Introducing Lorelai !

[Loveehollicc]

She is a brown syrian I believe? And she seems to bite a lot ! So I will not be handling her until she’s comfortable, I got her recently out of luck ! I was begging for a hamster for months to my mother, and she let a friend know at work and it turned out she had a hamster she was willing to give to me, she’s so cute ! I do not know her approximate age but her old owner had her for a year and a half I believe? She’s very energetic and she lovessss climbing the second floor of her cage. But cages, I am still new to owning a hamster, her cage has two floors and i made sure to get her good flooring so she can dig into it but I don’t know what to buy to keep her entertained, And I am also wondering if there are certain cages which make hamsters happy, she lovessss running in her ball though, when she sees it, she immediately starts climbing into it ! She turns a lot of corners and she loves exploring in it ! This was one of the first pictures i took of her when she was a bit new to the ball !

 

[Steve]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Lorelai looks lovely!
It's great you have joined the forum looking for more information, you have come to the right place as many if the members are very knowledgeable and happy to help. Please take a look at the forums on Housing and Environment, there are threads on cage reviews, and setups where you can see others setups and get some good tips. If you want to post a pic of your current setup I'm sure people can offer some advice. Typically female Syrians need plenty of room so a large cage (min 100 x 50 cm), with plenty of deep bedding and enrichment is best. They tend to be very active so a good wheel is also a must have as they love to run.
Just a note on the hamster ball. While Lorelai may seem to be enjoying it, these are generally not recommended for hamsters by most owners. Being enclosed like that can cause stress for some, also the small ones are too small and not good for their spines as they need to arch their backs (same issue applies to small wheels), and the larger ones (like the one you have) have bigger gaps that creat a risk of the hammy getting a foot stuck and hurting themselves. I appreciate it's difficult if she has always had a ball, but I would suggest not using it going forward. If possible a playpen for free roam time is a great way to let them come out for interaction and exercise.
Owning a hamster is great and can be very rewarding, your going to love it. Look forward to hearing more about her.

 

[Loveehollicc]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Lorelai looks lovely!
It's great you have joined the forum looking for more information, you have come to the right place as many if the members are very knowledgeable and happy to help. Please take a look at the forums on Housing and Environment, there are threads on cage reviews, and setups where you can see others setups and get some goot tips. If you want to post a pic of your current setup I'm sure people can offer some advice. Typically female Syrians need plenty of room so a large cage (min 100 x 50 cm), with plenty of deep bedding and enrichment is best. They tend to be very active so a good wheel is also a must have as they love to run.
Just a note on the hamster ball. While Lorelai may seem to be enjoying it, these are generally not recommended for hamsters by most owners. Being enclosed like that can cause stress for some, also the small ones are too small and not good for their spines as they need to arch their backs (same issue applies to small wheels), and the larger ones (like the one you have) have bigger gaps that creat a risk of the hammy getting a foot stuck and hurting themselves. I appreciate it's difficult if she has always had a ball, but I would suggest not using it going forward. If possible a playpen for free roam time is a great way to let them come out for interaction and exercise.
Owning a hamster is great and can be very rewarding, your going to love it. Look forward to hearing more about her.

I was thinking of getting her a playpen, I’m looking into them too ! The ball as of now is temporary because i’m newly getting her stuff, and I didn’t know they could get hurt while in them ! So i definitely won’t be using it from now, thank you !

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome. I think Steve has covered most of it. I have to say though, when you said she loves jumping in her ball, I also found some hamsters do enjoy it, but they are no longer recommended for the reasons mentioned The ball can actually make a very useful taxi to a playpen area though! If she associates hopping in it with out of cage time, then you can let her hop in it, pop the lid on but then carry the ball to the area you're using as a playpen eg and set it down and take the lid off again. They sometimes go back to it to tell you they're ready to go back to the cage now.

If you don't have a playpen, you can use the dry bathtub initially - if you want to do some taming or socialising. You mentioned she bites. This is usually fear and it's possible she's had a bad experience with hands previously.

My last Syrian was like this when I got him, but after a couple of months of gradual taming in a playpen he didn't bite any more. Initially I wore thick gloves when offering food on the palm of my hand as it stopped me recoiling if he bit so it builds up confidence on both sides. Then I moved to no glove. I'd start with not trying to handle but just having your hand flat, palm upwards with some food on (possibly gloved) until she gets used to putting a paw on your hand while taking the food. Maybe for 2 or 3 weeks, a couple of sessions a week. She might want to come out more than that though if she's used to it. After that move onto just a stroke on the back with one finger (gloved if necessary). Just one little stroke. If she jerks round to bite then leave it 10 minutes or so and try again. But maybe only two attempts with each session. Eventually she will get used to being stroked by one finger and just accept it. The next stage is in the taming article on the home page - I'll link it below

As regards the current cage, it's possible it may be too tall if it has two levels and there can be fall risks if it's too tall. Hamsters can climb bars to the top to look for a way out, but they're not very good at getting down again so tend to just drop. For now have as much litter/substrate as you can in the base, so she has a soft landing if she drops and move anything hard under a shelf.

