# New hamster



## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

Hey everyone,

I'm new to this forum and I just picked up a Syrian hamster yesterday and thought I'd join a forum in case I had any questions or anything. So far everything is fine - I've set his/her (I haven't figured out the sex yet) cage up, and he (let's just call him that for now) seems to be settling in quite nicely.

I realize that you're supposed to let them get to know their new home for a few days, a week would be best, before handling them or disturbing them too much, so I've left him alone for the most part, except for when I took him out and played with him once. He seemed to be scared, and that would be obvious, considering he just got a new home, but he was also very fast and I looked up on Youtube videos about Syrians and they all seemed so calm and slow, and they let their owners handle them. Is he going to calm down? He seems to be eating, that's a good sign. The only thing I have to do now is pick up a couple tubes for him to hide in, a sturdy house/nest and one of those exercise balls!

Now - about his wheel. I looked it up online and a few websites told me that the best hamster wheels don't have rungs, they have a solid surface. The one that came with his cage is made out of a cheap plastic and it does have rungs. I noticed that his little feet were slipping through the rungs as he ran. Is this alright or should I go out and buy a better one without those rungs?

I have a couple of questions concerning his food. I haven't bought him a proper food dish yet, so I tried to find a makeshift one instead. So far, all I can seem to find around the house is the plastic top of a small tupperware container which seems to be the right size, but it's not deep enough, and I had that filled with food, but I noticed that the shavings on the bottom of the cage were getting mixed in with the food and I didn't like it, so I switched the plastic "dish" with a glass bowl sort of, very tiny, and it's raised, and he has no problem climbing into it to select his food. Is that fine, or do I need to buy a specially made hamster food dish?

My second question is as follows - how much should I be feeding him? Right now, I fill the glass dish up to the top, and of course it holds quite a bit of food for one little Syrian to eat, and the directions on hamster care sheets and on the food packages it tells me to give him new food daily, does that mean I have to throw away the food he doesn't eat? It seems like such a waste.

Just to be clear, I have done the research about owning a hamster prior to getting one, I'm just wondering about these things. Teddy is my second hamster I've owned.


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## Lady Sol (Aug 20, 2009)

> Now - about his wheel. I looked it up online and a few websites told me that the best hamster wheels don't have rungs, they have a solid surface. The one that came with his cage is made out of a cheap plastic and it does have rungs. I noticed that his little feet were slipping through the rungs as he ran. Is this alright or should I go out and buy a better one without those rungs?


You need to buy one without the rungs. Make sure it's at least 8inches in diameter.



> My second question is as follows - how much should I be feeding him? Right now, I fill the glass dish up to the top, and of course it holds quite a bit of food for one little Syrian to eat, and the directions on hamster care sheets and on the food packages it tells me to give him new food daily, does that mean I have to throw away the food he doesn't eat? It seems like such a waste.


I'm a cruel hamster mummy. I only top it up if it's getting empty. Otherwise they only pick their favourite bits out and leave the rest.



> I have a couple of questions concerning his food. I haven't bought him a proper food dish yet, so I tried to find a makeshift one instead. So far, all I can seem to find around the house is the plastic top of a small tupperware container which seems to be the right size, but it's not deep enough, and I had that filled with food, but I noticed that the shavings on the bottom of the cage were getting mixed in with the food and I didn't like it, so I switched the plastic "dish" with a glass bowl sort of, very tiny, and it's raised, and he has no problem climbing into it to select his food. Is that fine, or do I need to buy a specially made hamster food dish?


The food dish is a human invention. You hamster will not object if you just throw the food on the cage floor (though miss the bed and the toilet corner!). Cermamic bowls are best as the hamster can't tip them over or eat the bowl.



> I realize that you're supposed to let them get to know their new home for a few days, a week would be best, before handling them or disturbing them too much, so I've left him alone for the most part, except for when I took him out and played with him once. He seemed to be scared, and that would be obvious, considering he just got a new home, but he was also very fast and I looked up on Youtube videos about Syrians and they all seemed so calm and slow, and they let their owners handle them. Is he going to calm down? He seems to be eating, that's a good sign. The only thing I have to do now is pick up a couple tubes for him to hide in, a sturdy house/nest and one of those exercise balls!


Generally they calm down as they mature, but they are all individuals. Mine move almost constantly out the cage, but mostly at a pace I can catch them.


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

Alright, thanks a bunch for your help. :3 I love Teddy, but I just wish he would be a tiny bit more active during the day.

Ooh, something I just thought of - I realize that hamsters wake up after sunset, but do they have like a little internal clock built into them that wakes them up and keeps them active after a specific time, no matter if the lights are on in their room?

