Newbie hamster parent

[Tanja]

Hello! I recently and unexpectedly became a guardian to syrian Carl. 4th home in only 4 months. I sorted out his home (120cm x 60 - he arrived in a quarter of the sized cage ) and am now prepping a playpen for him. If anyone more experienced has some photos /ideas that would be AMAZING! I attach the man himself .

 

[Maz]

Ooh Carl is adorable! That little face - and he has an amazing home there - I bet he loves it! I can't fault your set up. Maybe you'd like to add it to the show us your cage set-ups thread You might find some ideas on there as well. If you were going to add anything - when funds allow - I would add a cork log. This place is great for cork logs - the Cork Shed. You choose the actual log from the photo so can see the size and shape. They also arrive very clean!

Caves / Hides | Product categories | The Cork Shed

www.thecorkshed.co.uk

Show us your cages 2023 onwards

A new thread for 2023 to show cage set ups :) Some may have changed or be new but feel free to add your existing set up again. It's mainly so all current ones are viewable in the same place.

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[Tanja]

Thank you! I have only had dogs and cats before. My daughter rescued a horse so that was a big change. I was shocked when I got Carl. Thinking how they live in the wild. So I really tried hard. He does actually have a Cork log next to the wheel and he loves it. I'll try to get you a better photo. Took a while for him to relax but now I think he's happy. He's not the most friendly hamster but I respect that. And finally I found somewhere to talk about him and others! Thank you for the forum

 

[Tanja]

Found the thread - very useful! But can't work out how to post

 

[Maz]

Oh right. If it's an existing thread you should just have a message box at the bottom to type on like on here. If starting a new thread you just start typing a title in the narrow box at the top of the section and as you type, the message box appears underneath If it's the show us your cage set-ups thread just click the page number for the last page and at the end of the last page there will be a message box at the bottom.

It's great you're giving him the best and glad he has settled in. It can take time for them to socialise and build trust and that is best done out of the cage, and I can see you're sorting a playpen. Just slow and steady They all vary in personality but it's building trust really and then they become handleable.

I must have missed the cork log! I can see it now . You might want to start a diary thread for Carl Some of us have a thread for the hamster that gets updated with photos, videos, progress updates and so on - and it's nice for others to follow - under the species section. So it would be under the Syrian section linked below. As an example this is the thread I had for my last Robo pip.

Pip the Robo

Pip has been quite vocal on here already on the Rolling Robos thread :) But just starting a thread for him now. Pip is a Roborovski hamster who was adopted from Happy Hamsters. He was the teeniest tiniest robo I have ever seen! He almost looked like a slug! (Sorry Pip!). He was so tiny and...

www.thehamsterforum.com

Syrian Hamsters

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[Tanja]

That is a lovely thread! Going to look into more. Thank you

 

[Socks' Mum]

Hello! I recently and unexpectedly became a guardian to syrian Carl. 4th home in only 4 months. I sorted out his home (120cm x 60 - he arrived in a quarter of the sized cage ) and am now prepping a playpen for him. If anyone more experienced has some photos /ideas that would be AMAZING! I attach the man himself .

View attachment 14600

View attachment 14602

Carl's cage looks very nice. I am not sure if he could push his way under the lid. Although not built for climbing, Syrian hamsters can jump quite high and sometimes climb onto hides or even water bottles to find openings they can escape to through. If there is a gap under the lid or it is loose, Carl might squeeze through it. It might be worth checking for potential escape routes He is such a gorgeous hammy

 

[Maz]

That is a point - I haven't heard of that happening with Pawhuts but a lock on a cage lid always helps!

 

[Tanja]

Carl's cage looks very nice. I am not sure if he could push his way under the lid. Although not built for climbing, Syrian hamsters can jump quite high and sometimes climb onto hides or even water bottles to find openings they can escape to through. If there is a gap under the lid or it is loose, Carl might squeeze through it. It might be worth checking for potential escape routes He is such a gorgeous hammy

Aha! It’s quite heavy the lid but I’m a novice and may be underestimating my little boy!! And thank you- he is gorgeous and i look forward to meeting all the hamsters here

 

[Maz]

Something like this would work - a few people have used similar things - the small part screws to the front of the lid and the longer part to the front wood of the enclosure and then you just clasp it together or just unclasp it. While it's quite a height to reach, some lids are not that heavy for a hamster to push open and they always find a way up there! All they have to do is pile the bedding into a mountain in one corner and walk up! I've seen that done before. Clever little things.

Or some people just put a couple of books on the lid at each end

Check for chewing as well just in case he is a chewer and chews the wood.

Catch latch