Reasearching BEFORE I get a hammie...

[Yorkie Licious1]

Hi!!!

I may, and MAY get a hamster if I know a few things first.

I'm reasearching only before I get a hamster.

I have alot of questions:

1. The HabitTRAIL and Superpet cages at the store; Are they any good?

2. What type of toys are suggested?

3. What kind, or brand of bedding do you guys use? I have some KayKobs.

4. What commercial food is suggested?

5. Is it suggested to use a natural diet?

6. I need a list of all the fresh fruits and vegetables, and other treats from around the house, that they can have.

7. Grooming, bathing, and other requirments?

8. Medicine, vitamins, pills, etc.?

9. THE SMELL??? How bad is it? (and products to help the smell)

10. The maintinence?

11. The best breeds?

12. Training.

Answers are appreciated!!!!

Thank-you!
~.:Ashley:.~

[Sparky2006]

1. The HabitTRAIL and Superpet cages at the store; Are they any good?---not too sure....but bigger the better!

2. What type of toys are suggested? not plastic can be bad---- home made; toliet rolls,jars etc etc....wheel with out holes incase they get there food stuck

3. What kind, or brand of bedding do you guys use? I have some KayKobs. in U.s. carefresh...Uk. woodshaving (what i use care fresh here is rare)

4. What commercial food is suggested? hammie food! (usally says on packet----no too many things like nuts..sunflower seeds etc..)

5. Is it suggested to use a natural diet? not too sure

6. I need a list of all the fresh fruits and vegetables, and other treats from around the house, that they can have. i give my gerbils/gave my hammie:carrot/potato skin....the spuds off potatos....other things like cucumber etc.

7. Grooming, bathing, and other requirments? sand bath (bird,chinchiller....put in bowl let them do there own thing....do not bath!!! unless emergency!)

8. Medicine, vitamins, pills, etc.? vitimin blocks (mine never liked them) so vitimins in water

9. THE SMELL??? How bad is it? (and products to help the smell) can be bad...depends how many times you clean cage...how well ventilated (aquriums do not give alot of ventilation altho i use aquriums...)

10. The maintinence? as in what??

11. The best breeds? syrians...kept alone!!!!! dwarfs....can be kept in pares

12. Training. taming can be easy....they cant really do tricks

hope this helped!!!

[dwankrista]

just to add to the above:

- the only wood shavings that are acceptable are aspen. pine and cedar contain phenols which are toxic.

- regarding smell, the only time they will smell is if their cage is unsanitary. spot clean daily and do a thorough cleaning once a week and you should be in the clear.

- potatoes are not a good choice to be given to them.

- habitrails, in my experience, are useless and much too small. i'm not familiar with super pet.

it's wonderful to see someone on here doing research before they get a ham. 99% of the posts here are people who've gotten the animal and have no clue how to care for it properly. kudos to you for taking the responsible route. :)

[PetLuver21257]

1. No those cages are too small. Your best bet is to make a bin cage, or buy an aquarium tank (15 gallon)

2. Toilet paper rolls, mini ladders, wooden houses etc...

3. Aspen or CareFresh.

4. Well, I use Fiesta Hamster/Gerbil food and Opie loves it. I just take out the corn (there's not that much). Plus I also use Critter Cubes (also called lab blocks).

5. Natural meaning fruits and veggies? They can't ONLY have frutis and veggies, only sometimes. Stick with the seed mix that you get and the lab blocks too.

6. Carrot, Cucumber, Apple, Celery, Cheerios, Walnuts, Peanuts, Dog Kibble.....

7. Hamsters should not get wet as they can catch colds REALLY easily, so you can give them Chinchilla SAND and they roll in that and it cleans them and makes them smell really nice! :)

8. Vitamins in water, you don't have to though....

9. Not bad AT ALL! You just need to clean the cages every week.

10. Really easy to take care of, just feed them and play with them and clean out the cages!

11. Syrians are nice, but they can only be kept alone. I LOVE dwarves as they are small and cute and can be kept in SAME SEX pairs or small groups.

12. Can't really teach them tricks, they do get tamed easily though.

GOOD LUCK! :D

[Yorkie Licious1]

Thankyou!