In other words, do I have to play with him in the dark or can I wait until after sunset and switch on the light?


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

Anyone wanna help me?


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## CharleyRogan (Feb 20, 2009)

I find that Alfie gets up when he wants! But does tend to get up when the lights are dim and its nearly dark!


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

ive got 8 hamsters and they all seem to get up at different times,Pippin is always the 1st up around 4pm ...then i have a couple who dont get up until about 9pm:eek6:....the rest somewhere in between, they do also pop out in the daytime but dont usually stay up for very long if ones up i always get them out so they can have some freedom.

good luck with your new addition....dont forget to post some piccys:thumbup:


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Awww well congratulations on your new hammy!! I too can't wait for pics hint hint 

What kind of cage do you have...ie what are the dimensions? If it has a cheap wheel it is likely the pet shop sold you a wrongly sized cage for a Syrian....they do get quite big!!

Yeah your hammy should calm down. If you got him/her from a pet shop it may take slightly longer as they may not have been handled regularly. I got my Dini from someone who had handled her so whereas she was very tame...she was ULTRA quick as a baby. Calm, quiet talking and treats when they respond to you will help tame them!

Oh and yeah my Syrians tend to get up mid to late evening...from 8-9 all the way through till 12-1am. I have one dwarf who often doesn't get up till 6-7 am! xx


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## dee o gee (May 21, 2010)

I just scatter the food on the floor of the cage, it makes it more interesting for them because they have to find it all, I also sometimes put the food inside a cardboard toilet roll insert and stuff it tight with tissue so she has to tear up all the tissue to get to the food. It makes mealtimes more interesting. 

I feed mine every two days, about a large heaped dessert spoon, my syrian at the moment stuffs all food into her mouth and moves it to her little stash so it can be hard sometimes to tell how much food she has left so it took my a while to figure out roughly how much to give her without starving her or having too much food go to waste. I never bothered with a dish after the first week because all she done with it was take all food out of it and then try and pull the dish (which was quite big) into her bed. :confused1: 
But every hamster is different, I had a pair of dwarfs that I had to use a dish with because they liked to just take a few bits at a time and eat those before coming back later for some more.

As regards wheels the silent spinner wheels are great, I think Iv heard people saying wodent wheels are good too.

After a while hamsters tend to alter their sleeping pattern to suit you a bit, when they're young they tend to be awake at night and sleep during the day but Iv found as they get older mine tend to wake up during the day a bit more if they hear me coming into the room. I could be completely wrong but that is just my observation with my own hamsters.


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

noushka05 said:


> ive got 8 hamsters and they all seem to get up at different times,Pippin is always the 1st up around 4pm ...then i have a couple who dont get up until about 9pm


Wow, eight hamsters! That seems like quite a handful, although I'm the type of person to have more than a couple of pets at once as well. :3 How old are they all?



niki87 said:


> What kind of cage do you have...ie what are the dimensions?



I just measured it now, with a regular ruler, so the dimensions may be off a bit, but I got 15.5" x 10.5" x 15". It has a plastic base and a wire top, like a basic hamster cage. In the pet store, they had about three or four different sizes of hamster cages, one was very small, around $50, the other one that I got, $65, and then two more around $70-75. I figured I'd settle on a mid-sized hamster cage, it is two storeys so I thought it would be large enough.



niki87 said:


> Yeah your hammy should calm down. If you got him/her from a pet shop it may take slightly longer as they may not have been handled regularly. I got my Dini from someone who had handled her so whereas she was very tame...she was ULTRA quick as a baby. Calm, quiet talking and treats when they respond to you will help tame them!


I sure hope he calms down, because I want to put him on my bed and pet him while he eats/explores, instead of always being on edge that he's running off - of course I'm not going to try this until I can handle him, I don't want to risk him falling off and injuring himself!

Also - I could tell that he hadn't ever been handled, or rarely, because he still seems to be scared of me when I put my hand in the cage. Yes, I've let him sniff me and crawl over my hand, but it's quite a hassle to pick him up, since he keeps wanting to escape. I'm sure he just needs some time.



dee o gee said:


> I just scatter the food on the floor of the cage, it makes it more interesting for them because they have to find it all, I also sometimes put the food inside a cardboard toilet roll insert and stuff it tight with tissue so she has to tear up all the tissue to get to the food. It makes mealtimes more interesting.


That's an interesting idea! Their noses are strong enough to sniff through wads of tissue paper? Because I may try that. :3


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

I went to the pet store yesterday and bought him freeze-dried strawberry treats, an exercise ball, a new wheel and a little wooden house, although now that I think about it, he'll probably outgrow the house and the new wheel. I would've bought a bigger wheel, but it was the only one I could see that had no rungs.

