Just adopted Laundry Hamper yesterday!

[aFunnyThingHappened]

Took until my waking up this morning for him to settle down enough to snap a good photo.

He's a Humane Society rescue, about a year old by their estimates. I know hamsters usually only live until about 2, but here's hoping I have him for even longer. And even if I only have a year with him, I'm gonna make it a good year for him. Maybe if we're really lucky, I can get him to 5. I've gotten every animal except the Walmart fish I had at ten to elderhood (those poor fishies didn't have a chance the moment Walmart got a hold of them, sadly), got one cat to 18 before cancer got her, so maybe I'll have a good run with Laundry Hamper.

He's my first hamster, but I've done research off and on for the last 3 years since my cats died (cancer, both of them in the same year), and really cracked down on research once I committed to the idea for 2026. The HS was impressed when I sent them photos of the enclosure (they had a ten gallon minimum before they would adopt him out, if I did the math right on the 48x20x20 tank, mine's about 84 gallons) and were sad but excited to see him go because he had been in the system for a while (he was transferred from another shelter, and they don't know his backstory before that).

He let me hold him when transferring him from the carrier to go home and even fell asleep on the terrible roads of my city, but he got really anxious upon being put in the new tank. Which, understandable. (Wish I could have taken his little house in his old enclosure to give him something familiar, I asked but was gently rejected. Ah well.) He has a reputation for being an escape artist so when setting up the tank I put baby locks everywhere. And true to reputation, within about ten minutes of being put in his new home, he started building up a barricade of bedding and enrichment objects to try to get to the locked roof of the tank. He's calmed down after I went to bed, and he was waiting for me like this when I woke up.

Anyway, just got him scheduled with the new vet in about two weeks. Just a wellness/Get To Know Ya checkup to make sure everything is okay to start out with, the HS told me he seems to be in good health. Very excited to have this little guy!

 

[Maz]

He's gorgeous Such a cute name as well. Can't believe the human society would have adopted him into a 10 gallon tank! Ok so first 24 hours they do explore everything and try and find a way out. Once they realise there is no exit they start to build some habits and routine - decide where to sleep and so on. Best thing is give him 2 or 3 days on his own to sort himself out with that. It can take a couple of weeks for them to fully settle and feel confident, so during that time you can just talk to him through the tank so he gets familiar with your presence, scent and voice, and then maybe offer the occasional treat. Once it gets to a couple of weeks, it's a good time to start having some socialisation/hand taming out of the cage, in a hamsterproof area and also "train" him into walking into a "taxi" so you can get him out easily

Personally I wouldn't take him for the vet check. It could stress him out/set him back, just when he's getting adjusted to his new environment. If the humane society found no issues then just keep an eye on him. Syrians are generally healthy through to old age, unless they get an injury or there are very obvious signs. Once you start with gradual handling, you can start giving him basic health checks occasionally (ie you would feel if there were any lumps etc while handling him). As long as he is eating and drinking and looks ok I wouldn't worry. He will probably hoard his food (or some of it) and only eat from his hoard, so you won't know how much he's eating, but as long as he's taking the food and looking fine
I find they literally start looking happy and confident after two weeks like - wow this is all mine.

He is lucky to have a great home now and I'm sure you two will have a lovely relationship. I've adopted a 1 year old syrian before, and he was what I would call, a bit "institutionalised"! He was very neat and tidy and had very good habits - always toiletted well away from his nest. He wasn't used to being handled so that might take time and patience, but you never know.

When they get to their new home, it's a massive change of environment for them so any tameness he had at first, might regress initially, but I'm sure you'll get there. He is going to enjoy his new enclosure I am sure. I've added our taming guide if it helps

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

 

[Vanessa1]

Hello there, welcome to the forum, it's a very friendly group of people who are always interested in what you have to say. If you have any questions they are always willing to help and advise you in any way they can. I have a Syrian hamster and I look forward to seeing more pictures of yours. Great name too. Ness

 

[aFunnyThingHappened]

He's gorgeous Such a cute name as well. Can't believe the human society would have adopted him into a 10 gallon tank! Ok so first 24 hours they do explore everything and try and find a way out. Once they realise there is no exit they start to build some habits and routine - decide where to sleep and so on. Best thing is give him 2 or 3 days on his own to sort himself out with that. It can take a couple of weeks for them to fully settle and feel confident, so during that time you can just talk to him through the tank so he gets familiar with your presence, scent and voice, and then maybe offer the occasional treat. Once it gets to a couple of weeks, it's a good time to start having some socialisation/hand taming out of the cage, in a hamsterproof area and also "train" him into walking into a "taxi" so you can get him out easily

Personally I wouldn't take him for the vet check. It could stress him out/set him back, just when he's getting adjusted to his new environment. If the humane society found no issues then just keep an eye on him. Syrians are generally healthy through to old age, unless they get an injury or there are very obvious signs. Once you start with gradual handling, you can start giving him basic health checks occasionally (ie you would feel if there were any lumps etc while handling him). As long as he is eating and drinking and looks ok I wouldn't worry. He will probably hoard his food (or some of it) and only eat from his hoard, so you won't know how much he's eating, but as long as he's taking the food and looking fine
I find they literally start looking happy and confident after two weeks like - wow this is all mine.

He is lucky to have a great home now and I'm sure you two will have a lovely relationship. I've adopted a 1 year old syrian before, and he was what I would call, a bit "institutionalised"! He was very neat and tidy and had very good habits - always toiletted well away from his nest. He wasn't used to being handled so that might take time and patience, but you never know.

When they get to their new home, it's a massive change of environment for them so any tameness he had at first, might regress initially, but I'm sure you'll get there. He is going to enjoy his new enclosure I am sure. I've added our taming guide if it helps

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

The terms of adoption for this branch of the HS dictated that I get him established with a vet within 6 weeks of adoption. Totally planning a setup for playpen time, but yeah I'm gonna let him settle into the new enclosure for a few weeks first. This morning as our awake hours overlapped, he was already playing with some of his enrichment (I put treats and toilet paper and paper towels into tp tubes for him to forage for), and he took to the wheel by the time I got to bed last night. The HS said he's shy to start out with but warms up to people quickly, but I won't push him

 

[aFunnyThingHappened]

Hello there, welcome to the forum, it's a very friendly group of people who are always interested in what you have to say. If you have any questions they are always willing to help and advise you in any way they can. I have a Syrian hamster and I look forward to seeing more pictures of yours. Great name too. Ness

Thanks for the warm welcome! His name was originally going to be Jenry Denry Salinger, but with a few hours of him coming home I'm like "This little dude is definitely a Laundry". Felt right

 

[Maz]

I don't know how it works in the US, but in the Uk you can just phone the vet and register the hamster, and don't have to take them in unless needed Most of my Syrians haven't seen a vet until they are about 2 years old, as just stay healthy! It can be quite a stressful experience for them - although they do get over it.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Hello Laundry Hamper You are very cute and handsome. You have a wonderful home

 

[Amy]

What a sweet little guy. Welcome to the forum and looking forward to hear more about your sweet hamster, he’s adorable

 

[Rescued One]

I don't know how it works in the US, but in the Uk you can just phone the vet and register the hamster, and don't have to take them in unless needed Most of my Syrians haven't seen a vet until they are about 2 years old, as just stay healthy! It can be quite a stressful experience for them - although they do get over it.

I agree and also want you to respect your agreement with HS. Just push back the appointment to 6 weeks, and work on getting your new boy used to his carrier/Taxi before the visit. If he is amenable to the carrier and used to using it for out-of tank time at home beforehand , the vet trip will be less stressful