Hello . Meet Widgi

[SarahBee]

hi I just wanted to introduce myself and my new baby Wigi. He was living in the Pet store the last 8 months now hes mine, I’ve adopted him. It seems he sleeps all day and only comes out at night. Right now his 20 gallon tank is pretty bare. He doesn’t mind being handled but does seem to go into a panic when I let him run along my hands so I wind up just putting him back in the tank. The girl at the pet store saidto feed him kale, cabbage, carrots, and she even said hewill take a nice dust bath. I plan on getting him some new things for his home. Any recommendations?

it’s nice to be here. I’ve included Widgi’s photo

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome. He's beautiful Poor thing being in a pet store for 8 months. He's lucky he has you now and a forever home. His cage will need upgrading as a 20 gallon tank is really small for a hamster unfortunately. The smallest you'd be looking for really would be a 40 gallon breeder tank (about 3 foot by 18") but ideally something about 40" x 20". If you're up for making a bin cage, there are some large 160 litre sterilite bins available quite cheap.

The best thing you can give him in a cage is lots of substrate (litter for the floor) ideally paper based although some people use aspen (you can mix the two as well). So he can dig tunnels and burrows. At least 6 to 8" deep. Plus a few floor tunnels and hidey places and a platform. You can make a lot of those out of cardboard - there's a thread on here for cardboard creations. He'll also need a wheel that's 8" or 9" diameter.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Poor Widgi being in there for 8 months. It was a very lucky day when you rescued him.

I am afraid a 20 gallon tank is too small for a hamster. Hamsters need a tank or cage at least 100cm by 50cm. Pet shops often do not have the best advice when it comes to pet care.

A sand bath is going to help him keep his fur clean. This needs to be sand, not dust.

We have a great list of safe hamster foods which will help when choosing which vegetables to feed.

Safe and Unsafe Food list for Hamsters

Many human foods are safe for hamsters, but some are toxic to hamsters. Our researched and referenced food list gives up to date information on safe and unsafe foods for hamsters.

www.thehamsterforum.com

This is a link to suitable hamster cages.

Which hamster cage should I get?

Everything you need to know about choosing the best hamster cage

www.thehamsterforum.com

I am going to post a link which shows members cage set ups. This will help you when it comes to setting up the cage.

Show us your cages 2023 onwards

A new thread for 2023 to show cage set ups :) Some may have changed or be new but feel free to add your existing set up again. It's mainly so all current ones are viewable in the same place.

www.thehamsterforum.com

I hope I have not overwhelmed you with information. Please feel free to ask anything.

 

[Socks' Mum]

hi I just wanted to introduce myself and my new baby Wigi. He was living in the Pet store the last 8 months now hes mine, I’ve adopted him. It seems he sleeps all day and only comes out at night. Right now his 20 gallon tank is pretty bare. He doesn’t mind being handled but does seem to go into a panic when I let him run along my hands so I wind up just putting him back in the tank. The girl at the pet store saidto feed him kale, cabbage, carrots, and she even said hewill take a nice dust bath. I plan on getting him some new things for his home. Any recommendations?

it’s nice to be here. I’ve included Widgi’s photo

Hello Wigi, welcome little cutie

 

[elusive]

Hello & welcome to the forum, lovely to hear that Widgi has found a home after all that time in the store, he’s a beautiful little guy!

The others have given you great advice on the tank or cage, sand too, you can use reptile sand as long as it doesn’t have added calcium & that’s easy to find in pet stores, you’ll need something to put it in that is big enough to have a good roll around in & a couple of inches deep. It is quite heavy so it would need to be put on a platform or on top of a wooden house to keep it safe.
You can give him a good range of veg, just a teeny piece each day though. Cucumber, broccoli & red pepper are often favourites.

 

[Maz]

An old ice cream tub or similar makes a good sand bath.

 

[Frida]

Hello and welcome to the forum
Widgi is super cute

 

[HamsterMumMo]

Welcome Wigi he's so adorable

 

[Jain]

Ĺots of love, consideration for his needs and an environment suitable to his size plenty of recommendations on here you won't go wrong

 

[SarahBee]

Hello & welcome to the forum, lovely to hear that Widgi has found a home after all that time in the store, he’s a beautiful little guy!

The others have given you great advice on the tank or cage, sand too, you can use reptile sand as long as it doesn’t have added calcium & that’s easy to find in pet stores, you’ll need something to put it in that is big enough to have a good roll around in & a couple of inches deep. It is quite heavy so it would need to be put on a platform or on top of a wooden house to keep it safe.
You can give him a good range of veg, just a teeny piece each day though. Cucumber, broccoli & red pepper are often favourites.

Thanks for the food suggestion she said they’ve fed their hamsters peppers. Also she said feed him cabbage because it’s good for digestion. Thanks

 

[SarahBee]

Ĺots of love, consideration for his needs and an environment suitable to his size plenty of recommendations on here you won't go wrong

Thank you

 

[elusive]

I wouldn’t give cabbage often, maybe a tiny bit now & then but it’s not so suited to a hamsters digestion really, a little bit of broccoli or tiny spinach leaf would be better.

