# Anxious new parent - a few questions



## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

New Syrian boy hammie came home today - Humphrey. I have a couple of questions for experienced owners:

1) We left him alone as per instructions - he spent most of the day in his nest ( he made his bed in the Hamster Heaven potty)
2) He has come out to explore now and has spent the last 15min on the wheel - is this too long? SHould I take the wheel out of there?
3) Do people leave the wheel in all the time - what is the approx max time for an 8 week old Syrian?
4) His water bottle is accesible from the first floor but he is making no effort to explore upstairs? Should I move his bottle to the lower level? I have left a bowl of food ( hamster muesli) on both levels. Same brand he was fed at the store ( Pets at home brand)
5) I guess I need to get another potty now as he is made his bed in the potty?

Any advice appreciated


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2009)

kmac said:


> New Syrian boy hammie came home today - Humphrey. I have a couple of questions for experienced owners:
> 
> 1) We left him alone as per instructions - he spent most of the day in his nest ( he made his bed in the Hamster Heaven potty)
> 2) He has come out to explore now and has spent the last 15min on the wheel - is this too long? SHould I take the wheel out of there?
> ...


he will find his own way he seems happy:thumbsup:


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

Sqeaking wheel - need to put a drop of veggie oil or get a silent spinner.

Is the Hamster heaven wheel large enough for a Syrian?


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

He will grow out of the wheel eventually, but at 8 weeks old he should be ok. I love the name Humphrey.


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## lau02 (May 24, 2009)

He will find his way my daughters syrian is only 6 well now 7 weeks old and he loves exploring now lol.


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

No he will be fine using the wheel as often as he wants to - it certainly won't harm him. I think it's the hamster balls that they recommend just 20 minutes in although our Syrian sulks if you only let her have 20 mins and refuses to get out of the ball.

I have the water bottle on the lower level although he should find it if you want it on the upper level. 
I wouldn't bother buying another potty because he will probably move out of it and move his bed somewhere else next week.:laugh:

My hamster heaven wheel seems plenty big enough for our syrian and she's quite big. It is a bit noisy though. I put a silent spinner in too but she seemed to prefer the wheel that came with hamster heaven.


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

Thanks for your replies.

Today he's decided to sleep in a corner of the cage behind the hamster wheel. I put a little vegetable oil on the wheel and it is now a silent spinner!!!

He eventually found his way upstairs and has had a drink - I guess since he's new he prefers it downstairs where there are lots of shavings to burrow in.

I read that females are more particular about their bed etc and males are a bit more lazy about it. Seems the same is true for hamsters as well.


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

Have you any pictures of him yet?


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

Jazzy said:


> Have you any pictures of him yet?


Will take some pics tonight when he wakes up. I moved the igloo house to the lower level and he went straight in there and off to sleep.


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

Awww all the excitement has probably tired him out.:laugh:

What does your daughter think of him?


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

Oh daughter is sooooo excited and loves him to bits. She can't wait to handle him as I've told her that he needs to settle in first.


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## CharleyRogan (Feb 20, 2009)

He is absolutely fine! you are doing a great job!

Leave the wheel in, they are fine with it in all the time, and will use it whenever they feel like. In the wild they will run over 3 miles a night so a wheel is imperitive to give them the exercise they need.

re potty: he will be doing it there because a) he feels comfortable and b) to stop intruders coming into his nest. Its fine as long as its changed every week - he may also poop in his food to stop intruders eating it - they also eat their poop because it can contain undigested food!

I would place him upstairs to show him where the water bottle is, he may go up there at night when your not up. Check the water level to see if its going down.

I admire the cage you bought - some people will get crappy cheap cages but that is a really good one!!! I want one!!!

I would get him a big silent spinner or a large wodent wheel for when he is bigger but for the moment he will fit in the hamster heaven wheel.

Char
xxx


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

kmac said:


> Oh daughter is sooooo excited and loves him to bits. She can't wait to handle him as I've told her that he needs to settle in first.


Yes mine was just the same.:laugh:
Here she is brushing her.


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Aw Jazzy, what a beautiful daughter you have, she obviously adores her baby.


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## CharleyRogan (Feb 20, 2009)

wow... I'm amazed your hammy lets you do it! None of mine will, they'd rather be off exploring than being brushed by me! I miss mine lots.... only 13 days to go till I see them!

Char
xxx


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

Thanks Charley - I did like the look of the Wodent Wheel actually. Will wait till he's a bit older ( and till I have some more dosh to spare)

Jazzy thats so cool. Nice pic of darling daughter and hammie. I see you have the Sammy Hamster pen - where did you get it pelase?


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## CharleyRogan (Feb 20, 2009)

They are rubbish for syrians, they just climb out of them. There is a steel one on Ebay that is supposed to be good, but dunno what they called.

Char
xxx


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

Here's Humphrey on his wheel. He wakes up about 8:30 to 9:00pm.


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

As its quite dark now I don't want to take any more pics as the flash might scare him. He only came home yesterday so I'll let him settle in a bit before subjecting him to the paparazzi


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Awww he's so cute.


