I collected my new Chinese hamsters :) I'm in love

[MandyP]

Well i picked the chinese hamsters up tonight and they are so cute :) The girl was really nice and she looked after them well. The only thing was she used Sawdust :( She had the cage all set up and cleaned out for me which was nice. They only have 1 bed and 1 wheel in there cage. I have put some cardboard tubes in for them to play in. She says they have never fallen out and have always got on. I said that its not ofton they get on living together and she agreed and said thats what the man in the shop said. They seem happy enough and take it in turns to go in there wheel. Theyare very tame as well and like to come to your hand :)

They are 2 little boys and will have to think of some names. Here are some pics. They dont seem bothered about moving to a new home.

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc386/Mandy_Pickup/02032011516.jpg?t=1299095884

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc386/Mandy_Pickup/02032011517.jpg?t=1299095960

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc386/Mandy_Pickup/02032011518.jpg?t=1299096031

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc386/Mandy_Pickup/02032011521.jpg?t=1299096067

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc386/Mandy_Pickup/02032011523.jpg?t=1299096101

I do have a few questions.

Should i take the shelf out? She has had them in this set up from day one

Should i get 2 wheels in the cage?

I am going to start scattering there food as well but wanted them to settle in first before changing things.

They are so cute, i am so in love with them and cant believe i have never got them before :)

[KatiePillow]

They are beautiful..although those are some HUGE airbags there!
Really glad you like them and that they're hand tame :)
I think the cage is too small without the shelf personally, if it starts causing problems, remove it then.
I don't know about the two wheels, but I'd buy a silent spinner, mine loves hers.
I think that you should maybe leave them in this set up unless it causes problems..maybe?

They are beautiful >.<

[DwarfNome]

Adorable! Taking out the shelf is really your choice, I just prefer without because I think it takes up place and gives you less of a view of the little one/ones :) Personally I would have given them two out of everything, just to be on the safe side that it wont be a sqabble reason in the future :)

[Nappo]

Awww, they are sooooo cute <3
Do they have names already?
Yup, i would offer them two of everything ;D

[MandyP]

I am going to have a spare silent spinner tomorrow as Kiki is getting a new wheel. I could then by a second wheel for them to use or a flying saucer.

They seem to get on really well.

No names at the moment, will see what they are like then give them a name :)

[Faerydae]

d'aww they're adorable :) making me want chinese hammies even more in the future :p

[MandyP]

They are very cute, they were both hanging out of there house together earlier and looked so sweet :)

I cant wait to handle them tomorrow

[delbert]

id leave the shelf in, they seem to enjoy playing on it x

[Iluvhamsters]

Awwww they're adorable :)

[Primble]

i think its good having the shelf as mine mak a nest in the corner under it. keps things dark when thy want it to be. lthough they cant decide wher they want to sleep and pull all the bedding out the house to make a nest the take it all back a couple of days later

[MandyP]

Well they have the house at the moment but i am planning on changing it too a wooden house soon but will see how they are :) Thats what Dexter done so i just removed his house in the end. Goose has about 6 places he likes to sleep and moves his bedding round all the time :)

[Primble]

is there a reason why people don't put sawdust on the shelf? am i missing something?

[KatiePillow]

Well they have the house at the moment but i am planning on changing it too a wooden house soon but will see how they are :) Thats what Dexter done so i just removed his house in the end. Goose has about 6 places he likes to sleep and moves his bedding round all the time :)

My chinese hammy had that house and when I opened it up, the roof was condensed and she'd peed on food in there =/
If they haven't had issues so far it's not such a necessity, but I really recommend an open bottomed house.

[Jesse]

Yep, definitely boys :mad:

They are adorable and have such lovely little faces! Congratulations ;)

[MandyP]

Thats what i want to get, all my hammys apart from Kiki and Steve are in open bottom houses.

I dont tend to put sawdust on the shelf as i found it got in a mess so quickly, i just thought it was nice to have something different for them to walk on.

[MandyP]

Yep, definitely boys :mad:

They are adorable and have such lovely little faces! Congratulations ;)

Yes they are boys hehe. I was surprised on how much it showed hehe

[marzipan]

aww they look cute. Is it easy to tell which ones which?

[delbert]

The chew bars i tend to put under the shavings so they have to dig for them. They always cover it back over too :) Also when i put mine on the top it made a horrible sound and kept sliding about.
(if that makes sense)
Really cute, bet they are a pleasure to watch :)

[Fidgetthefirst]

Whats wrong with sawdust? :/
And omg! i want a chinese, so cute! id alter the layout as little as possible, and just add two of everything :)

[KatiePillow]

Sawdust is bad for their noseys, woodshavings are fine..but sawdust is badd.