There was another house I was quite fond of, with a little tower that you could fill with food, but the little opening where the food sat at the bottom seemed so tiny, and I noticed that hamsters like to sit in their food dish while they pick out their favourites, so I didn't buy it.

Is there a certain width that the wheel should be, so that it's big enough for a fully grown Syrian hamster? I also have another question - is there any way to tell a hamsters age? I realize that adult Syrians can grow up to 5-6", and I think Teddy is about 3-3.5" at the moment, so he's definitely not fully grown.

Also - I tried figuring out his sex by looking at his vent and anal opening, but all I could seem to see is one long opening when I lay him on his back on my hand, instead of two openings. When I used this image as a reference, the one that looked most like what I saw would be the female diagram - maybe I saw two openings but they were just placed close together and I didn't notice? Because I certainly do not remember seeing a "male scent gland" around his stomach. Maybe I should take a picture and you guys could help me out?

I've heard that hamsters can be trained to use a litter box - have you guys had any experience with this? I realize you should get a little dish/box that allows them to sit in it with high walls so they don't spray their urine everywhere. If you guys think I should try this, I hope my local pet store carries specific "litter boxes".

Last question - is there any behavioural differences in males and females? Like I've heard that some males are more aggressive, and some females are more cuddly, but I'm just wondering.

I'll upload some pictures of the little cutie soon!


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## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

Celestial said:


> Is there a certain width that the wheel should be, so that it's big enough for a fully grown Syrian hamster?


Yes, someone said in a previous post that a wheel needs to be at least 8 inches in diameter.



> I've heard that hamsters can be trained to use a litter box - have you guys had any experience with this? I realize you should get a little dish/box that allows them to sit in it with high walls so they don't spray their urine everywhere. If you guys think I should try this, I hope my local pet store carries specific "litter boxes".


You can put a hamster litter tray thing into the corner the hammy most frequently uses as a pee corner (you will find this out as you go along, most of them pick 1 corner to wee in but mostly poo wherever) and you can also put a few poos and a small amount of pee soiled shavings into the litter tray (with the litter stuff) to encourage them to go in there. I used to have them for my hammies but they never worked.

I also think your cage is far too small for a syrian, you need something like the Hamster Heaven (if it's available in Canada) or something of that size, i've heard that good hammy cages are hard to come by in the US/Canada.


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## metame (Sep 25, 2009)

i dont think i can add to anyones replies but just wanted to say welcome to the forums, congrats on your new hamster and cant wait for pictures!


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

Verbatim said:


> I also think your cage is far too small for a syrian, you need something like the Hamster Heaven (if it's available in Canada) or something of that size, i've heard that good hammy cages are hard to come by in the US/Canada.


Oh, well that's just great. I doubt I can return it now, that sucks. I'll try to see at Petsmart, if they have any of the "Hamster Heaven" cages.



metame said:


> i dont think i can add to anyones replies but just wanted to say welcome to the forums, congrats on your new hamster and cant wait for pictures!


Thank you :3


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## SatanicGoth (Oct 16, 2010)

dee o gee said:


> I just scatter the food on the floor of the cage, it makes it more interesting for them because they have to find it all, I also sometimes put the food inside a cardboard toilet roll insert and stuff it tight with tissue so she has to tear up all the tissue to get to the food. It makes mealtimes more interesting.


I do a similar thing for my hammie Izzy, I fold one end of the toilet roll tube stuf it with treats and some bedding then fold the other end and spread a thin layer of peanut butter on it, she loves it and spends ages trying to get the tasty treats. I do have a food bowl, but as someone said before I only top it up when its getting empty. I have pet shop dry food and I check everyday for any yucky bits. I also give her bits of fruit and veg everyday, dried meal worms and sometimes a few bits of my toast.
I bury pieces of food in her bedding and tunnels and he spends hours seeking it out and putting it back in the bowl .
Izzy wakes up when I wake up and sits on my lap for a bit while I have breakfast, she generally only sits still because she brings her own snacks in her pouches which she seems to like emptying in my lap lol. After that she goes back for a nap until about 6pm and then she zooms round her cage, sticking her nose into everything.
I got Izzy 3 weeks ago tomorrow from pets @ home. She was up for adoption and the sign next to her cage said "unwanted, chewed curtains", so I brought her home as an early birthday prezzie to myself but it was soon clear that she had never been handled. She was 16 weeks old, bit me twice while putting bedding in her little house and pee'd everytime she went in her ball for the 1st week.
I put gardening gloves on and only picked her up when she stepped into my hands, put her in her ball and back in her cage when she had finnished exploring. I also stroked her back gently and she got used to being touched, shes still a bit twitchy about me touching her head. She now lets me handle her but its at 100 mph lol. She decided to sit on the toilet roll with the peanut butter on it so I had to brush it out and that was a challenge.
You need a solid wheel she he/she doesnt catch their feet or nose, one that is specially made for syrians, most hamster items are actually for dwarfs.
To be honest as long as your patient, slow moving and let the hamster go at its own pace he/she should be fine.
Just make sure when out in their ball they are only out for about 20 mins then come back for some food and water. Izzy spends about an hour and a half zooming around but she has breaks inbetween for her numnums lol
Enjoy your hammie :thumbup:


