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29-11-2007, 10:40 AM
|  | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Shropshire
Posts: 809
| | | Advice on hamsters
Can anyone tell me what kind of accommodation hamsters like best? There seems to be a bewlidering choice out there and a lot of it looks like it's designed with the child-owners in mind and not the hamsters. For myself, I'd like something easy to clean and secure.
Any suggestions? |
29-11-2007, 11:04 AM
|  | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Grantham, Lincolnshire
Posts: 928
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
My daughters have had hamsters for years. They are largely nocturnal and sleep during the day. When awake they are very active, inquisitive and like lots of levels, tunnels, wheels and usual hamster stuff to run around in, through and on. They also like to be taken out and handled to get them use to you.
Most of the commercial cages from pet shops which are available are excellent (bigger the better) and you can add to them with toys compartments etc as you wish.
An ordinary cage or box is not good as the hamsters will get bored quickly.
Cleaning wise they tend to use the same area and are not difficult to clean. |
29-11-2007, 11:09 AM
|  | Knight Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Little village called Chedworth
Posts: 5,023
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
I used to keep lots of hamsters - love them very underrated!! I'm not sure how you tell which cahges hamsters perfer - I had one in a large wire cage that I put lots of cardboard tunnels in which i taped in place and periodically ripped out and replaced and I also had a crazy mix of rotostack and tunnel type stuff - even with a chamber full of soil that this particular hamster seemed to love, I also had some in a large fish tank (cheap second hand) which was good because I could vary the internal environment easily - depth of saw dust locations of food and bedding etc and had great ventilation - just make sure they can't get out! - the Tank was particularly good for the tiny communally living roboroski hamster (not recomended for children as you can't handle them, they're way too fast and wriggly!).....
They all seemed happy - I had one called Badger that went through a phase of breaking out of his wire cage with carboard assault course when the door had become loose but he would go back to bed in the day - I'd find him fast asleep with his door wide open - that has to be testimant to him liking it (or at least feeling safe in it) I suppose and he went back willingly?
The main top tips I have is when you first get the animal and it pees on the sawdust put this bit of sawdust into a jam jar lying on its side and the animal will use this jam jar as a toilet from then on - helping immensely with the clearing out.
Also on clearing out make sure you mix a bit of the old bedding and sawdust back in as these animals live in a world of smell and it can be very distressing to them to lose the environment they had grown used to and felt safe in - this is particularly important if you keep russian hamsters in pairs - if you remove all the smells and replace with entirely clean stuff they may not recognise each other and they'l fight - even kill each other - as happened to me!
Another consideration is that when I had finished keeping hamsters, I could not sell the rotostack stuff for love nor money but the wire cages went no problem..... I have no idea why!  |
29-11-2007, 11:13 AM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Shropshire
Posts: 809
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
The main top tips I have is when you first get the animal and it pees on the sawdust put this bit of sawdust into a jam jar lying on its side and the animal will use this jam jar as a toilet from then on - helping immensely with the clearing out.
- Ooh fantastic advice; thanks to you both. I've got my guinea pigs house-trained, so it would be great if the hamsters were tidy as well.  |
29-11-2007, 11:19 AM
| | Knight Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Little village called Chedworth
Posts: 5,023
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Quote:
Originally Posted by vole-woman  The main top tips I have is when you first get the animal and it pees on the sawdust put this bit of sawdust into a jam jar lying on its side and the animal will use this jam jar as a toilet from then on - helping immensely with the clearing out.
- Ooh fantastic advice; thanks to you both. I've got my guinea pigs house-trained, so it would be great if the hamsters were tidy as well. | you've made me want a hamster again!! 
I used to have a great little russain hamster when I was at uni, she came to me when she was called and used to sit in my dinner tray and watch telly with me in the evening, - so long as I fed her on my peas - a hamster running around with cheeks full of peas has to be one of the funniest things!! |
29-11-2007, 11:53 AM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Shropshire
Posts: 809
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Lol! What's the difference between a Russian and a dwarf? (That sounds like a dodgy joke - sorry.) Which would you recommend for a beginner? (God, that sounds even worse!!!) |
29-11-2007, 11:56 AM
|  | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: North Yorkshire ( Gods Country )
Posts: 1,025
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Remember never to pick it up by its tail,,,,as its eyes fall out,,, 
Sorry had to get that one in my Grandad ,bless him used to tell me that every time he saw stumpy,,,,( my childhood hamster )
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29-11-2007, 12:08 PM
| | Knight Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Little village called Chedworth
Posts: 5,023
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Quote:
Originally Posted by vole-woman Lol! What's the difference between a Russian and a dwarf? (That sounds like a dodgy joke - sorry.) Which would you recommend for a beginner? (God, that sounds even worse!!!) | A russian hamster is a dwarf hamster - but not all dwarf hamsters are 'russian' though they may be solf as such!! Some are known as chinese...
