Couple of questions

[sttefaaa]

Hello.
So I got Pebbles a week ago and everything seems to be going normal, but since she is my first hamster (hybrid/winter white), I am very paranoid of basically everything.

She loves her wheel very much, it is a wooden wheel. Today when I came back from work and she was running very enthusiastically on it, what I noticed is that the whole inside of the wheel had poop marks. It was clear that she had smudged it while running. What scares me is that it was a bit greenish (I dont give any veggies apart from her food mix and some sunflower seeds when taming). It kinda looked like diarrhea since it was so much of it, plus I think she had peed as well while running. This sounds bizarre to me so I was wondering if it's normal for something like that to happen.. I also don't know how to wash it since its wooden wheel. I did wash it completely with a sponge and water, but should I disinfect it with something as well?

Another question I have is about the water bottle. Right now I use a small ceramic bawl for the water since the pet shop lady (i know.. don't trust them) said it would be more hygienic. I am worried because I feel like she might fall in it cause she is so small and get sick. Yesterday it almost happened because she was chasing my hand while I was changing the water and then fell in it with her tummy. I quickly dried her with paper towel, but this still seems like not a good idea. What are your suggestions?

And the last worry of mine is that she bites. That is no nibble.. She literally chases my hand whenever she can and hangs on to my fingers so much that I could lift her up. This happens more rarely but still when I hold her outside the cage. I understand it could be territorial issue, but it is quite aggressive and I always make sure to wash my hands with no-scent soap before touching her.

I hope you can help me with this.

[Tazius]

I have suggestions for the first two points

Firstly, don't worry about the wheel. I think we got our hamsters at the same time and Faolan is exactly the same (smudgey poop included). Someone suggested to us it's likely because a) hamsters love to run, and b) new hamster have never had a wheel before so will be absolutely enamoured with it. Faolan is alwaysssss on his wheel, and had pooped and peed all over his too... In terms of poop, is all of her poop greenish or is it just the poop in the wheel?

Secondly, definitely invest in a bottle as soon as you can! You can pick them up real cheap an use them regardless of if you have a wired cage or a bin cage

[amandad]

I'm unsure why you wouldn't trust a pet store or a pet supplies store worker. It's kind of insulting to a person who works in a pet supplies store (such as myself) who sells things to people who want hamsters, rats, mice, guniea pigs, gerbils, etc... based off of their own personal experience. Plus what they are taught in training.

With that said, I think the wheel should be okay, but maybe invest in a plastic one such as a silent spinner or saucer wheel (I don't normally recommend saucer wheels as sometimes the hamsters can fly off of them if they run too fast - I've seen this twice with robo's).

Not sure about the green poop though. What food are you feeding your hamster? Is it something they aren't used to? Are you feeding some kind of treat (aside from fruits and veges)?

As for the water, get a water bottle immediately! Sure, hamsters can swim but they aren't that smart (at least not as smart as rats - and I say this from personal experience) so, when they get tired, will they know to climb out of the bowl?

Good luck!

[cypher]

Peeing & pooing in the wheel then making an odd looking mush while running in it is perfectly normal so don't worry about that. The problem with wooden wheels is that once pee soaks in you can't get them clean so you need to give them a couple of coats of water based plastikote before using them which makes cleaning easy.
Don't clean it too often though, once plastikoted a wipe down with a paper towel daily if need be then a rinse maybe once a week, no strong smelling cleaners, basically the more you clean it the more they pee in it!

I wouldn't worry too much about her poo looking green if it's mixed with pee as it can look odd, keep an eye out for any that looks strange elsewhere in the cage though.

Water bottles are the easiest thing to use & totally hygienic if you keep them cleaned, if you do use a water dish it needs to be small & heavy enough not to get knocked over & placed somewhere it won't be full of substrate half the time, things like very small reptile dishes or sturdy glass tealight holders make good bowls.

As for the biting some do but you can usually get them to stop with some patience, try not to pick her up in the cage if you can avoid it, if you have a front opening door lay your hand flat by the door & see if she'll climb onto it of her own accord, if not let her climb into a cup or tube or something then let her onto your hand from there, I know it's hard but try not to react at all when she does bite, keep your hand as flat as possible & just talk to her quietly before putting her back down if you do get bitten.
Have you tried the tissue trick so you really gets used to your scent, that usually helps.
I'm guessing you haven't had her long so give it time & she may well come around.