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## dee o gee (May 21, 2010)

SatanicGoth said:


> I got Izzy 3 weeks ago tomorrow from pets @ home. She was up for adoption and the sign next to her cage said "unwanted, chewed curtains", so I brought her home as an early birthday prezzie to myself but it was soon clear that she had never been handled.


How the hell does a hamster chew curtains!! :scared: :confused1:


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## SatanicGoth (Oct 16, 2010)

dee o gee said:


> How the hell does a hamster chew curtains!! :scared: :confused1:


lol exactly, shes my first hammie and even I know not to let her out my sight. thats what happens when muppets get animals


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## Lady Sol (Aug 20, 2009)

They'll chew curtains if they can reach them through the bars of their cage.


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## SatanicGoth (Oct 16, 2010)

Lady Sol said:


> They'll chew curtains if they can reach them through the bars of their cage.


From what the lady at pets @ home told me she was sitting on the window sill chomping on the curtains lol


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## Lady Sol (Aug 20, 2009)

Aww, she wanted extra bedding :lol:


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

dee o gee said:


> How the hell does a hamster chew curtains!! :scared: :confused1:


Oh don't!! My Roma pulled a quarter of a whole curtain through the bars of her cage...in the first night of my new rented home!!!! And on trip to vet I put my son's coat over the carrier...and through the tiny gap between the bars she shredded the inside of that too!! GRRRRR!!!  xx


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

Lol! All of your stories about curtain/clothing-chewing are pretty funny, although it's not so good when it's yours they chew on. P:

SatanicGoth - thank you for your help! I've had my hamster less than a week now and he's still very twitchy around me. I try to make kissy noises at him to get his attention, but it seems that he flinches whenever I do that, so I feel like I'm hurting his ears. He's letting me hand-feed him, which is good - the only thing I've noticed is that, since I got him from a pet shop and he wasn't handled regularly, he runs away from me when I try and pick him up, and then when I've finally won the battle, he tries to run off of my lap, so eventually I either put him in his ball for a little while or back in his cage and give him a treat.

He has peed I think every time I've put him in his ball. Is he just nervous? I'm planning on picking up a litter box tomorrow, and see how that works out, along with a playpen, and a larger wheel. The one I have now has no rungs for him to get his feet/nose caught, but it's less than 8".

I also have a very curious dog and whenever he sees me sitting on the floor trying to pet my hamster, he starts barking, and I know that he's going to scare poor Teddy so it's making it hard for me to play with him and let him know that I won't hurt him. Tiger, that's my dog, has also noticed his exercise ball and starts pushing it around, so I don't think I should try and take it slow with the two of them, Tiger is 6 and he's been the only animal in here (apart from my turtles and fish that he doesn't seem to notice), so he's quite territorial - he even barks and tries to scare away animals on the TV.

I had a dwarf hamster when I was 11, and I read that they're not as cuddly, and harder to train than Syrian hamsters, but all I can remember about him is that he would stay and sit in my hand when I held him and he wouldn't bite, he was a happy hamster until he developed that tumour. I just hope Teddy will get to know and trust me more.


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## Guest (Oct 29, 2010)

You could try putting Teddy in the bath (with the plug in) and then get in with him, and every time he comes over to you give him something that he really likes 

As for the wheel, if it is less than 8" you will need to get a bigger one because as Teddy grows he will get too big for the wheel and it will hurt his back


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

B3rnie said:


> You could try putting Teddy in the bath (with the plug in) and then get in with him, and every time he comes over to you give him something that he really likes
> 
> As for the wheel, if it is less than 8" you will need to get a bigger one because as Teddy grows he will get too big for the wheel and it will hurt his back


Which bath, which plug? O: Do you mean a sand bath? I haven't gotten one of those yet. As I said, I'll most likely be going out today either to my local pet store or Petsmart, and see if I can pick up a few more things like chinchilla sand, a litter box, a playpen, maybe even a larger cage. Hopefully I can sell my old one.

