[astrid]

I have adopted a new Syrian hamster (male, 10 months) today. His previous owner had to rehome him due to poor health (the owner's) and not being able to provide him with the attention he needed.

It is obvious that the hamster was well-loved - he came with appropriate-sized cage and wheel, and a varied selection of accessories. I intended to let him settle in before attempting to handle him (or clean, etc). However, the cage had a strong smell, so, after some consideration, I decided to clean it.

It became apparent that the cage hasn't been cleaned in quite a while. The plastic base had old urine stains, there were some rotten fruits or veggies buried in the bedding, there was mould, and quite a few small flies crawling through the bedding.

I cleaned everything thoroughly and disinfected the cage (with a pet-safe spray) and put all new items into the cage. I am still concerned if living in such environment could have made an impact on the hamster's health. He already has gone through a major stress of travelling and having his cage thoroughly cleaned, so I am not keen to add to it by bringing him to the vets. But should I? Or what signs should I look out for?

He is quite big in size. So far, he seems rather slow (but it might be just because he's terrified after so many changes in one day) but not lethargic. He was grooming himself but not excessively. He's slowly exploring the new layout of his cage. He was nibbling on some sunflower seeds, hasn't drunk anything yet. He's just started running on his wheel.