# new hamster I'm worried she's not happy :(



## nikkianddoris (May 17, 2011)

Hello I was wondering if someone could offer some advice to a new hamster owner as I'm a tad worried about my new Syrian Hamster called Doris. We bought her from [email protected] last Monday, and she seemed a bit quiet, after a few days she seems to be picking back up and eating and drinking what I would consider a reasonable amount. I have bought her the seeded bars from [email protected] and aslo the correct food for her. She has also got a mineral stone. I am worried because see seems to be gnawing at her cage, and I'm worried that I'm going to loose her. Can hamsters chew through metal bars?? 

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions


Very worried.. Nikki 

and rolling around in her ball Doris xxx


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## Lilimic (Jan 25, 2011)

I had a wee hamster a while ago and it always chose to pluck away at the cage bars at silly o clock at night when i was trying to sleep. 

Do you just have the one? They are quite social animals and maybe is missing his room mates. Maybe being able to have a cheeky wee chew at the bars is a novelty from being in a glass enclosure. 

Anyway good luck to you both, im sure she's probably fine.x


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Oh don't worry about the bar chewing...a lot of hamsters do that. No matter how much chewing toys you put in then they still do it!

If she's eating and drinking and relatively calm (not attacking) when held then i'd guess it is fine!


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## Chinquary (Mar 5, 2009)

Keep an eye on her, but it is not unusual for hamsters to act shy in their first few days. She was probably a scared and a bit stressed from the move to her new home.

She won't be able to chew through the bars so I shouldn't worry about it. 

You've done great by making sure that you are looking after her properly. 

As I said, keep an eye on her, I have heard that pets at home sell hamsters that can get sick easily and die. Often they are from bad bloodlines, and will easily get stressed and get wet tail and such things. 


Sounds like she ok now thought.  

All the best to you both!


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## nikkianddoris (May 17, 2011)

Oh thank you soo much.. she is currently on her first outing in her ball.. she seems to be enjoying it! She's currently exploring my bedroom in it.. she got a little scared the first time we tried her in it, and sat the squealing :/. [email protected] said that we should only have the one because the fight each other! and I must admit, I don't want a hamster scrap on my hands!! But thank you very much  

Happier Nikki Now.. 

Doris doesn't seem to be at all bothered!!


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

what cage have you got her in? hamsters often start to bar chew from boredom, it then becomes a real hard habbit to break, also what wheel does she have? a syrian needs a wheel with a minimum diameter of 8"


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## nikkianddoris (May 17, 2011)

Though.. my next question is.. How do I recognise Wet tail syndrome?? I'm a little worried as I've never had a hamster before and I don't want her to snuff it..!


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## Guest (May 17, 2011)

Lilimic said:


> Do you just have the one? They are quite social animals and maybe is missing his room mates. Maybe being able to have a cheeky wee chew at the bars is a novelty from being in a glass enclosure.


 Syrians are solitary animals and should always be kept alone.

That said, I would just keep an eye on her, if you are worried just pop her along to the vets to get a check up.

Many hamsters can be bar chewers (don't worry she shouldn't be able to chew through them, can I ask how big is her cage? Does she have a wheel and if so what size?


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

Lilimic said:


> I had a wee hamster a while ago and it always chose to pluck away at the cage bars at silly o clock at night when i was trying to sleep.
> 
> Do you just have the one? They are quite social animals and maybe is missing his room mates. Maybe being able to have a cheeky wee chew at the bars is a novelty from being in a glass enclosure.
> 
> Anyway good luck to you both, im sure she's probably fine.x


syrian hamsters are NOT social, they are solitary by nature and once they reach just 8 weeks old will start to fight with, even if they are related, till the death


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## Guest (May 17, 2011)

nikkianddoris said:


> Though.. my next question is.. How do I recognise Wet tail syndrome?? I'm a little worried as I've never had a hamster before and I don't want her to snuff it..!


http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/hamster_wet_tail.htm
That might help


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## nikkianddoris (May 17, 2011)

@ Lil Miss

Its a cage with a wheel, little slidey thing, and a few tubes.. she also has her ball which she is currently experimenting with. It was the £40 set up advertised on the [email protected] website, coming with a bag of food, sawdust and bedding. (the ball I bought separately. Can you get tube extensions, so she can have more fun while I'm at work?


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## nikkianddoris (May 17, 2011)

Thank you ALL so much!!! I would have lost sleep worrying about her!! You have all been wonderful!!