Yes, I've noticed that the little piece of plastic in the center of the wheel that juts out is interfering with his exercise time since his back rubs up against it. I'll be sure to get him a new wheel ASAP, thanks. :3


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Celestial said:


> Which bath, which plug? O: Do you mean a sand bath? I haven't gotten one of those yet. As I said, I'll most likely be going out today either to my local pet store or Petsmart, and see if I can pick up a few more things like chinchilla sand, a litter box, a playpen, maybe even a larger cage. Hopefully I can sell my old one.
> 
> Yes, I've noticed that the little piece of plastic in the center of the wheel that juts out is interfering with his exercise time since his back rubs up against it. I'll be sure to get him a new wheel ASAP, thanks. :3


Yeah the wheel is crucial as they spend so much time on it and that plastic will damage his back.

No OP meant if you put Teddy in your bath...in the bathroom...they can't get out but can run in a place bigger than the cage. Only thing I would say about this is that I put my Roma in there a last week while I changed her cage...came back and there was blood streaks in the bath. She had knicked her claw on front paw. Now I have an old bath and is no longer smooth. And I have have my other Syrian girly in there too and she was fine...but might be worth just keeping an eye on. But its a good solution! xx


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## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

just to add, i'd keep your dog well away from your hamster! Hammies are quick moving creatures and can catch the attention of a dog with disasterous consequences. You say your dog isn't used to other animals too - he may mistake your hammy for a toy and will most probably hurt or kill him if he catches him or even bites your hammy through the cage (my last dog did this with my parrot and killed him, it is not a nice experience to have and not worth risking)

i'd also strongly suggest you train your dog to keep away from the ball (or just don't let him see the ball) because if he's interested in it when it's empty then he will most definitely be interested in it when there's a small furry critter running round in it!

Also the barking will definitely be scaring your hammy and is very likely to be putting back any taming you're doing with him. Again, i'd keep your dog and your hamster well apart - it's not worth trying to get them to be friendly towards each other, it doesn't really benefit either of them.

and btw - my dog is called Tiger as well :thumbup: what breed is he?


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

niki87 said:


> No OP meant if you put Teddy in your bath...in the bathroom...they can't get out but can run in a place bigger than the cage. Only thing I would say about this is that I put my Roma in there a last week while I changed her cage...came back and there was blood streaks in the bath. She had knicked her claw on front paw. Now I have an old bath and is no longer smooth. And I have have my other Syrian girly in there too and she was fine...but might be worth just keeping an eye on. But its a good solution! xx


Aw, poor little Roma! I'll try that - putting Teddy in the bath will make it easier for him to get to know me, without having to be scared by Tiger.



Verbatim said:


> Also the barking will definitely be scaring your hammy and is very likely to be putting back any taming you're doing with him. Again, i'd keep your dog and your hamster well apart - it's not worth trying to get them to be friendly towards each other, it doesn't really benefit either of them.
> 
> and btw - my dog is called Tiger as well :thumbup: what breed is he?


Alright, I'll make sure to just let him run around in his ball away from my dog, when he's sleeping. Thanks for your advice! Also, my Tiger is a Pekingese/Yorkshire Terrier mix, what about yours?


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## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

Celestial said:


> Aw, poor little Roma! I'll try that - putting Teddy in the bath will make it easier for him to get to know me, without having to be scared by Tiger.
> 
> Alright, I'll make sure to just let him run around in his ball away from my dog, when he's sleeping. Thanks for your advice! Also, my Tiger is a Pekingese/Yorkshire Terrier mix, what about yours?


oh wow what an unusual mix 

mine is a Patterdale Terrier, possibly with a bit of Staffordshire Bull Terrier in there as well somewhere 

this is him:


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

Verbatim said:


> oh wow what an unusual mix
> 
> mine is a Patterdale Terrier, possibly with a bit of Staffordshire Bull Terrier in there as well somewhere
> 
> this is him:


Aww, very cute! He looks like he's a very happy dog! I would upload a picture of mine, but my camera seems to be lost, and I only have the pictures I took on my phone - but I'll be sure to stick a whole bunch of pictures up here of Teddy and Tiger when I can. :3


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

Here are two pictures of Tiger that I took just now with my webcam - sorry for the bad quality!


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

And here are a few of Teddy!


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## metame (Sep 25, 2009)

lol, tigers looking like 'what you wanna take a picture of me for?'

teddy's cute! (well, they're both cute)


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

metame said:


> lol, tigers looking like 'what you wanna take a picture of me for?'
> 
> teddy's cute! (well, they're both cute)


Haha, yeah :3 Thanks!

