Unsure if my hamster is well or not

[Ryan tan]

Also it's currently 5pm right now and my hamster has slept for about 1 hours or so now is that normal? He did sorta wake up and move a little bit (to scratch itself or to change sleeping places) hamsters are nocturnal so it's normal right? However I did see somewhere that thier sleep patterns might be different due to timezones or something

[Pebbles82]

Yes raw veg is better. Yes just wash it and it's fine. At first just give him the tiny bit every 3 days until his tummy adjusts - then after a week you can give it every other day. Then maybe a week later, every day. They love their bit of daily veg. Here is the safe veg list. As he is a dwarf hamster, it is better not to give fruit or sweet things as they are prone to getting diabetes.

Safe and Unsafe Food and Plants - Hamster Central WIKI

[Ryan tan]

I've let him out several times and he runs around the house I keep a close eye on him. I know this probably isn't very safe but I haven't bought a new hamster ball yet(old one broke) and he seems to want to come out. Usually when I open the cage he'll run to the door and peak his head over and when I place my hand at the door he'll either climb onto it or he'll run back in his cage. I've found then when he climbs onto my hand he usually wants to come out of his cage. When I return him back he just hops back in

[Pebbles82]

It is normal for them to sleep all day, be awake from about 6pm, then maybe nap again during the evening. And awake most of the night from 10pm through to early the next morning. That does vary and some dwarf hamsters do get up for a short while in the middle of the day. But generally yes, they're asleep all day and awake all night - which is their most active time. It is one of the reasons they need a bigger cage also, even if they have time out of the cage to have a break from it - because at night when we are asleep they are very active and full of energy and need enough space to run around and do things. If there is nothing to do and they are full of energy they may chew the bars to try and escape. That is bad for their teeth. Running in a wheel isn't enough. Does his wheel spin easily and does he use it at all?

Interesting idea about time zones - I hadn't thought of that. But I think generally it is more that they sleep during daylight and are awake in the dark. In the wild they live in deep underground burrows during the day - partly because it's hot and partly because they don't want to be eaten by birds etc! Then they come out at dusk and start foraging during the evening and night for nesting material and food. Even as pets, they seem hard-wired to forage for nesting material and food, which is why they are happy when you provide this in the cage.

Paper and cardboard are perfectly safe for them to chew and pouch - they will chew and pouch it to take to their nest, or just to keep their teeth trim. Although some hamsters chew more than others. Our hamster doesn't chew anything unless it has food attached!

But yes really they are crepuscular, so it is not strictly asleep all day and awake all night. They can get up early evening at dusk, then go back to bed for a bit, then awake most of the night but can have a nap during the night as well. They are usually awake very early in the morning though, and some owners give them a bit of breakfast! I don't do that as I'm never awake early enough

[Ryan tan]

i see him use it from time to time but not very common i guess. i feel pretty bad for the little guy... he doesn't really have a lot to do. I'll try to get the cage as soon as possible. Also in Singapore there are a few places that sell cages with more than one level. so like maybe 2 or 3 levels and there are slides going down and stuff. it might not be wide or so called big but would it be suitable due to the multi levels?

[Pebbles82]

Foraging for food and nesting material and building nests, keeps them busy and happy. So when you put food out in the bowl, you could scatter a little bit of it round the cage as well. He will enjoy foraging for it and pouching it to take to his hoard.

Also don't worry about his poops - as in you don't need to clean to the point that you remove them all. They are not dirty or smelly. They are like little hard seeds - and sometimes they eat them (which is normal) for extra vitamins etc. They have two stomachs and can redigest nutrients from their food. Sometimes they even hoard a little pile of poops for emergency supplies! Their instinct is to fear a shortage of food so they hoard food (and tend to eat mostly from their hoards). If the poops start taking over the cage you can spot clean them a bit (ie remove a few) but otherwise, it is best not to clean out too much.

