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Pebbles82 · 02-23-2018, 11:17 AM

Do you have a photo of the cage? If it's like a birdhouse cage I'm just wondering if it's a bit tall. When people talk about "big" cages it means the size of the floor area really (ie width and depth of the cage rather than height). And sometimes a very tall cage looks big but has fall risks. Although if it is a tall cage there are ways round the fall risks

Just thought - before you move him in - because sometimes people have exchanged a cage or got a refund when finding out it's not ideal.

Don't know if you've heard of Zooplus but they have good cages for Hamsters - The Alaska, Barney and Alexander are popular and good for Syrians. Just to see what they look like.

Hamster Cages | great selection at zooplus

It must have been very upsetting having a hamster with wet tail. Sometimes they are already sick with it when you get them. Other times it can be brought on by stress. I shouldn't worry about the building noise outside too much,but don't overclean his cage out as that stresses them. If you have at least 3 to 4 inches of substrate in you can spot clean mainly and if you put a litter tray in the pee area Syrians tend to use it and then the cage tends to stay clean and dry so you won't need to do a clean for some time. Also cleaning things at different times helps it always have a familiar smell so reduces the stress. Rahter than cleaning everything at the same time. So for example, wheel one week, toys that need a clean a different week, substrate just spot clean mostly and empty a litter tray every 5 days or so. When you do change the substrate, try and replace some of the old clean substrate and sprinkle it on top so it still smells familiar. Full weekly cleans aren't necessary

Last thing - don't throw away their hoard. Unless it is pee'd on you can leave dry food hoards for quite a long time. If it is pee'd on and needs replacing then put new food back in exactly the same place. Likewise with their nest. I leave the nest alone unless it's pee'd in. Then if it is pee'd in I leave a bit of the old dry nest behind and put a new pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper out in a heap somewhere in the cage so they can rebuild it. Their nest and hoard are the two things they get most anxious about.

Sorry if you know all that already. Also fluffy bedding is bad and can cause digestive blockages and other things.

02-23-2018, 11:17 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Do you think he's a month old? Do you have a photo of the cage? If it's like a birdhouse cage I'm just wondering if it's a bit tall. When people talk about "big" cages it means the size of the floor area really (ie width and depth of the cage rather than height). And sometimes a very tall cage looks big but has fall risks. Although if it is a tall cage there are ways round the fall risks Just thought - before you move him in - because sometimes people have exchanged a cage or got a refund when finding out it's not ideal. Don't know if you've heard of Zooplus but they have good cages for Hamsters - The Alaska, Barney and Alexander are popular and good for Syrians. Just to see what they look like. Hamster Cages \| great selection at zooplus It must have been very upsetting having a hamster with wet tail. Sometimes they are already sick with it when you get them. Other times it can be brought on by stress. I shouldn't worry about the building noise outside too much,but don't overclean his cage out as that stresses them. If you have at least 3 to 4 inches of substrate in you can spot clean mainly and if you put a litter tray in the pee area Syrians tend to use it and then the cage tends to stay clean and dry so you won't need to do a clean for some time. Also cleaning things at different times helps it always have a familiar smell so reduces the stress. Rahter than cleaning everything at the same time. So for example, wheel one week, toys that need a clean a different week, substrate just spot clean mostly and empty a litter tray every 5 days or so. When you do change the substrate, try and replace some of the old clean substrate and sprinkle it on top so it still smells familiar. Full weekly cleans aren't necessary Last thing - don't throw away their hoard. Unless it is pee'd on you can leave dry food hoards for quite a long time. If it is pee'd on and needs replacing then put new food back in exactly the same place. Likewise with their nest. I leave the nest alone unless it's pee'd in. Then if it is pee'd in I leave a bit of the old dry nest behind and put a new pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper out in a heap somewhere in the cage so they can rebuild it. Their nest and hoard are the two things they get most anxious about. Sorry if you know all that already. Also fluffy bedding is bad and can cause digestive blockages and other things. Last edited by Pebbles82; 02-23-2018 at 11:25 AM.