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Pebbles82 · 10-22-2019, 02:21 PM

Great news he is settling and seems quite tame! They can vary in weight - anything from 150g to 225g for a full grown hamster! Some are bigger some are smaller. Yes they do poop in their nest sometimes. Sometimes they also hoard poops because they eat them - they have two stomachs and can redigest vitamins etc from their poops. So I wouldn't worry too much about the poops - they're not dirty or smelly - if they start taking over the cage you can just "spot clean" a bit - ie take out the odd handful of substrate and add a new handful and mix it in a bit.

Rule of thumb is don't clean anything or change things for the first two weeks while they're settling in and scent marking. Adding new things is ok but they get stressy about things being moved or taken away.

If you have plenty of substrate in and a litter tray (they will use one if you put it in the right place) you can go a long time between substrate changes, which is better for the hamster's stress levels.

Only other thing I would say is it is better to leave the cage in one place and not move it around. A change of environment can also really stress them. So when you've settled on the best room, best to leave the cage there. Room temperature needs to be between 16 and 20 degrees really. I got a digital room thermometer for that reason!

Being cold does mean they hide away more and they do seem to come out more when the room is nice and warm!

10-22-2019, 02:21 PM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Advice needed, please Great news he is settling and seems quite tame! They can vary in weight - anything from 150g to 225g for a full grown hamster! Some are bigger some are smaller. Yes they do poop in their nest sometimes. Sometimes they also hoard poops because they eat them - they have two stomachs and can redigest vitamins etc from their poops. So I wouldn't worry too much about the poops - they're not dirty or smelly - if they start taking over the cage you can just "spot clean" a bit - ie take out the odd handful of substrate and add a new handful and mix it in a bit. Rule of thumb is don't clean anything or change things for the first two weeks while they're settling in and scent marking. Adding new things is ok but they get stressy about things being moved or taken away. If you have plenty of substrate in and a litter tray (they will use one if you put it in the right place) you can go a long time between substrate changes, which is better for the hamster's stress levels. Only other thing I would say is it is better to leave the cage in one place and not move it around. A change of environment can also really stress them. So when you've settled on the best room, best to leave the cage there. Room temperature needs to be between 16 and 20 degrees really. I got a digital room thermometer for that reason! Being cold does mean they hide away more and they do seem to come out more when the room is nice and warm!