I ALWAYS reasearch before I get any animal. (and trust me, I have more than just dogs)

Hmmmm... the HabitTRAILs are too small for even 1 hammie? (are the tubes a problem?
-------------------------------------------------



Sooooo... I'm adding these things to my list...
______________________________________
1 cage (I would have liked to get a cage that included the wheel, water bottle, and food bowls)

1 pkg. Carefresh bedding (can I use some pelleted corncobs to help the smell)

1 pkg. of hamster food (is there any specific brand that is more palatable and nutritional than others?)

1 bottle of vitamins

Does this sound good?

[HandcuffedAngel]

I would also suggest a larger aquarium.

The tubes are okay for the hamsters but they have to be cleaned out a lot because they'll potty in them in and climb around in it and it will make them sick and be fatal.

If you got like a 15 gallon aquarium then one bag of Carefresh would be fine [or something within that space range or less].

As far as food goes, just make sure it's not full of junk and the big pieces of corn and stuff.

Sounds okay. A toilet paper tube is a fantastic toy. :)

[TiaMaria]

It sounds great, sounds like you are well on your way to becoming a wonderful hamster owner! Good Luck!

[Yorkie Licious1]

Hi, just a few more questions...

Are Pet Gold small animal vitamins adaquate? (Any better brands?)

What are all these ''treats'' that have artificial colors, partially hydrogenated oils, and sugars in them? They can't be safe.

Also, should Chubes be fine if I take out the fluff stuff (I heard it was bad)? I don't like the looks of a TP roll.

[Yorkie Licious1]

Oh... stupid 5 minute rule...

What is all this about long-haireds, short-haireds, curly-haireds, teddy-bears, syrians, russians, winter whites, rexes, black-bears, damations, calicos, and dwarfs??

[bubblz]

"What is all this about long-haireds, short-haireds, curly-haireds, teddy-bears, syrians, russians, winter whites, rexes, black-bears, damations, calicos, and dwarfs??"
Well I'll break it down for you
Syrians are the larger hamsters you find at most petstores and : long-haireds, short-haireds, curly-haireds, teddy-bears,black-bears, damations, & calicos are all just fancy names for differnt coat lengths and color patterns.
the most commonly refered to Dwarf are actually a breed called Campbell's Russian Dwarfs.
Other breeds that are refered to as dwarfs sometimes also are winter whites, Chinese Dwarfs, and Robo's.
I do not suggest aquariums as there is little ventillation for hammies. This can cause ammonia fumes to build up quickly. The hamster gets hot and you'll probably have to move the cage a lot through out the year to deal with the heat.
The Critter trail and habitrail cages are actually designed to be a module system. Meaning you should link multiple "cages" together with tubes. It immitates their natural habitat of tunnels and openings.

[GillyXBean]

1. I like the habitrail/crittertrail cages for dwarves, but NOT for syrians. Syrian's get too large for them, quite quickly.

2. A wheel is a must. A ball is encouraged, too, for time away from the cage. Tubes are good. Little hiding places such as huts. You can also find neat stuff at places like dollar stores that are safe for hams, but not made for hams. My syrian sleeps in a seashell shaped ceramic planter.

3. I use care fresh, but aspen bedding is good, too. Never pine, never cedar!!

4. No Kaytee commercial food. No corn for dwarves. Supplement with fresh foods- they enjoy cucumbers, rolled oats (non-instant prepackaged oatmeal), tomato, strawberries, melon, etc. No citrus.

5. It's not neccessary to follow only a natural diet, but it's recommended that you supplement thier regular diet with fresh foods.

6. I know someone will post a full list, but they can eat a lot. No sweet corn, no raw potatoe, those I know off the top of my head. Shredded carrot is good, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, grapes (seedless) are all good.

7. Ham's will groom and clean themselves, but you can supply them with Chincilla SAND (not DUST!). They'll roll in it.

8. You can supplement with some vitamins, but it's not neccessary if you are giving them a good well balanced diet.

9. As long as you keep the bedding fresh, and clean the cage out weekly (or twice a week, even), the smell isn't bad at all. I have 13 ham's right now, all in cages in the same area, and unless it's cleaning day, I can hardly smell them.

10. Maintance includes cleaning the cage, cleaning the toys, which should be done weekly or twice a week, and then giving them fresh water & food daily. You'll also want to make sure to spend time playing with them daily.

