH these are awful for hamsters, they are too cramped and enclosed, they can cause condensation to build us, which again is bad for hammies chest and you cannot fit a decent size wheel into them. They are also a nightmare to clean.

Wheel -As mentioned a good wheel is a must for all hammies, someone did mention on here buying a Silent Spinner, these are very good wheels but unfortunately they don't make them big enough for Syrians. You'll need a wheel of at least 8" in diameter. Hammies will run in any wheel but when it's too small they arch their backs and this is very bad for them and can be very uncomfortable. Ours have Wodent Wheels (brilliant) and Comfort Wheels. Our robos have silent spinners!!

Bedding - Use the chipped stuff from P@H or if you have a shredder but tesco value or similar toilet roll and shred it, it's just as good. We use the jay cloth type you by at Wilkinsons. Never use the cotton wool type, it can block their gut or twist around limbs as already mentioned!!

Sand baths - Our hammies love their sandbaths but make sure you buy chinchilla sand and NOT dust - dust is bad for their respitory system. Also use sand in a hammie potty/toilet, they will have a wee corner set up once settled into their cage, to make it easier for cleaning, put some of the wee'd shavings into a hammie potty filled with sandand they will soon learn to use that as a toilet. So then each day or every other just changed the sand, easier then having to clean out a cage 2/3 times a week.

Food - We feed ours 4 different foods but that's because we are fussy and just like to make sure they have a variety but mainly the best food is Harry Hamster. They are also partial to sunflower seeds, budgie seed, millet. We also feed ours tiny amounts of fruit and veg, nothing citrus or onions. Ours also have cooked chicken which they love!!

So there's just a few tips on what we do but if you want to learn more, i'd recommend going to www.hamstercentral.com/forum This site is full of really useful information!!

nicki_2

Thank you so much for all the info. I knew I'd get good advice from here

samboette I'll go take a look at that forum later when DD is home so she can see the info as well. I know I'll have to be heavily involved with the care of any pet at first, but I really want DD to know what she's letting herself in for and to be responsible for the pet as much as possible.

Another question - what about insurance? Is it worth getting insurance for a hamster or am I just better putting away the money I'd pay out into an account instead? See I don't know all these things as my parents always took care of stuff like that. I just fed the pets & helped walk the dog, I think I might have cleaned out the fish once or twice but thats it.

loulou123

Personally (as a owner of numerous hamsters in my teens!) id always get one of the plastic tube style 'cages' over a normal cage, as they are usually to small and dont allow little hammie to climb properly, and this also stops the wood shavings/sawdust going all over the place when they dig around.

Not even sure if many/any insurers will insure a hamster? Personally ive never had insurance on one, in my experiance they tend to be quite healthy and if they do get ill, due to their small size etc, there is often little vets can do apart from put them to sleep.

nicki_2

Thanks for that. I will be upgrading to a bigger cage, but for now we've got a small one. It needs a really good clean though - its filthy & still has saw dust in it :eek::mad:

samboette

Hi again Nicki

With regards to insurance - there isn't anyone who will insure hamsters and quite honestly any visits to the vets don't really cost that much. We had one of our Robos operated on to remove a tumour and it cost £56. Not bad considering how small they are!! We have also had to be prescribed antibiotics for a couple of them and each time the cost was between £13 - £16!!

I'm pleased to hear you'll be getting a larger cage.........your hamster will appreciate it!! Those rotostak setups are truly awful for the poor animal!!

nicki_2

Thanks for the info about insurance. I wasn't sure. This might sound a little off but I guess thats another pro for getting a hamster as opposed to a cat or dog

This is the cage we've got for now. But I'm hoping to get a better one soon.

It needs a really good clean as you can see, but I'm going to wait until I can get the proper cleaner over the weekend. Last thing I want to do is use something unsuitable & poison the poor thing when we first get it! :eek:

chelle230

Hi Nicki,

I recently got my son a hamster, and originally bought a small cage from home bargains for £10, then a few weeks later they had a very large cage, with different levels and tubes to access them for only £15! absolute bargain, they do some good pet things now and then so you could fall on a bargain too, the hamster is much happier with his nice new home

gill_hc

Am looking for some advice please. My DD (age 6) is desperate for a hamster but we do go away visiting relatives a lot. A friend has offered to have it over easter (if we get her one) but everyone I know is going away for may whitsun holidays. We are driving from the midlands to glasgow and I had the idea of just putting the cage in the car and taking it with us. Would the hamster get very stressed being in the car for so long (about 5 hours) - we could either strap the cage it in the back seat or in the boot. Would any other animals be more suitable ?
I've had a search on various websites and they don't say either way and the only pet shop we have locally is pets at home who kind of looked at me blank when I asked them. Not sure if this is crazy idea or not.
thank you for reading

Lady_Fluff

Hi Gill,

Hammies are pretty good travellers I've found - but the big thing to remember is to take the water bottle out of the cage, as the motion fo the transport can cause it to leak, and hammies don't liek getting wet. It's also important that your cage doesn't have shelves or anything where they could fall off from a height (like if they're in a barred cage and tend to go climbing). When we travel with our two, we put them in the Ferplast Aladino: http://www.petcentreonline.co.uk/ecommerce/ProdImages/aladino.jpg which can be bought in Pets at Home as they can't climb. It does the trick fine, and makes it easier if we're going somewhere (my MIL has spare cages down there for when we come to stay, as we don't drive, so it makes it easier for them to have homes down there too!). Now to get round the water problem, as they obviously can't go for that long without water, we put a good chunk of cucumber in the carrier, along with some regular food for them. They don't have much room in the carriers but, as they tend to sleep all day anyway, once they get used to their surroundings, they'll snuggle down and go to sleep for the journey. I know people who travel great distances to go to hamster shows, some for easily as long as your journey would be, and their hammies are certainly no worse for wear for the experience.

samboette

Hi there

Just like the above suggests.......hamsters do travel fine!!

If it's easier for you to take the whole cage then that's fine........your hamster will be sleeping during the day so shouldn't take any notice. You can remove the bottle if you wish, depends how much it may drip during your journey, if drips a lot whilst moving, then replace it with slices of cucumber or apple.

You can buy travel carriers but they are IMO a waste of money, ok for taking to the vets but on long journey not really ideal. You hamster would appreciate being in his normal surroundings, stressing them out isn't good for them plus you'd be taking the cage as well anyway. Travel boxes aren't big enough for longer periods of time!!

Hope this helps!