New Addition!!

[peanut25]

I added a new addition to my family tonight. I am hoping someone will be able to tell me what type of hammie he is. At the store they had him listed as a long haired hamster. I think he is a cream eyed sable long hair. Let me know what you all think.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/Peanut25/hammies/DSCF000120.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/Peanut25/hammies/DSCF00010.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/Peanut25/hammies/DSCF0003.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/Peanut25/hammies/DSCF0002.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/Peanut25/hammies/DSCF0001.jpg



Also does anyone have any name suggestions. He is definatly a boy.

[lizzer]

Yes, that is definitely a long-haired Sable Syrian. And he's very very cute I might add. :D

Sables always have the distinctive light colored eye rings. They may sometimes also have lighter fur on their paws, chin and tummy.



Here are a couple of good sites with genetic information on this coloring.

http://purplekatkritters.tripod.com/sable.html

http://www.geocities.com/aaahamsters/Sables.html



ps. I have a short-haired sable roan which is listed on the page of the first link (kat's). I will post pics of him soon. :)

[lizzer]

I just noticed on your pics of your cutie sable boy, that you have what looks like some fluffy bedding in his bin. Is that what that is? It sometimes comes inside one of those cardboard tubes you can buy for them. Fluffly bedding is really bad for hammies. They may swallow it and it can cause an intestinal blockage or they may also choke. :( I bought some of it too when I got my first hamster. I didn't know it was bad until I read stories on different websites and also some vet information. The pet stores really shouldn't carry it, in my opinion.



Here's more info on it. There's many personal (and sad) stories here about this stuff.

http://www.petwebsite.com/fluffy.htm

[Emma]

Yeah I think he's a sable, quite a brown one though. He's so tiny - so cute!!! Does he have a name yet?

[souffle]

Yes I agree he is a long haired sable boy. In long haired sables the coat often looks more browny pale as the undercoat which is creamy shows through more. He is a sweety and yes don't use the fluffy bedding. Sometimes long coats especially males need to be kept on cat litter (wood based) as the shavings will tangle in the fur. Make sure you groom him to keep him matt free. What about Samson the sable!

[Emma]

What about Samson the sable!

I like that - just don't ever cut his hair!!!

[peanut25]

Thank you for all the info. I did not know that about the fluffy bedding but will definatly take it out of his and Butterballs cages tonight.



My fiance would like to name him Dusty but I like the name Dusky. I also like the name Sable. I may just have to wait until I see what his personality is first.



How do you groom them? Also he can't be in the Carefresh bedding? Most of the other beddings that they have out there bother my sinus' but if I need to change his bedding then I will. Anything for him to be happy and healthy.

[babyboos]

Carefresh should be fine and a lot nicer on his paws than wooden pelleted cat litter

A small soft toothbrush or human baby hair brush works great. Some people just use their fingers, others small wire combs to remove bedding and tangles but this is more for show hammies than pets.

[mimosaurus]

Speaking of carefresh - can you guys suggest any type of carefresh style bedding that isn't dusty?



My boyfriend changed his rats bedding from wooden cat litter (which turns dusty when it's walked on) to carefresh, but the poor little ratty is allergic to it and has been sneezing ever since. We took her to the vet today just to be totally sure that it wasn't anything more serious, but the vet agreed that she looks completely healthy, and since the sneezing is continuous, it's likely to be due to the bedding change. He suggested changing back to the cat litter.



Thing is, wooden cat litter is no better than carefresh for dust (although she never showed any reaction to the dust in the cat litter), but we want to put her on something absorbent that isn't dusty, and we're a bit stuck for choice! The cut up cloth stuff is not really absorbent enough to use as anything but a nesting material...



Any ideas?

[JennyR]

Have you had a look at ecopetbed from www.earthlyenterprises.co.uk (http://www.earthlyenterprises.co.uk) It's a cardboard based bedding which seems to be highly recommended by rat owners, I use it for my hamster and it appears to be completely dust free. A bale will last her lifetime though I think!

[mimosaurus]

We hadn't heard of that - so thankyou :)



I think we'll be sending off for a trial of it.. I've just bought loads of carefresh because of needing to change my hamster over slowly (she belonged to someone else before me who was using wood shavings), so I'm hoping Bean won't be allergic too!! Hehe :)

[babyboos]

Try putting the Carefresh in a large plastic underbed storage tub and shaking the dust tends to settle out or stick to the sides. I use Megazorb which you can get from equestrian supply stores often. They also sell other dust extracted, heat treated beddings for horses which are equally suitable for hamsters.

[Emma]

I use the ecopetbed for my rats too, it's great for them. I don't think it's much good for hams though because of the scale of it, some of the pieces are several inches long.



Bob Martins 100% Recycled Paper Cat Litter (available in Asda), or Morrisons own brand paper cat litter, are very like carefresh but more granule like, I find them less dusty. Carefresh seems to come in dusty and less dusty batches it seems. I keep my carefresh in a storage tub though and shake it about, seems to help keep the dust down.