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Old 01-05-2017, 04:05 AM  
cypher
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Join Date: May 2014
Location: Wales UK
Posts: 24,789
Default Re: New owner.. Feeling anxious!

New hamsters hiding in tubes is a common problem, unfortunately it really isn't a good idea as the tubes get very unhealthy, damp & dirty very quickly & it can also make getting your hamster to come out very stressful for both the ham & you!

While smaller cages the size you have can be ok for young hams during the taming/bonding stage levels & tubes aren't really suitable.
They do much better in a larger cage with a single floor space & maybe some shelves as an extra but not high levels & the house needs to be on the base of the cage, no base in the house, on a nice deep layer of substrate with plenty of shredded plain white toilet tissue for making a nest.

If you can't remove the tubes on that cage I would look into getting another cage as soon as you can so you can have a set up which will work better for both you & him.
Zooplus do sell some good cages, the barney, alexander, alaska & hamster heaven (without using the tubes!) are all suitable & popular options.

You don't need to worry about poo getting in with his food & nest btw, that's fine, they need to eat some of it to get all the nutrition from their food but pee in a tube is very unhealthy.

FF I'd forgotten about that smiley popping up lol! I think it happens when you type a certain number!
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Last edited by cypher; 01-05-2017 at 04:19 AM.
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