11. Breeds- well, it's dependant on what type of ham you want. I don't think there's any that are "better" than others. You have two basic types, Syrian & Dwarf. I prefer my dwarves, but I still love my syrian. It's just that almost all my dwarves were hand raised, and they're much friendlier and familier with me.

12. Training should include first letting your ham get used to your scent. My favorite way of doing this is to hold my hand over the top of the cage from time to time for the first few days. Usually, I hold it there for about 10-15 minutes at a time, so they get used to the scent. After that, I hold my hand inside the cage, balled into a loose fist. That's because if they bite, it won't hurt as much on the back of your hand as it would a finger tip. If your hams only sniff at you, or nuzzle you without nipping, you can hold your hand open, and let them come to you. Picking them up before they are ready will causing nipping, and have them not trust you as quickly. Let them enter your hand, it's a sign of trust for them.

Hope these help!

[Sparky2006]

soooo any response on wht you are gunna do then!?

[Yorkie Licious1]

Ahhhhh... that was extremely helpful!!

Thanks to everybody that posted!!!!!

Actually... now I think I'm gonna link habitTRAIL cages!!

I am actually thinking strongly about the Black Bears!
I like the Winter White Dwarfs... but I only want to keep one hamster... not a pair.

Yeah... I saw a Panda coloration a Petco... but I just don't know... I like them both.

I'm definitely gonna get Carefresh bedding... It looks nice... I love the white kind! (What is this about the colors... and are they safe?)

O', and one more question... why do they make hamster shampoo (sold at Petco) if it's dangerous to bathe them??


Soooooooo, I think I'll probably get a Black Bear.

Can anyone help me with names??!?!

Thanks!
~Ashley~

Oh... P.S. Don't worry, I'm gonna put my cage up on a high place... so my Yorkie can't get to it! ;)

[Sparky2006]

"hamster shampoo" why for you DO NOT need to bath them!!! (use chinchller sand not dust! to let them bath in that them selves)

[Yorkie Licious1]

Yea... I know... I just wandered why they make it. Industry... fuufmp.

[Sparky2006]

humph...lol

[PetLuver21257]

You don't need to get a pair of Winter Whites, it is just recommended. You don't have to if you don't want to!

The CareFresh Colors are completely safe. I used it for Kiba and it was so fun! And soft and less smellier than the brown CareFresh.

[TiaMaria]

Their are tons of things that are made just to make a buck, companies don't care if it's good or bad for your hammie. You have to use your head and do research in what you think is good or bad.

[bubblz]

well I hope you find your perfect hammie...Ne sure to post pictures and if you ever need help feel free to ask :)

[Cardenas90]

dwarf hamsters pair together can live with each other for life right?

In a book about hamsters they said that with in 9 months they will fight and therefore have to be seprated forever

Is this true?

[TiaMaria]

Dwarf hammies can live forever, the book is wrong, my dwarfies all live together in a same sex cage and mine only squabble when food is being put down or when someone steals the others bed lol! The book is wrong. They will be fine forever together providing they are the same sex.

[Yorkie Licious1]

Thanks soooo much everybody!!!!!

I think I am going to get a European Black Bear ham.

I heard they are really docile and easy to hand tame!
They are so cute, too.

I am thinking about linking this kind of cage:

http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?sku=948896

Does it look okay?

[TiaMaria]

Looks like a pretty cool cage, although probably hard to clean. Good luck with your new ham when you get him!

[TiaMaria]

umm..errr..or maybe a her? lol sorry

[LMDH]

That cage is too small for a Syrian hamster (which is a black bear). I was quite shcoked when i saw one of those - I wouldnt even put my dwarfs in it.

Personally I would avoid any of the plastic tube type cages for syrians as they are just too small, unless you spend a fortune on joining 4 or 5 units together - even then the tubes can be too small for them to get through.

You need to have hamster shampoos available incase you need to bath them - the situation doesnt happen often, but what if you got something toxic stuk in their coat? You have to give them a bath. Also a lot of the shampoos out there are insecticidal to treat mites and similar problems.

Dwarfs dont always live together forever. Most of them do, but you cant guarente they will always get on. And those that do fall out will often pair up with somebody else.

[TiaMaria]

I see your point LMDH but some of it is just too much I disagree on.

