Does food become stale?

[RainbowBrite]

Sounds to me like you may be anxious due to the passing of your sweet rat. This is understandable. Please try not to worry because you are making all the right changes for your hamster. You will get there. It can take time to get the right things but you will do it.

 

[elusive]

I’m really sorry about your little rat friend, it’s hard to lose any animal so I can understand your concerns but I agree with Rainbow, you’re doing your best & it can take a little time to get things right but you will get there & he should be fine.

 

[Coderedfield47]

I could be overly concerned but this behavior is a little different. He's definitely got himself a burrow underneath the house as I saw the substrate moving. So he stuck his head out of the house and was lying against his chew stick before he went back in. He looked a little tired. Maybe he's just getting comfortable with being visible and this is just him having a small snuggle next to his stick?

Would he benefit from turning the heat pad on at night? (its stuck to the side rather than the bottom of the enclosure)

Edit: Yeah he's still just lying near the entrance inside the house. Seems to just be him getting used to his home.

 

[RainbowBrite]

He looks cute and cosy to me. It is great he has already made a burrow. What is concerning you?

 

[Coderedfield47]

He looks cute and cosy to me. It is great he has already made a burrow. What is concerning you?

When the rat was dying I woke up in the morning to find her face down in the substrate, far away from the heat pad so it just reminded me of that.

I'm probably just thinking too much and its a little early.

 

[RainbowBrite]

When the rat was dying I woke up in the morning to find her face down in the substrate, far away from the heat pad so it just reminded me of that.

I'm probably just thinking too much and its a little early.

I can understand why the memory came to your mind. I think loosing our little ones is very painful.

 

[Coderedfield47]

I can understand why the memory came to your mind. I think loosing our little ones is very painful.

Well the rat seemed to imprint instantly and I saw so much intelligence and humanity in the behavior and facial expressions and than on the 5th day, after everything was seemingly fine and she was learning her acrobatics, she just suddenly came down ill like sudden infant death. I really felt the little 3 week old rat was probably smarter than a human infant and it was just so unfair to her to be introduced to love and life and have it taken from her in the lightening flash of a single morning. Deep existential crisis on what kind of creator would allow such a thing to happen, and why me and why her.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Well the rat seemed to imprint instantly and I saw so much intelligence and humanity in the behavior and facial expressions and than on the 5th day, after everything was seemingly fine and she was learning her acrobatics, she just suddenly came down ill like sudden infant death. I really felt the little 3 week old rat was probably smarter than a human infant and it was just so unfair to her to be introduced to love and life and have it taken from her in the lightening flash of a single morning. Deep existential crisis on what kind of creator would allow such a thing to happen, and why me and why her.

It sounds like such a difficult time for you. She only knew love and kindness in her short life and I hope that can be of some comfort to you.

 

[Maz]

It’s sometimes a reminder when we have a new similar pet, but you just need to tell yourself - this hamster is not the same. All pets have their unique personalities.

He looks very cute and it’s normal for hamsters to burrow down.

In terms of temperature. Ideally the room temperature is 18 to 20 degrees centigrade grade. (About 66 to 68 f I think). If it gets below 16c then it will be a bit cold. Depending on what type of heating you have, it’s sometimes better to just keep the room temperature right rather than add a heat pad.

 

[elusive]

I could be overly concerned but this behavior is a little different. He's definitely got himself a burrow underneath the house as I saw the substrate moving. So he stuck his head out of the house and was lying against his chew stick before he went back in. He looked a little tired. Maybe he's just getting comfortable with being visible and this is just him having a small snuggle next to his stick?

Would he benefit from turning the heat pad on at night? (its stuck to the side rather than the bottom of the enclosure)

Edit: Yeah he's still just lying near the entrance inside the house. Seems to just be him getting used to his home.

That looks & sounds like very natural behaviour to me, he really seems to like that stick, maybe can’t decide whether to have a chew or a nap! He does look comfy.

I wouldn’t have a heat pad up against the cage, it’s better to have it underneath with a gap between if you need one, how cold is the room he’s in?

I can imagine how you felt about the loss of your rat, it does seem very unfair when something like that happens, but all we can do is what we think is best for any animal & if that’s not enough & there is some health issue we can’t help with then the fact that we love them & gave them our best is a comfort, I hope you can find some comfort in that too.

 

[Coderedfield47]

That looks & sounds like very natural behaviour to me, he really seems to like that stick, maybe can’t decide whether to have a chew or a nap! He does look comfy.

I wouldn’t have a heat pad up against the cage, it’s better to have it underneath with a gap between if you need one, how cold is the room he’s in?

I can imagine how you felt about the loss of your rat, it does seem very unfair when something like that happens, but all we can do is what we think is best for any animal & if that’s not enough & there is some health issue we can’t help with then the fact that we love them & gave them our best is a comfort, I hope you can find some comfort in that too.

I'm going to try and put $50 a month to vet care funds, if the timing is right he I can spend $300 on payday if its an emergency. I heard some of these illnesses can develop quick though. Respiratory infection death in three days? How is anyone supposed to address that fast enough? The cost of treating a single rodent is mad. Here I am, trying to play brood mother.

With the rat I wondered if she was placed where I found her by a parent who was trying to separate her from the litter for some kind of genetic defect. Other than that it was a case of exploring away from the nest and tumbling through a gap in the wall from the attic. It'll forever be a sad mystery.

 

[Maz]

It is very often a congenital birth defect and we never know what it was but a healthy animal does t just die. It could be a congenital heart weakness or various other things. Rats are also much more susceptible to respiratory conditions than other animals- more so even than hamsters.

It is very sad but you did your best and it was the rat’s time.

Now you have a lovely healthy little dwarf

Try not to worry. It’s perfectly natural to worry it may happen again but this is a different animal and I’m sure everything will be fine. He is maybe quite a laid back little boy.

As for the food - personally I would stick with the oxbow for now and just give one tiny piece of fresh veg daily - doesn’t matter if it’s raw or cooked but raw is healthier. No bigger than the hamster’s ear. Too much fresh veg can give them diarrhoea or an upset stomach.

The oxbow will be fine until you get chance to buy some Higgins vita garden. Long term it woukd t be good.

I wouldn’t give the muesli mix you had for the rat just in case the rat did have something infectious and the food may have inadvertently been contaminated.

 

[elusive]

Any small animan can succumb to illness very quickly but it really doesn’t happen that often with hamsters, usually if they do get ill there’s time enough to take them to the vet & for treatment to work for them.
I can understand why you’re worried but try not to be, it’s unlikely that you’ll have problems like that to worry about.
Just try to enjoy your new ham, you’ve got lots of good times to look forward to now.

 

[Maz]

He will get to know you the more you talk to him

 

[Coderedfield47]

I fed him a shred of a carrot and tiny piece of broccoli today from produce, how often can I feed him these since he seems to like fresh food like that?

 

[elusive]

You can feed him small pieces of fresh food every day.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Aw, it is lovely he enjoyed his broccoli and carrot.

 

[Hamster Haven]

Change the water daily.

Most dried food will last a few months in an airtight container or a bit longer in the freezer but it will start to lose nutritional value after that.

Follow- up question here for the forum: when we got our first hamster I want thinking about this and bought a MASSIVE bag of Mazuri blocks... if course the expiration date past before I went through a lot of the bag... it's a few months past its date now, and doesn't smell or seem stable, but I wonder if the nutritional value is lost. Should I just dump the remaining blocks and move on?

 

[elusive]

If it’s a few months past the date then I would expect at least some of the nutritional value will have been lost so probably better to start over.
A lot of things are ok for a while after the normal use by date if kept in the freezer but even then not for too long.