Syrian hamster snoring in sleep & general questions

[youjunc713]

Hello!

First time posting on HC, I must say it's great to have such a knowledgeable community to ask questions in!!

4 days a go, I welcomed a 8-10 week female syrian hamster as a new family member, her name is Kendrick and she's seems to have settled in well to her new environment.

As a beginner hamster owner, I wanted to ask some questions:

1) She sometimes snores in her sleep (low growl, not a high/screeching snore). I've noticed that she does this from time to time. She does not make any significant breathing sounds when she's awake, just on occasions during her sleeping time. Is this okay?

2) She seems to be sleeping a lot, I try my best not to wake her up as I know it will make her stressed.

3) She barely touches the exercising wheel (its a 28cm diameter, pretty big), and when she does it's only for a couple of minutes. She did go on it on the first night but she hasn't really been on it since. Is there any way for me to get Kendrick to exercise a little more? I'm concerned that if there is no improvement, there could be a weight issue on the horizon!

I appreciate any answers and further tips for a new hamster owner! Hope everyone has had a great weekend

[Rads]

Hello,
Welcome to HC, it isn't unusual for a hamster to snore our last Hamster Pip used to snore at times in her sleep.
Also Kendrick is young and more than likely still adjusting to her new surroundings when she is used to it she will probably use her wheel more.
Let her do her thing if she wants to sleep a lot then that is her thing, but if you can try getting her into a routine for food/treat times.
Lastly enjoy your hammy.
P.S. they all have very individual characters we have had Ghost 8 months now and he used to run all the time, now he likes to eat and sleep and dig like a loon in his sand pit...

[youjunc713]

Thanks for clearing things up!

Kendrick seems to chew the bars a lot, I've read that this can result in pain for hamsters! I've given her 3-4 pieces of wood (pet store bought) and a few other things to chew on, but she seems to be a lot more interested in chewing the bars instead.

I've tried the olive oil method and it seemed to work for a few hours, now she's back at it again, any remedies/idea which can alleviate this problem? I've heard that most grow out of this eventually but I don't want her to develop a habit of chewing the cages as she may hurt herself.

Thank you!

[Rads]

Originally Posted by youjunc713

Thanks for clearing things up!

Kendrick seems to chew the bars a lot, I've read that this can result in pain for hamsters! I've given her 3-4 pieces of wood (pet store bought) and a few other things to chew on, but she seems to be a lot more interested in chewing the bars instead.

I've tried the olive oil method and it seemed to work for a few hours, now she's back at it again, any remedies/idea which can alleviate this problem? I've heard that most grow out of this eventually but I don't want her to develop a habit of chewing the cages as she may hurt herself.

Thank you!

What cage do you have her in? Cage chewing can indicate boredom if the cage is not big enough..

[youjunc713]

Hi, I've got her in one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

it's 58.5 x 38 x 47.5 cm, I know she'll need a new cage soon, but I thought this was an okay starting point as she's still a baby, I'm looking for a bigger cage to buy soon.

[Rads]

Originally Posted by youjunc713

Hi, I've got her in one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

it's 58.5 x 38 x 47.5 cm, I know she'll need a new cage soon, but I thought this was an okay starting point as she's still a baby, I'm looking for a bigger cage to buy soon.

Ok How deep is the substrate in the bottom really it needs to be at least 4" deep as she may like to burrow/dig.
As for the cage yes she will need a new one asap The Barney or Alaska Cages are popular Ghost lives in an Alaska cage and it can be easily customisable to give Kendrick lots of interest.
Zooplus is a good outlet for cages and other stuff for hammies too, they are also wallet friendly..!

[Pebbles82]

It is such a shame that cage isn't just bigger as it's a lovely cage, with the glass base and not cheap either. Bar chewing often is because the cage isn't big enough and when they have more space they tend not to. However it can become a habit and then they develop a bar chewing habit even in a bigger cage, but it can stop again with a few distractions and a change. If not it then means having a tank style cage.

Putting something on the bars doesn't help and can be harmful to the hamster and also cause behavioural issues if they find it unpleasant and taming and bonding may become harder.

You could try weaving some strips of cardboard (torn up kitchen roll inner tube eg) around the bars where she is chewing but she could just move on to another area.

I had exactly this problem when we got our last Syrian - we had a 3 tier rotostak thing,which seemed big to me, but clearly wasn't working for our hamster. Although it was perspex and not a barred cage, one section had a small barred area at the top and our hamster constantly hung on to and chewed that section, desperate to get out basically. Within 3 weeks he had grown quite big and got stuck in the tubes - which is when I started researching hamster cages, found this forum and all sorts of other information and upgraded him to an 80cm by 50cm Savic cage - which seemed huge - but as he was a large syrian, and needed large toys, it also seemed a bit cramped and I ended up upgrading him to the 100cm Barney cage, which he was very happy with. Our current Syrian has it now.

They need enough floorspace to run around and have normal behaviours.

I agree with upgrading asap. And it really hurts when you've just spent money on a cage! Meanwhile you could try adjusting her set up in the current cage to enrich it more and distract her from bar chewing a bit. Adding more substrate might help - try and fill the base, even if bits fall out - or have the substrate heaped up in the middle and slightly lower than the top of the base at the edges, so it doesn't fall out too much.

