Couple of newbie questions

[Charleen]

I have a Syrian, Sasha. I got her from the pet store on Wednesday. They had her separate, so I do not know her age. I finally got her a new bigger cage, so she is quite happy with that. My questions are, in ounces or tablesoons how much hamster mix should I give a day, and how much fresh/ treats? Also, I have four hiding spots, a digging box (although she dug around the whole cage today), and 5 toys for her to play with. She seems to be very high energy, and since I am just at the point of finger feeding for taming, and cannot pick her up, how might I keep her entertained so she doesn't get into trouble? (I will be picking up a wheel asap, but I am not near a pet shop, and online buying would take the same amount of time as me getting to a pet shop.) Thanks so much!

[Thin Lizzy]

Hi Charlene! Sasha's gorgeous!
A tablespoon or 10grams of hamster mix daily. I give mine fresh veg daily and they get fruit once or twice a week. Treat wise, mine like the honey nut bars that hang in the cage, I also give mine egg biscuits for small animals and the alfalfa donuts. Mine take ages eating these.
The yoghurt, apple and blackberry drops are popular with my 2. I just give these in moderation.
If you decide to use drops for taming then I would half them. Her home looks really great, once you get her wheel she'll spend a while on that. I encourage you speak to her several times a day, hamsters love that and also she'll start to recognise your voice after a while.
Also, chicken breast is very popular with hamsters.

[Pebbles82]

Thin Lizzy has it all in a nutshell there. Chews are good for keeping them occupied. Our Syrian's favourite chew is this carrot stuffed log roll thingy. It's good for keeping their teeth worn down as well - he happily chewed at this for months and it kept him out of trouble lol! Avoid the commercial type chews with honey in as they are very sweet. Rosewood naturals make some good treats. I've added links to the ones our Hamster likes so far. He adores the little hearts - vegetable based - and I found them great when taming him as they are small so he can have a few each time. You can feed one through the bars, then when your Hamster is a bit more confident, put one on your hand and she'll walk on your hand to get it. Patience is the key - ours was a pet shop hamster as well and took a few weeks to tame as he wasn't used to being handled and was very jumpy and nervy. We found it best to do any taming out of the cage, getting him out in a cardboard tube (he'd walk into it, especially if there was a treat at the far end) and used to put him in the dry bath to do some taming - starting with stroking his back once each time, then gradually being able to cup him underneath, lifting a couple of centimetres and letting him walk off your hand. Once we got to that stage we could pick him up and he wouldn't try and escape!

The carrot roll isn't cheap at £4.49 but it lasts for ages

Rosewood Boredom Breaker Natural Treat Nibble Woodroll Carrot: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

Rosewood Naturals Dandelion Sticks Treat 120 g: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewood-Nat...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

These antos vegetable based dog chews are very popular with hamsters too - and they're also good for their teeth. Ours likes the mini toothbrushes, which are about the right size for a hamster. He likes all the flavours except the algae one. Make sure you get the 'mini' size - the others are huge!

Antos Cerea Toothbrushes Dog Chews

Your cage set up looks great with lots to do, and Sasha looks happy! I also have that kabob thing with the bell and that's a big hit! I can't be bothered to keep taking it out to skewer things on it, so I just slide the blocks up and stick a treat between them half sticking out and it always goes! The little hearts are good for wedging in there.

[velma]

I've nothing to add apart from to say with the fruit or veg, introduce it slowly. They have delicate digestive systems so start slowly & build up to how much you'd like to feed them or they may get diarrhoea. The same if you switch brands of food, gradually swap it over, over about 10 days

[Robolover21]

I have experience keeping very high energy pets entertained and like the others have said chews are great, mine all love the antos dog chews, I find most places stock these (Viovet, pets at home, jollyes pet shop, qd stores sell a very big starfish).
Cardboard toilet roll tubes are a great idea, make sure to cut a slit down the side, but my pets have had great fun with these, my robo loves to run through and over them, while the gerbils prefer to chew them.
a sand bath is great, you can use chinchilla sand or boil some childrens play sand and use that!
For treats, pumpkin seeds are great, poundland sell just pumpkin seeds or aldi sell a treat pot that contains sunflower, linseed, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds, all are a big hit with my pets. Apple drops and chocolate drops seem to be popular with mine too.