Emerald the Hammie

[Aadizmommy]

Hello,
We just adopted Emerald from a PetSmart Saturday night. She was born Oct 20 and already had babies. She is a long haired Syrian. It's our first time having any kind of pet and my daughter is happy to have a pet to interact with now. She seemed more active the first 2 days and now hides behind her sandbox where she's built her burrow. We have also accidentally scared her once by moving my hand too fast in the cage, oops. But she does go up to her platform to grab her food and drink. She also uses her wheels. I'd like to clean out her cage and give her some play time outside her cage on Sunday (a week after adopting her). I did purchase a Prevue 528 cage, added bedding, moss, chew toys, wheel, and a sandbox; I do have a few more things I purchased later that I'd like to add. Open to any suggestions or advice. Looking forward to learning more and this hamster channel!

 

[Maz]

Hello. That sounds exciting It's so hard the first couple of weeks when you want to interact and they're scared. She's probably still just a baby and they get startled easily at first. It usually takes about 10 days to two weeks for them adjust to their new cage and environment and start feeling more confident. During that time, you can just keep talking to her through the bars, so she gets familiar with your voice, scent and presence - you and your daughter. And if you see her you could offer her a treat through the bars. The first 2 or 3 days it's best to not disturb them at all and then start with the talking and treats for the next week or so.

I would give it a bit longer than a week to clean her cage. You could "spot clean" the pee area (if you know where it is) after a week but it's best to leave it longer before any big disturbance. Clean outs can really stress them and set back taming. It's only really their pee that is unhygienice. Poops are just like little black hard seeds, and not dirty or smelly. They even eat them sometimes (which is normal - they have two stomachs and can redigest nutrients from their poops). Sometimes they'll hoard a few poops - they're hard wired to prepare for food shortage! So it's a natural instinct.

These days, full cage cleans weekly aren't done. The idea is, if you have enough bedding in there (at least 6" and ideally 8" or more) then you can just do partial cleans or spot clean the pee area mostly. I'll link the cleaning tips article

The Prevue is a good cage - I hope she settles and doesn't chew the bars - female syrians are notoriously active and full of energy.

In terms of out of cage time, again it's best to wait that two weeks - unless she shows signs of wanting to come out - eg by coming to the door.

Hamster cage cleaning

Tips on how to clean your hamster cage and avoid causing stress to your hamster. It's best to have plenty of depth of substrate and mainly spot clean your hamster cage. Avoid disturbing your hamster's nest and hoard.

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[Aadizmommy]

Hello. That sounds exciting It's so hard the first couple of weeks when you want to interact and they're scared. She's probably still just a baby and they get startled easily at first. It usually takes about 10 days to two weeks for them adjust to their new cage and environment and start feeling more confident. During that time, you can just keep talking to her through the bars, so she gets familiar with your voice, scent and presence - you and your daughter. And if you see her you could offer her a treat through the bars. The first 2 or 3 days it's best to not disturb them at all and then start with the talking and treats for the next week or so.

I would give it a bit longer than a week to clean her cage. You could "spot clean" the pee area (if you know where it is) after a week but it's best to leave it longer before any big disturbance. Clean outs can really stress them and set back taming. It's only really their pee that is unhygienice. Poops are just like little black hard seeds, and not dirty or smelly. They even eat them sometimes (which is normal - they have two stomachs and can redigest nutrients from their poops). Sometimes they'll hoard a few poops - they're hard wired to prepare for food shortage! So it's a natural instinct.

These days, full cage cleans weekly aren't done. The idea is, if you have enough bedding in there (at least 6" and ideally 8" or more) then you can just do partial cleans or spot clean the pee area mostly. I'll link the cleaning tips article

The Prevue is a good cage - I hope she settles and doesn't chew the bars - female syrians are notoriously active and full of energy.

In terms of out of cage time, again it's best to wait that two weeks - unless she shows signs of wanting to come out - eg by coming to the door.

