New Hamster Help

[Mboyd117]

Hi all,

Starting this thread so I dont pester folks on their own threads with my queries.

We have recently decided to get a Syrian Hamster for our kids and have invested in the Savic Aura 120 cage. It is due to arrive Monday, but little Hammy will need to be in a smaller cage for a couple of days from saturday until Monday (60cm x 40cm).

Everything else is sorted from our Niteangel wheel to food and bedding its just the cage.

Any tips or advice on how to keep her comfy until we get her big home sorted? I will try to have her out in a playpen as much as possible but inevitably she will need to be in a cage overnight.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ilguy]

Hi all,

Starting this thread so I dont pester folks on their own threads with my queries.

We have recently decided to get a Syrian Hamster for our kids and have invested in the Savic Aura 120 cage. It is due to arrive Monday, but little Hammy will need to be in a smaller cage for a couple of days from saturday until Monday (60cm x 40cm).

Everything else is sorted from our Niteangel wheel to food and bedding its just the cage.

Any tips or advice on how to keep her comfy until we get her big home sorted? I will try to have her out in a playpen as much as possible but inevitably she will need to be in a cage overnight.

Thanks in advance.

Are those dimensions right? That's way too small. If that is what you have, get something else from a store asap. Whether it be a tote, box, etc. Girl needs room to sleep and breathe.

Playpen or free roaming time would have been my suggestion to help keep boredom down. Any clutter or toys you can add will help too. Also consider making some special treats, unique foods are enrichment too.

 

[Socks' Mum]

It is quite small, but for only a few days should be OK. She might hide initially and only come out after dark. A few tunnels and some deep bedding should help to provide enrichment. Some shredded kitchen towel might be useful if she wants to build a nest. She might want to assemble a hoard, so putting sunflower seeds and monkey nuts and pumpkin seeds around the cage could help keep her occupied. Any tunnels should be 7cm wide or larger and made of material that can't be chewed up into sharp pieces. No thin plastic. C!oth such as fleece should only be used under supervision as the fibres can be a hazard if they are swallowed.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Its important that if she climbs up the bars, as they often do, that if she lets go and drops straight down, her landing should be on soft bedding. Hamsters are more burrowers than climbers and aren't good at dealing with falls. Platforms should be low so that if they run off the edge, there isn't far to fall or jump.

 

[Maz]

Are those dimensions right? That's way too small. If that is what you have, get something else from a store asap. Whether it be a tote, box, etc. Girl needs room to sleep and breathe.

Playpen or free roaming time would have been my suggestion to help keep boredom down. Any clutter or toys you can add will help too. Also consider making some special treats, unique foods are enrichment too.

They have a Savic Aura cage coming which is 120cm x 64cm She'll just been the smaller cage until that's ready, and that should be fine for a baby hamster for a week or until the cage is set up.

How long have you had her? Sometimes, if they have only just come home and moved into the small cage, it's actually better to leave them in it for two or three weeks before moving them to another cage, as it's a lot of change for a baby hamster to adjust to all at once

Unless of course she is showing signs of stress in the smaller cage, then it would be better to go ahead with the move.

On moving day, it's important not to clean anything in the old cage, and move all the old bedding across as well - obviously it won't go far in a new bigger cage! But you can spread some on the top of the new bedding. This then smells familiar and helps them settle in. Likewise don't clean another items you're planning to move across to the new cage, so they still have her scent. It's tempting to clean things at moving time, but it will be fine for the couple of weeks settling in time she needs in the new cage. A cage move is a bit like when you bring the home - they need 2 or 3 days left alone a bit to adjust, and it can be up to two weeks before they really feel at home in the cage and are more confident.

If she has any nesting area or hoard, also move that across as well - you could maybe put it any new house you have, or just in a similar location to where it was before (ie front left of cage eg).

I think it's more important to have the new cage fully set up before moving even if it takes a little longer So there's no adjustment or changes needed after she moves in.

 

[Mboyd117]

Thanks all.

Im bringing her home on saturday for the first time and we will be around all weekend and will have her out in a playpen as much as possible. I have some empty large plastic storage boxes which I might try and fill with bedding and cover in a mesh or something to give her some more space.