Are you in the US or Uk? Or elsewhere?

She is absolutely adorable by the way! She looks so alert and cute in that photo.

How to tame a hamster

Hand taming a hamster can make life with your hamster very rewarding. Suddenly they will sit on you to be stroked or even go to sleep on you, and will be very easy to handle. It can take a bit of time and patience initially.

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[Maz]

This is the cages list if it helps as well - covers Uk, US and Europe. Various options and also diy options

Hamster Cages 2026

Here is a list of suitable cages available for hamsters in 2026. Whether you prefer tank style or barred cages, front access or top access, there is, thankfully, plenty of choice in the Uk and Europe. Choice in the US is mainly tanks and tank style or diy. Both tank style and barred cages...

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[Loveehollicc]

Hello and welcome. I think Steve has covered most of it. I have to say though, when you said she loves jumping in her ball, I also found some hamsters do enjoy it, but they are no longer recommended for the reasons mentioned The ball can actually make a very useful taxi to a playpen area though! If she associates hopping in it with out of cage time, then you can let her hop in it, pop the lid on but then carry the ball to the area you're using as a playpen eg and set it down and take the lid off again. They sometimes go back to it to tell you they're ready to go back to the cage now.

If you don't have a playpen, you can use the dry bathtub initially - if you want to do some taming or socialising. You mentioned she bites. This is usually fear and it's possible she's had a bad experience with hands previously.

My last Syrian was like this when I got him, but after a couple of months of gradual taming in a playpen he didn't bite any more. Initially I wore thick gloves when offering food on the palm of my hand as it stopped me recoiling if he bit so it builds up confidence on both sides. Then I moved to no glove. I'd start with not trying to handle but just having your hand flat, palm upwards with some food on (possibly gloved) until she gets used to putting a paw on your hand while taking the food. Maybe for 2 or 3 weeks, a couple of sessions a week. She might want to come out more than that though if she's used to it. After that move onto just a stroke on the back with one finger (gloved if necessary). Just one little stroke. If she jerks round to bite then leave it 10 minutes or so and try again. But maybe only two attempts with each session. Eventually she will get used to being stroked by one finger and just accept it. The next stage is in the taming article on the home page - I'll link it below

As regards the current cage, it's possible it may be too tall if it has two levels and there can be fall risks if it's too tall. Hamsters can climb bars to the top to look for a way out, but they're not very good at getting down again so tend to just drop. For now have as much litter/substrate as you can in the base, so she has a soft landing if she drops and move anything hard under a shelf.

Are you in the US or Uk? Or elsewhere?

She is absolutely adorable by the way! She looks so alert and cute in that photo.

How to tame a hamster

Hand taming a hamster can make life with your hamster very rewarding. Suddenly they will sit on you to be stroked or even go to sleep on you, and will be very easy to handle. It can take a bit of time and patience initially.

www.thehamsterforum.com

I’m in the U.S ! And as of now she lets me pet her back with my finger, that was the first thing i tried and she hadn’t tried biting me, she just dislikes being handled, and right now i’m using gloves to handle her sometimes, she doesn’t bite when I have them on but when i have them off she bites. She eats off of my fingers though, so progress? So right now I am trying to get her used to my hands ! And, I wasn’t too sure about the cage, her old owner DIY’ed it I am trying to find cages that will make her happy but I cannot find any in the pet stores near me with good cages for her, so I assume there are good enough ones online, maybe?

 

[Maz]

That does sound like progress . Yes you might need to find something online or is diy an option? It can be the cheapest option. There are t really any barred cages big enough on the US and some of the tank style ones can be very expensive. I think the Meewofun is the cheapest. It also depends if you want front access rather than just top access.

 

[Maz]

With my last Syrian, even when he stopped biting, I still couldn't pick him up in the playpen - he would jerk as if threatening to bite. He was particularly bad if he didn't see a hand coming. So I decided to try him on the sofa and once he was on the same "level" with me, I could pick him up - and we went on from there It's like my hand wasn't a threat when it was on the sofa next to me and part of the furniture so to speak. The trouble is, some hamsters would just jump off the sofa. This one never did - he looked like he wanted to but would bottle out!

 

[Maz]

By the way, Lorelai is such a lovely name!

 

[Socks' Mum]

Hello Lorelei and Loveehollic, you are a cute little hammy, welcome to the forum both of you!

 

[Rescued One]

Welcome and Lorelei is adorable. My Zelda enjoys her wheel and I have a dig box and some Oxbow toyshttps://oxbowanimalhealth.com/our-products/enrichment/ in her playpen. When I have to work all day I have a set of foraging toys from Amazon (they have compartments for hiding food) and I leave a different one in her home enclosure with treats inside so she is motivated to explore her surroundings even when no one is home.

 

[Tulsi]

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are being a really responsible hamster mum. Look forward to seeing more of Lorelei.