New Chinese Hammy :)

[XxEvanie]

Hello there!
I've never had a chinese hamster before, and from what I've been reading on these threads is that it'll take awhile for them to become very tame.
My hammy never comes out of her wheel, and just darts between the wheel, and the tube on the other side (I have a habi-trail ovo cage, like this one: Habitrail Ovo Home, Pink Edition (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?rlz=1C1SKPC_enUS347US348&q=habitrail+ovo+home&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=5929312031705406176&sa=X&ei=cl0eTvPpMI-cgQec2aSvAw&ved=0CDsQ8wIwAw)

So, here are my questions:

1) I have a habi-trail cage with tubes. Should I get an aqaurium-type cage so she can't run from me into a tube?

2) What are some good treats to use? So far Gilly (the hasmster) likes sunflower seeds, and yogurt drops.

3)What is the best method to tame a chinese?

Thanks for any tips you can give me, they'll be much appreciated! :D

[rockstar11p]

In my experience and research, habitrail cages aren't the greatest cages for hamsters to start with. I think that if you got them a nice 20 gallon tank it would be great. You could keep them in a 10 gallon as well, but the more room the better. I think changing the cage would be a good way to help tame your chinese hamster :)

[racinghamster]

Congratulations on your first Chinese hamster :). I will try and guide you through a few pointers since I have my first chinese aswell but have kept other hamsters and mice for years.

First of all, I would recommend you buy a perspex tank style cage like the Zoozone 1, the Ferplast Duna Multi, or try ebay for second hand perspex cages. The guinea pig section is a good place to look aswell as all the pet sections for these cages. These cages give the hamster far more space to play and yes, DIG! :mad: Chinese hamsters need at least three/four inches or more of substrate. I use Aubiose as it`s safer than pine shavings, but if you must use shavings, air them off in a storage bin for at least a month before using them as this helps reduce the phenols.

Secondly (and most importantly) don`t feed her yoghurt drops or anything with sugar, syrup, honey or molasses. These all contain sugar and if you did`nt know this already, Chinese and Russian dwarf hamsters can be genetically prone to diabetes, so cutting these out now will reduce her chances of getting this condition. Treats for a chinese hamster are not important. I recommend you just take a few little grains from her mix and place these on your open hand and lay your hand flat. She will learn to take them from your hand so just be very, very slow and patient. :) They love millet, so you can add millet (budgie seed/canary seed) to her mix and also dry jumbo oats.

Also, she can`t have any fruit as fruit contains fructose naturally, so again, no fruit.

What mix are you feeding her on? I use Burgess Supahamster Harvest (not the dwarf variety as this is full of naff ingredients like tons of alfalfa) just the ordinary mix that Burgess make. This is a lovely, muesli type mix with nice grains in it. I would add though that you need to pick out a few of the things in this mix and they are:

Banana chips
The yellow corn/maize

This is because they contain natural sugars. Everything else is fine, but I don`t feed large peanuts or any of the sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds daily. I use these as treats only. The peanuts are large, so too big for a chinese really, but you can break one peanut up and offer little bits as treats. ;)

Chinese hamsters are naturally shy by nature, so she will need patience and time, but believe me, it`s worth it. Chinese hamsters are sweet natured and very friendly, so if you stick with it, she will become a loving companion. Just give her plently of time and quiet patience.

They can also suffer from stress, so it`s really important that if you do buy her a larger tank, that you prepare it all in advance of her moving in and basically place her old shavings and bedding into the new cage as this will make the transition easier for her.

Where did you get her from? :)

[XxEvanie]

Thank you racinghamster for the tips! But would an aquarium or wire cage like <a href="http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4471003">this</a> be ok for a chinese? I can't seem to find a small Zoozone or Ferplast cage.

I had no idea Chinese hamsters could get diabetes! I received Gilly from a friend who couldn't keep her, and she came with the cage, Fiesta Max food for hamsters, and Yogurt drops. I do not know were she was bought from, most likely a pet store. Do you know of any other good quality food mix? I live in the USA, and I don't see Burgess brand anywhere. And thanks again for the tips!

I've picked up from reading around that Chinese need patience and they are shy and wary by nature. But are there any signs that they are stressed? And on that note, what are the signs that a hamster is becoming more comfortable when I am handling her?

[Hamtastic]

An aquarium or a bin would be just great. Something where you could put in a nice deep layer of substrate.

The cage you've linked is definitely too small.

20 Galon aquarium would be better or bins like this:
Rubbermaid Non-latching Green Tint Storage Tote - Clear/ Green (71 Qt) : Target (http://www.target.com/Rubbermaid-Non-latching-Green-Tint-Storage/dp/B003UEEZ9A)
(comes in transparent and transparent-green).