So I didn't get a chance to go to Petsmart yesterday, I decided I'd wait until today since my dad can drive me there. I'm excited, I love Petsmart. :3


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

Celestial said:


> Wow, eight hamsters! That seems like quite a handful, although I'm the type of person to have more than a couple of pets at once as well. :3 How old are they all?
> 
> t. :3[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]


oops i forgot about this thread my hammies range from around 10 months to 15 weeks-ish, the rest in between altho one of my rescues looks older than his previous owner says:confused1:



Celestial said:


> And here are a few of Teddy!


Teddy is Gorgeous! a little cutie:001_wub:


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## SatanicGoth (Oct 16, 2010)

I also make Kissy noises, sometimes Izzy ignores me and sometimes she comes over lol. For the first week everytime I put Izzy in her ball she pee'd in it and I think that was nerves, she doesnt do it anymore and she seems less jumpy.
you could close the door of the room your in with the hammie so the dogs not around, let the dog sniff the cage and hammie in the cage but becareful about out of the cage as this isnt the hammies own space and it may get scared and bite, most probably you.

I bought Izzy a play pen today from pets @ home so she can run around outside the cage for a bit as we dont have a bath. also make sure you watch teddy in his ball, Izzy discovered last night that if she chews the tabs that hold the door on she can get out. She was found 5 mins later hiding in my fiances sock drawer lol


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Awww he is a stunning boy....as is Tiger! Well done on taming him!! xx


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

noushka05 said:


> my hammies range from around 10 months to 15 weeks-ish, the rest in between altho one of my rescues looks older than his previous owner says:confused1:


Aww, how cute. I wish I'd thought of getting a rescue hamster... 



SatanicGoth said:


> I also make Kissy noises, sometimes Izzy ignores me and sometimes she comes over lol. For the first week everytime I put Izzy in her ball she pee'd in it and I think that was nerves, she doesnt do it anymore and she seems less jumpy.
> you could close the door of the room your in with the hammie so the dogs not around, let the dog sniff the cage and hammie in the cage but becareful about out of the cage as this isnt the hammies own space and it may get scared and bite, most probably you.
> 
> I bought Izzy a play pen today from pets @ home so she can run around outside the cage for a bit as we dont have a bath. also make sure you watch teddy in his ball, Izzy discovered last night that if she chews the tabs that hold the door on she can get out. She was found 5 mins later hiding in my fiances sock drawer lol


Yeah, Teddy sticks his nose out of his house whenever I make kissy noises now. :3 I put him in his ball again and he's getting the hang of it more and he's zooming around. I would close the door of my room, but Tiger would sit outside, crying, scratching at the door, and we live in a condo, so I don't want people to complain about the noise. Either I do it when he's sleeping or sneak Teddy elsewhere when he doesn't notice.

Ooh, that's very smart of her! I hope Teddy doesn't do that. Perhaps I could somehow tape the top of the ball on for exercise time and then put new tape on it every time? I remember with my dwarf hamster a while back, he would run straight into a wall and the top would come off the ball sometimes, thankfully I caught him just in time. Hopefully Teddy won't figure that out, haha.

I also bought Teddy a little playpen from Petsmart today, along with a bigger wheel and a litter box. I still need to pick up a couple tubes and stuff to actually put in the playpen - it wouldn't be a playpen if there wasn't anything to play with!



niki87 said:


> Awww he is a stunning boy....as is Tiger! Well done on taming him!! xx


Thank you! He's not fully tamed, but thankfully he did let me pick him up and hold him so I could take a couple pictures! I've also noticed that he's slowed down a bit, he's not trying to zoom off every time I pick him up - that's a good thing!


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## dee o gee (May 21, 2010)

Lady Sol said:


> They'll chew curtains if they can reach them through the bars of their cage.


Ah that makes more sense, I had images of this previous owner not knowing that hamsters have to be kept in a cage and letting her have the run of the house the whole time, hence the curtain chewing. :lol:


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## SatanicGoth (Oct 16, 2010)

dee o gee said:


> Ah that makes more sense, I had images of this previous owner not knowing that hamsters have to be kept in a cage and letting her have the run of the house the whole time, hence the curtain chewing. :lol:


To be honest I think that was the case :eek6:


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

dee o gee said:


> Ah that makes more sense, I had images of this previous owner not knowing that hamsters have to be kept in a cage and letting her have the run of the house the whole time, hence the curtain chewing. :lol:


Aww, I hope not many people do that... you shouldn't leave them unattended, especially with other pets/children in the house - they could get hurt!