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> Awww he's so cute.


He's actually a little runt. All the others were much bigger but my daughter wanted this one. For a number of reasons - she's little too and she wanted a brown and white one.


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

kmac said:


> Thanks Charley - I did like the look of the Wodent Wheel actually. Will wait till he's a bit older ( and till I have some more dosh to spare)
> 
> Jazzy thats so cool. Nice pic of darling daughter and hammie. I see you have the Sammy Hamster pen - where did you get it pelase?


We got it from pets at home when we got Honey but they are next to useless really unless you watch them like a hawk because they just climb over the top. We don't use ours now.

Yes my daughter is a right animal lover - hence why we have all these animals.:yikes:


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

kmac said:


> Here's Humphrey on his wheel. He wakes up about 8:30 to 9:00pm.


Awww he's lovely :001_wub::001_wub: and so little.:laugh: 
Lovely name too - it suits him.:thumbsup:
How old is your daughter?


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

My daughter will be 7 later this month. She is mad about her hamster and can't wait to pick him up.


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## Gobaith (Jun 6, 2009)

Hey, congrats on the new arrival!
No it isnt bad for him to be on the wheel, it is perfectly healthy! Keep it in there, it is a way for the hamster to stimulate their energy and a way to relieve boredom.
I recently had a hamster called Ziggy! He was lush! Very friendly! He was on his wheel all the time and had three cages in total all connected with tubes  It normal trust me!
Regarding him not visiting the top level, why don't you try adding a couple of tubes, aswell as it allowing him easy acces to the top level, they also enjoy the opportunity to explore new things, you could also then change the shape of the tubes to keep him interested!
Good luck, and keep us posted!
Get some piccies up soon! 
xx


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

kmac said:


> My daughter will be 7 later this month. She is mad about her hamster and can't wait to pick him up.


Awww.:laugh:

He should have settled down now - has she handled him yet?


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

To tell you the truth she is a bit nervous about handling him as when she went to stroke him, Humphrey nipped her. She's taking it slowly now on her account, not his.


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

Ilovemyrattysteve said:


> Hey, congrats on the new arrival!
> No it isnt bad for him to be on the wheel, it is perfectly healthy! Keep it in there, it is a way for the hamster to stimulate their energy and a way to relieve boredom.
> I recently had a hamster called Ziggy! He was lush! Very friendly! He was on his wheel all the time and had three cages in total all connected with tubes  It normal trust me!
> Regarding him not visiting the top level, why don't you try adding a couple of tubes, aswell as it allowing him easy acces to the top level, they also enjoy the opportunity to explore new things, you could also then change the shape of the tubes to keep him interested!
> ...


Thanks for that - he's found his way to the top level now and drinks and eats up there. He even licked his mineral stone. He hasn't explored the tubes yet though - at least not while I've been watching. Will take some more pics soon.


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

Humphrey keeps making his bed in two corners of the cage even thoug he has a sputnik house, an igloo and a a wooden tiki hut!!! Is it normal for them to do that? Or does he not like the shredded paper bedding I put in the igloo and sputnik? I even placed some cottonwool type bedding from [email protected] inthe cage for him but he's just used it in the corners, not in the homes.


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

Our Syrian won't use the sputnik house either or one of those normal little houses. I just think they make their bed where they feel safest and happiest so I wouldn't worry about it if I was you. I don't know what sort of cotton wool bedding it is but I would just use the paper type bedding because the cotton wool type bedding can be dangerous to them. I use the pets at home safe bedding which is about £3.39 for a large bag.

I cleaned Honey out last night and she's made her bed in the penthouse this time instead of the tube - I just hope she stays in there. :laugh:


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

Its this one - Snug and Cozy Small Pet Bedding by Rotastak

Snug and Cozy Small Pet Bedding by Rotastak-Natural-Pets at Home: Buy Pet Supplies from our Online UK Pet Shop


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

Humphrey slept in his igloo all afernoon. Yipeee. Now just need to get him to pee in the hamster potty.......


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Don't get too excited he will probably move in the tube next week.:laugh:
They like to keep you on your toes these Syrians.:laugh:


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## kmac (Jan 18, 2009)

Humphrey's been sleeping in his igloo for a couple of days now.

He finally discovered the tubes and has been laying in them.

Trying to tame him - offering food on my hand etc. He's still not amenable to being picked up. 

Quick question - he seems to only wake at about 8:30/9pm and be active then. I only interact with him at this time. Is that he best thing or do people wake their hamster up at other times?


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

No that's the downside of having hamsters, they sometimes wake up very late as they are nocturnal animals so its a bit hard to tame them sometimes and its a shame for the children because they never see them. My daughter likes her little guinea pig better now because she's awake all the time and she can just go and get her out of the cage when she wants to.


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## cassie01 (Jul 11, 2008)

i think its ok to wake them once they are tame, before that you might just scare them and take a step backwards taming wise. i still wouldnt wake them up often tho, purely because i hate being woken up, but every couple of days or so should be ok. once hes tame.


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