# So I'm thinking of getting a hammy



## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

For a while now I've been thinking of getting a hammy. I had one over a decade ago and he was a Syrian. Lived til about 4yrs.

I have seen and handled a robo hamster that's approx 8 weeks old in [email protected] He was in their re-home adoption bit. He was a lovely little boy was able to pick him up and stroke him for a good 10 mins.

I am thinking of adopting him later in the week but I have no set up and a few questions as I haven't had a dwarf.

How much space do dwarf hamsters need? What sort of cage would I need? I was recommended a cage which I thought was too small.


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## Beth78 (Jul 4, 2019)

When my sister had a couple of roborovskis they were kept in a fish tank as they can squeeze through bars.
They had a chinchilla bath with sand for digging, a wheel, lots of chewables, tunnels and ramps.
They were quite active so as big as possible I suppose.


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## Smolmaus (Oct 3, 2019)

Same as any other ham, 80x50cm minimum. But yes, a tank is going to be your best bet. 

Or a zoozone 2 (100x50cm) if you mesh the top bars with fine mesh. Jollyes are still doing them for £50 I think which is a great price. Could also do a bin cage, again you'll need a fine enough mesh or you have to be 100% certain that they cannot possibly reach the roof. 

The Barney on Zooplus has a bar spacing of 7mm which is supposed to be suitable for mice and I have heard of people keeping robos in them but that might be a bit riskier.


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## kimthecat (Aug 11, 2009)

@ForestWomble might have some advice . Hopefully she will see this.


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Hi.

Robos need a lot more space than you'd think, the bigger you can go the better.

I had zooplus's Falco cage and we covered the bars with chicken wire to make sure she couldn't get out. 
A glass tank would be good as no bars to potentially squeeze through.
A lot of people get the Ikea Detolf and turn it into a cage - here's a review 



 this person also has a video on making a lid and another on increasing the size. I'm sure you can find videos on putting the detolf together for a hamster cage. If you have the space it's the best option I think between tank or detolf.
I loved the falco as robos are amazing acrobats and my little Swift loved climbing on the bars.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

Thank you everyone for your comments. Meet Niko my 3month old Robo.








He has a bin cage that has 432² inches floor space which I know is below the minimum of 450² inches. It's the largest one I could find and it's better than the tiny vivarium he was kept in.

He is being kept on carefresh paper bedding (frozen first to kill any nasties.). His wheel looks small but he doesn't arch his back at all on it. Food wise he's on Harry hamster with a few added mealworms/shrimp and Timothy hay (he seems to enjoy it).








He's had a health check and he's healthy.
Even though I have had him for 4 days, he doesn't seem to fussed by me. He'll walk on my hand, and take food from it. So I think things are going well.


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

He is adorable, not the 'normal' colouring either.

How much substrate are you using? It doesn't look very deep and hamsters love to dig and make burrows. (They need to be able to do this)
Also more toys and hidey holes are needed as they don't like too much open space. (I can only see the pets at home box as somewhere to hide? That shouldn't last long hopefully for as long as he is a chewer)
Finally, that wooden chew looks like it might be a bit big for him, as much stuff for him to chew (wooden toys and hidey holes are great as multi purpose) as possible. I found my robo was not a great chewer so keep an eye on his chewing as otherwise his teeth might need clipping by a vet.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

ForestWomble said:


> He is adorable, not the 'normal' colouring either.
> 
> How much substrate are you using? It doesn't look very deep and hamsters love to dig and make burrows. (They need to be able to do this)
> Also more toys and hidey holes are needed as they don't like too much open space. (I can only see the pets at home box as somewhere to hide? That shouldn't last long hopefully for as long as he is a chewer)
> Finally, that wooden chew looks like it might be a bit big for him, as much stuff for him to chew (wooden toys and hidey holes are great as multi purpose) as possible. I found my robo was not a great chewer so keep an eye on his chewing as otherwise his teeth might need clipping by a vet.


