New hamster won't come out at all.. worried

[Piebald]

Ah thanks for that last comment I did wonder if the arrival of the school hamster is what put him off and changed his behaviour

Do you know the dimensions of that cage? It looks fine for a young hamster but may not be suitable into adulthood. Most certainly the wheel will need replacing with a bigger one. You probably know from keeping rats that they need to be able to run with a straight back in the wheel or it is too small.

I would definitely put some more toys in the cage for him, and also a bigger house. It that tiny blue thing his house? Try just an upsidedown cardboard box with no floor-- I would also suggest adding a lot more substrate so he can burrow. That cage has a good deep base for lots of substrate. The box will get destroyed (chewed) but is easily replaceable. A tissue box maybe?

You mentioned seed and fruit sticks. I'd be careful with friut while he is likely still stressed from moving--you don't want to encourage diarrhea but a small amount should be ok. Be careful what you use to hang it with as it is likely to get chewed so you only want safe chewables always. Also I would be careful to hang it so he cannot get a foot or head stuck.

Also I cannot see clearly but it looks like you may have what's called "fluffy bedding" in there? If so, it needs to be removed asap--it is very dangerous for hamsters and can cause serious injury should they get a foot tangled up. It is outlawed in Germany I believe and there are efforts to have it removed in UK also.

Are you familiar with "whimzees"? They are a popular hamster chewable. You could add a "bendy bridge" or even just some toilet or kitchen towel cardboard rolls for him to run though. Don't worry about the shelf for now, hamsters need lots of ground room more than shelves like rats or gerbils. Egg cartons with holes cut in some of the egg cups put in upside down are a great hamster toy. I would hold off on the hammock for the moment until you see what kind of a chewer he is-- he can get into trouble with hammock fibres if he chews similar to the fluffy bedding issue.

The blanket was a thoughtful idea just be careful he cannot pull it through the bars and chew it-- same issue with fibres and some synthetics can be harmful if swallowed. That bar spacing looks nice and narrow but never under estimate a hamster determined to chew.

Try some scatter feeding when you get the tubes and egg carton in-- hide bits of food for him to find. Foraging is a natural behaviour. The down side is it makes it difficult to see what he is eating, but I think you want to encourage him to wander around right now.

I know you have gotten conflicting information-- that's one of the problems with the information on the internet there is no filter. My view is that you want to try and create as natural and comfortable an environment as possible. When your hamster is comfortable he will naturally be more friendly and you won't need to resort to harsher measures like removing his house.

I also suggest you all do the tissue trick. Put an uncolored, unscented tissue up your sleeve for half a day or more. Then shred it a bit and leave it in the cage for him to use as a soft liner for his nest. It will help him get used to your scent.

Let us know how you get on and post some pictures when you get the toilet rolls etc in.

ETA I doubt the blue light is an issue.

[Nube]

Thanks Piebald.

The cage is described as:
Large - 30 x 38 x 59cm (Suitable for 2 Dwarf Hamsters, or 1 Syrian Hamster)
I know this is below the RSPCA guidelines, but not so much below so I thought it would serve us at least for a while.

The school hamster was in the house before the new one, so it should not have affected his behaviour I guess. They are in the same room most of the time (although school hamster is moved to my daughter's room every night to have her last night stroll around the room which is now hamster-safe, and bedtime story ) The school hamster is a young adult I believe (although being no expert I might be wildly off the mark) and has a smaller cage and similarly small house (although my daughter says she has a bigger cage at school, this is her travel home). I keep referring to her as "he" because we thought it was a boy until we got our own and saw the difference! You can tell how knowledgeable and observant we are

Am quite happy to provide our hamster with a bigger house, although my guess is that it will have to wait till he gets used to leaving his house and we can safely interfere with it.

Will check what the bedding packaging says when I get home. It looks suspiciously like the cheap cleaning cloths shredded into small bits but was advertised as hamster bedding What would the alternative be? My daughter read in hamsteriopedia that paper is not recommended either?

And I am glad you recommended adding toys, my daughter will be delighted to make some!

Shocky does not seem to be interested in the towel (our rats would have had all of it inside their cage by now!), but I will keep an eye on it and see if he starts chewing it.

And yes we have a tissue in his cage (I think you can just see it there but we did not shred it), will continue doing that.

