New hammie not using her wheel yet

[chacha_savage]

Hi everyone!

This is Gus! Shes a 4month old hybrid dwarf hamster who came home with me from Raystede yesterday morning
She's mostly doing good, shes eating, foraging, digging in her beech chips, exploring and generally seems pretty confident and is interested in me when im sitting next to her cage (obviously not handling or disturbing her just watching my new friend and talking to her softly a little bit), shes coing to the bars and sniffing at me whilst im there!
No signs of stress so far, just figuring out the boundaries of her new home by putting her feet along the bars.
Her sleep schedule is a little out of whack bc she was woken up at 11am yesterday and didnt go to sleep until 2pm then was up at 00:30 and seems to have been napping periodically since because shes currently awake at 11am.

My one concern is that she hasn't used her wheel yet. I know this because theres some bedding on it which hasnt moved since shes been home so I'm going to put some food on there and see if that encourages her. Shes a bit on the chubby side bc her previous family overfed her so im wondering if its too heavy for her? I know it shouldnt be and that its very early days yet tho. Im a first time hamster owner so i mayyy be overthinking this and any comfort or advice would be appreciated.

also i know i need to get some moss for the bendy bridges, im unsure exactlly what im looking for here so does anyone have a good amazon link for me? also gettting some more sand today bc its looking a bit shallow i think.

 

[Maz]

Aw she is really beautiful! I love the way you've set the Alexander cage up as well. Being picky - there might still be a bit of a drop from a height on the right hand side, and presumably that's because you needed to fit the wheel in at that side, so the substrate is lower there? There would be ways round that though. Could the wheel go on the end part so it can go higher up? Then raise the substrate at that end? Or alternatively fix a shelf over the front right corner perhaps so she couldn't land on anything hard if she did climb at that end?

It's a lovely wheel - does it spin freely? It's hard to tell from the photo though and I know the Alexander slopes, which helps. I tend to be on the cautious side and think - what if she bar climbed to the very top at night. But it maybe isn't as high as it looks on the photo.

I'm not that up on the best moss unfortunately - I just gave up using that type of bendy bridge, but I think some people just stuff paper bedding in any gaps.

 

[elusive]

Congrats! Gus is lovely, really looking forward to seeing more of her when she’s settled in.
As long as the wheel spins freely I wouldn’t worry, it’s very early days & she has lots to explore so give it a while & she should be fine with it.
She doesn’t look that big but if she is a little over weight she should soon lose any excess with a good hamster mix & a nic big cage to run around in explore & burrow.
I don’t buy moss for hamsters only the live kind for my terrariums & you wouldn’t want that in a cage so can’t really help there, if you can find something else to use rather than bendy bridges that would be better if they have any gaps in them which most do now.
I would have a think about the height issue Maz mentioned & minimise any fall risks.

 

[chacha_savage]

Ive just removed a couple of handfuls of bedding from underneath the wheel and its spinning much more easily than it was so hopefully that solves it thank you for the advice!

thats a good point that you for noticing - maybe i could buy some of those little circles of wood and make steps that go around the side of the hide? would minimise fall risk and solve the bendy bridge thing

 

[Maz]

Another option I've sometimes done is just screw a wood shelf or similar, to the top of the roof on the inside. ie it's flush with the bars so it just makes the roof bit solid so they can't get up there

 

[chacha_savage]

this is what that side of the cage currently looks like btw. theres a bit of a drop your're right but it theoretically shouldnt be onto anything solid - theres a slope of 6-3 inches of bedding

 

[chacha_savage]

ohhh did you mean fall risk if she climbs the bars? i thought you meant from the hide

 

[RainbowBrite]

Congratulations! She is beautiful. When I adopted my hamster it took him a few days before he would use his wheel so I would not worry.

I would personally buy moss from Etsy.

Natural Hamster Moss Fibres Bedding Organic Decoration 25g - Etsy UK

Moss fibres is a great natural decoration or nesting material for your hamster. The moss can be sprinkled around your hamsters cage for a natural look and adds texture similar to a hamsters wild habitat. This is great for natural cages and provides mental stimulation as your hamster forages and

www.etsy.com

 

[Maz]

That sounds good Which multiroom house is that please? It looks nice.

 

[Maz]

ohhh did you mean fall risk if she climbs the bars? i thought you meant from the hide

Yes It's unlikely but anything is possible lol! If they climb the bars to the roof and decide to monkey bar! To be honest it's very unlikely with the Alexander as the sides slope, so it would be hard to get to the roof that way - if even possible. It could be possible if she climbed the end bars maybe - but it looks like there is nothing hard to land on there

 

[chacha_savage]

That sounds good Which multiroom house is that please? It looks nice.

its this one from happy henrys homes https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1510187584/hamster-small-chamber-house-formaldehyde?ref=yr_purchases

 

[chacha_savage]

Congratulations! She is beautiful. When I adopted my hamster it took him a few days before he would use his wheel so I would not worry.

I would personally buy moss from Etsy.

Natural Hamster Moss Fibres Bedding Organic Decoration 25g - Etsy UK

Moss fibres is a great natural decoration or nesting material for your hamster. The moss can be sprinkled around your hamsters cage for a natural look and adds texture similar to a hamsters wild habitat. This is great for natural cages and provides mental stimulation as your hamster forages and

www.etsy.com

thank you!

 

[chacha_savage]

heres another photo of her being cute for you all

 

[RainbowBrite]

She really is adorable! I am so happy for you. I know you have been wanting a hamster for a while and you have created a beautiful cage for her.

 

[chacha_savage]

She really is adorable! I am so happy for you. I know you have been wanting a hamster for a while and you have created a beautiful cage for her.

Thank you! honestly I'm over the moon, shes so so sweet and seems friendly already so I'm really looking forward to starting the bonding/taming process w her. Obviously if shes not a hamster who likes to be held thats okay too, im loving watching her running around and exploring. Shes just so beautiful

 

[Maz]

She really is beautiful A lovely colour. It's so exciting! I'm getting one on Sunday (Russian dwarf) She looks quite confident there on the photo.

 

[elusive]

She is adorable & agree she does look very confident, and inquisitive.

If you do have a taller cage & there might be a fall risk another thing you can do it just fix some cardbaord to the inside of the bars at the top with cable ties so she can only climb to a safe height.

 

[chacha_savage]

She really is beautiful A lovely colour. It's so exciting! I'm getting one on Sunday (Russian dwarf) She looks quite confident there on the photo.

Right? her colouring is gorgeous! Shes been very alert and has been very confident in coming over to me and eating/ drinking in front of me. Shes started her food hoard just behind her wheel and she LOVES digging. So I'm going to get her a bigger digging box soon so she has more room to dig in.
oh lovely! I hope all goes well w settling in and look forward to seeing photos of them

 

[Frida]

Hello Gus, you are beautiful

You've given Gus a lovely home

 

[chacha_savage]

Hello Gus, you are beautiful

You've given Gus a lovely home

Thank you! (Gus says thank you too!)