djungarian hamster fast breathing - Page 2

cypher · 02-19-2018, 08:03 AM

Do change it as soon as you can, it's not just that their feet can get trapped but running on mesh can cause a condition called bumble foot which is very painful & can be hard to treat.

zarch · 02-19-2018, 08:14 AM

Ok good to know. Thanks for all the tips, it’s really helping. Thankfully I don’t think he has used it yet. He still mostly sleeps and if not sleep just digging around from what I saw checking on him last night.

I’m trying to still keep distance as I read it might be good to not interact for the first few days but it’s kinda hard. I started just trying to hold food out and let him come sniff me. Which he has and then walks away and comes back for more sniffing.

He also doesn’t breath as fast now when I’m his cage unless my Cat is a jerk and scares him. I’m trying to keep the cat away as much as I can so not to scare him and hurt his transition.

cypher · 02-19-2018, 08:39 AM

I'm sure he'll be fine if he's only used the wheel a little, with a good wheel he might use it more too, they often like to eat in the wheel & then run with food in it

Sounds as though he's settled in well already, I wouldn't worry about keeping your distance, each ham is different but once they start showing an interest there's no need to hold back, obviously you don't want to overwhelm them with too much interaction but if he seems happy then just carry on.
If you can keep the cat out of the room where your ham is that would be best, it's never a good idea to allow a cat (predator) & ham (prey) to be in the same room.

zarch · 02-19-2018, 08:53 AM

Ok thanks for letting me know. Im also looking at maybe a bigger cage/enclosure. The one i have is small from what ive read. its 16"L X 10.5"W X 18.25"H. But ive read a good thing to use is a fish tank since of its size and having glass, but those are expensive. is modifying a storage container a good idea? Also ill move this conversation to another forum area if needed.

cypher · 02-19-2018, 09:00 AM

That is small really, maybe about half the size of the cages I use for mine, if you can find a large enough storage box & mesh the lid, also if possible make a mesh window on one of the larger sides that can work really well.
Some hams don't like too much space but even twice the size of what you have now will soon fill up with a house, large wheel, sand bath & toys!