New with questions

[Hello123]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and will be adopting my first hamster (female Syrian) this weekend. I've kept gerbils in the past, but am completely new to hamsters.

I know hamsters are nocturnal and should be engaged with in the evening, but what general time frame (between what hours) would you say your hamsters are awake, active and up for interaction?

Are plastic toys/hides safe for hamsters? My gerbils could not have anything plastic.

I know 6 inches of bedding is the recommended minimum, but how deep is your bedding? I've also read that too deep can be a problem. Is that true? If so, what's too deep?

Thank you.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on adopting your hamster.

All hamsters are different and will wake at different times. Hamsters are actually crepuscular. I would let her settle in first and once she is settled you will get to know the times she wakes and is in the mood for interaction.

I personally do not use plastic other then wheels. I like to use things like cork logs, grapevine wood, wooden hides, ceramic hides, terracotta hides.

I have never heard deep bedding can be a problem and I personally would make the bedding as deep as you can. Did you have to show a picture of your set up before adopting your hamster? You may like to post a picture here so members can give you some tips too.

It is lovely to have you hear and so nice you are doing research to ensure your hamster is happy.

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome. There will be some similarities if you've kept gerbils but a lot of differences too The main thing, if you're adopting a female Syrian is, female syrians are notorious for needing a lot of space! Assume you have a cage sorted or in mind?

The minimum 6" bedding recommendation is to give enough substrate for comfort, burrowing down and burying hoards. Some people have a lot more than that but different species react differently as well. Roborovskis are tunnelers and do need deeper bedding if possible. Some Syrians are, some aren't. If they have a large house that's dark inside they will move in and treat that as their burrow and not bother to dig one.

Having more substrate is partly to do with cage cleaning and avoiding stress as well. The more there is, the less you need to clean them out. I have a 100cm cage with about 6" of Fitch substrate and only really need to do a substrate clean every 3 to 6 months, with spot cleaning in between and a litter tray.

Different cages allow for different levels of substrate as well.

 

[Maz]

I forgot about the plastic question. I don't think there is a problem using plastic items at all - I think houses are better made of wood though and open underneath. I have a plastic potty litter tray and plastic hanging sputniks in the cage and never had any issues with chewing. If a hamser did chew at plastic you might want to think about an alternative but many many people use plastic wheels.

 

[Maz]

I know hamsters are nocturnal and should be engaged with in the evening, but what general time frame (between what hours) would you say your hamsters are awake, active and up for interaction?

As Rainbow says, they vary, but in my experience, Syrians tend to wake up early evening if you feed them at that time, then nap a bit, then get up later - anything between 10pm and midnight or even later - as night time is their most active phase. But some will get up earlier. Some won't get up at all until the lights are out! A new baby hamster might hide away a bit at first but they've usually gained confidence within a couple of weeks.

 

[Maz]

If you're an early riser, some of them will still be up early morning and then you can share breakfast Within limitations!

 

[Maz]

Going back to what time they get up. A new Syrian will likely behave differently initially than later as they grow up a bit and get into a routine. For example our current Syrian was up at 7 to 8pm every night running on his wheel. He was in love with his wheel! And not the slightest bit worried about lights on and people in the room. And he carried on like that until he was a few months old then started getting up later (however the weather can affect them too so they often sleep longer in cold weather).

Previous ones I've had have been more nervy and shy initially and just hid away and would only come out after dark. Some of us have a nightcam so you can see what they get up to during the night - records on the camera sd card and you view on your phone.

I think most females are quite gregarious. Males can be either lazy, gregarious or somewhere in between.

It's a good idea to do feeding time around the same time every night, maybe early evening, to help them get into a routine.

 

[Hello123]

Thank you all for the great input!

I did have to show a pic of my enclosure as part of the process. It's a 75 gallon aquarium. I can post a pic later. It has all the supplies but isn't filled with bedding yet.

 

[Maz]

That sounds great. With an aquarium you have a lot of options - you can have deep bedding or you could have split levels with one say 6 to 8" and one deeper digging end. The main thing with a cage set up is enrichment and that is basically - plenty of bedding - a lot of things in the cage to give variety - places to go, things to do, tunnels and hidey places. They don't like too much open space. I consider a shelf or platform to be an essential and a large house a very good idea. Plus a suitable sized wheel 11" or bigger. Then the rest are enrichment accessories - tunnels etc. Things like tissue boxes or egg boxes can make extra hidey places and some female syrians like ripping up cardboard! So they can be useful. Some people go with all natural items and set ups with wood, vine branches etc. I do a bit of both - I have some natural things and some colourful or plastic things! And some ceramic things. the main thing is - anything heavy needs to be supported in case it's tunnelled under. So heavier or ceramic items could do to be on a shelf and large houses could do with supporting underneath - eg on legs or stilts.

If you want some ideas, have a look at the Show us your cage setups thread. The set ups are often very different but you can get some ideas from some and other ideas from others.

Show us your cages 2022

Hamster Heaven without external tubes and shelves set up for a Roborovski hamster.

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[Member ID2]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

All i can add is that i'm looking forward to meet the lucky girl who is coming to live with you.

 

[elusive]

Hello & welcome to the forum.

 

[Frida]

Hello and welcome