Advice on Dwarf

[SinNyx]

I am supposed to be picking up a male Dwarf (7 months roughly) tomorrow. I say supposed to as plans can change, but hopefully all will go smooth.
As many of you may know I take in hamsters, having recently rehomed the other Dwarf hand in, Pepsi, very successfully, I may need some advice for the one tomorrow.

His story seems yo be that since the loss of his cage mate his behaviour has changed and he has bitten, making the owner's children scared of him and therefore leading to the decision of giving him to me. I do not know everything as I have yet to see him myself although they also told me he is less active.

So, Dwarf pair owners, what have you done to help a Dwarf after their cage mate has passed on? I want to be sure he can be as happy as possible.

[Esmy]

I don't know the answer but hopefully a change in environment and new stimulations will be just what he needs!

[tree]

Originally Posted by SinNyx

I am supposed to be picking up a male Dwarf (7 months roughly) tomorrow. I say supposed to as plans can change, but hopefully all will go smooth.
As many of you may know I take in hamsters, having recently rehomed the other Dwarf hand in, Pepsi, very successfully, I may need some advice for the one tomorrow.

His story seems yo be that since the loss of his cage mate his behaviour has changed and he has bitten, making the owner's children scared of him and therefore leading to the decision of giving him to me. I do not know everything as I have yet to see him myself although they also told me he is less active.

So, Dwarf pair owners, what have you done to help a Dwarf after their cage mate has passed on? I want to be sure he can be as happy as possible.

I think you need to be very careful not to stress it out and provide some toys and treats and things to stimulate the hamster away from its friend.

[SinNyx]

Thanks

I will update more tomorrow.

I will see how he does - if he is in a smaller cage I may leave him just to see how he gets on ect. Will also make sure he is not ill as I do not know the full situation, like how his cage mate passed, which may make it easier for me to help him.

@tree, giving him treats wouldn't be such a bad idea as hamsters should be left to settle, treats can give them upset stomachs if they are settling in and stressing out.

[kyrilliondaemon]

When Bump was missing Timmy we ended up giving Bump a full cage clean, a shelf, extra toys and a new layout e.t.c really helped her. It took away the smell of Timmy and helped her move on a bit
That said, we had owned Bump for a while by then and knew the changes would be unlikely to unsettle her.

[SinNyx]

Thank you, kryilliondaemon

I have just brough the little one home and I feel from a glance he is actually a she. She is white with very noticeable red eyes and is a bit bigger than Pepsi, my last dwarf, was.
She had no toys so I have given her a wheel, sand bath, climbing thing and cardboard for now. She seems very happy with the wheel, she is in a mini duna and I will leave her in there as I feel she is fine for now and I will provide her with more toys soon.
The cage was clean although after noticing a smell, I lifted the top of the house and t was pretty smelly, I see what the owner meant by her not coming out much, it was her bathroom and bed and it was very hard to get her out and to avoid stress I just scooped the bad bits out with a small clean and now its much better.