Hi folks. Here is Kage - with a K.

[Kage]

Hi folks I thought it time to introduce my hamster to you His name is Kage. I usually introduce him as Kage with a K. Apart from the avatar I have no other photos of him yet. He was born 23 July 2025 and I collected him from the breeder last Friday - 5 September. He is absolutely adorable, with beautiful markings around his face. I sadly had to have my beloved cat, Chhaya put to sleep on 6 August, 2 days after her 11th birthday. Naturally I was devastated, but I quickly realised I needed to have company, not to replace her, but to take over from her. I am a single man, happily retired and Kage fits the bill perfectly. You see his set-up as it is now. The cage is a Ferplast Multipla Hamster Large. I wasn't aware at the time of the minimum recommendations for cage size when I bought it. I thought it was big enough. Long enough - 104cm yes, but 34cm wide falls short of the 50cm. I quickly bought two extensions, one of which you can see added. When the second extension is added, the floor space will be 5,800+. I want the best for Kage, the best I can offer. I'm not rushing him. I'm trying to take things slowly. He is taking treats from me through the wires, and soon I hope to be able to put my hand inside his home and stroke him, get closer to him, get him more confident with me. Up to now, he only comes out for about an hour each night, usually between the hours of 11pm and 2am. He seems to enjoy his home, exploring when he's out, burrowing in the bedding which is 7inch in depth. I have red light bulbs in all the lights specially for him. I hope the little chap is settling down, and enjoying his new home as much as I love having him here with me, and I do hope I am doing right by him. Any, all, constructive comments and advice will be greatly appreciated

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome Exciting having a new baby hamster - how is he settling in? He has lots of nice things to do in there and plenty to do. Yes the Multipla cages are a clever design and seem well-made, but they got the dimensions wrong! It is still a great set up for him, plenty of length, and you've added the extension as well Male Syrians can be quite amenable, so I'm sure you'll be fine. I like the way you have the wheel in the extension as it makes a lot more space everywhere else

Looking forward to seeing photos of Kage I guess he's a bit shy at the moment, being so new and young maybe? It can be hard at first when we just want to handle and stroke them, but give him a couple of weeks settling in time and you might find he's out and about more, and more adventurous. Meanwhile you could talk to him through the cage so he gets familiar with your voice, scent and presence, which helps, and offer him the odd treat through the bars if you see him.

Does he have a bit of fresh veg daily? They love that - it's their main reason to get up I find - smelling the fresh veg. With a shy hamster, I sometimes put the veg on a separate dish (eg a jar lid or just on a tile or shelf) at the end of the cage opposite to where they are sleeping. That gets them in the habit of being brave enough to cross the cage at feeding time and because they have to go the length of the cage, it can also be an opportunity to offer them a tube to walk into on the way back - eg for out of cage time/taming/handling (in a secure area). I'd give it a couple of weeks though.

Another thing you can do is maybe keep to a regular feeding time - maybe 8pm - they soon get in the habit of waking/coming out at feeding time, when the smell the veg and hear the odd bit of cage noise (it helps to make a slight bit of cage noise while doing it). Cucumber and broccoli are favourites here, and the occasional blueberry. Just a tiny piece about the size of his ear - so they eat it rather than hoard it.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Lovely to have lots of new owners and their hamsters joining the form ❤ I am very sorry to hear that you lost your lovely cat It's great that Kage is taking treats from you and is happy and healthy

 

[Kage]

Hello and welcome Exciting having a new baby hamster - how is he settling in? He has lots of nice things to do in there and plenty to do. Yes the Multipla cages are a clever design and seem well-made, but they got the dimensions wrong! It is still a great set up for him, plenty of length, and you've added the extension as well Male Syrians can be quite amenable, so I'm sure you'll be fine. I like the way you have the wheel in the extension as it makes a lot more space everywhere else

Looking forward to seeing photos of Kage I guess he's a bit shy at the moment, being so new and young maybe? It can be hard at first when we just want to handle and stroke them, but give him a couple of weeks settling in time and you might find he's out and about more, and more adventurous. Meanwhile you could talk to him through the cage so he gets familiar with your voice, scent and presence, which helps, and offer him the odd treat through the bars if you see him.

Does he have a bit of fresh veg daily? They love that - it's their main reason to get up I find - smelling the fresh veg. With a shy hamster, I sometimes put the veg on a separate dish (eg a jar lid or just on a tile or shelf) at the end of the cage opposite to where they are sleeping. That gets them in the habit of being brave enough to cross the cage at feeding time and because they have to go the length of the cage, it can also be an opportunity to offer them a tube to walk into on the way back - eg for out of cage time/taming/handling (in a secure area). I'd give it a couple of weeks though.

Another thing you can do is maybe keep to a regular feeding time - maybe 8pm - they soon get in the habit of waking/coming out at feeding time, when the smell the veg and hear the odd bit of cage noise (it helps to make a slight bit of cage noise while doing it). Cucumber and broccoli are favourites here, and the occasional blueberry. Just a tiny piece about the size of his ear - so they eat it rather than hoard it.

Thank you for the advice, Maz I do talk to him whether I can see him or not. I told him part of my life story the other night/morning. Not sure he appreciated it though. Didn't know hamsters could snore

 

[Kage]

Lovely to have lots of new owners and their hamsters joining the form ❤ I am very sorry to hear that you lost your lovely cat It's great that Kage is taking treats from you and is happy and healthy

Thank you, Socks' Mum. Yes, it broke my heart losing Chhaya ,but Kage has definitely lifted my spirits again

 

[Maz]

Oh they are very good listeners! And I swear they understand some of it They seem sensitive to nuances in voices. Like any other pet really - even if they don't understand the words, they understand the tone and feeling behind the words. They can actually learn some words actually - like No!

 

[Kage]

Oh they are very good listeners! And I swear they understand some of it They seem sensitive to nuances in voices. Like any other pet really - even if they don't understand the words, they understand the tone and feeling behind the words. They can actually learn some words actually - like No!

Maz, a thought occurred to me - there's talking to them, being there... He's been with me for a week now and I've been up with him until 4, 5, 6am each night/morning. Might he appreciate a bit of "me time" to get used to his new home on his own, in his own time? Like I say, it's just a thought.

 

[Rescued One]

Oh they are very good listeners! And I swear they understand some of it They seem sensitive to nuances in voices. Like any other pet really - even if they don't understand the words, they understand the tone and feeling behind the words. They can actually learn some words actually - like No!

Indeed, I sing little songs to my hammies - each has their own song and they seem to recognize their songs. I sing their songs all the way home when I first get them and anytime I go near their habitats. They learn to associate the song with interaction. of course, I change the words to be all about them (audience appropriate)

 

[Maz]

Maz, a thought occurred to me - there's talking to them, being there... He's been with me for a week now and I've been up with him until 4, 5, 6am each night/morning. Might he appreciate a bit of "me time" to get used to his new home on his own, in his own time? Like I say, it's just a thought.

Yes I'm sure he'll need some me time and settling in time as well so if you're up with him in the early hours it might be better to do the talking maybe 10pm to midnight the night before and let him do his hamstery things at night Although 6am might be ok as that's the end of his night/day ish.

They also like listening to music Certain things can be relaxing or calming or they can sit looking interested and listening. I think it moves them. They are sensitive little things with much more intelligence than they are sometimes credited with. Mind you they can do daft things as well! But that's age rather than species! Like young people do daft things before they get older and wiser.

Singing songs to them sounds lovely too @Rescued One