[fluffymunchkins]

2.) Treats my boy adores is supreme small animal carrot biscuits, dog biscuits and weetabix :)

[Vectis Hamstery]

Hi, and congratulations on your new addition. I've responded on another forum, but just wanted to add some things here.

I would agree that the cage you identified isn't ideal. Be careful with bar spacing as chinese hamsters can squeeze through surprisingly small spaces. I know of a Chinese hamster who squeezed out of a show pen (designed to keep dwarf hamsters inside!) while travelling home from a show and he spent 56 days in his owner's car before being recaptured. Glass/plastic tanks and bin cages are good as they have a wide area for accessing your hamster. I know there's not a lot of choice in good cages in the US, so a bin cage or aquarium may be your best option (not to mention cheaper :) )

Harry Hamster (called Hazel Hamster in USA) is a good mix with no added sugar/syrup/molasses.

You're right that Chinese hamster can be shy, but in my experience are no more prone to being stressed than other hamster species. When they are worried, they will have their ears flat against their head, and can dart to areas of cover in their cage. When handling, they may shiver if nervous, chatter their teeth (this can also indicate annoyance/grumpiness) or be jumpy. When they are calm with handling, they will sit quietly or explore with their ears up and little nose twitching. Some examples:-

Ears back, frozen watching, tense:
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/D31B3.jpg
Ears up, relaxed, whiskers twitching, interested:
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac323/vectishams/L1050663.jpg

[racinghamster]

Great advice there for you Evanie. I`m in the Uk so regarding cages, as the others have said, a glass aquarium or a DIY BIN cage would be ideal. Get the largest one you can because floor space is crucial even to something as small as a Chinese hamster! :)

Hazel Hamster food (it`s called Harry Hamster in the UK) is a good mix as Victis suggested. The extruded biscuits might be a little big for a Chinese hamster though so you could break those up with a pestle & mortar.

I remove the yellow corn/maize from mixes due to their natural `sweet`corn nature. Just remember no yoggie drops or anything that contains sugars, natural or otherwise. Many web articles state that feeding fruit to chinese hamsters is fine....it`s NOT. Fruit contains fructose.

If you stick to Hazel hamster mix and pick out the sinflower seeds and large peanuts, these can be fed as treats. :) Although the peanuts will need broken up into little bite-sized pieces and one large peanut will last a few days as a treat.

Human cereals also contain sugars, so don`t be tempted to feed these either. The only cereal I use is one called Kallo organic wholegrain puffed rice and it`s basically just puffed brown rice with nothing added. Jumbo oats are also liked if you can get these in a local store over there. :)

[XxEvanie]

Thanks everyone for the advice! I'll keep an eye out at the stores for the Harry/Hazel Hamster food, and larger cages!

[LoveMyHams]

XxEvanie are you in the US? If you are you will not find most of the cages or foods they talk about on the forum since they are in Europe. A large 20 gal or more terrarium will do fine for a chinese hammy.
As for food, just read the labels. Fine foods that have lots of grains and good seeds for a balanced diet. Veggie treats and always a nice addition.

[XxEvanie]

LoveMyHams: Yes, I've already noticed alot of the cages aren't in stores around my area. In fact, when I first saw this site I got very confused, but now I figured it out! Also, I have a 10-Gallon bin, would that be enough for my lil' Gilly?

racinghamster: Ok, I've gotten a 10-gallon bin, as I already mentioned, and so far Gilly is LOVING it! Yesterday when I fixed it up for her, she was running around and all happy~ She seems alot more calm when I hold her, and I think the bigger living space is helping that.
As for food, I haven't got the chance to go there yet, as the store in out area is a bit far away but I believe we will go there by the end of the week. But I am picking out the bits of corn and fruits from the mix I already have.

Vectis Hamstery: Yes, I did see that the bars were a bit to far apart on that cage when I took a closer look. As I already said, I got a nice roomy bin cage for Gilly, and she is very happy with it :) It also is a lot cheaper, as we already had the bin to begin with! And I am keeping an eye out for the Hazel Hamster food.
Sadly, Gilly was acting very stressed and fearful when we got her, but she is seeming to be more calm now as I am handling her more! I hope to get a few pictures of her (When I find my camera~)

[racinghamster]

That`s great Evanie, nice to hear she`s more settled now. Chinese are naturally shy little hamsters, so keep her BIN layout much the same if you can and let her arrange her `things`! :mad: Also and importantly, when you do a cage clean, only replace half the litter and keep back half her nesting material aswell as they don`t particularly like change, so doing this will help prevent any stress on her.

