Hamster Central - View Single Post - Hi, giving Syrians another try after a long time.

Stick · 03-03-2019, 12:11 PM

Hi HammyHavoc
Like you I've gone back to a Syrian hamster - that's after years of rats, guinea pigs, gerbils, a rabbit and dwarf hamsters. This is mainly because my house is now too tiny for lots of animals! I have a lovely Syrian boy called Mooch who's been with me six weeks now, and I still can't believe how clean and tidy he is - he has weed in a jar of chinchilla sand every day since the day he moved in so the cage stays pretty spotless! I have only cleaned his cage out (washed) once every 3 weeks as he makes no mess. He is still quite young but is very laid back so far. I've not had to tame an animal for years as all my pets in the last 15 years have been unwanted adult pets. I've found the best way to handle Mooch has been to let him walk into a pot in his cage and then lift this out onto the sofa so he can explore (and climb over me) without the stress of being picked up yet. He does tend to dive off the sofa every now and then but if I put my hands underneath he climbs down onto them quite happily and it's a good way to get him used to being held. He's now at the stage where he climbs back out of his cage onto my hands when I put him back, so he's getting used to me.
I keep him in an Alaska cage which I ordered from Zooplus, he loves it and there's plenty of room for a big wheel, platform and lots of toys. I love the cage because I can watch him from the side when he gets up, and also it's easy to hang ladders etc from the bars.
I had lots of Syrians as a kid and from my experience would stick to males, they have always seemed much more placid and friendly then females (though I am sure this isn't the rule) and I noticed females have a strong smell when they are in season which can take much washing to remove from your hands... my little Mooch has a lovely clean hamster smell and he's gorgeous.
Good luck with your new pal!

03-03-2019, 12:11 PM
Stick Newborn Pup Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Yorkshire, England Posts: 5	Re: Hi, giving Syrians another try after a long time. Hi HammyHavoc Like you I've gone back to a Syrian hamster - that's after years of rats, guinea pigs, gerbils, a rabbit and dwarf hamsters. This is mainly because my house is now too tiny for lots of animals! I have a lovely Syrian boy called Mooch who's been with me six weeks now, and I still can't believe how clean and tidy he is - he has weed in a jar of chinchilla sand every day since the day he moved in so the cage stays pretty spotless! I have only cleaned his cage out (washed) once every 3 weeks as he makes no mess. He is still quite young but is very laid back so far. I've not had to tame an animal for years as all my pets in the last 15 years have been unwanted adult pets. I've found the best way to handle Mooch has been to let him walk into a pot in his cage and then lift this out onto the sofa so he can explore (and climb over me) without the stress of being picked up yet. He does tend to dive off the sofa every now and then but if I put my hands underneath he climbs down onto them quite happily and it's a good way to get him used to being held. He's now at the stage where he climbs back out of his cage onto my hands when I put him back, so he's getting used to me. I keep him in an Alaska cage which I ordered from Zooplus, he loves it and there's plenty of room for a big wheel, platform and lots of toys. I love the cage because I can watch him from the side when he gets up, and also it's easy to hang ladders etc from the bars. I had lots of Syrians as a kid and from my experience would stick to males, they have always seemed much more placid and friendly then females (though I am sure this isn't the rule) and I noticed females have a strong smell when they are in season which can take much washing to remove from your hands... my little Mooch has a lovely clean hamster smell and he's gorgeous. Good luck with your new pal!