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Old 01-14-2019, 04:59 PM   #11
Spunkys_Owner
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Default Re: New hamster sleeping in toilet

Everyone else already answered your question, but I just wanna throw something in Usually (at least, as far as I know), it's obvious if a Syrian is male because they drag their, uh, bits behind them. So you could look out for that. Also, I think hamsters can't really control/care where they poo, as Spunky certainly didn't (poo everywhere, esp. at his nest!) Spunky did apparently control where he peed, though.
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Old 01-15-2019, 01:50 AM   #12
Jamieking86
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Default Re: New hamster sleeping in toilet

Quote:
Originally Posted by Emsmum View Post
How big is his cage? Have they sold you one that's big enough?
I thought so at first but after doing some research im not so sure. It's this one from pets at home in the large size.

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pe...=29&orderBy=1#

He highly recommended it, as you can see in the listing it says suitable for 1 syrian. The other ones weren't much bigger and we're £70-£80. It also has a tube that runs round the outisde of the cage which he seems to love, he stores food their and loves running in and out but I am looking into getting a new one as i don't think this is big enough and i want the best for my little furry fellow.
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Old 01-15-2019, 04:46 AM   #13
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Default Re: New hamster sleeping in toilet

You know, quite a few people have returned Pets at Home cages saying it's not suitable/big enough, after getting something new, even when it has been used, and got a refund. It is worth a try. If not then a spare cage as a play cage isn't a bad thing to have - eg when doing a clean out.

Upgrading the cage would be a good move - but - cage changes are also stressful for hamsters and they need time to settle in a cage, so it's probably best not to do it straight away. Usually it's recommended to give them a good two weeks to settle into a cage, without any clean outs (just spot clean the pee area once a week maybe by taking a handful or so of substrate out and replacing it with a clean handful and mixing it in a bit. Or just emptying the litter tray if you have one - they will pee in a litter tray If you put it in the place they have chosen to pee in.

So it's probably best to leave your hammy in the current cage for at least 3 or 4 weeks before upgrading. Then there are methods for upgrading that make it less stressful - moving everything across without cleaning anything so it still smells familiar, including all the old substrate, and in a similar layout - then another 2 weeks settling in period. I find an adjustment helps as well - rather than cold turkey - eg let them play in the new cage with some substrate and a couple of toys in, the day before moving them, or even do that twice. And then move everything over - it does seem to speed up the settling in process.

The tubes on that cage aren't good either - external tubes cause issues and hamsters can get stuck as well (full pouches or just growing very large!).

Zooplus has some good options at reasonable prices. Popular ones for Syrians are the Alaska, Barney and Alexander cages, depending on how big a cage you can fit in and your budget. The Alaska cage is about £35, the Barney about £54 and the Alexander about £69. Out of those the Barney is the best value really as it comes with a good sized house for a Syrian and a good shelf and has a basic 8" wheel which would do for starters (anything smaller than 8" diameter is too small and can lead to back pain). So there's nothing really to buy extra - just needs substrate adding and some toys/floor tubes etc. You may have some already but cardboard tubes and hidey places are fine. (Rat sized toys work best for Syrians).

However the Barney is also the largest of the three - slightly deeper floor area than the Alexander. The Alaska is a good budget cage with a good sized floor area - however many people find they want to upgrade from it later to a bit more floor area. It also needs a good house/nesting box buying and a wheel.

I have the Barney cage. I started out with a horrible 3 tier rotostak - and our hammy got stuck in a tube and had cage rage. He was upgraded to something the size of the Hamster Heaven (also on Zooplus) but without all the tubes and Penthouse. At the time I kicked myself for not going for a 100 cm cage as our Syrian grew very large! And his large wheel, toys and houses filled the cage too much. So eventually he was upgraded to the 100cm Barney, which seemed just right for him, and I could fit loads of things in and still have plenty of floorspace, plus the extra height meant any large wheel would fit in. But not too high either(there can be fall risks with very tall cages).

The Alaska is a bit better than the Hamster Heaven in that respect - maybe not as well made as Savic cages, but has a bit more height and width. Delivery is free from Zooplus when you buy a cage, so anything else you buy at the same time will also have free delivery - otherwise delivery is extra when buying things from there.

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small.../hamster_cages

They sell a couple of good syrian wheels. The 28cm Trixie plastic wheel is popular and inexpensive. It's not silent but most people find it quite quiet. There is also a wood 28cm Trixie wheel with a cork running surface. This is a silent wheel (has ball bearings), but does need painting with plastikote (petsafe waterproofing paint) or it gets stinky. The best Syrian wheel you can get - and it is good - is the 12" Silent "Runner" (not Silent Spinner - different wheel) which is also silent and can be cage mounted to the bars - but it is quite expensive - £25 plus another £5 for the cage mounting. That's only available from a couple of sugarglider shops/sellers.