Oh well better get back to work, my employer might not appreciate my urgent concerns

The wheel will need replacing as it is pretty flimsy anyway. Our rats had no interest in a wheel so we have no experience with that

[Piebald]

LOL my employer too.
FYI I wouldn't judge too much by what the school hamster has been provided with because you are going to do much better!
The cage is fine for the time being while he is small. There are a lot of options for upgrading when the time comes so enjoy looking around now. There are alot of discussions on the forum about the various options and lots of pictures to give you and your daughter ideas.
I wasn't suggesting removing the house he is hiding in now, just add the tissue box and see what he prefers.
As to bedding, first there is something commonly called "substrate" which also is called bedding, and that refers to the absorbant material you fill the bottom of the cage with. Then there is the "fluffy bedding" which is like fine cotton wool only in long strands. It is sold as a nest liner, not to fill the bottom of the cage. That stuff is a no-no. You may not have it, it comes in different colours, and I saw something blue in the cage I wasn't sure about.
As to substrate, you guessed it, there are a number of do's and dont's.
Here is a starter link:
Hamster Bedding, Substrate and Nesting materials - Hamster Central WIKI.
I'm sure Erin also has some videos on it.
And there are lots of discussions on the forum over the different kinds, and where to buy it.
I did a quick forum search for "Fitch" which is a popular bedding that comes in big bales for a reasonable price as long as you have somewhere to store it and I got this thread:
Cheapest place for Carefresh?
and this one:
What do you recommend to put on the bottom of the cage?
annnnd this one:
Supreme Cosi n Dri v Tumblefresh?
annnd
Aubiose Bedding
annnnd this one
What's your favourite bedding/substrate?

I think this one is helpful because of the pictures of the products.
Hamster Care Sheets

That should get you started.

[Nube]

He did come out tonight. I was sitting there watching telly and there he was staring at me on top his house (see photo) He soon retreated into his tube and had a good go at the half walnut my daughter left there for him earlier. It is a start I suppose. We did add a few things into the cage, hope he enjoys some of them (a box with bedding - did not have a tissue box so used the potty box, then the potty itself - he will probably not use it as a potty but the other hamster liked it... a wooden block with holes and a cardboard tube). It is a bit crowded in his cage now but maybe with more things to explore and hide under he might feel a bit more adventurous. Thanks again for the advice.

[Piebald]

That's great! He's lovely. I think you need to look into a proper wheel sooner rather than later though. I can see now how small that wheel is so I think you should look into a better one. Hamsters can get permanent back injuries from running on a wheel that's too small. If he's not using it that doesn't mean he won't use a good one. Usually they love their wheel. A full grown Syrian usually needs a 12 or11 inch wheel don't ask me centimetres please! A wheel should be solid and not mesh or made with slats. They can get foot injuries from those kind of wheels. Have a look around, let your daughter pick a colour! If you want to ask about a specific wheel lots of people here will have used them and can give you feedback.

[bbbarker]

I myself know how badly wrong sized wheels can affect Hamsters, I adopted Gracie from a local rescue. She has a spinal deformity due to her previous owner not providing her with a suitable wheel, her tail now sticks under and she pees on herself. Because of this she has to have bathing sand in her cage at all times so that she can clean herself. Luckily she deals with her deformity very well and it doesn't affect her at all, she now loves her 12inch Trixie Wheel.
I highly recommend getting a 12inch Trixie wheel, you can get them off Amazon and they come in a few bright fun colours which I'm sure your daughter would love! Unfortunately I don't think any 12inch wheels will fit in your current cage, so you and your Hamster would really benefit from a nice big cage and a nice big wheel. You will find your Hammy is much more happier and more sociable with these changes.
I'm glad to hear he came out, that's definitely an improvement. He's probably more comfortable in his home

[Thin Lizzy]

Like Piebald said, the cage will do for now as he's still a baby but, it will need upgrading.
As for the wheel, a 12" will prevent any spine injuries. If the wheel doesn't fit in the cage, then the cage is too small.
Good that he came out!

[Piebald]

I can't be sure but if you "wall off" the substrate from where you put the wheel it might fit, and you can still have nice deep substrate in the rest of the cage. People often use a bendy bridge on its side to make a "wall" but I have seen cardboard used. The wheel will take up a lot of room but it is also his most important toy.

How's he doing?

[Nube]

He is getting better. Came out last night and even strolled around the cage and had some food with me and my daughter watching and talking to him, and the cage door open. He even poked his nose out of the cage. He accepted a bit of walnut from my hand later (yes, I am playing with hamsters when my daughter goes to sleep... naughty mum ). It's hard to contain ourselves and not overdo it, we are trying, honest!

This morning he also was awake when we came downstairs but hid in his tube and is now asleep there (in the tube - not the cardboard but the cage one). I have posted a couple of photos in the Introduction section. Sorry about the quality, am not using flash to not scare them.

The new wheels are arriving today (one for ours and one for school hamster), I had to get 8.5 inch as 12 inch will definitely not fit and I could not find a suitable 10 inch one. So this will have to do for now. I also could not help myself and ordered some toys

Before I forget - the bluish bedding is not the "cotton wool" type, so I assume it is Ok. We will not buy it again. We used finacard for substrate with our rats as they had all sorts of problems from wood shavings, we will decide on what we are going to use on a regular basis at some point. Brains bursting with all the information at the moment

(and yes we realise now that cage will be too small... highlighted by the fact we cannot place all the toys we want in there! but it will have to wait, we also do not want to stress him out by another change of environment in a short time)

[Thin Lizzy]

Sounds like he's getting more confident, praise him everytime he comes out, have a treat ready for him. Some progress with hamsters can be slow but, give it time and patience. It's good you're going at his pace.
Did the wheel arrive today?