Davy 💙

[Roza]

OK very helpful, thank you. Will have look & see what we need to do x

I think he likes the Trixie cos its lighter and he just a little shrimp .

 

[Member ID2]

Just saw your question regarding freezing on another thread.
I didn't know that you don't freeze anything and thought you did.
Things like hamster mix, forage, millet, sprays or anything that could harbour bugs like pantry moths, weevils and their eggs should be frozen for at least a week.
I always keep a bag of hamster mix in the freezer. Put one in when i take one out. I keep food, sprays etc in an airtight glass jar.

 

[Roza]

Thanks Beryl.

So Davy is my 4th Syrian. My first 2 lived to a ripe old age . Lulu , my third little Ham (a rescue), seemed to pass early (or did she? We weren’t really sure of her age and she started out with respitory - soz spelling! - issues due to having had anti-chew spray applied to her cage).

I have never frozen anything .

What do Hamsters do in the wild? Eat bugs I guess. If they had all died due to eating bugs (and another nasties), we wouldn’t have Hamsters today (maybe! Probs me over-thinking it. Should never have worked in IT I knew it was a mistake ).

 

[elusive]

You can get lucky with not freezing stuff, I didn’t with my first couple of hamsters (simply hadn’t thought about it) but I did have a bag of food with pantry moths in it & was lucky to see them before I put it in the cage & binned it quick, it was pretty gross!
Hams do eat insects in the wild but we’re mostly talking about all the different kinds of mites that can come with foods & natural products as well as pantry moths which really aren’t the kind of thing they would eat.
I don’t think you can really compare a hamster in a cage in a house with a hamster in the wild, very different environment.
Mites can cause issues for hamsters & once you;ve got a cage infested with them it’s really hard to get rid of them, same goes with the moths, getting rid ot them means total cage cleans sometimes more than once which is stressful for hams so best avoided if possible.

It’s a personal choice but I prefer to err on the side of caution & play it safe.

 

[Roza]

Thanks for explaining elusive.

I work in a pet shop where we have massive bins full of loose birdseed. They are infested in the summer and I am constantly having to remove the little wriggly larvae of the Pantry Moth.

So understand what you mean.

 

[Roza]

I am dropping off this forum, sorry.

I just find the stuff I read on here, and worrying about whether I am doing the right thing for Davy, is stressful actually, and its taking away my enjoyment of having him .

Thank you, though. For all the good advice you have given me over the last few weeks x

 

[RainbowBrite]

Roza, please do not leave. It can be overwhelming to learn all of the updated hamster care. I know I still find it overwhelming. You are doing such a wonderful job with Davy and it is clear how much he is loved.

 

[Maz]

It's totally a personal choice whether to freeze food or not. I hope you don't drop off the forum. I love hearing about Davy and I love your posts. You are caring for him wonderfully. As you say, you've had Syrians before and if he's happy then there is no need to change anything you do

Nothing on here should be stressful for our members. There is a lot of stuff all over the internet about how care and cage setups have changed, but we all have some autonomy on how we choose to set up our cages and you seem like a wonderful hamster Mum!

As regards freezing food. It's not really about any harm to hamsters. It's about avoiding infestations (I had an infestation of pantry moths in the house once from a bag of food). That would concern some people more than others. You're right that pantry moths would not do a hamster any harm. Items with hay can have mites, which again are probably not the kind of mites that do any harm to a hamster, but could end up infesting a cage and be awkward to deal with so people try to avoid these issues.

 

[Roza]

OK. Thank you & maybe I over reacted. I do love coming on here and hearing about all your Hams. It really is a delight .

Thank you for your support x

 

[elusive]

I can understand how it can seem a bit much when you see things like this but it’s entirely a personal choice what you choose to take on board or not & a lot of this stuff does just become routine & not something you really need to think about too much.
You are doing a great job with Davy & have clearly done the same with your other hams so you don’t need to stress over it, it’s great having you here & I do really hope you stay.

 

[Roza]

Thank you elusive

 

[Member ID2]

Freezing food isn't so much about the hamster because they eat bugs. It's more about the fact that pantry moth can hutch from their food and multiply rapidly inside their cages. Ok, they wouldn't harm the hamster or humans but i don't fancy a kitchen or house full of them. I've had them but luckily caught them in time when i saw them inside two of my hamsters cages.

I've bought mealworms from a petshop before and the bag was alive with weevils. I also know someone who had weevils in her hamster cage so am aware of the huge effort she had to put in to get rid of them. The hamster didn't exactly appreciate the endless cleaning either. It's not a big deal to pop things in the freezer for a week to be on the safe side but it is personal choice. No one on here is trying to worry you but it is better to be aware of what can happen if unlucky.

 

[Roza]

Yes I agree Beryl.

I have had a whole lounge infested by carpet moth (nothing to do with Hamsters just a wool carpet).

I appreciate the help on here.

 

[Member ID2]

Has Davy got his new house yet? I'm really curious to find out how he gets on with it and how he manages his housekeeping.

 

[Roza]

So Davy has new house.

Just his mother has not got round to painting it yet .

Tried today but housework / washing / garden / other animals - all got in the way. And working for 2 days now .

Hopefully Thursday will be Davy day xx

 

[Maz]

Looking forward to Davy day! And I'm sure the house will look lovely when you get chance to do it. I also think you have to be in the mood as well. If I'm not in the mood I make mistakes ha ha.

 

[Roza]

Yep hopefully Maz. I have everything ready to start.

I am hoping u can see this: Davy came out for his little plate of bits & bobs. He loves sweetcorn! Then he disappeared back into his house with his egg !

 

[Member ID2]

Haha, he wants to make sure that nobody else is getting his egg so took his treasure to his house to eat. Lovely to see little Davy.

 

[Roza]

I just hope it doesn’t go bad! Was a while in there so hopefully he’s polished it off

 

[Member ID2]

You could peek inside his house when he's out but egg isn't something they'd leave i don't think.
He was funny looking at you and then he grabbed his egg and took off with it.