meet pebbleheart my russian dwarf hamster!

[abrokecupoftea]

here's some pics of her! i recently adopted her a few days ago! she's very sociable and friendly, and lets me pet her even though i haven't had her for long! I'm Cup and an (almost) senior in college!

 

[Socks' Mum]

Hello Pebble heart, lovely to meet you You are a beautiful hammy. Such a lovely coat

 

[Amy]

Oh she is very sweet looks so friendly. Welcome to this lovely forum. I hope we see more fotos

 

[abrokecupoftea]

Hello Pebble heart, lovely to meet you You are a beautiful hammy. Such a lovely coat

yesss it's this deep gray/blue and she's gorgeous

 

[abrokecupoftea]

Oh she is very sweet looks so friendly. Welcome to this lovely forum. I hope we see more fotos

she is surprisingly very sweet and receptive to pets even though i've only had her for a few days! of course! i'm redoing her cage rn so hopefully better photos are on the way!

 

[Maz]

She is beautiful I mentioned on your other post about whether her cage might be big enough but don't know the dimensions

 

[abrokecupoftea]

She is beautiful I mentioned on your other post about whether her cage might be big enough but don't know the dimensions

oh sorry about that i wasn't checking the forum continuously! its a 20 x 11 x 18 but i have a new cage thats 25 x 21 x 28 that im setting up with more enrichment and bedding for her! my car broke down so im just waiting on some things to get shipped!

 

[Maz]

It is still really small unfortunately Would it be possible to make a bin cage? They are inexpensive and something like 160 quart or 200 quart would be perfect for her. In the Uk the minimum recommend size is about 40 inches long by 20 inches wide. In the US maybe 32" to 36" by 18" inches is seen as about the minimum. That would be something like a 160 quart bin or a Zanzibar cage. She will be fine for now though, but it would be good to look for an upgrade. I think it's Home Depot that sells the range of bins for cages.

 

[abrokecupoftea]

It is still really small unfortunately Would it be possible to make a bin cage? They are inexpensive and something like 160 quart or 200 quart would be perfect for her. In the Uk the minimum recommend size is about 40 inches long by 20 inches wide. In the US maybe 32" to 36" by 18" inches is seen as about the minimum. That would be something like a 160 quart bin or a Zanzibar cage. She will be fine for now though, but it would be good to look for an upgrade. I think it's Home Depot that sells the range of bins for cages.

yes im looking into those rn! i blindly went with whatever the pet store employee said at first but im looking to get the zanzibar cage w exotic nutritions silent wheel! rn im just waiting to get paid to get the entire set lol

 

[Maz]

Yes pet stores unfortunately do sell you things that end up not being suitable - it's a pain. The current cage could do as a play cage though, for when cleaning out or if a hospital cage is ever needed . But they're not cheap and it's annoying when we pay money for a cage that then turns out to need upgrading. She'll be fine for now and it looks like you've made it cosy for her.

 

[Vanessa1]

Oh she's beautiful, such a lovely face and gorgeous coat, looking forward to seeing more pictures and hearing how you get on Ness

 

[abrokecupoftea]

Yes pet stores unfortunately do sell you things that end up not being suitable - it's a pain. The current cage could do as a play cage though, for when cleaning out or if a hospital cage is ever needed . But they're not cheap and it's annoying when we pay money for a cage that then turns out to need upgrading. She'll be fine for now and it looks like you've made it cosy for her.

yay im glad! the last thing i want to do is not care for her properly so i really appreciate the help! thankfully i have 30~ days to find a new one and clean the current one to try and get a refund lol my pet store is locally owned so they're a lot more flexible when it comes to things like this! you've truly been such a wonderful help her new home should be set up by saturday! i'll post pictures in the hamster cage thread!

 

[abrokecupoftea]

Oh she's beautiful, such a lovely face and gorgeous coat, looking forward to seeing more pictures and hearing how you get on Ness

she is!!!! im obsessed with her omg she's the cutest!!! yesyes i can't wait to share more about her! as of now she's just been napping a lot in different places and she seems receptive and almost encouraging me to pet her!

 

[Maz]

Do post if you need some tips on moving her to a new cage There are ways of doing it that make it less stressful for them having a change

 

[abrokecupoftea]

Do post if you need some tips on moving her to a new cage There are ways of doing it that make it less stressful for them having a change

yes please! is there already a thread up that has any tips? tbh i'm less worried about moving her as much as i am for her to adapt to her new environment esp so soon after bringing her home! she's been pretty great about letting me pet and hold her and her bites never draw blood!

