Doc the Chinese hamster...lots of questions!

[SandyBadlands]

We've had gerbils for a few years, and we have six right now. But last month I found out about a Chinese hamster who needed a home, so I decided to adopt him. He's about six months old, and we call him Doc.

https://s-hphotos-snc4.fbcdn.net/162822_10150118519085210_506950209_7870107_1671084 _n.jpg

The previous owners told me he bites—they barely ever handled him because their son was allergic—so I've been taking it slow with taming, and he hasn't tried to bite me. He's still extremely shy, but he will take oats or pumpkin seeds out of my hand sometimes. I've only picked him up a couple times (to clean the cage), and he's pretty calm about it. It still surprises me how shy and slow-moving he is compared to the gerbils.

I've never had a hamster, so I have a bunch of questions I can't find good answers to online...if anyone can help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it!

1. They gave him to me in a Crittertrail One, but I could move him to a spare 10-gallon tank so he'd have more room to dig around. Would that be better? His cage seems small, though he doesn't roam or dig much.

2. Right now his cage is in the living room, so it's only dark and quiet while we're asleep. I know he's nocturnal, so would it bother him to be in a room with only 8 hours of dark and lots of activity during the day?

3. I'm having a hard time finding any information about hamster nutrition—ideally I'd make a seed/grain mix myself, but I'm not knowledgeable enough yet. Does anyone make hamster food from scratch? When his food ran out, I bought some Oxbow Healthy Handfuls...is that all right for a Chinese hamster? I got it because it doesn't have sugary ingredients or animal products, which I'd like to avoid.

4. Any taming advice?

He's so cute and sweet...I want to make sure he's happy, but I know he doesn't need the same things as gerbils. Any advice would be welcomed!

[Gillzy]

I don't know much about chinese hamsters, so thought I'd bump this up for someone else to help you out.

He's very cute, btw. :D

1, You might find a smaller cage to be more useful during taming, and once he is a bit bigger, and more confident (and wanting to dig and run about) he could be moved to the bigger cage.

2, My hamster (syrian) lives in the living room, but I think this may have been a bit stressful so I moved her into the spare bedroom for the first couple of days (plus the wheel was annoying my OH :P ), and I think she enjoyed the time to relax. But once she got used to to the noise of the telly and me, she seems fine in the living room. And now only wakes up if I speak to her directly (or she feels like waking up), never because of noise or busy-ness.

3, I don't know much about hamster foods, only that dwarves (and I think mainly campbells) are more prone to diabetes so should avoid sweet foods. Although in general as long as the food does not have too much fat/sugar in it it should be fine for the hamster - the majority of users on here have "Harry Hamster" food, and I'm pretty sure that's for all hamster types. These threads might be helpful: http://www.hamstercentral.com/community/feeding-nutrition/9457-food-list-safe-both-dwarves-syrians.html, http://www.hamstercentral.com/community/feeding-nutrition/13630-making-my-own-food-mix.html. There might be more, you could try searching for specific things up at the top of the page :)

4, Another thread with useful tips: http://www.hamstercentral.com/community/hamster-chat/13289-taming.html.

This was a thread with some questions asked about chineses: http://www.hamstercentral.com/community/chinese-hamster/11759-few-questions-about-chinese-hamsters.html

Sorry, I seem to have just shoved a whole load of URLs at you, but hopefully they are a start :)

[Vectis Hamstery]

Doc's a handsome little normal Chinese boy. Well done for taking him in. I'm horribly biased but think Chinese hams are wonderful :) To answer your questions:

1 - caging. The Crittertrail is probably a bit small. Also the tubes and hidey bit at the top might make it a bit more difficult for you to get him out for taming. If he's not that chunky he might also be able to squeeze through the bars.
I personally would put him in the tank with plenty of hidey holes (cardboard boxes, tubes etc). It will make it easier for you to get him out. Also, I found that Chinese love hiding (and peeing) in enclosed plastic spaces. I don't know if you've found this in the crittertrail tube/housey thing?

2. Where the cage is depends on how he's reacting. Cages shouldn't be near windows or radiators, in a draft or too close to loud/constant noises such as TVs, hifis, fridges. All of mine live in the lounge after a quaruntine period in a quieter room. They seem happy to see things going on. If he seems skittish or nervous, try him in a quieter area.

