Help! Care + advice sheet needed for new syrian owner

Curiosity101 · 10-08-2010, 01:51 PM

This isn't for me but for someone else.

The story:
I took in a hamster as the end of the last university year temporarily as a favour to a friend. His sister has bought a hamster but then decided she was going home (oversees) for summer. She left the hamster with him but he also lives abroad.

When he arrived on our doorstep he was in this...
Mayfield Hamster Cage (the little black one on top)

35cm x 25cm x 23cm
There was a teeny eeny little flimsy wheel that frankly wouldn't even be suitable for a dwarf, no saw dust, no food dish and no bed and no ball. All there was was a little pile of rags that the hamster was curled up in and an empty water bottle.
I was...horrified. I put food in and filled his water straight away, gave him a check over and 'shock horror' he had a skin condition.

He seemed a little on a skinny side but was healthy enough weight wise.

I upgraded him straight away to the bigger cage you can see in the photo and checked him over daily to ensure the skin condition was getting better.
He was getting spoilt rotten foodwise, let out daily into his new ball and improved from sleeping 22hours a day and being unable to roll his ball for more than a few seconds to being a properly active ham.

Annnnyyyways. It started coming towards the end of summer so I bought him a new cage to go home in...

40cm x 30cm x 37cm
It's still not ideal but at this point in time as far as I knew my friend was going to talk to his sister and ask her to read up on hamster care and so I had to send him back in something that I KNEW they would have room for (I mean everyone has 40cm x 30cm free right...)
I figured this was better than nothing.

Well I found out today that instead of speaking to her he just bought her a new hamster!!!!
I'm absolutely furious as you might expect, did them a favour, spent money on the hamster, tried to improve his health and wanted to give him back (on the proviso that she now was aware how to care for a hamster).

So, I'm after some straight forward care and advice that I can easily turn into a word document to print out and give to my 'friend' to pass onto his sister.
I'm also going to upgrade the ham that we're now forced to keep and give him the spare cage to give to her with the care advice.

It's not that I'm not capable of writing it myself, but I'm certainly not an 'expert' and don't have any little 'facts' in my head about the SA a syrian should be given etc etc.

And here is the little guy to give you some inspiration...

souffle · 10-08-2010, 02:13 PM

Welcome to the forum.
If you look on the WIKI area you will find lots of info.
There is also correct care info if you google National Hamster Council and look at the website. You can print out care sheets from there

I would advise her to buy Hamsterlopaedia by Peret & Chris Logsdail which is a weath of information

Curiosity101 · 10-08-2010, 02:22 PM

Thanks, that's exactly the kinda reply I needed. The thing that annoyed me was that this is what I wanted him to give to her in the first place so that I could return her hamster. Instead he just bought her a new one... some people.

Emzlou09 · 10-09-2010, 03:43 AM

He's gorgeous I don't know how anyone could neglect him

Can you not talk to his sis yourself to make sure she gets the information?

wofunny · 10-09-2010, 03:50 AM

Sorry to hear that

Why dont you get her to join the forum? x

Curiosity101 · 10-09-2010, 03:51 AM

Sadly no, she lives somewhere down south and I'm up north. But he sees her relatively regularly, so he will hopefully pass on any care sheets I give to him. Aswell as the cage he was going to be going home in originally.

I've found him a lovely jenny rat cage to live in now he's staying with us permenantly. And the last inhabitants of the cage were mice meaning it comes with lots of platforms and stuff, not just the rat accessories.

Edit: @Wofunny I don't actually have ANY contact with her at all. Afterall shes my friends sister who I've never met.

Emzlou09 · 10-09-2010, 04:23 AM

That's a shame just keep nagging your friend at how important it is that a hammy has the right cage full water bottle etc. for care sheets you should be able to find lots of helpful threads on here

Smysha · 10-09-2010, 05:42 AM

What is the cage in the first picture - the one you upgraded the hammy into. It looks great!

Curiosity101 · 10-09-2010, 08:24 AM

Sorry I'm not sure what that cage was, I just borrowed it off of a friend over summer as it's her 'spare' for if any rats/hammies or anything get dumped on her.