[sttefaaa]

Originally Posted by Tazius

I have suggestions for the first two points

Firstly, don't worry about the wheel. I think we got our hamsters at the same time and Faolan is exactly the same (smudgey poop included). Someone suggested to us it's likely because a) hamsters love to run, and b) new hamster have never had a wheel before so will be absolutely enamoured with it. Faolan is alwaysssss on his wheel, and had pooped and peed all over his too... In terms of poop, is all of her poop greenish or is it just the poop in the wheel?

Secondly, definitely invest in a bottle as soon as you can! You can pick them up real cheap an use them regardless of if you have a wired cage or a bin cage

Thank you, calmed me down The poop looked greenish only in the wheel.

[sttefaaa]

Originally Posted by amandad

I'm unsure why you wouldn't trust a pet store or a pet supplies store worker. It's kind of insulting to a person who works in a pet supplies store (such as myself) who sells things to people who want hamsters, rats, mice, guniea pigs, gerbils, etc... based off of their own personal experience. Plus what they are taught in training.

With that said, I think the wheel should be okay, but maybe invest in a plastic one such as a silent spinner or saucer wheel (I don't normally recommend saucer wheels as sometimes the hamsters can fly off of them if they run too fast - I've seen this twice with robo's).

Not sure about the green poop though. What food are you feeding your hamster? Is it something they aren't used to? Are you feeding some kind of treat (aside from fruits and veges)?

As for the water, get a water bottle immediately! Sure, hamsters can swim but they aren't that smart (at least not as smart as rats - and I say this from personal experience) so, when they get tired, will they know to climb out of the bowl?

Good luck!

Oh Im sorry, I didnt mean to insult anyone. It is just the things I have heard here and on Youtube about pet-stores. Their main thing still is selling, so it is better to always check their provided information. As an example, when I was getting Pebbles, the pet store lady told me that water bowl is the best option so I went for it. Now it doesn't seem like the best.

The food she eats is Vitakraft for dwarf hamsters. I noticed that it has some lime green pieces in it. Not sure what kind of food it is, but maybe it is from that.. I don't feed her fruits because of the sugar and I she doesn't get veggies since Im not sure which I can feed her exactly.
Thank you!

[sttefaaa]

Originally Posted by cypher

Peeing & pooing in the wheel then making an odd looking mush while running in it is perfectly normal so don't worry about that. The problem with wooden wheels is that once pee soaks in you can't get them clean so you need to give them a couple of coats of water based plastikote before using them which makes cleaning easy.
Don't clean it too often though, once plastikoted a wipe down with a paper towel daily if need be then a rinse maybe once a week, no strong smelling cleaners, basically the more you clean it the more they pee in it!

I wouldn't worry too much about her poo looking green if it's mixed with pee as it can look odd, keep an eye out for any that looks strange elsewhere in the cage though.

Water bottles are the easiest thing to use & totally hygienic if you keep them cleaned, if you do use a water dish it needs to be small & heavy enough not to get knocked over & placed somewhere it won't be full of substrate half the time, things like very small reptile dishes or sturdy glass tealight holders make good bowls.

As for the biting some do but you can usually get them to stop with some patience, try not to pick her up in the cage if you can avoid it, if you have a front opening door lay your hand flat by the door & see if she'll climb onto it of her own accord, if not let her climb into a cup or tube or something then let her onto your hand from there, I know it's hard but try not to react at all when she does bite, keep your hand as flat as possible & just talk to her quietly before putting her back down if you do get bitten.
Have you tried the tissue trick so you really gets used to your scent, that usually helps.
I'm guessing you haven't had her long so give it time & she may well come around.

I have tried the tissue method. Gonna do it again I guess and hope it works
But about the climbing on hand - when I put my hand in flat, she starts digging around it to get to my fingers.

[cypher]

You do have to be very patient & very calm, keep up with the tissue trick for a while, put fresh ones in every day or so, I know it can be frustrating, not to mention painful but it's worth all the effort in the end!
If you're unsure about what veg to feed check out the wiki list, start really slowly tiny piece once every few days until you find out what she likes & how she gets on with it then you can increase to a small piece daily.
Safe and Unsafe Food and Plants - Hamster Central WIKI

[sttefaaa]

Originally Posted by cypher

You do have to be very patient & very calm, keep up with the tissue trick for a while, put fresh ones in every day or so, I know it can be frustrating, not to mention painful but it's worth all the effort in the end!
If you're unsure about what veg to feed check out the wiki list, start really slowly tiny piece once every few days until you find out what she likes & how she gets on with it then you can increase to a small piece daily.
Safe and Unsafe Food and Plants - Hamster Central WIKI

Thank you so much! I will keep trying the tissue method. And thanks for the list! Helps a lot