[LMDH]

Which bits do you disagree on?

I'd like to know :-)

[pixibubbles]

Just a brief word of advice as you have dogs... syrians are very VERY resourcful escape artists. i've kept them for years and with the exception of one (a rescue with a dodgy leg and bad eyesight) all proved to be very troublesome. i;ve know them to escape from module set ups, bin cages and even proper tanks... i;ve seen them take their toys over and use them to climb up to the water bottle and get out of the cage.... they've chewed through roofs, unhooked clips, unscrewed stops and rocky in particular has escaped from 5 different cages on a regular basis. as soon as you find and fix one escape route she'll find another.... i've known her to chew through an inch of wood to escape a glass tank, break the hinges off a box bin, and snap bars on cages to release the clips... not to mention unbscrewing stops in pipes and cages...i'd put her to bed as normal and find her gone in the morning...

seriosuly... if you have dogs you need to be exctra careful.... the only escape proof cage i have found a tankcage... th ebars make sure vetalation isnt so much of a problem and as long as you dont put the cage in direct sunlight they are fine... and she loves this cage... certianly doesnt get bored...

http://www.everythingforpets.com/ferplast_duna_hamster_cage.pet/use.id.5.item_id.3935.dept.815/

ignore the RRP tho... it's rubbish... i bought one this sort of size for £25 in my local petshop... and they are expensive there...

[llzlljoellzll]

Hi, just a few more questions...

Are Pet Gold small animal vitamins adaquate? (Any better brands?)

What are all these ''treats'' that have artificial colors, partially hydrogenated oils, and sugars in them? They can't be safe.

Also, should Chubes be fine if I take out the fluff stuff (I heard it was bad)? I don't like the looks of a TP roll.

I dont think them vitamins are any good! I bought some for my hamster from Tesco's and he started itching!

[Yorkie Licious1]

Okay... thanks alot!

It is necessary to use vitamins?

R U shure a syrian won't work in multiple links?


Also the hamster will be up in a high place, and in my room where there will be supervision when the door isn't closed. ;)

:hamster1: Ashley :hamster1:

[Sparky2006]

well i would use vitimins just incase...i do! (even tho they get decent food!)

[bubblz]

I had syrians in crittertrail (only one syrian in each)setups and actually none of them ever escaped unless it was human errror. as in I put the cage together wrong after cleaning or someone left a door or something unlatched.
I do not think that a screen at the top of a glass tank is sufficient enough to givew proper ventillation. I tried it once year ago and when I came home one day my hamster was panting and looked like he was sweatty or something, very lethargic and it wasn't even 80F degrees in my room. I went to the pet store and bought a wire cage that day. I also noticed that when I was cleaning my hamster cage it didn't seem to smell nearly as bad. Witht the tank it always smelled terrible no mater how many times I tried to clean it a week. at first I thought I just had an extra smelly hamster, then i realized that the glass kept all the urine fumed in. That can't be good for their respiratory tract. That smell is way stroned than the smell of cedar or pine wich can kill them.
He never had a problem again and lived quite a long time after that. I ended up buying crittertrails after that because I like the small gaps between the bars (I keep dwarfs in them and i used to breed the dwarfs and never even had a baby escape) and I liked hooking them together and rearranging the modules. Also in my research I noticed that the module setups most closely mimiced the natural habitat of a hamster.

[Yorkie Licious1]

Sparky- What kind of vitamins do you use?

Bubblz- Okay... can you show me the model you used... like a link or somethin'?

[Sparky2006]

i use the vitimins that go in there water i cant rem the name but its from a local pet store ...it called (i think) vitamin lyk down the side and small animals as pictures (its real small tho...) and is yellow in colour

[Yorkie Licious1]

Ok... LYK down the side and yellow. Got it.

[Yorkie Licious1]

Oh... and I also wanted to tell everybody I'm not a newbie here... I had an account as HermieMaster5 and I changed it... sooooo... I was near like 600 posts and I changed it... Yea... I'm not new.

[Sparky2006]

okay thats kool!

[Yorkie Licious1]

Yeah... sorry for cluttering... I just don't like being a newbie ''again''.

[Sparky2006]

hehehe lol! i know exactly how you feel just gotta tell em'!