Basically the little grey and white ones (large Bank Vole sized) (they do come in other colours - but these are usually in with the small grey and white majority) are considered to be dwarf but they may be either chinese or Russain (or probably cross breeds)
Then you can go even smaller with the roboroski which are usually straw colour and white but there's no way I'd recommend this for kids...
Personally I'd recommend a syrian or golden hamster (same thing)(closer to Water Vole in size) as they are larger and easier to handle for small hands. Perhaps get it a week or so before giving it to a child and handle it lots so it gets used to being handled so less likely to freak out and jump or nip.....
When first handling it try to pick it up by cupping it in your hands rather than putting a hand over it as its evolved to associate such a physical sensation with being caught and eaten! |
29-11-2007, 12:14 PM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Shropshire
Posts: 809
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Ooh, you're a mine of information! Thanks! |
29-11-2007, 03:24 PM
|  | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Scotland
Posts: 3,375
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
I think Freddie Starr started a Hamster sanctuary or was that a restaurant |
29-11-2007, 06:04 PM
|  | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Grimsby, Lincs
Posts: 1,573
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
When I was at school I had a couple of Hamsters, the first was a little Russian one. When I got that it was wild, but after a bit of time he was great and used to be awake all day and sleep at night. He only lived about a year, probably due to him being older when I got him.
After that I got a "proper" sized hamster that was only around 6 weeks old. She was a fantastic pet, although she was always asleep. She never bit me once, and a couple of times got lost, firstly behind the washing machine and then behind the fire Had her for about 2 1/2 years and I had to get her put down in the end 
I used to have a large cage, then had a tube type set up leading to another plastic cage, the 2nd Hamster used to tear up and down the tube collecting food and building a home to sleep in
Great pets, but they must be cleaned out to stop the room you are keeping them in stinking |
29-11-2007, 07:56 PM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Shropshire
Posts: 809
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Much like guinea pigs, then! You wouldn't believe the hay and sawdust I get through... |
29-11-2007, 09:14 PM
|  | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lancashire
Posts: 3,203
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
I've kept so many Hamsters in my time. Syrians, Chinese and Roboroski. At the moment we have a Syrian female who is a delight. A couple of years ago we had two Chinese in one cage and a whole family of little Roboroskis in another as 2 females were actually one of each and 2 becomes many more if you know what I mean. They were fantastic parents and my children wanted it to go on forever but 4 litters later dad was separated from mum. He passed away soon after, I think he was lonely on his own. Oh and I agree with Gill, Roboroskis are definately not the kind of pet suitable for children to handle. The main thing is to provide tunnels and plenty of digging material such as wood shavings. I try to emulate their natural environment as much as I can. Oh and safe wood to chew on is great for them as being rodents it helps to keep their teeth trim. Pet shops today sell a whole range of such things. Good luck.
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29-11-2007, 09:25 PM
| | Knight Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Little village called Chedworth
Posts: 5,023
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
yes my roboroskis went from three to many quite quickly, they were lovely - they used to all sleep piled on top of each other like a little fluffy pyramid - gorgeous! |
29-11-2007, 09:30 PM
| | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lancashire
Posts: 3,203
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gill Catton yes my roboroskis went from three to many quite quickly, they were lovely - they used to all sleep piled on top of each other like a little fluffy pyramid - gorgeous! | Oh yes, they're lovely, such fond memories, especially when the babies first start to wander. There is a short time when you can handle them quite easily as they haven't yet picked up their parents speed. Then a few days later they're off . Also funny when mum gets annoyed with them for leaving their bed and drags them back in by grabbing whatever she can grab hold of.
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29-11-2007, 09:35 PM
| | Knight Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Little village called Chedworth
Posts: 5,023
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Quote:
Originally Posted by demicav Oh yes, they're lovely, such fond memories, especially when the babies first start to wander. There is a short time when you can handle them quite easily as they haven't yet picked up their parents speed. Then a few days later they're off . Also funny when mum gets annoyed with them for leaving their bed and drags them back in by grabbing whatever she can grab hold of. | I'm going to have to stop this!! I have enough to look after with three cats two fish tanks and my bird feeders.....
I mustn't get a hamster...
I mustn't get a hamster...
(repeat until understood.... ) |
29-11-2007, 09:57 PM
|  | Active Member | | Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 82
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
If you have a Russian hamster, then you need a special cage with narrower spaced bars or plastic sides, because they squeeze between the bars of a normal hamster cage, being a small type of hamster!
My daughter's boyfriend has one and couldn't figure out how it was escaping all the time - it was managing to squeeze between bars that were no more than 1 cm apart!  |
29-11-2007, 10:12 PM
|  | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: N.Yorkshire.... The Dales... can't beat it tbh
Posts: 1,915
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Hammies are certainly cute and pretty easy to take care of
We've had 2 over the past few years (for my son) and they certainly are a wealth of entertainment for kids that's for sure.
