Hello friends :)

[dawnpaw]

Hi everybody!

I'm in college and I just adopted/inherited a Syrian black bear hamster from some people in my dorm who realized they really didn't want to care for the hamster they bought a few months ago. That is easily my biggest pet peeve (pun intended ) but that's a rant for another occasion.

Anyway so now I have an adorable hamster, Rubi! I had gerbils and dwarf hamsters as a little kid, but from my more recent experiences with owning hermit crabs I've come to realize there is a lot that people are often ignorant about when it comes small 'throw away' pets. I don't want to be that person, so I googled hamster care forums and found this place!

I didn't get a lot of info on Rubi (it was a friend of a friend of a friend situation) but I would assume she came from a pet store and is probably less than a year old. She's living in this TINY wire cage, barely larger than a square foot, with a wheel that's way too small as well. I'm watching her run in it now and she has to kind of bend sideways and stick her head out to fit She came with some basic seed mix food and a bag of shavings. I'm not sure what type of wood the shavings are, but they don't smell like pine. Unfortunately I'm not sure what cedar smells like.

So the obvious things that need to be done that I can figure out from browsing on here are:

- new cage! ( I have a 20 gallon long aquarium at home, would that be an ok size?)
- new bedding (I've seen so many possibilities here, is anything good so long as its not pine/cedar/cotton fiber?)
- New syrian sized wheel (any recommendations for relatively cheap silent ones? She's going to be living in my bedroom.
- Entertainment/ enrichment on a college budget (I'm planning on getting an exercise ball. What else do you guys use for out of cage playtime?)


The guys I got her from had a beer koozie in there as a house (typical college guys ) I swapped that out for a tissue box with some ripped up toilet paper inside, which is just about all that will fit in there along with the wheel, food dish, water bottle and a bit of space to walk around.

Any other things I missed that might make her happier in the short term? Unfortunately she's stuck in that cage for three more days until I go home for Thanksgiving break.


Thanks for reading that novel, and I'd appreciate any advice!

[Pygmypuff]

Hello there! Welcome!

Congratulations, that's just adorable. Rubi sounds lovely.

Good job looking for new things!
-Cage sounds good, 20 gallon is a fab size
-Anything is pretty good for bedding, yeah, as long as it's not scented
- For a Syrian sized wheel I'd personally recommend either a silent spinner (8 inches+), a flying saucer or both!
-Out of cage playtime is usually okay without toys, I find. For inside the cage I'd recommend some paper tubes (like toilet rolls/kitchen roll), and a wooden chew is needed to keep their teeth healthy.

~Olivia and Puff

[POLAR WHITES]

hi and welcome to the forum, the cage tank sounds a good size, and big enough to put in a large wheel, wheels I like are flying saucers and silent spinners also the comfort wheel is good, cheap toys are toilet roll balls, toilet roll tubes, cardboard boxes, etc, I personally don't like hamster balls I have heard to many horror stories about hamsters really hurting them selves in one,

[Shannonmcn]

I have the large Trixie wheel which isn't completely silent but it's 11 inches and they arent going to grow out of it. It doesn't keep me up at night unless she brings something in with her to rattle. There are a good few YouTube tutorials on how to make DIY toys from toilet roll tubes which are handy. A lot of people recommend dog biscuits or milk bones for chewing which are definitely cheaper than other boredom breakers and I'm switching to them soon (just watch there are no onion or garlic ingredients)!

I do use a ball and I have for all 3 of my Syrians so far without an issue but that's for someone to decide for themselves. I don't live in a perfectly rodent friendly household so the opportunities for free roaming are pretty limited.

[Skeever]

I have noticed that hams don't seem to prefer 'store bought' toys and enhancements over things found around the house...which is interesting. Tubes, boxes, boxes filled with litter for them to burrow, a ten gallon water bottle filled with litter and treats for running in and digging and hunting....they're all good. Some of their favorite toys have been compartmentalized Chinese takeaway boxes and a hanging toilet roll while they can often ignore store bought stuff....so the sky's the limit once safety is taken into account....Great to hear another ham got a real home ! Still I gotta try them on a saucer if I find the large one end of the month

[Thin Lizzy]

Hi dawnpaw and welcome to Hamster Central and welcome Rubi.
It really annoys me when people get hamsters and then change their minds.
Good on you for taking little Rubi on and giving her a chance.
Not all hamstes are the same when it comes to petshop/store toys, my2 love them and they also love the simple ones like toilet/kitchen rolls. Start of with the simple things and in time give petshop toys a try.
I do think the wooden toys are great for them to gnaw on.

Look forward to seeing the finished product.

[dawnpaw]

Wow guys thanks for all the replies!
Sounds like cardboard/paper tubes are still a hit, I remember my gerbil used to love those. Not sure if she'll be able to crawl through them but maybe I can try making some of those treat tubes I saw in the DIY section... love all the creative ideas on here!
I actually just got a poster in the mail today and it came in this nice large tube made of thick cardboard. I took off all the tape and stickers and can't wait to work it into the decorations in her new cage tomorrow! I'll be sure to post pictures once I get her new home all set up.

Until then, Here's the only picture I could get her to hold still for (sorry about the cage bars!)

I love her white socks, and the little white patch on her chest!

[gifinim]

Welcome, and well done you for rescuing that poor hamster!

As the others have said any cardboard boxes or tubes are worth a try for playthings - the more the merrier! Try connecting two boxes with tubes, or a couple of tubes into a box stuffed with bedding material that she can burrow into.

Watch out for other people giving her "treats", as they might not know what food is safe for hamsters.

[Thin Lizzy]

I find the toilet rolls a bit tight for my syrian hams to fit through but they fit through the large kitchen rolls and I love it when they go mad playing in them.