I have some concerns

kyrierachelle · 05-08-2015, 12:24 PM

Hey there! Allow me to introduce myself quickly. I'm new to this website, my name is Kyrie, I am 18, I live in Colorado with my boyfriend. We recently purchased a hamster (about 5 days ago). Neither of us have owned a hamster before, so we decided to get one together!!
He is a Syrian short haired hamster, his name is Butterscotch (Butters or Scotchy for short).

He seems happy, he drinks out of his water, he eats the food I have provided him. His home is the Super Pet Crittertrail Extreme Challenge Habitat. (We have also added on one additional set of tubes which lead to a lookout tower. He runs on the wheel, mainly at night. He'll run REAL FAST until we turn the lights out he'll run a little more quietly.
Last night, I noticed he would run on his wheel, and then go down to just the top of the slide and lay there with his eyes open, and then go back and run, and so on. I am worried he won't use the little hut we have provided for him to sleep in. He has moved bedding into the tubes.
Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks you so much for your time!

Shana · 05-08-2015, 05:22 PM

Congratulations on the new addition! My first hamster was named Butterscotch, and he was wonderful.

Some hamsters get a bit wheel crazy when they're settling in, and taking breaks to sprawl out on a flat surface is a normal behavior. He's basically taking a time out to catch his breath and cool off a bit.

Something you should be aware of though - the crittertrail wheel is an OK size for young hamsters, but it's too small for adult Syrians. You'll need to get him a bigger wheel, and really a larger cage when he gets a bit bigger. Crittertrails are fun, and can make for a nice addition to a larger cage, such as a bin cage or tank, but they don't provide enough space on their own.

Nesting in tubes isn't all that healthy because there's not much airflow in them. To solve this people often remove the tubes until the hamster has established its nest somewhere else, and then put them back. If the hamster continues to nest in them they're usually removed permanently. Unfortunately this is difficult to do with Crittertrails, which is part of the reason that they're not the greatest cages. One thing you can try is moving some of his nesting material and some food into his hut. He might not know that the hut can be used as a nest. Most likely he'll move everything back to the tube though...

So your concerns are valid, but you've come to the right place. Given that this is your first hamster it's expected that you'll have a bit to learn

BrainGirl · 05-08-2015, 05:51 PM

What kind/size of hut did you get for him? Some of them aren't big enough or allow enough airflow. Or he could just be one of those hamsters who like to make their own sleeping spots

I agree with what Shana has said though. You will need a bigger wheel and you'll probably at least need to connect a bin cage in order to fit one. He's a young hamster though so don't panic!

Oh, and welcome to HC

Pebbles82 · 05-08-2015, 10:39 PM

Shana has said it all there mostly. Commercial cages do tend to be smaller than the recommended size for a hamster to live in. There are bigger ones, but in the US there are maybe only a couple of good sized hamster cages available (the Marchioro Kevin is one) and a lot of US owners buy a large glass tank instead of a cage.