My hamster is in the pink... I mean the green

[chesterspal]

Wanted to do an update on my male syrian hamster. Was having some concerns as he stopped using his wheel late last year and in general was not as active.

Things are now much improved so thought I'd share a few things I've done for others to try if having similar issues.

First, did a very thorough cleaning of his enclosure. Removed him (got bit in the process) to another smaller enclosure so I could remove everything and clean thorougly.

Re-arranged a few details when I "rebuilt" the enclosure for him. I added a curved steel mesh under the bedding so he had a rather spacious room underneath to move around in. You cannot see it in this picture as it is covered by bedding. He has two ways of getting down there. One you can see in the top left, the other down a 3" PVC pipe, not visible in this image.



I added a small area (hollowed out log) where I could place treats for him when he was up and about.

I removed the long stretch of 3" clear tubing I had made for him as a run and replaced it with a shorter section.

Back in December I set up a hydroponics growing system in my home right next to his enclosure, as it turned out. Started growing various kinds of lettuce... mainly for myself, but also to share with him.... if he'd eat it.




That has worked out great !

He loves getting his fresh, organic lettuce every night and he eats every bit of it.

His nightly activity has steadily increased over these past weeks and months. As you can see from the counter I have on his wheel, he is doing many thousands of spins every evening. He was not doing any at all for a long time.



Glad to see things are getting back to normal and maybe evening improving.

BTW: The amount on the counter works out to 2.5 miles in a single evening.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Welcome Chesterspal. It is lovely to have you here and see your hamster is well. Do they have a name now?

You may like to try another kind of fresh food just to give him some variety. It is lovely he is eating well.

 

[elusive]

Hello & welcome to the forum.
Glad to hear things are better with your hamster now, look forward to hearing more about him.
Your hydroponics set up looks good, I can imagine how he must enjoy his fresh lettuce.
One thing I would take care with is the PVC pipe as it can be dangerous if it gets chewed.

 

[chesterspal]

I do not, I'm ashamed to say. I got some bad advice early on on another forum. When I first got this little guy, I had him in the same area I and my dog and cat lived in. He was perfectly content even with the cat staring at him at times. He went about his business just as happy as could be.

Then, the know it all crowd scolded me for allowing this to happen. So, I caved and moved him to another room at the back of the house all by himself. The end result was he became a recluse. Never coming out during the day and hiding when I came into the room. His personality completely changed and I never have had much of a relationship with him as much as I would have wanted to.

The reason I never gave him a name

 

[RainbowBrite]

Dont be hard on yourself. It is not too late to give him a name if you wanted to.

Often when a hamster first arrives they come out alot then once they settle they tend to come out at night. This is not anything you have done wrong. They are crespular so this is healthy for them.

 

[elusive]

I agree it’s not too late, it would be nice if he had a name you could relate to.
His behaviour on moving to another room sounds quite normal so I wouldn’t worry about that, is he a Syrian? Unlike dwarf hams they don’t tend to come out during the day normally so that wouldn’t be anything to worry about, it does take time for them to settle in & adjust to a new home or even a room move.

 

[chesterspal]

Yes, he is a male Syrian. He was out at all diffferent times when I first got him. Especially in the early evening when we were all together watching TV and the like. He seemed to like the company and was not bothered by the other pets.... or me for that matter.

Now, the only time I see him is on the infrared camera I have set up.

BTW: You asked about food.... he has a bowl full of hamster food and fresh nuts, seeds, dried berries, etc. He seems to prefer the fresh veggies mostly. He also likes dried meal worms, fresh carrots and hard cheese, from time to time.

 

[RainbowBrite]

That is likely because he had not settled in. I notice Syrian hamsters do not seem to come out in the day as much as dwarf hamsters.

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome . So do you call him
Hammy when you talk to him

Glad he is enjoying his cage. I wondered about the mesh divider - can he walk on it at all? Because mesh is bad for their feet.

Good he enjoys your home grown lettuce . Rule of thumb is to not give it too often and give other veg in between. Mainly because it’s quite watery so can be a bit of a diuretic and not have as many nutrients to absorb.

 

[Maz]

It’s amazing you’ve rigged up a wheel counter! How does that work exactly?

 

[Member ID2]

Hi Chesterpal, great to see you on here.
I sincerely hope that i didn't belong to the know it all crowd but may have because i wouldn't trust cats and their claws with a hamster in a meshed tank. Acrylic panels could be an option so kitty can't get to hammy should you want to relocate him. How old is he now? He must be getting on a bit.

 

[Maz]

Not sure what the weather is like where you are but he might come out earlier once it's lighter nights! My current Syrian used to be out in his cage every night between 8pm and 9pm until the dark nights started - then it got later and later - to the point I only saw him if I stayed up very late (or got up at 6am!) Now he's getting earlier and earlier again as the nights are getting lighter. Any change of room can spook them for a week or two at least as it's a change of environment. And they naturally sleep during the day - which is good for them.

The way to get him to come out earlier is having a feeding time early evening and a bit of cage noise around that time. Then they get trained to get up earlier for food and you can have out of cage time with him then. He'll probably then have another nap and get up again at night for his night time romp!

I know what you mean though - I prefer having a hamster in the main room with us so I can see when they're out and about. I did have a hamster in a quieter bedroom once and felt guilty that I may not know if he was out very often. And they get used to the lack of interaction a bit maybe and do their own thing more.

Our Syrian was put in the playpen when he got up each evening so I had chance to interact with him more. Now he's hand tame he free roams in one room that's hamsterproofed and he likes that! But is less interested in me!

They vary in personality so much as well - I've had some Syrians who were very reclusive. Also as they get older and slow down a bit they tend to sleep longer and be less active generally - except when they're out of the cage!

Do you have a photo of him in his underground section? Assume the front of the cage is clear?

 

[Zara]

Hi Chesterspal and welcome, lovely to hear your hamster is doing well and has started clocking up his night time miles again Our male Syrian is just over a year old and we’ve noticed he doesn’t use his wheel quite so much now, he seems to prefer just pottering about his cage, rolling in the sand and digging.

 

[Member ID2]

Just as a matter of interest. You seemed to have made some kind of a cave. What did you line the mesh with? I mean, what's inbetween the mesh and the substrate to stop your hamster from getting caught in the mesh?