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

Just an update for everyone who cares. Teddy's doing just fine, my dog is still very interested in the cage and actually managed to pull it over off of the table yesterday - so I moved it farther back and am not letting him out of my sight.

I bought an 8" wheel but it doesn't fit on either floor of the cage, on its stand or just attached to the wires (which I can't seem to do either...), so it does seem that my cage is a bit too small for a Syrian hamster - I think it was meant for dwarf hamsters. I looked at the measurements on the box and they are 16" x 16" x 11.5". Could someone tell me the proper measurements for a cage where a fully grown Syrian hamster could thrive, please?

Here is the product information and a picture of the cage I purchased: here.


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## Leah84 (Jun 22, 2009)

dee o gee said:


> How the hell does a hamster chew curtains!! :scared: :confused1:


ahahah my gerbil babies chewed all my grams curtains and my rats babies chewed all my jackets my hammies chewed my daughter`s curtains, they`ll chew anything they can reach! i don`t see how they can blame the pet though, they were careless enough to leave it within reach so accept the consequences, i was gutted my rats ate my favourite jacket but with 20 of them i guess i should have made extra care an it wasn`t their fault!

ohhhhh teddy is such a sweetie!!! looks like you`re doing a great job with him


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

Leah84 said:


> ahahah my gerbil babies chewed all my grams curtains and my rats babies chewed all my jackets my hammies chewed my daughter`s curtains, they`ll chew anything they can reach! i don`t see how they can blame the pet though, they were careless enough to leave it within reach so accept the consequences, i was gutted my rats ate my favourite jacket but with 20 of them i guess i should have made extra care an it wasn`t their fault!
> 
> ohhhhh teddy is such a sweetie!!! looks like you`re doing a great job with him


Aww, thank you! :3 That's too bad about the curtain and jacket chewing, but twenty rats seems like a whole lot! I wouldn't be able to keep my eye on all of them!


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## Leah84 (Jun 22, 2009)

Celestial said:


> Aww, thank you! :3 That's too bad about the curtain and jacket chewing, but twenty rats seems like a whole lot! I wouldn't be able to keep my eye on all of them!


i was given 2 female rats as the owner never wanted them and turned out both were pregnant, i ended up with 25 rats in total after a couple passed at birth and i was so careful of their homes so it took me a long time to rehome them but it was worth while. i still miss my jacket but it was my own fault as i left them hanging on the door which was near the cage, didn`t think they could reach at the time lol i did have a few bubs escape whilst i was fitting the chicken wire to keep them in but found them again, it was a chaotic experience! tbh the way i see it is that i own the animal and if they cause damage then i`m to blame not them


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

Leah84 said:


> i was given 2 female rats as the owner never wanted them and turned out both were pregnant, i ended up with 25 rats in total after a couple passed at birth and i was so careful of their homes so it took me a long time to rehome them but it was worth while. i still miss my jacket but it was my own fault as i left them hanging on the door which was near the cage, didn`t think they could reach at the time lol i did have a few bubs escape whilst i was fitting the chicken wire to keep them in but found them again, it was a chaotic experience! tbh the way i see it is that i own the animal and if they cause damage then i`m to blame not them


Yes, that's true. It's silly when people yell, and shout at, and even hurt their animals for their own actions. Like if a puppy isn't house broken yet and the owners yell and scream, it won't help matters at all. It makes me sad when people give up on their pets.

Wow - that sounds like some experience. I've always wanted to have brought home a pregnant female, and possibly find a newborn litter one day, but it's never happened with me. I suppose it's for the better, since I would have a hard time finding them proper homes.


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## SatanicGoth (Oct 16, 2010)

It is sad that Izzy was put up for adoption for basically just being a hammie but in a way its good because I adoptedher and now shes spoilt. About the cage I dont know the proper measurements as Izzy's my 1st hammie and Im still learning but yesterday my fiance treated me and Izzy to the rotastak space command cage and she loves in. She's been up and down the spaghetti juntion all day lol. Now shes finally fallen asleep curled up next to the entrance to the tunnel lol 
I checked with the pet store that it was sutible for syrian hammies and it is, she fits perfectly. Now just to save up for my rooms and tunnels :thumbup:


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## happysaz133 (Jun 5, 2008)

Teddy is cute! Just an FYI on the cage, you mentioned you were going to look for a bigger one. In the USA, rat cages are a better option for hamsters, as I don't think you have many that meet welfare guidlines size-wise. USA rat cages are too small for rats, but they are OK for Syrian hamsters! This is a reasonable choice...
Super Pet Deluxe Rat My First Home - Habitats & Cages - Small Pet - PetSmart

I have recommended it to many USA hammy owners!