[TiaMaria]

What are you talking about Sparky, you're still a newbie :p only 646 posts...another 1000 to go :)

[bubblz]

there's thread here called "pictures of Habitat" that I started. It has many pictures on the first post of a set up I had. BTW you do not need nearly as much as that set up had

[Yorkie Licious1]

Hey, hey, hey...

I got my hammie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I decided to get the Panda Bear.

She already seems tame.

She did not jump when I held her in the store.

I post more tommorow!

[TiaMaria]

A Panda bear is just a cute little name petstores give, she is still a syrian.

[bubblz]

what did you end up doing about a cage?

[Mousey11]

How do you pronounce: Syrian?

[Sparky2006]

yer i know but when something LIKE that turns up.....you gotta tem em!

[bubblz]

On Page two I told her about the panda thing I think she just wanted everyone to know what her hammie looks like

[pixibubbles]

si..ree...umn.... roughly... she sounds lovely... post piccies as soon as she has settled in!

[PetLuver21257]

Seer-ee-an

[Mousey11]

oh, weird...thanks.

[Yorkie Licious1]

Hey all!

I have decided to link cages. Actually the toobs are pretty large! The cage is larger than I expected, too.
20 inches across... that's like 10 gallon size.

Yes, I'm aware that a Panda Bear is a Syrian... it is a term for the pattern and color.

I have studied the patterns, various hair types, and colors of Dwarf and Syrian hamsters... I totally understand it now.

I will post pics as soon as I can. I will post them in a new thread. :hamster1:

Ummmmmm... Is it normal for a hamster to be extra friendly?

'Cause Panda (this is what I'm calling her 'til I decide on a name) seems extra friendly.

I spent some time with her today (a full day since I got her) and she hasn't jumped, bit, or bared her teeth since I got her.
She just lets me pick her up.

She just seem to let me hold her, only if I pet her, though! She likes to climb ALL OVER me!

She also LOVES to run in her wheel... and eat her food... I got Fiesta... Petco used Kaytee.

The reason I'm wandering why she is extra friendly is because I held some at PETsMART (although I swore I'd never get another live animal there again).

They were SAVAGE!! I held one Black Bear and it bit me HARD... another BB jumped out of my hands and I cought it mid-air! When the guy stuck his hand in the cage, both stood up and bared their theeth at the guy! I almost thought twice...

But when I went to Petco (they keep their cages nice... because it's a newer store) and I had new hope.

I found a couple BBs but I fell in love with the Panda.

Now... I think were inseperable!

Pics as soon as I can!

Hammies rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

~Ashley~

[TiaMaria]

Some hamsters are just lovable, it's just there nature. Be glad that you got a friendly one that requires less hand taming! I wouldn't handle her too much, it could stress her out and she could get wet tail.

[Yorkie Licious1]

Yeah.

I checked at the store... she doesn't have wet tail... but that doesn't mean she could'nt get it!

I have a problem, however.

She wants to sleep in her wheel.

She takes food to and from it.

She takes the Carefresh in it. (BTW, I love the white!)


Should I take the wheel off for a day or too? I don't want her to become lethargic... but I also don't want to keep cleaning out the wheel.

She has a bed.

It looks very comfy!

It's for hamsters.

It looks like she'd rather be in a dark place rather than the wheel, that lets in light!

Suggestions...

[TiaMaria]

Get a little dome or some sort of house that she can sleep in and have privacy, then she'll move her bed to that.

[Yorkie Licious1]

I do have a bed for her... but I think she may be getting too hot... it's like a cozy pouch thing.

I'm going to PETsMART tommorow.

I will pick up a solid plastic dome or something like it.


Is it safe...

I saw a deoderizing spritzer at Petco... It's to freshen up a hammie without using water... It uses all natural ingredients with real fruit... gentle and ''safe for everyday use.''

Is it really safe?

Thanks again, all!
~Ashley~

[bubblz]

i WOULDN'T USE IT

[TiaMaria]

I wouldn't think it is safe. I never trust stuff like that!

[LMDH]

I work in a pet shop and we have just got in some dog spritzers in. I liked the smell of one of then so tried it on myself. I came out in massive rash :mad1: So I wont be recommending this product and it has made me very wary of similar items.

[Yorkie Licious1]

LMDH... what brand was it?