Help my daughter just got a Chinese dwarf hamster

[Graceread]

My daughter just got a Chinese dwarf hamster. We're sort of at a loss on what to feed it. She got it at pet supplies plus we live in the US. They want us to feed it bulk food that they have at pet supplies plus. We have Petco, Petsmart and pet supplies plus in our area. We have been to three pet stores. They recommended either 1. Kaylee hamster food 2. Oxbow hamster and gerbil 3. bulk food. What would be the best choice? I did some reading on them and the treats they told us to give were strawberry yogurt. But the fist ingredient is sugar. I thought that is not good for these little guys? We tried some greens but she did not like. So far had oatmeal dry and sunflower seeds. Thank you in advance. I will show my daughter your posts. She is 7 and loves her little hamster she named Coffee.

[AmityvilleHams]

None of those are good,nor are they diabetes friendly.Chinese are prone to diabetes.Just order Burgess online,until then if you can get Harry/Hazel Hamster that will work temporarily(just break up the big pieces).

Avoid storebought treats except for extremely high quality ones(no dyes,no artificial ingredients,no BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin,etc).Flax seed,puffed wheat or rice,millet,and other things are much healthier.Just be sure to check for safety,and make sure the ingredients are 100% safe.Dog biscuits(all natural only,do not use Milk Bone and such which have unsafe ingredients)can work but may have unnecessary added sugars,though dog treats and cat treats can be an excellent choice for treats as long as they're high quality,natural,and completely safe.Chewy(online website)sell a massive variety of natural products,including freeze dried protein sources(though some things they sell are just not good or safe)and a variety of all natural dog biscuits,and their pricing tends to be better than pet stores.

Pet stores rarely if ever give good information Don't feed the bulk mix,Kaytee,or Oxbow.Make sure your information is accurate,not the out of date and rarely correct information from pet stores(this is not the fault of pet stores,since it is ultimately not their responsibility to educate customers).

[Thin Lizzy]

Hi and Welcome to HC.
Amityville has given good advice, pet stores do tend to give bad advice, even though they sell animals, a majority aren't up to date on what's suitable and not. You'll find great friendly advice here, don't be afraid to ask.
Member Cypher has the knowledge when it comes to dwarf hams/chinese.

[Cinnamon Bear]

I bought my Chinese Hamster at Pet Supplies Plus a month ago. You must live in Buffalo NY? I bought mine at the Niagara Falls Boulevard store, which store did you buy yours from?

I feed it Burgess, I ordered it online, ebay, in the meantime I feed them Mazuri Rat and Mouse lab blocks and Higgins sunburst from Pet Co. She seems to like Burgess the best.

The Boulevard store is the only store selling them around here. They have stores out of state, just checked, I was surprised

[AmityvilleHams]

Mazuri and Higgins are only available at Petsupermarket(Higgins only)and Petco(which carry both,though not always in store).These could work in a pinch,but the Harry/Hazel wouldn't have fruit or added sugars(Mazuri does have a minimal amount of all natural sugar,and Sunburst has fruit as almost all US foods do).

[Graceread]

OH my gosh, thank you. Coffee had some millet, loves it. We will order Burgess food today. Since we are going to pet store do you think we should get some chinchilla sand for a bath?We were also going to get some chew sticks...are those colored ones ok? We have the apple orchard sticks but wanted to get some toys.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Pet stores around here don't carry Chinchilla sand, also has to be ordered from Amazon. I saw one store selling it at the mall, but very little sand for the price. Kylie loves her sand bath, I use a Kaytee critter ceramic sand bath.

[AmityvilleHams]

Chinchilla sand would be pretty much impossible to find in Petsmart or Petco,but from what I remember there is one US chinchilla sand which may be ok.Of course,it is Kaytee and I remember hearing that it didn't work well Sterilized play sand will work just fine,as long as you sift it well before using it!

If you get plain wood you can just dye it with fruit or order soy paint and paint toys yourself!

Some hamsters will get bored with standard sticks and wood chews,so you can drill small holes and hide seeds in them to create foraging toys.Plus,this lets you repurpose old toys or those which would be unsafe if used whole that you might find in a pet store(for example those with unsafe hanging materials like chain or cotton rope which can be restrung on sisal,hemp,or jute as long as it is all natural and once again dye free).

I personally don't use many things from pet stores,since there are often DIY alternatives which are safer or more cost effective.However,you can still have a look and potentially repurpose some cheaper toys or toy parts(for example the apple sticks)as part of a more enriching toy.One example as mentioned would be foraging toys,but you could make a foraging platform using some hamster safe wood along with safe wood sticks from a pet store,popsicle sticks,and wooden dowels.You could make a ramp leading to it out of popsicle sticks(the support for underneath)and more sticks(make sure there are no gaps!)and just have the sides out of the same materials.Creativity is key with these little creatures,especially when it comes to enrichment.

[cypher]

Congrats on getting Coffee!
It's a shame pet stores have so little idea of how to care for these hams but I'm sure you'll get all the help you need here.

Chinchilla sand (not dust) would be great, they love to dig in a sand bath.

If you can get the Burgess dwarf hamster harvest (not the other burgess food meant for syrians) she'll do really well on that.
Millet is good for them & they do enjoy it.
As extra treats mine love monkey nuts (not more than one a week, usually lasts them longer) a really tiny piece of walnut or pine nut once in a while but not too often, flax & hemp seeds, sunflower seeds (in the shell) & pumpkin seeds (in the shell if you can get them) all in moderation, a mealworm daily goes down well & helps give a protein boost as does a tiny piece of dried chicken or some plain cooked chicken.
Whimzees dog chews are usually enjoyed & gives them something to chew on, mine also like apple wood, most things sold as chew toys tend to be ignored!
It may take her a while to get used to veg, begin with just tiny thumbnail size pieces & try more than once if she doesn't go for it first time, it's worth persevering & gradually working up to one or two small pieces daily.


Here's a list of safe veg if you're not sure what to give, avoid fruit as it's too high in sugar.

Safe veg, those marked * are relatively high in sugar so only feed to diabetes prone species as an occasional treat if at all.
Asparagus
Basil
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Common or red clover
Cabbage, green or red
Carrot*
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Coriander
Courgette
Cress (not mustard & cress as commonly sold together)
Cucumber
Dandelion leaves & flowers
Endive/chicory
Green beans/runner beans
Kale
Pak choi/Bok choi
Parsley
Peas/mange tout/sugar snap/snow*
Peppers, any colour
Potato/sweet potato cooked only*
Radicchio
Spinach
Squash/pumpkin*
Swede
Sweet corn/baby corn*
Turnip

ETA I forgot to ask, does she have a wheel? They are quite long when fully grown so need an 8" solid (plastic or wood) wheel, most will run for ages in the wheel & it is one of the most important items in the cage, more use than lots of things sold as toys.
A favourite thing with mine you can do for free is just an egg box with a couple of entrance holes cut into it, put some substrate inside & hide some of her food in there & she'll really enjoy foraging for it!

[Graceread]

We bought Coffee at Pet Supplies Plus on Transit in Depew, NY. She is about the sweetest thing. My daughter holds her all the time. She is super calm. Yes, we have a exercise wheel.
Just a couple questions yet:
1. Do they like the Run around exercise ball? Our just sits in it right now??
2. Can you use popsicle sticks? The pet store person said not to use as it would give Coffee slivers??
3. We want to try and train her to go to bathroom, as in liter train. What should we line liter pan with? We saw sand with crystal balls on top? Or just her bedding?