[fluffymunchkins]

awww they are wonderful <3
It looks like she took great care of them :)
looking forward to seeing more of these boys x

[Vectis Hamstery]

Aw, such cuties! Congratulations on your new additions :)

Generally it is better to keep pairs in a cage without a shelf so that one can't become territorial over it. I appreciate your wish not to upset the boat as they are getting on well - if they were to start squabbling or squarking, the shelf would be the first thing I would suggest removing. Maybe move the food to the main level so one can't be prevented from accessing it. Getting two wheels and 2 nesting places is a good idea - I like cardboard boxes as nests as they allow the hammy to nibble on them, they don't get condensation and they are cheap to replace. With pairs, I prefer not to have any closed in spaces a hamster could get pinned in if there's an argument, so I tend to use a box with an open base or back. Tubes like you have are good, as is scatter feeding as you suggest. I prefer to have 2 of the same wheel so there's no room for both to want to use the flying saucer instead of the spinner (yes, I've had boys do this - typical!). At cleanouts, keep plenty of the familiar substrate and bedding so there's still some "group scent" in the cage.
Keep an eye (and an ear) out for squabbles. Signs that they're not getting on are: squarking, fighting, one being much smaller than the other, 'plucking' of the fur or bite marks. As part of handling, if I have a pair together I check for these signs - around the eyes and on the bum are favourite sites for nips in Chinese. If blood is drawn they should be separated ASAP as fights can escalate quickly.
I hope your boys stay happy together.

[Gillzy]

They're gorgeous! Congrats Mandy! :D

[KatiePillow]

is there a reason why people don't put sawdust on the shelf? am i missing something?

I thought that it looked messy, so I don't put it on the shelf in my Mini duna, also it means I can look through the shelf :)

[MandyP]

Thanks everyone. Well i have replaced the plastic wheel with Kikis old spinner and will be buying a second spinner to put in there. I am also going to take the shelf out on the next clean so it can fit the 2 wheels in better and start scattering the food and using a bowl to see how they get on. We got to hold one of them tonight and they were fine and didnt bite which is good :) They have both been sleeping in there house but have now both gone into the cardboard tube or they go into one each and have a sleep. They follow each other around all the time so i am really hoping they can stay together.

You can sort of tell them apart as one is slightly bigger than the other and they both have different black marks on there heads :)

[Primble]

Sawdust is bad for their noseys, woodshavings are fine..but sawdust is badd.

i meant shavings. lol. i forgot the word sawdust

[MandyP]

I use to called woodshavings saw dust hehe. They will be moved onto megazorbe once i have used all the sawdust up.

[Hammihog]

Awwwwww, they are adorable :D Congratulations on your new additions :D

[Primble]

is megazorb really amazing. the delivery seems to make it expensive but i can't vision the size of it against the p@h shavings. what is the best thing to use?

[MandyP]

Megazorb is really good, i ordered 85 litres from Amazon for just under £14.00 The bad comes up to my waist (i am 5ft 2) and i think it will last me for a good few months. I have 8 hamsters and 4 guinea pigs to use it for. Its very light and makes the cage look really nice as well.

[KatiePillow]

I'd say you could get 10/11 mini duna cleanouts at least from it. Mine comes to £11 inc. postage, i order it from farmway, I really recommend them. But yeah, it's really nice stuff.

[Primble]

what about carefresh, i see that mentioned on here a fair bit

[KatiePillow]

It's basically megazorb but in smaller bags and far more expensive.. if you have an equine shop nearby then you can get megazorb for £7(85 litres), but carefresh is like..£4.99 for 14 litres (or 19.99 for 60L). I've never used it personally though :)
But they're both some type of wood pulp I think

[Primble]

cool thanks i'll bear that in mind when i need to get more

[KatiePillow]

woodshavings are fine, most hamsters wont have any issues with it, it's more personal preference than anything else, if you're happy with woodshavings I wouldn't worry, but I find megazorb smells less, doesn't agitate my dads allergies/asthma, and stays clean a while (although my chinese hamster does soil it more than my other dwarves)

[MandyP]

Yes talking about chinese hammys making a mess............hehe bedding is all over the cage and they dont go in one corner hehe I am buying a second spinner tomorrow so they can have one each. They dont seem to be having any arguments yet either which is good :) Still got to think of names though... :)