Meet.....Storm !!

[Louis1d1million]

Hiya so as you may have seen on my last posts I was planning on getting a hamster on June the 19th and was asking for advice.

Well today popped up the most beautiful little hamster for free on a Facebook site locally. It had a ton of comments and stated that I came with a cage and accessories. I was worried Incase - being offered free it got into the wrong hands . So I messaged him and explained I could pick the hamster up that day and give him a home , and he accepted.
Well needless to say I am so glad I rescued him!! His cage was tiny and about a ft deep in poo and old rotten food and sawdust and his bowl was filled with bedding, and he had clearly been feeding on the hanging food things which you use when you go on holiday? That had gone rock hard. I changed him out immediately and he is now very happy in his hamster heaven cage which must be atleast triple the size!! I binned the cage etc as the condition it was in was unusable. The little guy himself seems very friendly and happy to be handled which I great - I was origianlly looking for a Syrian but was told this guy is a dwarf but of course that wasn't going to change my mind, so any tips on how they differ would be great. I've set up his cage but at the minute he hasn't done much more other than sleep which I totally expected but I'm worried he won't find his water bottle or food or be able to get to the second floor?!! I'm sure these are worries of every new hamster owner? I was told he is just under a year old so I'm saying his birthday is today as there's no way I can tell really is there? And also I can't be 100% if he's a boy -- any tips??

So we had a family vote by putting names we liked into a pot and picking one out and came up with storm - which suits him well as we homed him on a stormy day and he is grey and white like lightning.

Just a few questions - is it okay to spray body spray in the room he is staying? As its my bedroom and I usually do.
Can I 'bath' him? To clean him from his horrible cage.
The room he is in is very hot as its summer and it's the third floor of our 3 storey house. I've shut the windows and closed the blind to help not let the heat in but I'm still worried, would he be okay if I brought a fan? I was planning on getting a bigger wheel as mine is 7cm but I'm guessing I won't need to now he's a dwarf and not Syrian?
Thanks

[Fluffagrams]

Firstly, congratulations on your new arrival.

Hamsters cannot be given baths however dwarf hams do enjoy a sand bath. You'll need to make sure that you buy chinchilla sand and not dust or you can sterilise children's play sand.

I don't know much about the Hamster Heaven but is there a ramp or anything he can use to reach the second level? Depending on the kind of dwarf you have, they might not be particularly great at climbing on other things to reach the level.
They'll usually find their way around in a few days and I've not had issues with my new arrivals finding their food and water okay.

A fan might be an idea if the room he lives in gets a bit hot but I wouldn't point it directly at the cage as that could get a bit too draughty for him.

Hope that is of some help to you and I look forward to reading more.

[Amber_x]

The green shelf should be easy to access, but the pink one has a very steep ramp so if he might struggle to get up. You could use something like a bendy bridge as a ramp as they're less slippery or you could put something next to it as a step.

[michyLS]

hi my russian dwarf isn't a great climber, (I think syrians are better?) so I use a bendy bridge for him to climb on up to his shelf which he manages fine.
My dwarf is awake for periods in the day which is commn with dwarfs I think , rather than sleeping all day like syrians commonly do, so its nice to get some day time hours for playing- this is good for us as I have 2 little boys who love to play with our hammy.
Enjoy

[cypher]

Well done for rescuing the little guy.
Can you get any photos so we can help identify his species, & if he is a boy too of course!

I've used the hamster heaven for dwarfs but don't use any of the shelves, tubes or penthouse, you don't really need them tbh, I just completely fill the base with substrate & use houses with flat tops for shelves.
They generally like to dig & burrow so the substrate is more important than accessories really & you can make great little hideouts for them with things like egg boxes & coconuts.
They generally need an 8"/20cm wheel, I use the 9" silent runner wheel for mine.
Fans are really good if it's too warm just make sure that it isn't blowing directly onto the cage. You can also put a cup in the fridge then put that in the cage to help them cool down.
I wouldn't use any spray in a room with a ham, could you do it in the bathroom or somewhere instead?

Hope he settles in well, look forward to hearing how he comes on.

[Thin Lizzy]

Congratulations on rescuing Storm,, looking forward to pics once he's settled in.
I use a fan with Harvey when it gets too hot and ensure it's not blowing in his direction.
As for spraying bodyspray in the same room, I wouldn't.
I keep mine in the living room, and I don't use any sprays at all.

[Louis1d1million]

Thank you all - he seems to be settling in very well and I would love to upload some photos but I can't figure out how to as it keeps telling me to type the URL?? he's found his water, and I've moved his food to the bottom floor as honestly I don't think he can get up to either floor..his old cage was only one floored so maybe he's not used to it? He has toys , a wheel , beds and a potty on the ground floor but seems to have made home in the corner in the bedding down by his potty, and hasn't really seemed to explore yet or go on his wheel etc. I have brought some chinchilla sand and a little finger hamster brush so that should do the job - thanks and will look into getting a fan. I also started spraying body spray outside the room today instead.
Thanks again x

[cypher]

Good to hear he seems to be settling in & managing things on one floor at least, if he is a russian dwarf he will have furry feet which make climbing anything plastic very tricky!
You can either upload photos here by using the go advanced button on the reply box then scroll down to manage attachments or you can upload them to somewhere like Photobucket & just paste the link straight into the reply box.

[Louis1d1million]

Ah okay thank you - I've tried to attach some he is a very friendly little ham, but seems to like burying himself until a pile of bedding and taking food off in there and hiding it.

[Louis1d1million]

The photo the old owners sent me