Finally found a Syrian! Esmeralda...

[FelicityAnn]

Hi - well, I finally found her, my little Esmeralda (Esmie for short).

I took all the good advice I found on here and in ErinsAnimals videos, and I took a medium sized plastic container with holes in the top, half filled with torn up kitchen papaer & tissues.

I asked the man in the shop (very nice!) to give me a handful of the substrate in the cage to mix with the tissue, so that she would have her family's smell with her on the way home.

He wasn't sure how old she is, but as she arrived today with the rest of her litter and they were all sleeping together, we decided that they were still fairly young. We also decided together that she was a 'lady'. They only arrived today & they called me straight away to tell me, so he hadn't really had a good chance to sex them.

I brought her home in the car with a towel lightly covering the container, so as to give her a bit more security, and then when we had put the cage in the bath, I let her come out of the container on her own. (It's a converted guinea pig cage, and I want to be sure that it's escape-proof. Hence the bath test)

She came out on her own almost immediately, sniffing everywhere. I emptied the tissues into the cage and sprinkled the substrate from the shop all over her new home.

I then sat very quietly and watched her for about 20 minutes. She has explored EVERY CORNER at least six times. She's had something to eat, tried her wheel, (though not very sucessfully yet as I don't think she's ever had one), gone through her tunnel (twice) that I buried in the substrate from one end of the cage to the other - and has climbed her ladder to explore the little bird's nest I've hung from the roof. She liked that, and went back twice inside it.

I think she's decided that the coconut shell under the other shelf is her favourite, as that's where she's settled at the moment. That could well change, though, right?

I have put a covering over the top of the cage and will not disturb her for a couple of days. I will, of course, check regulary on her just to make sure she's OK. And I've put a blow heater in there with her (not close) to keep the temperature up at a comfortable level for her.

Did I do most things right? What did I miss?

[ladyntramp002]

You sound like you did an amazing job. I personally don't use ladders(bird) because they normally have a gap in between rungs, and a hammie could easily fall through and hurt themself.

Try using a bendy bridge or something similar that doesn't have gaps in between the rungs. I can't wait to hear more about Esmie(Esmeralda). She sounds absolutely precious!


Hope this helps you out. Congrats on your little girl.

[JLPrairie]

You forgot one thing...SEND US A PIC.
As a rule of thumb, I usually assume the hamsters that just arrived in pet shops are one and a half months old-ish.
Like Amity just pointed out, I wouldn't use wicker (unless it was some kind of wicker basket designed especially for hamsters). You can never be too careful with these things.

Congrats on your new hamster!

[FelicityAnn]

When I say ladder, I made it from the side of a square wicker basket, so there are no gaps at all. I have some bendy bridges (and a large wooden, cork-lined wheel) coming from zooplus.

As to gaps, I actually pointed out to the man in the shop that mesh wheels were not good for hamsters, as they could get their feet caught. He agreed!

As soon as the cage is out of the bath, and she (even more) confident in herself, I'll post some pics.

[AmityvilleHams]

I'd be wary of the ladder being made from a wicker basket unless you know for certain there were no glazes or anything harmful coating the wood bits.Don't take chances with these things,it is extremely important that every single thing either be chewproof or completely nontoxic(to hamsters,not to humans,as hamsters and humans are very different in regards to toxic and nontoxic substances for example garlic).

[FelicityAnn]

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

I'd be wary of the ladder being made from a wicker basket unless you know for certain there were no glazes or anything harmful coating the wood bits.Don't take chances with these things,it is extremely important that every single thing either be chewproof or completely nontoxic(to hamsters,not to humans,as hamsters and humans are very different in regards to toxic and nontoxic substances for example garlic).

It was an old basket, well-weathered and I soaked and scrubbed it before putting it in the cage. As soon as my bendy bridges arrive, I can change it over.

As Hamsterita will confirm, getting ANYTHING here in Spain that isn't one of those brightly coloured TINY cages (yuk!) is very difficult. Perhaps in Madrid, Barcelona or Granada, but in a smaller town , impossible.

[AmityvilleHams]

There's no guarantee whatever would've been on it didn't soak in,in which case there is no "soaking and scrubbing" that would truly remove it

It doesn't have to be storebought,you can do lots of things using materials that you purchase from places that aren't pet stores!For example,a standard wood bird ladder could be modified with popsicle sticks(no dye)to be solid and would be much safer.

[SKB_Hamsters]

Congratulations on Esmeralda.
It's so lovely to hear that you have managed to find a Syrian.
Sounds like your are doing a wonderful job with Esmeralda. I'm looking forward to hearing more about her and seeing a picture of her once she is settled.

[Hamsterita]

Congrats Felicity! She has a beautiful name! For those who may don't know, Esmeralda means Emerald. I'm glad you choose a Spanish name

I don't know either how old is Blacky (my ham). The Kiwoko gal told me that he was 3 or 4 months old when I got him, but I think that they don't have a clue about anything to be honest.

Here in Spain you need to use your imagination to get them things or have a huge budget to order online, that's for sure, but don't worry, you can always get her new things little by little.

If you can't see his testicles she's probably a girl. With syrians it's very obvious.... I hope Hekomi doesn't mind If I use her videos to show you how easy is to sex a syrian. Male
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRo1LaXAHse/?hl=es Male https://www.instagram.com/p/BRjPrMkgISc/?hl=esFemale https://www.instagram.com/p/BRjA6clAjMB/?hl=es. They are very tiny and you already can tell easily what they are.


Looking forward to know more about Esmie! (and some pics would be great too!)

[BorisPasha]

Congratulations on Esmie FelicityAnn, pleased to hear you managed to find your precious girl. Will be looking forward to hearing more about her as she settles in and some pics