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

SatanicGoth said:


> It is sad that Izzy was put up for adoption for basically just being a hammie but in a way its good because I adoptedher and now shes spoilt. About the cage I dont know the proper measurements as Izzy's my 1st hammie and Im still learning but yesterday my fiance treated me and Izzy to the rotastak space command cage and she loves in. She's been up and down the spaghetti juntion all day lol. Now shes finally fallen asleep curled up next to the entrance to the tunnel lol
> I checked with the pet store that it was sutible for syrian hammies and it is, she fits perfectly. Now just to save up for my rooms and tunnels :thumbup:



Aww, it's nice to hear that you're taking good care of her. If you didn't mind, could you tell me the measurements of your new cage? I want to see what you're keeping her in!



happysaz133 said:


> Teddy is cute! Just an FYI on the cage, you mentioned you were going to look for a bigger one. In the USA, rat cages are a better option for hamsters, as I don't think you have many that meet welfare guidlines size-wise. USA rat cages are too small for rats, but they are OK for Syrian hamsters! This is a reasonable choice...
> Super Pet Deluxe Rat My First Home - Habitats & Cages - Small Pet - PetSmart
> 
> I have recommended it to many USA hammy owners!


Actually, I'm in Canada - but I'm sure it's the same. The cage I bought was $70, and I'm not sure why, the ones with all sorts of tunnels and little lookouts are about $40. I think I saw that cage when I was in Petsmart. It's a shame that I wasted the money on that cage, but ah well. That one looks fine, although it only has one ledge, and nothing like a whole second floor, so I'd have to put his litter box, bed and wheel all on the ground floor and then his food dish on that little ledge. I suppose it would work.

So you would recommend that a Syrian hamster cage be at least 20" long to ensure enough running space?


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## happysaz133 (Jun 5, 2008)

Celestial said:


> Aww, it's nice to hear that you're taking good care of her. If you didn't mind, could you tell me the measurements of your new cage? I want to see what you're keeping her in!
> 
> Actually, I'm in Canada - but I'm sure it's the same. The cage I bought was $70, and I'm not sure why, the ones with all sorts of tunnels and little lookouts are about $40. I think I saw that cage when I was in Petsmart. It's a shame that I wasted the money on that cage, but ah well. That one looks fine, although it only has one ledge, and nothing like a whole second floor, so I'd have to put his litter box, bed and wheel all on the ground floor and then his food dish on that little ledge. I suppose it would work.
> 
> So you would recommend that a Syrian hamster cage be at least 20" long to ensure enough running space?


Well even that is too small really, about 27" meets welfare guidlines, but its a step up.


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## SatanicGoth (Oct 16, 2010)

Yeah sure its 22" high, 30" wide and 20" deep.
If you google rotastak space command thats the one


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

SatanicGoth said:


> Yeah sure its 22" high, 30" wide and 20" deep.
> If you google rotastak space command thats the one


Good dimensions  However you have to be careful with the rotastak cages...esp with female Syrians who tend to be fatter than the males. There are people who this works fine with but equally there are instances of hamsters getting stuck in the tubes. If you are going out buying a new one then I would probably say its not worth the risk of wasting your money


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

SatanicGoth said:


> Yeah sure its 22" high, 30" wide and 20" deep.
> If you google rotastak space command thats the one



Hmm, it looks alright, although I do have a table that my TV once stood on, and it's not that large, so I'm unsure of whether or not it would fit. Of course I guess I could make space on the floor.



niki87 said:


> Good dimensions  However you have to be careful with the rotastak cages...esp with female Syrians who tend to be fatter than the males. There are people who this works fine with but equally there are instances of hamsters getting stuck in the tubes. If you are going out buying a new one then I would probably say its not worth the risk of wasting your money


Alright - thanks. I like the designs of Rotastak cages, but I don't have that much space like I said, and would much prefer a normal rectangular cage with two or three floors. Possibly a bin cage.

Thanks for all your help :3


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## SatanicGoth (Oct 16, 2010)

niki87 said:


> Good dimensions  However you have to be careful with the rotastak cages...esp with female Syrians who tend to be fatter than the males. There are people who this works fine with but equally there are instances of hamsters getting stuck in the tubes. If you are going out buying a new one then I would probably say its not worth the risk of wasting your money


I doubled checked before buying it lol but thanks she fits perfectly but I keep an eye on her


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## Celestial (Oct 25, 2010)

Thanks for all of your help!

I went to Petsmart today and bought Teddy this cage. He seems to be happy in it, and there is lots of room for his wheel, litter box, food dish and house.


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