I put a 10 litre bag of carefresh in there. One side is deeper than the other and he is able to burrow. Pets at home only had 1 ten litre bag when I got him so yesterday I got a 60 litre (they had a delivery). It's in the freezer as we speak. I do intend to put more in there.








He does seem to be chewing cardboard but his food is quite hard too so that helps.

He's also got a coconut hide in the corner which appears to be his new fave sleeping spot (I got it yesterday). Also the little wooden bridge under the water bottle is mostly buried too.the 'small' wooden chews came with him as they were in the Viv with him.

I do intend to add more hides but [email protected] is expensive so I'm going to look on amazon. I will be topping up the substrate but just waiting for that. He is still able to burrow. The 'deep end' is about 4-5 hamsters deep with the shallow being 2-3 hamsters deep.

Thanks for pointing bedding and hides out though. People think I'm made for having such a large inclosure


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Sounds like you are doing great  

Coconut hides are brilliant, I had one for Swift (my robo) and it was her favourite 'upladder' place to be, I have one for my gerbils now and they love it.

Yes, [email protected] are expensive. I found viovet was a good place to go for hamster stuff, they are a good price too.

That's good, deeper than I thought, but more substrate would be even better, the tunnals they make when given the chance are amazing, I used to feel bad destroying them all on cleanout day, but it kept her busy remaking them so that was good. I like your depth description  

No worries, and thank you for taking it as intended, I was worried I might sound a bit aggressive which was certainly not what I wanted.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

ForestWomble said:


> Sounds like you are doing great
> 
> Coconut hides are brilliant, I had one for Swift (my robo) and it was her favourite 'upladder' place to be, I have one for my gerbils now and they love it.
> 
> ...


Don't worry about it. How often do you clean your ham out? When I had rats it was once a week but they didn't burrow or get stressed out


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Engel98 said:


> Don't worry about it. How often do you clean your ham out? When I had rats it was once a week but they didn't burrow or get stressed out


I did a partial / mini clean once a week, Then a full clean once a month.

With hamsters its important to leave some of their old bedding behind and mix it with the new so they still have their scent, this helps them feel less stress. 
Unless the substrate smelt bad I tended to do a 50/50, 50% old with 50% new substrate. I only had to do a full removal once in the whole time I had her.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

That's fair enough. He doesn't smell really bad but there is a slight smell. I was going to do a small clean as I've had him almost a week! Doesn't feel like it though


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

cleaned out (kinda) and added more substrate as well as some more hides


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Looking good.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

I'd thought I'd update as I haven't posted in a while.

Niko is doing great and I've also upgraded his bin cage and he seems to enjoy the added space.

Taming wise I think it's going well. He hasn't bitten me yet and doesn't seem to be showing any aggression. Hes been taking food from my hand pretty well so I thought I'd try just putting it on my hand but he'd have to climb onto my hand to get it. Well I will say I'm impressed, not only did he climb onto my hand but stayed there and let me stroke him. Had a few nibbles, more curiosity and the fact I smelled like food probably.

Things seem to be going well.


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Engel98 said:


> I'd thought I'd update as I haven't posted in a while.
> 
> Niko is doing great and I've also upgraded his bin cage and he seems to enjoy the added space.
> 
> ...


Well done to you both, carry on as you are and you'll have a fully tamed little one soon.

Niko is such a little cutie and so handsome, I've never seen one his colour in real life. I can't get over that gorgous colouring of his. I must say seeing him makes me miss my little Swift, I look forward to more updates.


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## Smolmaus (Oct 3, 2019)

Sounds like thing are going very well! He is a lovely little man :3


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

Thank you both.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

Update

Niko's bin cage caved in (top was too heavy) but he's alright, slept through the whole thing unharmed. Had to dash to [email protected] as it was the only place open near me at 7:45 at night and got him the XL hamster cage. It's just over the minimum for floor space. States it could have 2 dwarf hams in there but I doubt it.


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