Give her a level inside the BIN so she can climb. Just a solid wooden shelf with a bendy log ladder or anything similar. Chinese hamsters are very mouse-like and love to climb aswell as dig!

Do try and find the Hazel Hamster mix too as it seems to be the best hamster mix over there, although here in the UK, I prefer Burgess Supahamster Harvest as it has more grains in it and smaller biscuits for a smaller hamster. The most important thing is read the label and the ingredients list on the bag. You don`t want to see:

Added sugar
Molassed
Syrup
Fructose
Sucrose
Added fruit

or anything with `ose` in the wording! If the mix has added things like banana chips or raisins, these can be picked out, but sprayed foods cannot be fed.

[XxEvanie]

racinghamster:
Since I've had several mice before getting Gilly I have noticed she has several of the same habits as mice and I am planning on building her a level. What type of wood is safe for hamsters, though? Or can I just use any type? She doesn't seem to chew anything in her cage

[racinghamster]

Snap! :) I keep mice aswell as pets (have done for the past ten years) but have recently had some losses and only have my one female at the moment. :( Chinese hamsters are scarily like mice in many ways and I love that about them. If they did`nt have pouches I would swear they were not a hamster! :mad:

Untreated pine and those Trixie products are good. I recently purchased one of those Trixie shelters on stilts/legs and it`s a good size. One of these would be fine in a tank/cage or BIN and a log ladder used as a ramp up to it. :) I got mine from Surrey Pet Supplies but they charge £3.99p delivery even for one item, but it`s worth buying the log ladders from there too as they are cheap.

Just google `Trixie Shelter` and you will be able to see an image of it. It`s a type of Mexican pine I believe and very natural looking. The legs already have screws fitted so you just screw the legs onto the flat shelf, which has a natural bark effect surface. It can also be sawed down in size which is what I`m thinking about doing, but not sure yet.

[XxEvanie]

Racinghamster: Haha yeah I believe that mice make great pets, and even though this is my first chinese I swear I will always get chinese hamsters~! Before, I have had 2 dwarves (I don't know specifically) and a Syrian. The 2 dwarves were great pets, but the Syrian was always a bit grumpy when I handled her :(

I don't know If I can order Trixie supplies, as I live in the US :( I'll keep on looking though!

[racinghamster]

Glad to hear that Evanie. I forgot you were in the states. I have a good friend in Oregon but she`s so busy working as a bakery manager she only has her cat as a pet these days! :mad:

I`m much in the same frame of mind regarding hamsters and mice. I will always love my mice, but Chinese hamsters have stolen my heart and I definately won`t be without one now. I inherited a syrian from my nephew this summer due to allergies his son had, but much as I`m liking the experience of owning a syrian, I much prefer the chinese as a pet.

I don`t know if Amazon.com might sell Trixie products over there? Might be worth a look just incase? :) Failing that, you could easily buy a plain, untreated pine shelf and screw it onto wooden blocks as legs? You will just require a strip of oddment pine and you could saw it to size. :)

[XxEvanie]

Racing Hamster:
I checked, and they don't have any but I'll just buy some pine wood and build a shelf :)

[Vectis Hamstery]

Also and importantly, when you do a cage clean, only replace half the litter and keep back half her nesting material aswell as they don`t particularly like change, so doing this will help prevent any stress on her.
I'm interested to hear this, Racinghamster, and would be interested to see your source. I have kept back some (not usually half, though) bedding and substrate when cleaning out pairs or litters to preserve the group scent and reduce risk of fighting. It isn't something I tend to do with single Chinese (or have found other breeders do when I asked) and have noticed no stress after cleanout.

I have found them to enjoy exploring new toys and boxes in their cages, however. For showing my 'show team' regularly go into pens and travel around the country with me and I have never had any upset by this, unlike one of my Syrians who hated her one and only attempt.

[SnickersTheFirst]

I have to do what RacingHamster said about bedding, for Bailey. I usually only use 1/4 old bedding though. He gets really upset with change; he'll just sit in one corner, all hunched up with his ears down and clicking his teeth. Or he'll zoom around and dive under the bedding, then refuse to come out.

He's so timid though so he may be an exception. :p

[racinghamster]

This mainly comes from what I`ve read from other websites really and instinct from keeping other rodents like male mice, but I just like to keep half and half normally as it`s a personal thing to me and I know other people who do this aswell. I like to keep familiarity and scent if I can because it does`nt feel so much like a drastic change to the hamster/mouse etc....

You don`t need to keep back substrate or bedding material, but it does help sometimes if the pet is new or nervous. I just do it as a routine.