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I’m new and this is my first hamster is it normal if it doesn’t come out on its first night, I’m just making sure it’s not dead.
I’m new
- Thread starter Hammywubber
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Hello 
Yes it's quite normal. When they first come home with you, to a new smelling environment and new cage, it's all a bit scary for them, and presumably your hammy is still a baby. Usual advice is to leave them alone for the first 2 or 3 days while they adjust. After that it can take another week to 10 days or so, before they fully feel confident in the cage, and have "made it their own" and scent marked everywhere.
So best not to disturb anything in the cage or clean it out or move things around in the first two weeks. After a week you can "spot clean" the pee area (ie take a handful of wet bedding out and put a new handful in) if it's noticeable and starts to smell. Some hamsters pee in their sand bath and that soaks up the pee which can be scooped out. Although adding the odd new thing is usually accepted, as long as it doesn't mean removing something else or changing the layout.
It can take a bit of time and patience - After the first few days you can talk to the hamster through the enclosure - which might sound odd if you don't see them - but it helps them build confidence and get familiar with your voice and presence. And offer the odd treat through the bars.
You can also start putting out a bit of fresh veg with food - eg a bit of cucumber or broccoli, or a couple of peas (a piece no bigger than their ear) when you put the hamster food out. They tend to get up for the fresh veg, as they can smell it! So putting it in a different place to the hamster mix can encourage them about a bit if shy as well Best to only give the fresh veg every 3rd day for the first couple of weeks and after that, every day is best as they look forward to it. It's just to let their stomachs adjust to the fresh veg.
What species of hamster do you have, and male or female? Let us know how things go
Yes it's quite normal. When they first come home with you, to a new smelling environment and new cage, it's all a bit scary for them, and presumably your hammy is still a baby. Usual advice is to leave them alone for the first 2 or 3 days while they adjust. After that it can take another week to 10 days or so, before they fully feel confident in the cage, and have "made it their own" and scent marked everywhere.So best not to disturb anything in the cage or clean it out or move things around in the first two weeks. After a week you can "spot clean" the pee area (ie take a handful of wet bedding out and put a new handful in) if it's noticeable and starts to smell. Some hamsters pee in their sand bath and that soaks up the pee which can be scooped out. Although adding the odd new thing is usually accepted, as long as it doesn't mean removing something else or changing the layout.
It can take a bit of time and patience - After the first few days you can talk to the hamster through the enclosure - which might sound odd if you don't see them - but it helps them build confidence and get familiar with your voice and presence. And offer the odd treat through the bars.
You can also start putting out a bit of fresh veg with food - eg a bit of cucumber or broccoli, or a couple of peas (a piece no bigger than their ear) when you put the hamster food out. They tend to get up for the fresh veg, as they can smell it! So putting it in a different place to the hamster mix can encourage them about a bit if shy as well
Best to only give the fresh veg every 3rd day for the first couple of weeks and after that, every day is best as they look forward to it. It's just to let their stomachs adjust to the fresh veg.What species of hamster do you have, and male or female? Let us know how things go
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Thanks for the information