Also they need somewhere dark to retreat to and a good sized house that's dark inside helps them feel secure and able to build a large cosy nest - they do feel the cold in winter.

Not sure what house you have, but maybe add a shoebox house on top of the substrate under one of the shelves. Cut the base out of a shoe box and cut a hole for a door and keep the lid as a lift-off roof (so you can check inside without having to lift the house out, so their nest doesn't fall apart).

That way she will be able to dig and retreat to a dark place and cosy nest. If you have a bendy stick bridge, you could put that over the entrance of the house to make a tunnel entrance and it's then darker inside.

You could also hide various treats around the cage in different places so she is distracted and forages for them.

Have a look on Zooplus - the Alaska, Barney and Alexander are all good for Syrian Hamsters. They don't have the nice glass base of the one you have now, but the Alexander and Barney both have 7mm bar spacing and it's much harder for them to bar chew with small bar spacing - plus less likely due to the extra space. If you were going to upgrade and could manage the space for a 100cm cage I would go for the Barney or Alexander as the Alaska isn't a massive upgrade and some people then find they want to upgrade again. A 100cm cage should sit on top of a chest of drawers eg - doesn't matter if there's a bit of overhang at the sides.

The alternative is something like the maxi duna multy - a tank style cage, but it is quite expensive and doesn't offer quite as much scope for enrichment as it's lower so less oportunity for levels and adding things. Plus you'd need a shelf or platform.

Baby hamsters seem small but are full of energy. For now if you could set up some kind of playpen area, you could let her out each night for a run around. Zooplus sell a very good one, but it is quite expensive when you need a cage as well, or you could just use the dry bathtub (carry her there in a hamster ball and let her out in the dry bath with the plug in and a couple of toys/tubes). Some people also make play pens out of carboard and bulldog clips - I did that once but they tend not to be escape proof and need constant monitoring!

Hamster Cages | great selection at zooplus

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferplast-Ma...axi+duna+multy

The Barney is very good value and costs less than your current cage - it comes with a good sized house for a Syrian and a good shelf. You already have the wheel - it just needs toys and substrate.

You can also buy substrate in bulk so it works out a lot cheaper - Fitch paper bedding is popular on here and works out very cheap, and Zooplus sell large bags of hemp bedding. You need quite a lot to fill a 100cm cage, but with a large cage you don't need to do a big clean out very often and can mainly just spot clean - plus hamsters will use a litter tray which helps keep the cage clean. Basically the more substrate you put in, the longer you can go before needing to change the substrate. I only do a substrate clean about every 3 months and empty the litter tray about every 5 days.

I wouldn't recommend getting the Hamster heaven - it's quite low for a Syrian sized wheel and not much of an upgrade in size, plus all the colourful plastic contents are useless!

[Pebbles82]

You could maybe sell the current cage as it might be suitable for mice. Alternatively you could keep it as a play cage for when you're doing a clean out.

There is a similar style of cage that's bigger - the 80cm Ferplast karat, but it is very expensive - about £145. Also has a glass base - but the doors are a bit fiddly, which may not be an issue.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferplast-Ka...p_ob_title_pet

With the Barney and Alexander cages, it can be an idea to paint the wood shelf with plastikote water based enamel paint which is pet safe. It's only a little pot but would easily do a couple of coats on the shelf and the inside of the wood house

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plastikote-...stikote+enamel

[youjunc713]

Originally Posted by Rads

Ok How deep is the substrate in the bottom really it needs to be at least 4" deep as she may like to burrow/dig.
As for the cage yes she will need a new one asap The Barney or Alaska Cages are popular Ghost lives in an Alaska cage and it can be easily customisable to give Kendrick lots of interest.
Zooplus is a good outlet for cages and other stuff for hammies too, they are also wallet friendly..!

I've got paper bedding, it's around 3.5 inches deep at the moment, I'll make sure to put more in once I get home tonight! Thanks for your recommendation, I'll be having a look!

[youjunc713]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

You could maybe sell the current cage as it might be suitable for mice. Alternatively you could keep it as a play cage for when you're doing a clean out.

There is a similar style of cage that's bigger - the 80cm Ferplast karat, but it is very expensive - about £145. Also has a glass base - but the doors are a bit fiddly, which may not be an issue.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferplast-Ka...p_ob_title_pet

With the Barney and Alexander cages, it can be an idea to paint the wood shelf with plastikote water based enamel paint which is pet safe. It's only a little pot but would easily do a couple of coats on the shelf and the inside of the wood house

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plastikote-...stikote+enamel

Hi! Thank you so much for your reply, very informative! Like you said, it's a shame that I've just spent 55 pounds on the current cage, but I know Kendrick's current & future well-being is more important than money!

Thank you for your suggestions, I'll probably sell the cage on gumtree for half-price-ish after Kendrick moves in to the new cage. With your recommendations, I'll probably upgrade to the Barney cage. Before you replied, I was debating whether to get her the Barney or Alaska cage but I guess I'll give her the extra leg room as it wouldn't mean upgrading once more in a few months!

Thanks a lot for your help