3. The main part of a hamster's diet, whatever species, should be a good quality hamster mix. Harry hamster is good as it has no added sugar (some mixes have molasses or syrups added). You can supplement the mix with meal worms or budgie seeds. Chinese hamsters enjoy small seeds and millet sprays make a nice healthy treat. You're right to avoid sugar, including honey sticks, chocolate drops and fruit. Vegetables on the safe list are good.

4. Chinese hamsters can be timid, but are lovely when tame. Mine often sit on my shoulders or use me as a climbing frame.
To start taming with a nervous/unsure chinese ham, I transfer him out of the cage by letting him climb into a clean jar/tube/hamster ball. I let him walk onto my hand over a play box (high sided plastic or cardboard ) with my hand only an inch or so above the floor. I do this over and over and start scooping him off the floor in the box. I do this in short sessions with him going back to his cage (in the transfer tube/jar) for a rest and food/water. I have taming info on my website (link in my signature)

I hope this helps. Just ask if there's anything else you want to know about the best species of hamster :p

[KatiePillow]

I think you're in the US? so it wouldn't be harry hamster, but hetty hamster I think, same thing different name
Oxbow healthy handfuls I think i've read are ok? Basically the key in the US is to avoid anything Kay-tee :p

Chinese hamsters (well, mine) love to burrow, she spends half her time underground, I have a 6.5" silent spinner for her (which would be better than the crittertrail wheel IMO)
I'd ideally go for a 20gallon tank, but if you have a spare 10gallon, and it's bigger than the crittertrail, then I'd say go for it.
It'll need a lid as they are VERY good climbers, my little 'un managed to jam her wheel and climb on top just to chew the bars at the top *sigh*

But yeah, My girl loves millet, burrowing and she actually bites..she was 6months old when I got her and had never been handled. I've had her about a month and a half now, and she's getting more confident around me, but still bites.. and doesn't like being handled, so don't be discouraged if it takes a while

Good luck with him :)

[SandyBadlands]

Thanks for the replies! I've read over some of the related threads and I'm getting a good sense of what Chinese hamsters are like in general. I think I have to be less afraid of scaring Doc and try to handle him more, since he's never panicked or tried to bite me and he probably just needs more experience with people.

Yep, I am in the US—should've mentioned that! I accidentally got Kaytee food for my gerbils once, and it looked pretty awful...felt like I was feeding them candy, and they didn't much like it either. I guess I'll stick with the Oxbow food for now and maybe mix in some of my gerbil mix (mostly oats and hemp seeds), and I'll try to find some treats he likes too. He used to take oats and pumpkin seeds, but not so much any more.

Doc mostly spends a lot of time sleeping in his wheel, or hiding away under the bedding, so he doesn't seem to need a lot of space. But this Crittertrail cage is really small, and so hard to clean...and the tank is so easy. I'll probably switch him to that once it's free, and just get rid of the Crittertrail. I can't see what it's good for...and I can't even get the wheel out to clean it without taking the whole thing apart.

I did think of one more question I can't seem to find the answer to: Is it possible to introduce adult hamsters? I've done this with gerbils a few times using the split-tank method, but I wouldn't want to risk it with hamsters unless people have good luck with it. Otherwise I will just try to give Doc enough to do and spend some quality time with him every day.

Thanks again for all your help!

[Vectis Hamstery]

Doc will be perfectly happy by himself. Introducing Chinese hamsters is tricky and can result in some serious injuries with little warning. I know some people do keep them in pairs/colonies but my understanding is that they have to have a small cage to prevent the hamsters forming their own territories. I have certainly found this when mating Chinese.
I did try introducing two males (6 and 4 months old) both in a neutral cage and with mesh divider, and under constant supervision. They didn't settle at all and, although I was quick with scooping the hams apart, one still received a small nip. Both lads are much happier alone and thankfully no permanent damage was done this time.

[SandyBadlands]

Thanks, that's good to know. Sounds like something I don't even want to consider. I guess it's just another way they're different from gerbils.

I brought Doc out again today, and he walked around and explored my sweater for a while. He's a real sweetie!