I read a lot of the information here on enrichment and have ordered a decent amount of it to fill her cage with fun from the start. It all arrives Friday except the new bigger cage which won't be here until Monday.

Ill transfer it over as suggested with plenty of familiar scent.

 

[Maz]

I would wait a bit for playpen time. Generally it's best to start slowly with talking to them through the cage the first few days, then offering the odd treat through the bars, and giving them a couple of weeks to adjust to the cage. Unless she shows signs of wanting to come out, like coming to the door or looking desperate to come out. It's fine to wait that couple of weeks and then you could start some playpen/socialising time

 

[Socks' Mum]

It would be good to hamster proof the room she is in as new hamsters can be little Houdinis when it comes to escaping. They can fit under doors if there is a space and into small holes as well as jump surprising heights. Then if she gets out she will be in the room waiting to be picked up, rather than under the fridge.

 

[ilguy]

They have a Savic Aura cage coming which is 120cm x 64cm She'll just been the smaller cage until that's ready, and that should be fine for a baby hamster for a week or until the cage is set up.

How long have you had her? Sometimes, if they have only just come home and moved into the small cage, it's actually better to leave them in it for two or three weeks before moving them to another cage, as it's a lot of change for a baby hamster to adjust to all at once

Unless of course she is showing signs of stress in the smaller cage, then it would be better to go ahead with the move.

On moving day, it's important not to clean anything in the old cage, and move all the old bedding across as well - obviously it won't go far in a new bigger cage! But you can spread some on the top of the new bedding. This then smells familiar and helps them settle in. Likewise don't clean another items you're planning to move across to the new cage, so they still have her scent. It's tempting to clean things at moving time, but it will be fine for the couple of weeks settling in time she needs in the new cage. A cage move is a bit like when you bring the home - they need 2 or 3 days left alone a bit to adjust, and it can be up to two weeks before they really feel at home in the cage and are more confident.

If she has any nesting area or hoard, also move that across as well - you could maybe put it any new house you have, or just in a similar location to where it was before (ie front left of cage eg).

I think it's more important to have the new cage fully set up before moving even if it takes a little longer So there's no adjustment or changes needed after she moves in.

I read the post Maz... 60 cm by 40 cm isn't much bigger than a shoe box which is why I asked if that was correct. That isn't okay for a Syrian until the Aura arrives, even a plastic storage tote from any store will be bigger

 

[Socks' Mum]

I dunno, 60cm x 40cm is about the size of the pet shop cages hereabouts . It's just a little while, a few days and then she will be in a nice Savic with lots of space. I think she'd will be OK for just that tiny bit.

 

[Maz]

I also think she will be ok for a bit. When I first started keeping hamsters, a 60 x 40 cage for a syrian was fairly common and seen as acceptable! Although most people were using 80 x 50 cages. The difference was, people used to give a lot more out of cage time. And now we know better, that it is far too small for a permanent home for a hamster. However some baby hamsters actually do ok in a smaller cage initially. The main issue is it might not fit a big enough wheel. The main thing is that an upgrade will be happening.

There is also the stress element with a baby hamster - too many cage changes can cause health issues and they can be prone to wet-tail - they can be better with stability in a smaller cage for two or three weeks, than being moved to a bin and then another cage change.

If she starts showing stress behaviours in the 60 x 40 cage though - eg bar chewing or climbing, you may need to let her out a lot! And get the new cage set up fairly quickly

 

[Rescued One]

I would wait a bit for playpen time. Generally it's best to start slowly with talking to them through the cage the first few days, then offering the odd treat through the bars, and giving them a couple of weeks to adjust to the cage. Unless she shows signs of wanting to come out, like coming to the door or looking desperate to come out. It's fine to wait that couple of weeks and then you could start some playpen/socialising time

I agree with Maz; my Luna was a baby when I got her and all she wanted to do at first was burrow and hide. It was a good month before she got "explore-y" although she would come out of hiding just as far as she had to to snag a treat. Slow and steady wins the day with babies....