[SKB_Hamsters]

Hello and welcome to Hamster Central!

1. I don’t measure out how much I feed Pumpkin but I tend to fill her bowl half way up every week and top it up if needed with some more if needed - that way she eats most of the food instead of picking out just her favourite.

2. Some hamsters do like to look out of their cage, so you can fill the base up with substrate and this will also allow a good minimum depth of substrate for your hamster to dig in too. You will need to leave part of the cage shallow to allow enough room for an appropriate Syrian size wheel.

3. Good size plastic tunnels for Syrian hamster are 8cm rat tunnels as this will provide plenty of room for a full grown Syrian to use. Most Syrians can fit through holes which are of a minimum of 6cm.

4. Cardboard boxes are fine with glossy surfaces such as tissue boxes etc, I wouldn’t recommend tea boxes as they have a strong aroma of tea which can be overwhelming for them.

5. Yes, you can vacuum your room whilst your hamster is in there. Some hamster initially are a bit wary of the sound of the hover but over time they get used to the sound of the hover as well as other household noises. Although I prefer to hover when my hamster is asleep.

6. Like cypher has said their are mixed opinions surrounding hamster balls. I personally prefer to use a play area opposed to a ball as they can decided when they had enough and it allows better interaction as well as being a secured place for them to have fun - as I have had a few of my past hamsters who have managed to open the lids and escape - which is really worrying. So now I use the ball as a safe way to transport my hamster from her cage to her play area downstairs.