The only real thing that needs cleaning is their pee. It's difficult with a small cage to just spot clean though, which is why if you add more substrate and paper, it will be easier to replace some of the clean old substrate when you have to clean the base of the cage, so it still smells familiar and doesn't stress him too much.

[Ryan tan]

This is the mix he's eating right now. i believe its called hazel hamster? (not sure about the name of the mix) and i believe it is made my tinyfriendsfarm.

would he not tear up the toilet paper?

one of the largest cages I've found so far (in Singapore pet stores) is 70 x 34 and it goes for about $100 plus. I would buy it but I highly doubt my parents will allow

[Pebbles82]

You may not find much suitable in the local pet store. But as a guideline, when taking photos of possible cages, avoid the taller cages with lots of levels. If it's tall the hamster will climb the bars and fall and get injured. It is better that it is low and wide. ie more floor space, less height. Also many of them have fancy colourful tubes etc and look fun but aren't suitable either! They do much better with cardboard toilet roll tubes on the floor of the cage than long plastic tubes.

The height of the cage shouldn't be more than 40cm.

I have seen this cage on a Singapore website. It is a bit small still but a better size. So something like that but a bit longer would be good.

Bernie Hamster Cage - MOOMOOPETS.SG Singapore's Online Pet Supplies Shop

As mentioned earlier, in some countries, Singapore included, the only commercial pet cages are all very small (as in the floor area is small - taller is not "bigger" ).

Hazel Hamster is good! That's a good choice - it has everything needed in it and it's sugar-free.

He might tear up the toilet paper but that would be fun for him! He has something to do . With toilet paper, it is best to take a few sheets of it and tear them into strips yourself. Then you have a pile of toilet paper strips. Put those in the cage in a corner maybe, but not inside his house. He may nest in it, he may take some to his nest, he may pouch some (it is safe if swallowed so don't worry) and take it to his nest. Or he may dig in it and make a burrow. Or he may ignore it completely!

What material does he have for his nest at the moment? In the ceramic hide?

[Ryan tan]

I did try to give him some cardboard to bite on (not toilet paper rolls just a piece of cardboard from a cardboard box) but he was completely uninterested and just continued to bite on the cage. Could it have been because the piece of cardboard was too big?

unfortunately I do not know what material the current substrate is but I did pick some up earlier and it wasn't hard. It broke apart pretty easily. About the toilet paper, I shouldn't cover everything (as in the ground and not literally everything) with toilet paper? just a section of the cage?

[Pebbles82]

I found this link to the Hamster Society of Singapore The first link explains about hamster care. The second one links good sized cages available in Singapore. However as you can see, they are mostly imported and are quite expensive - if money is no object there is a good choice! But money usually is an object. You might still find some help on there, or some links. It does list pet stores.

https://www.hamstersociety.sg/hamste...r-cages-part-1

https://www.hamstersociety.sg/hamste...-cages-part-ii

Ideally a cage for a dwarf hamster would be at least 70cm longest side, 40 cm deep (width) and no more than 40cm tall.

However some dwarf hamster owners find that a cage slightly smaller than that is ok as well and it can depend on the personality of the hamster. The cage I linked above is the same size as a "mini duna" cage in the Uk. Most people would think that is a bit small and 70 x 40 would be better if possible. But some dwarf owners would think a cage the size of a mini duna would be ok.

If he is biting the bars then giving him something to chew won't distract him. The toilet roll tube etc is to leave in the cage so he can play with it at other times, or just run through it as a tunnel (they like running through short tunnels).

How much is he biting the bars? All the time or just sometimes? Do you have a large box that is high enough he can't escape from? If so you could maybe let him out of the cage into the large box and use it as a play bin/taming bin for a short time. He is bar biting to get out because he feels cramped and there's not much to do.

Some people "weave" pieces of cardboard around the bars where the hamster is biting, which can slow them up or stop them, but usually they just move to a different area of the cage and bite the bars there. You could try weaving the cardboard in the bars.