Much Love and whiskery kisses

Nikki and Doris xx


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

I think it's quite normal for them to chew the bars at times, I know hamsters that I have had in the past have done it. The hamsters we have now don't seem to although it's a Hamster Heaven cage that our Syrian is in and she's too busy messing around putting all her food in the tube to chew bars.  :laugh: She's not very active until the early hours of the morning but she's only around 3 months old and we got her from pets at home too. My previous two Syrians were from there. She uses her wheel a lot though which is the Savic one that came with the cage, it's a bit noisy when she goes fast.

I think she will be fine in a couple of weeks or so.


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## Lilimic (Jan 25, 2011)

Lil Miss said:


> syrian hamsters are NOT social, they are solitary by nature and once they reach just 8 weeks old will start to fight with, even if they are related, till the death


I had hamsters together and they got on well. But thats maybe luck on my behalf. My apologies.


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## nikkianddoris (May 17, 2011)

Lilimic said:


> I had hamsters together and they got on well. But thats maybe luck on my behalf. My apologies.


Personally i think its great they was friends!! Doris has two staffys, (reggie and ruby) a parrot ( bill)(( Technical family heirloom)) and two gold fish for friends 
Doris also would have had a Cat friend too but she passed away the week before.. But I'm sure Florry is still about


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## Guest (May 17, 2011)

nikkianddoris said:


> @ Lil Miss
> 
> Its a cage with a wheel, little slidey thing, and a few tubes.. she also has her ball which she is currently experimenting with. It was the £40 set up advertised on the [email protected] website, coming with a bag of food, sawdust and bedding. (the ball I bought separately. Can you get tube extensions, so she can have more fun while I'm at work?


Is it this one?

If so the wheel will be far too small for her and will hurt her back after a while.
You need to get an 8" one like this or a silent spinner or Wodent Wheel.
Also that cage is a bit small for a syrian, your best bet is a ZooZone 2 or something similar.


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## Guest (May 17, 2011)

Lilimic said:


> I had hamsters together and they got on well. But thats maybe luck on my behalf. My apologies.


Do you mean Syrians or one of the dwarf species?

Syrians will kill each other if housed together and should only be put together for matting and even then it holds it's risks.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

Lilimic said:


> I had hamsters together and they got on well. But thats maybe luck on my behalf. My apologies.


dwarf hamsters, campbells, winter white, and robos, CAN be housed together, syrians however can not.

to the OP, can you link us to the cage? if the wheel you are using came with the cage it probably isnt a big enough wheel, most cages come with wheels between 4.4" - 6.5" which are too small for a syrian


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## Nico0laGouldsmith (Apr 23, 2011)

o0o with you being a new owner just a little word of warning, keep an eye on them in their ball. . . sometimes the balls come open, no matter how well they seem to fasten closed and then you spend the rest of the night searching for the little devil! My flatmate's hamster used to get out constantly no matter how many different balls she tried and we were constantly having to search for it! It once got out of its ball at her parents' house and spent about a week living under the kitchen cupboard, coming out and stealing the food she left out for it so it wouldn't die and then going back. . .thank fully she got her back but it was worrying!


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

Nico0laGouldsmith said:


> o0o with you being a new owner just a little word of warning, keep an eye on them in their ball. . . sometimes the balls come open, no matter how well they seem to fasten closed and then you spend the rest of the night searching for the little devil! My flatmate's hamster used to get out constantly no matter how many different balls she tried and we were constantly having to search for it! It once got out of its ball at her parents' house and spent about a week living under the kitchen cupboard, coming out and stealing the food she left out for it so it wouldn't die and then going back. . .thank fully she got her back but it was worrying!


good point, a bit of cellotape on the lids works wonders for stopping them, although i have never had that problem with the Pennine balls, one of the best brands i have used :lol:

also on a side note, good to see some one else from sheffield here :lol:


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## Nico0laGouldsmith (Apr 23, 2011)

Lil Miss said:


> good point, a bit of cellotape on the lids works wonders for stopping them, although i have never had that problem with the Pennine balls, one of the best brands i have used :lol:
> 
> also on a side note, good to see some one else from sheffield here :lol:


eep hiya! I'm a member of a few different forums (mainly hedgehog ones though) and rarely notice people from anywhere near me  haha

and you're a hedgie owner too!!!!