 

[Maz]

The main thing is don't clean anything before moving them over, so everything still has their scent. Even if things are a bit whiffy, it'll be ok for another couple of weeks. So - when you have the new enclosure, you put new bedding in it and maybe two or three new items if you have some and maybe one item from the current cage. And then what I do is give them a transition. By letting them play in the new enclosure for a while, the day before moving everything over. So they can explore and scent mark and it's less cold turkey when they move in. But put them back in the old cage that night. Some people decide to leave them in the new one when they can see the hamster enjoying it, but I still think it's best to put them back in the old cage afterwards.

Then next day you need to put the hamster somewhere secure (eg a pet carrier) while you move everything over from the old cage to the new one. Without cleaning anything. So keep all the old bedding and spread it out on top of the new bedding in the new enclosure. And move over any other items you're keeping from the old cage. Try and set things up so they're in the same location. Eg wheel back left, house/nesting area front right. That also helps them settle with a familiar layout and familiar scents.

Before putting the hamster in the new enclosure I also take the old cage completely out of the room to another room, and clean around the area where the old cage was - even if you still plan to put the new one in the same place. If they can still smell their old cage in the room it can upset them.

So then pop the hamster in the new enclosure. The hamster might be a little bit skitty for a day or two, but they are usually settled in within say 3 days as opposed to two weeks of stress if they're moved cold turkey

 

[Rescued One]

Adorable. I just rescued my first dwarf hamster, and named him Sweetpea. He had little human contact and is almost a year old, so has a case of grumpy bachelor. He has quickly learned though that I am a never-ending source of pumpkin seeds
Best wishes with yours!

 

[abrokecupoftea]

The main thing is don't clean anything before moving them over, so everything still has their scent. Even if things are a bit whiffy, it'll be ok for another couple of weeks. So - when you have the new enclosure, you put new bedding in it and maybe two or three new items if you have some and maybe one item from the current cage. And then what I do is give them a transition. By letting them play in the new enclosure for a while, the day before moving everything over. So they can explore and scent mark and it's less cold turkey when they move in. But put them back in the old cage that night. Some people decide to leave them in the new one when they can see the hamster enjoying it, but I still think it's best to put them back in the old cage afterwards.

Then next day you need to put the hamster somewhere secure (eg a pet carrier) while you move everything over from the old cage to the new one. Without cleaning anything. So keep all the old bedding and spread it out on top of the new bedding in the new enclosure. And move over any other items you're keeping from the old cage. Try and set things up so they're in the same location. Eg wheel back left, house/nesting area front right. That also helps them settle with a familiar layout and familiar scents.

Before putting the hamster in the new enclosure I also take the old cage completely out of the room to another room, and clean around the area where the old cage was - even if you still plan to put the new one in the same place. If they can still smell their old cage in the room it can upset them.

So then pop the hamster in the new enclosure. The hamster might be a little bit skitty for a day or two, but they are usually settled in within say 3 days as opposed to two weeks of stress if they're moved cold turkey

this is wonderful thank you so much! i was going to just provide new everything so this is a great reminder to not do that! i was thinking of adding in some of the new accessories i got her for her new cage (bridges, new hideouts, etc) into her current one so she could scent them but i wasn't sure if her cage would get too cramped! thank you so much for your advice!

 

[abrokecupoftea]

Adorable. I just rescued my first dwarf hamster, and named him Sweetpea. He had little human contact and is almost a year old, so has a case of grumpy bachelor. He has quickly learned though that I am a never-ending source of pumpkin seeds
Best wishes with yours!

awww thats so sweet! im still on the hunt for some kind of treat pebbles might like so i'll give pumpkin seeds a chance!

 

[Maz]

this is wonderful thank you so much! i was going to just provide new everything so this is a great reminder to not do that! i was thinking of adding in some of the new accessories i got her for her new cage (bridges, new hideouts, etc) into her current one so she could scent them but i wasn't sure if her cage would get too cramped! thank you so much for your advice!

You can still get new things as well . They accept new things well but like some familiar things with their scent on as well. Also try and save any nest or hoard you find and put it back in about the same place.