Hamster cage cleaning

Tips on how to clean your hamster cage and avoid causing stress to your hamster. It's best to have plenty of depth of substrate and mainly spot clean your hamster cage. Avoid disturbing your hamster's nest and hoard.

www.thehamsterforum.com

Perfect - thank you so much Maz! No, I don't know where she might pee, i assume at or around her sand box, so I'll check there at the end of the week, I'll leave everything else the same and just add more bedding as needed and not make any major changes. Didn't know about the 2 stomachs and digestion, that's neat! Didn't notice and bar chewing, she did climb up to jump on the wheel (one of her playful methods?) I have no problems waiting for as long as I need, as long as she's healthy and area is clean, but I know my daughter is really excited for playtime! Will keep her patient and have her continue to help with feedings and try offering a treat through bars. Will check out your article now.

 

[Tulsi]

I hope she settles soon. I had a female syrian, Kashi, who loved to bar chew at first (100 x 54cm cage) but once I wove cardboard through the bars for her to destroy and gave her egg cartons with treats in for her to forage she lost interest in bar chewing.

Looking forward to seeing pics.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your little hammy

 

[Aadizmommy]

I hope she settles soon. I had a female syrian, Kashi, who loved to bar chew at first (100 x 54cm cage) but once I wove cardboard through the bars for her to destroy and gave her egg cartons with treats in for her to forage she lost interest in bar chewing.

Looking forward to seeing pics.

Hi Tulsi,
Thank you for sharing your experience and giving ideas of cardboard; I'll look out for chewing bars and add cardboard if needed. Foraging sounds like a great idea - keeps her busy on the floor!

 

[Maz]

She sounds to be having fun already I bet she loves her wheel.

 

[Aadizmommy]

Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your little hammy

Thank you Sock's Mum! I'm exploring this platform and learning so much already

 

[Aadizmommy]

She sounds to be having fun already I bet she loves her wheel.

Yes she seems to like it so far! It's one from Exotic Nutrition, a 12 inch; I can't believe they can run for so long and not get bored!

 

[Rescued One]

Perfect - thank you so much Maz! No, I don't know where she might pee, i assume at or around her sand box, so I'll check there at the end of the week, I'll leave everything else the same and just add more bedding as needed and not make any major changes. Didn't know about the 2 stomachs and digestion, that's neat! Didn't notice and bar chewing, she did climb up to jump on the wheel (one of her playful methods?) I have no problems waiting for as long as I need, as long as she's healthy and area is clean, but I know my daughter is really excited for playtime! Will keep her patient and have her continue to help with feedings and try offering a treat through bars. Will check out your article now.

Hi Gina, congrats on the new addition, and one thing your daughter might do until it's time to start letting Emerald out is read out loud to her? It will help with bonding AND improve reading skills

 

[Maz]

Hi Gina, congrats on the new addition, and one thing your daughter might do until it's time to start letting Emerald out is read out loud to her? It will help with bonding AND improve reading skills

That's a great idea!

 

[Aadizmommy]

Hi Gina, congrats on the new addition, and one thing your daughter might do until it's time to start letting Emerald out is read out loud to her? It will help with bonding AND improve reading skills

Thanks Rescued One - that's a great idea - we were singing to her yesterday, I'll ask her to read next.

 

[Maz]

Playing some music as well maybe Although I just used to do that during out of cage time. Our first hammy seemed to love gentle childrens songs and a bit of classical music. Favouries were - Over the Rainbow (Judy Garland) - he would sit mesmerized, listening, The Sun has got his hat on (old version), Winnie the Pooh song, Run Rabbit run (Flannagan and Allen), and various bits of classical music!

 

[Aadizmommy]

Playing some music as well maybe Although I just used to do that during out of cage time. Our first hammy seemed to love gentle childrens songs and a bit of classical music. Favouries were - Over the Rainbow (Judy Garland) - he would sit mesmerized, listening, The Sun has got his hat on (old version), Winnie the Pooh song, Run Rabbit run (Flannagan and Allen), and various bits of classical music!

Oh thanks for the suggestions - gentle genre seems good, calming for the hamsters? Oh classical music I can do with her! So far, whenever she sees us, she will go back into hiding behind her sandbox. There's not much paper behind the box, but she made her safety zone there. But she was up all night on her wheel, and goes back to bed right when we wake up

 

[Maz]

Sounds typical! They go crazy for the wheel at first and even ongoing use it every night for long periods.