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

Nico0laGouldsmith said:


> eep hiya! I'm a member of a few different forums (mainly hedgehog ones though) and rarely notice people from anywhere near me  haha
> 
> and you're a hedgie owner too!!!!


yep i am, im on one hog forum, but i sort of left after i lost my old girl to WHS, just havent gone back :lol:

where abouts in sheff are you from?


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## Nico0laGouldsmith (Apr 23, 2011)

well I'm not technically living in Sheffield anymore I live in Rotherham but I lived just off Ecclesall Road 
I'm a student nurse though and the area was a bit too noisy for me when I was on nights and things. . .I'm qualifying in September though and if I end up with a job in Sheffield I'm planning on moving back but to somewhere a bit more out of the way  

how about you


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

Nico0laGouldsmith said:


> well I'm not technically living in Sheffield anymore I live in Rotherham but I lived just off Ecclesall Road
> I'm a student nurse though and the area was a bit too noisy for me when I was on nights and things. . .I'm qualifying in September though and if I end up with a job in Sheffield I'm planning on moving back but to somewhere a bit more out of the way
> 
> how about you


haha i can imagine ecclesall road can get very noisy :lol: i live more out the way in stocksbridge


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## Lilimic (Jan 25, 2011)

B3rnie said:


> Do you mean Syrians or one of the dwarf species?
> 
> Syrians will kill each other if housed together and should only be put together for matting and even then it holds it's risks.


Russian ones.  Not syrians.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

Lilimic said:


> Russian ones.  Not syrians.


that is why then lol, russians (campbells, winter whites, or hybrids) can often happily live in pairs or groups, syrians however are solitary animals by nature


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## Nico0laGouldsmith (Apr 23, 2011)

Lil Miss said:


> haha i can imagine ecclesall road can get very noisy :lol: i live more out the way in stocksbridge


oh awesome 

yeah Ecclesall road was pretty hectic. . . once someone's house got broken in to as well in the early afternoon WHILST THEY WERE HOME!!!! across the road from us. . . a gang of lads threw a brick through their bay window and ran inside and literally took their laptops out of their hands and climbed back out!!! the police didn't get there quick enough either!!!

there was also a couple of houses with elderly people living in them on our street  I felt so sorry for them. . .when I first moved in and it was loud I said to my boyfriend "you'd think they'd move because of all the noise" and then I realised why should they??? It's their home, they've probably lived there since way before it became a student area, why should they have to leave their homes? The students should just have been more considerate!

I wouldn't mind living towards Dore (I had a nursing placement in the community there once)it's lovely but a little out of our price range I think. . .I'm hoping an invention my boyfriend has made and pursuing (something to do with guitars. .. I'm not clear on the details hahaha) takes off then I can have my farm I've always wanted in the middle of nowhere . . . one can dream!!!!


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## Guest (May 18, 2011)

Lilimic said:


> Russian ones.  Not syrians.


Ahh that explains it, I got confused because the OP has a syrian.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

Nico0laGouldsmith said:


> oh awesome
> 
> yeah Ecclesall road was pretty hectic. . . once someone's house got broken in to as well in the early afternoon WHILST THEY WERE HOME!!!! across the road from us. . . a gang of lads threw a brick through their bay window and ran inside and literally took their laptops out of their hands and climbed back out!!! the police didn't get there quick enough either!!!
> 
> ...


oh yeah my grandma lived in an area that became studentised, just off london road, she was dying with cancer, and the students that moved in next door wouldnt keep the music down, not good memories 

yeah out dore way is soooo expensive, i like it out this way, apart from public transport is useless :lol:

oops looks like we are clogging up this post a bit haha, feel free to PM me if you like hun, always great to talk to other animal people who live near, aslong as they dont plot to steal my fluffs :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Nico0laGouldsmith (Apr 23, 2011)

Lil Miss said:


> oh yeah my grandma lived in an area that became studentised, just off london road, she was dying with cancer, and the students that moved in next door wouldnt keep the music down, not good memories
> 
> yeah out dore way is soooo expensive, i like it out this way, apart from public transport is useless :lol:
> 
> oops looks like we are clogging up this post a bit haha, feel free to PM me if you like hun, always great to talk to other animal people who live near, aslong as they dont plot to steal my fluffs :lol: :lol: :lol:


aww that's truly awful!!!!

I've PMd you anyway a little while ago because I didn't want to steal the thread like you've pointed out  haha

Sorryyyy nikkianddoris!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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