# Some hamster questions



## JMCC (Feb 23, 2020)

Hello everyone! I'm glad to have come across this forum and I hope some of you might be able to help. 

I have recently bought myself a hamster, about two days ago at the time of posting this, and although for the most part things are going smoothly and he seems to be adjusting well to his new home, I have a few questions and small worries. 

Firstly, he doesn't seem to be drinking much water. I of course have a bottle for him to drink from, and even put a small bowl with a little bit of water in there for him (as I read on a forum that this might help him out), but he just doesn't seem interested. He has noticed the bottle and has done almost everything else but drink out of it, wondering if I should be concerned and how I might get him me comfortable with drinking? He seems to have drank a little bit out of his bowl, but that one sip of water is the only water he has had for two days now. 

He also seems completely uninterested in his wheel. I have tried leaving a tiny slice of carrot in there for him to try and convince him that it's safe, but he just sat there and didn't even attempt to move the wheel. For the most part, he seems more interested in climbing over and sitting on top of the wheel than actually doing some exercise lol. I'm sure this is nothing to worry about, but unfortunately I'm an over-thinker and just wanted to make sure there's no reason to be concerned about this, he is still fairly active despite his refusal to use his wheel.

I'm sure I can probably put these issues down to him having just moved house and being nervous and still figuring things out, but I just wanted some advice and reassurance that I'm not doing anything wrong. He is still quite timid and shaky and nervous, but the more he is becoming comfortable, the more he seems to be coming out of his shell, so it could be completely fine a couple of days time, fingers crossed. 

Thanks to anyone who has read this far, and I hope someone can help me out!

Regards, Jacob


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Hello Jacob 

1. Hamsters don't drink much, according to https://hamsters101.com/how-much-water-do-hamsters-need/
_It may not seem like a lot to us, but hamsters need to drink an average of 10 to 30 ml of water every day, that's roughly 10ml per 100gram of your hamster's body weight. As per the Nutrient Requirements of Laboratory Animals (4th edition), the amount of water a hamster consumes varies depending on the gender and breed. Here is a listing of specifications, per 100g of body weight per hamster daily.
_

_Syrian male hamsters consume roughly 5 ml of water daily_
_Syrian female hamsters consume around 14 ml of water per day_
_Male Chinese hamsters drink 11.4ml of water per day_
_Female Chinese hamsters drink 12.9 mL daily_
2. It may just be that he needs more time to settle, it might be that he is using his wheel, but only at night, or have you checked that it is moving freely? He might be finding it too stiff or something.

What breed is your hamster and what size wheel do you have?


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## JMCC (Feb 23, 2020)

Hello ForestWomble, this was all great information and has certainly helped to alleviate some stress I may have had. I'm sure I'm probably stressing more than him to be honest, he's probably happy as Larry lol! Just like to be sure. 

Glad to hear that about the water, I didn't realise that he may be drinking as little as 5ml of water per day, so that has definitely made me feel a lot better. 

He is a Syrian hamster and his wheel has a diameter of about 3-4 inches I believe. I read somewhere that a bit of veggie oil may help him use it a bit easier, I'm going to try that and see what happens. If the wheel is too small I can always change it, he is expected to at least double in size still I was told, so I'm going to need to adjust the size of the wheel sooner or later anyway.

Thanks again


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

Can we have a photo of your setup?

4"?! Not even a roborovski can be on that let a lone a Syrian. Syrians need an 11 inch upright wheel

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...hGtOcWzBFHTrn2-tg-5y2L1umFz87HCUaAiIEEALw_wcB


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## JMCC (Feb 23, 2020)

Well that's be guessing, it might be a bit bigger. I was told this would be fine when buying all the gear, but quite quickly realised that he wasn't very impressed by the size of the wheel. I can try and get a photo.


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## JMCC (Feb 23, 2020)

So a slight edit to my original post; I did some more research on the wheel and definitely need to get him a generously bigger one for sure, this was my mistake for not being clued up enough going into it, but glad that this was pointed out to me and that I can ammend it early enough so as not to cause him any discomfort. Thank you for informing me of my error, I thought I did enough research beforehand but should have relied more on my own reading than the sales guy in the store.

Also worth noting that I was wrong when I said his current one was 4 inches in diameter, I measured it a bit more accurately and it turns out to be about 6.5. Still not big enough, but hopefully a bit more okay for him until I get him his replacement.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

The size recommended for dwarf hamsters is 8". Syrians is 11". No wheel is actually better than a small wheel. A small wheel can cause back issues which are very painful.

It's a mistake that most of us make! The sales person has one job, to sell you something and a lot of the knowledge they dish out is normally wrong and out of date. 

A few more things to consider. What bedding are you using? What are the dimensions of your cage? These are 2 other major things people often get wrong because of sales people and out of date knowledge.


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

JMCC said:


> Hello ForestWomble, this was all great information and has certainly helped to alleviate some stress I may have had. I'm sure I'm probably stressing more than him to be honest, he's probably happy as Larry lol! Just like to be sure.
> 
> Glad to hear that about the water, I didn't realise that he may be drinking as little as 5ml of water per day, so that has definitely made me feel a lot better.
> 
> ...


Your welcome 



JMCC said:


> So a slight edit to my original post; I did some more research on the wheel and definitely need to get him a generously bigger one for sure, this was my mistake for not being clued up enough going into it, but glad that this was pointed out to me and that I can ammend it early enough so as not to cause him any discomfort. Thank you for informing me of my error, I thought I did enough research beforehand but should have relied more on my own reading than the sales guy in the store.
> 
> Also worth noting that I was wrong when I said his current one was 4 inches in diameter, I measured it a bit more accurately and it turns out to be about 6.5. Still not big enough, but hopefully a bit more okay for him until I get him his replacement.


For as long as his back is straight and he is tiny (which sounds like he is?) he should be OK with the 6.5 inch for a little while, I would recommend ordering a 12 inch wheel ASAP but the wheel you have is better than nothing while waiting for it to be delivered / you can get to a shop.
This is the wheel I recommend:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kaytee-Spi...57673&sprefix=12+inch+hamster+,aps,176&sr=8-2
I've used this type for all my hamsters and gerbils and they've all loved it.


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## Knighterist (Feb 10, 2020)

About the wheel, when I got my ham he also was more interested in balancing on top of it and giving me a heart attack every time! I genuinely thought my hamster was an alien ham at one point because of how he used his wheel!
I recently also moved him into a larger cage with a larger wheel and he did the same thing.


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