i'm new to this forum

[truelove719]

Hi, i have a few questions. I just got a hamster last night, and want to know a few things. Don't think bad of me, my sister had her and didn't care for her well. She was in a rat cage with no covering on the bars, and her wheel was tied up all the time so she couldn't use it. I told my sister that i would take her to my house, and she said okay. So, here i am. I bought her a crittertrail cage, with wire sides for ventilation, and tubes, wheel, ball for running, etc. I have six ferrets too, and she is in a different room than them. Now as to my questions: What sort of food is best for her? How much out of cage time does she need a day? What is the best time for out of cage time? Any other advice? Thanks:confused:

[GillyXBean]

Get a hamster mix at a pet shop for the main food. You can supplement that with treats of things like cucumber slices, carrots, broccolli, apples, etc. Just remove any fresh food not eaten within 24 hours to avoid rot.

If you have an area you can seal off completly, she can run around a few times a day, but hamsters are not like ferrets with running free. She can and will get lost, and not go back into her cage on her own, so any out of the cage time should be supervised.

I'd recommend getting a ball for her to run in. My ham's like to run for about 15-20 minutes at a time, and I let them do that twice a day for the most part. I also handle them somewhat frequently, but don't bother them if she is asleep, as she'll be grouchy when waking.

Do you know if the hamster is a golden ham (or Syrian) or a dwarf?

[truelove719]

She is a syrian, i believe. Tell me if i am wrong...
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e81/bccpst6/hamster001.jpghttp://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e81/bccpst6/hamster002.jpg
Is her cage setup okay. I do have one of the balls for her to run around in. She isn't nippy at all, and behaves fairly well.

[lilangel1518]

yes shes a syrian she looks just like my Josie. Some people are going to tell you you should get her a bigger cage, however my male syrian is in that same crittertrail cage and hes perfectly happy because he has lots of tubes to run around in and I have a ball for him to roll in. There are two things i would change about the setup u have. one is take out the cotton material because it is bad for the hamsters because it can wrap around their legs and also get stuck in their cheek pouches or they could choke on it. The other is two of the tubes go to dead ends...i would either connect them or block one entrance way and make the other the other form a circle. being a syrian it is sometimes hard for them to turn in the tube b/c they are larger and they will have to back out. like people have already told you they are nocturnal so later at night is the best time to play with her or let her run around in a ball. it looks like you are using carefresh or something similiar for bedding which is great b/c pine and cedar will cause respiratory problems for her. if you have any other questions let us know we're glad to help :o

[truelove719]

i plan to buy her more tubes, i just have to get back to the petstore, and it is like 45min away. i am thinking of ordering some of them, tomorrow. thanks for the advice on the fluffy bedding, what can i give her to use as another type of bedding. she has been out two times today for 45 min each, is that enough?

[lilangel1518]

yeah the tubes arnt a huge deal its just to make her happier but as for bedding you can give like unscented paper towels or napkins or paper towel or toilet paper rolls. like they to chew them up and use it in their nest. they dont need anything like special for a nest because they use their bedding but that will give her something to entertain herself with. the 2 times for 45 min is plenty in fact usually more than i give my own hamsters. they do need to get out of their cage to exercise but unlike other animals they dont need large amts of time so im sure she loved you for that. good luck w/ everything

[GillyXBean]

I have that same cage, and my syrian is HUGE, and got "stuck" in the top "petting zoo". He was fully capable of getting throuh the tube to the bottom, he just was scared to go down, so after a day, I swapped him out into his old cage, which is smaller in width, but it is about 6-8 inches taller, and he loves it in there.

The cage should be fine for your hammy, but watch carefully to make sure s/he doesn't look like s/he's "stuck" anywhere.

[truelove719]

I've watched her a lot, and haven't seen her get stuck anywhere. She seems to like it, especially since the cage she was kept in had no tubes, no wheel, or anything