 

[Zara]

Hello and welcome to the forum, lots of great advice and forum links above. Widgi looks very cute, he’s super lucky to have found you were you keeping an eye on him each time you visited the pet store?

 

[SarahBee]

Hello and welcome to the forum, lots of great advice and forum links above. Widgi looks very cute, he’s super lucky to have found you were you keeping an eye on him each time you visited the pet store?

Hi Zara, no I just had a feeling some little one that liked being held and needed a home was waiting and so I asked and went home with a new fur kid

 

[SarahBee]

Welcome Wigi he's so adorable

Thank you!!

 

[SarahBee]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Poor Widgi being in there for 8 months. It was a very lucky day when you rescued him.

I am afraid a 20 gallon tank is too small for a hamster. Hamsters need a tank or cage at least 100cm by 50cm. Pet shops often do not have the best advice when it comes to pet care.

A sand bath is going to help him keep his fur clean. This needs to be sand, not dust.

We have a great list of safe hamster foods which will help when choosing which vegetables to feed.

Safe and Unsafe Food list for Hamsters

Many human foods are safe for hamsters, but some are toxic to hamsters. Our researched and referenced food list gives up to date information on safe and unsafe foods for hamsters.

www.thehamsterforum.com

This is a link to suitable hamster cages.

Which hamster cage should I get?

Everything you need to know about choosing the best hamster cage

www.thehamsterforum.com

I am going to post a link which shows members cage set ups. This will help you when it comes to setting up the cage.

Show us your cages 2023 onwards

A new thread for 2023 to show cage set ups :) Some may have changed or be new but feel free to add your existing set up again. It's mainly so all current ones are viewable in the same place.

www.thehamsterforum.com

I hope I have not overwhelmed you with information. Please feel free to ask anything.

Unfortunately I’m limited in space. Plus I’m really not supposed to have hamsters in this apartment! i have nowhere else to put his tank besides on the wooden chest I have and nothing bigger will do. Honesty, I wish I could. Plz tell me he’ll be ok in a 20 gal. I got him a hut and a wheel today and dust bath. I really can’t do anything bigger, wish I could

 

[RainbowBrite]

Unfortunately I’m limited in space. Plus I’m really not supposed to have hamsters in this apartment! i have nowhere else to put his tank besides on the wooden chest I have and nothing bigger will do. Honesty, I wish I could. Plz tell me he’ll be ok in a 20 gal. I got him a hut and a wheel today and dust bath. I really can’t do anything bigger, wish I could

I think 20 gallons is too small, sorry. The minimum would be 75 gallons or anything 40inches by 20inches. When you think a hamster spends their whole life in there then it does need to be a bigger space.

I had to get rid of furniture to fit my hamster cage in. I understand what it is like to have limited space.

This is my personal opinion. I know it is not what you want to hear.

 

[Maz]

Is it a chest of drawers? A compromise would be a 40 gallon breeder tank which is not too bad. It's about 36" x 18". It would sit on top of a chest of drawers and it wouldn't matter if there was a bit of overhang. A 20 gallon is really quite small. Another compromise would be the Prevue cage if you put plenty of bedding in to help reduce the height.

It's also called the Zanzibar cage at Exotic Nutrition - where it's about the cheapest price. That is about 32" by 19"

Zanzibar Cage

Discover comfort and security with Exotic Nutrition's Zanzibar Cage! This sturdy cage boasts a chew-proof metal shelf and ramp, plus a 6.5" deep tubby base for all that bedding that's sure to stay in the cage. And there's lots of room for accessories too! Crafted with a durable plastic base and...

exoticnutrition.com

Or some people make bin cages - if you could mesh a lid.

 

[SarahBee]

I think 20 gallons is too small, sorry. The minimum would be 75 gallons or anything 40inches by 20inches. When you think a hamster spends their whole life in there then it does need to be a bigger space.

I had to get rid of furniture to fit my hamster cage in. I understand what it is like to have limited space.

This is my personal opinion. I know it is not what you want to hear.

No not exactly haha.. well I need one with a lid and there’s only one space for him. The tank is 29 x 14 not many inches difference. The chest is 43 x 19.

 

[SarahBee]

Is it a chest of drawers? A compromise would be a 40 gallon breeder tank which is not too bad. It's about 36" x 18". It would sit on top of a chest of drawers and it wouldn't matter if there was a bit of overhang. A 20 gallon is really quite small. Another compromise would be the Prevue cage if you put plenty of bedding in to help reduce the height.

It's also called the Zanzibar cage at Exotic Nutrition - where it's about the cheapest price. That is about 32" by 19"

Zanzibar Cage

Discover comfort and security with Exotic Nutrition's Zanzibar Cage! This sturdy cage boasts a chew-proof metal shelf and ramp, plus a 6.5" deep tubby base for all that bedding that's sure to stay in the cage. And there's lots of room for accessories too! Crafted with a durable plastic base and...

exoticnutrition.com

Or some people make bin cages - if you could mesh a lid.

Oh I love prevue’s products. thank you for sharing! It’s a small chest like for blankets ..sits low