Introduction!

Killjoy · 01-15-2016, 02:15 PM

Hello!
My name is Cara and I am 16. I am going to buy my first hamster (or two) very shortly and I thought it would be helpful to sign up here in case I have any queries or problems.
I am hoping to buy a dwarf hamster but I am not 100% sure which species I will be getting at the moment.
In the past my sister had a winter white dwarf hamster (don't kill me if that is not the correct name as I know there are many nicknames/ unofficial names that seem to annoy people!) so we have a cage. However, we did not do much research so I might have a few questions!

Finally- I know that I will call one of my future hamsters Ferris (after Ferris Bueller) if it is male or female but if I get another I haven't decided on a name.

Thanks x

xbuttons94 · 01-15-2016, 04:09 PM

Hi and welcome! I can't wait to see pictures of your hamster(s)! You have come to the right place for advice, tips and general chat and sharing our love of hamsters

People here are so kind, supportive and they won't put you down for anything but will guide you in the right direction. HC is a lovely community so I'm sure you will enjoy your time here! Looking forward to seeing you more in the forums. All the best! x

Thin Lizzy · 01-15-2016, 11:42 PM

Hiya Cara and Welcome to HC!
You'll get plenty of wonderful advice here if you need it!

cypher · 01-16-2016, 12:12 AM

Hi & welcome to the forum

Look forward to hearing more about which species you choose, if you've only had a little experience with dwarf hams I would suggest just getting one, they do live very happily alone & keeping pairs is quite demanding, takes a lot of careful preparation & you always have to be ready to separate them if need be.
Having just the one probably allows you more interaction & fun with your ham

Do you know what cage you have? Things have changed over time & recommended cage sizes may be different to when you had a ham before, even a tiny dwarf needs quite a good size cage.

Look forward to hearing all about your ham/s when you choose!

Elliiy · 01-16-2016, 12:15 AM

Hello welcome to hc everyone here is very kind and more than willing to answer any questions you may have other than that hope you like this forum and can't wait to see your little hammy or hammies

velma · 01-16-2016, 12:40 AM

Hello! Welcome to HC. Like cypher said, take a little time to read through the boards for what you need as things have changed a lot of the years. If you end up with a pair of dwarf hamsters, just be sure you have the space and money for a second cage as fallouts are likely & they do need to be separated. But if you do get two, I'd says he second name would have to be Sloane for a girl & Fry for a boy!

Killjoy · 01-16-2016, 08:34 AM

Thanks everyone who has replied!

My mum was determined for us to get 2 hamsters and today we bought a lovely pair of female winter whites. Even though they are female we had settled on Ferris so we decided to keep that name and we called the other one Ziggy because of David Bowie.. In the end we only liked the more male names.

We have also bought a new cage as we weren't 100% sure the old one was suitable- Better safe than sorry!

@Velma- We did think of Sloane! But it's not really a nice name..

flowerfairy · 01-16-2016, 01:59 PM

Congratulations on your new additions. What cage have you got them in?

Killjoy · 01-16-2016, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flowerfairy

Congratulations on your new additions. What cage have you got them in?

Thank you~
It is a Pets At Home cage and is 750cm2
It is the medium one here (Also it is the grey one if you are interested in the colour).

It is probably on the small side for two dwarf hamsters but we did ask and the man in the shop said it was a good size (but of course he might not be correct). If they fight we do have a spare cage though.

cypher · 01-16-2016, 11:26 PM

Congrats on the new hams!

Unfortunately that cage is really too small for one dwarf ham (ideally you want something around 80x50cm) & way too small for two, I really think you may have problems keeping two together in there.
What do you have in the cage? Ideally to keep a pair content together without them squabbling, seriously fighting or getting territorial you need a nice large space, no levels & two of everything, scatter feed rather than using bowls all of which does require a fair bit of space.