I'm only going to give one piece of vital advice - please DO NOT buy the cotton wool like fluffy bedding as it's kills ok! It gets wound round their legs, they actually ingest it and it get's stuck in their pouches - not good! Just use something like 'safe bed' from PAH or that jay-cloth looking nesting material instead ok
Our last hammie Daphne was a star and would sit watching tv with our son whilst licking out a yoghurt pot - so funny! Then she'd wander off along the arm of the chair leaving little white footprints behind her rofl!!!
Just keep on top of the cleaning out as they can pong a bit! 
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30-11-2007, 07:49 AM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Shropshire
Posts: 809
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Cor, thanks! This is a New Year project for when I change the boys' bedrooms round and my 7 year old moves out of the box room, where you'd currently struggle to fit a woodlouse in a matchbox, never mind a hamster cage. I wanted to do some advance research, though, especially regarding hutches. But after reading this thread I'm all fired up and I want a hamster NOW!!! |
30-11-2007, 12:04 PM
| | Wild Member | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Saddleworth, West Yorkshire
Posts: 125
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
I'd recommend not using sawdust or wood based litter as it can cause respiritary problems in rodents, its dusty and they give off phenols and acids that are toxic and could lead to irritation of the respiratory tract and skin, and liver disease- in hamsters its not noticable physically but with other rodents its very noticable. I use cardboard squares & newspaper with my rats, paper based is advised such as Bob Martins, Yesterdays News, Tescos paper based litter, Ectopet etc(theres alot available & some supermarkets like Tesco sell them).
Like Cazzie said do not use the cotton wool type bedding, u can use kitchen roll or tissue and shred it to use, or if you have alot of paper work you can shred that and use that as bedding.
Definatly a Syrian for a beginner (have to be kept alone), like others have said Roborovski's are VERY fast and not ideal for children, i actually had a russian dwarf as my first hamster and he was lovely. With the russian dwarfs & roborovski's you can keep them in pairs or more. Make sure they are sexed correctly as many pet shops sex them incorrectly and keep males & females in the same cages! Big gap=male, small gap = female. there will be pictures on the internet demonstrating how to sex them
You could always try a local rodent rescue instead of a pet shop, its likely they will have litters, most require a small donation (theres two rescues in Telford if that isnt too far from you, you can find them if you google Shropshire rodent rescue)
Cage wise the bigger the better but make sure the bar spacing is suitable. The cages with tubes coming out of it can be a pain to clean! but u can find plenty of tubes etc to put on the inside which will be easier to clean out. Lots of wooden items for them to chew on & try changing items around every week, i also used to hide treats/seeds around the cage.
You can put a small tray/jar in with some chinchilla sand and they will roll in it (they love it) but it will need changing regularly as they might use it as a toilet too.
Last edited by hannahpanda; 30-11-2007 at 12:11 PM.
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30-11-2007, 12:53 PM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Shropshire
Posts: 809
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Fab! Thanks! Off to google Rodent Rescue now...
(PS Dreamt last night that I'd been invited for a meal at Graham Norton's house - he lived in a terrace in Wrexham, and he'd done it up really tastefully - and for some reason I took a hamster along. It escaped, and I spent the rest of the dream trying to catch it without alerting him to what I was doing.) |
30-11-2007, 02:00 PM
| | Wild Member | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Saddleworth, West Yorkshire
Posts: 125
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
sorry the two i found were boarding when people are on holiday!
Theres probably some in the Shropshire RSPCA though
Haha sounds like a crazy but fun dream!
EDIT- forgot to say keep an eye out for wet tail, it can kill very quickly and will need vetinary treatment asap. The symptoms (diarrhoea causing the tail to become wet and dirty, walking hunched up, weakness, lethargic & may squeek in pain) may take 7 days to appear but after this it may only take 24hours for it to be fatal.
Last edited by hannahpanda; 30-11-2007 at 02:10 PM.
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30-11-2007, 05:45 PM
| | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lancashire
Posts: 3,203
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
I've heard of problems using woodshavings but personally I've never had a problem with them. I've used them all my life for my rodents including Guinea pigs of which I have two very healthy ones at the moment. Of course I could just be lucky, it's a personal choice, although the Guinea pig expert Peter Gurney didn't like them either.
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30-11-2007, 06:13 PM
| | Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: N.Yorkshire.... The Dales... can't beat it tbh
Posts: 1,915
| | | Re: Advice on hamsters
Quote:
Originally Posted by demicav I've heard of problems using woodshavings but personally I've never had a problem with them. I've used them all my life for my rodents including Guinea pigs of which I have two very healthy ones at the moment. Of course I could just be lucky, it's a personal choice, although the Guinea pig expert Peter Gurney didn't like them either. | Yep using wood shavings/sawdust has been an on-going debate in the gerbil world too! I only use aspen for my gerbils now as there are no phenols in it
Sounds to me that you won't be able to wait until the New Year vole-woman - youv'e got the 'hammie bug' rofl!
Keep us posted when you get one or two won't ya!
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30-11-2007, 07:19 PM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Shropshire
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