Pets at Home also sell the Savic Hamster Plaza which is a 100cm cage - but it does cost £75. It's good because it has a big front opening door but is a bit taller than the barney so needs setting up carefully to avoid falling on something hard.

I have the Barney cage - theSavic Plaza wasn't available when I got my cage but would be my first choice now - except for the cost!

The barney and Alexander cages have narrow bar spacing of 7mm which means they can also be used for dwarf hamsters, if set up carefully to avoid fall risks for tiny dwarf hamsters. 7mm bar spacing means they are less likely to bar chew as well, but most hamsters don't bar chew in a 100cm cage.
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Old 01-15-2019, 04:48 AM   #14
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Default Re: New hamster sleeping in toilet

This might help with determining whether Frankie is a boy or a girl The boy is on the right with the elongated back end. The girl on the left, you can see has a more rounded back end and nipple lines. The elongated backend on the boy is his testicles - and sometimes they can get quite large or even protrude and look like a tumour! When they get warm and very relaxed. First time I saw that I thought my hamster had a tumour but it was just his boy bits descending and popping out.

Attachment 47562

Last edited by Pebbles82; 11-27-2022 at 06:42 PM.
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Old 01-15-2019, 05:02 AM   #15
Jamieking86
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Default Re: New hamster sleeping in toilet

Serendipity7000 thank you so much for the recommendations, i will certainly look into them. The barney cage sounds pretty good but i will have a word with my partner and have a look this evening. Also thank you for the boy/girl comparison, as we've only had him 3 days now, we don't want to pick him up yet but when we can we will have a look at him/her

I have just bought an 8" inch wheel, as the one with the cage is 6" and i haven't seen him use it yet, hopefully he hasn't as i do know it can hurt their backs. Question is, it is quite a big wheel for the cage size, so ideally i need to hang it on the cage rather than freestanding. The only place I can really fit it is where his house is, where he sleeps. Could i move his house to a different corner so i can do this? The bedding will all stay the same so will have his scent and munchies etc so hopefully will still know where to sleep. I just don't want to upset him by moving his bed (when he's not in it obviously) as it's still early days and probably still getting used to his cage surroundings.

Edit: Actually after looking at all those cages, the Savic Hamster Heaven cage looks perfect. Looks to be loads of room and plenty for toys etc. Could anyone vouch for this? Does anybody have this cage, pros and cons etc?

Last edited by Jamieking86; 01-15-2019 at 06:09 AM.
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Old 01-15-2019, 07:24 AM   #16
mangoandmimi
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Default Re: New hamster sleeping in toilet

The hamster heaven is on the small side for Syrians, both in floor space and height. Fitting a Syrian wheel in there is a struggle as it’s so low - the height includes the penthouse which you probably wouldn’t want to use anyway, it can get unhygienic in there and it’s very cramped.
The shelves are useless too so you’re paying for those as well as the penthouse. If you’re getting a new barred cage I agree that the Barney, Savic plaza or Alexander would be good options. It’s just not really worth upgrading to a hamster heaven when there are bigger options, lots of people with an 80x50cm cage do struggle and actually end up upgrading again!
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Old 01-15-2019, 08:04 AM   #17
cypher
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Default Re: New hamster sleeping in toilet

I have the Hamster Heaven, I use it for my Chinese & Russian hams & it's ok for them but would be too small really for a Syrian, as mangoandmimi said the height isn't sufficient to allow for a large wheel with substrate underneath so you would do better to look at either the Plaza or the Alexander or Barney cages from Zooplus.

For the time being it should be ok to move his house so you can put the 8" wheel in, just keep all the nesting material in as it is & he should adjust to it ok.
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Old 01-15-2019, 09:10 AM   #18
Jamieking86
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Default Re: New hamster sleeping in toilet

I think i may save and go for the Savic Plaza Hamster Cage. £75 is a lot of money, but i'd rather pay more and it be perfect for him than buy one that isn't 100% recommended for Syrians. Thanks once again, this forum is very helpful for the less experienced Hamster owners. I'm researching myself to death, but always willing to learn more.
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Old 01-15-2019, 05:16 PM   #19
Pebbles82
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Default Re: New hamster sleeping in toilet

It's a shame as the Savic Plaza was on offer for £56 recently! But the price has gone up again. Agree with the comments about the Hamster Heaven - it's a great cage if it was a few cm taller and 20cm wider! In fact the Hamster Plaza was produced when the manufacturers were asked to produce a 100cm Hamster Heaven.
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Old 01-15-2019, 05:18 PM   #20
Pebbles82
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Default Re: New hamster sleeping in toilet

Tricky if the only place to put the wheel is where his nest is and he's just settling in. Do you have a photo of the cage? Might be able to suggest an alternative placing/fixing for the wheel. Could it not be freestanding?
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