I'm new to hamsters!

[wfj101]

Yesterday I got a Syrian hamster. I decided to call him Leicester because of his orange and white fur. He has just settled into his new home. I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips for looking after him.

[SKB_Hamsters]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Can't wait to hear more about Leicester and see a photo.
If you have any questions we are happy to help!

A few little tips - leave him alone for 4 to 7 days to settle in (this depends upon each individual hamster) but you can talk softly to him. Also the tissue trick works well to get him used to your scent, put a unscented white tissue up your sleeve for a while a put it in his cage so he can use it for nesting material this way he will get used to your scent.

[wfj101]

Originally Posted by SKB_Hamsters

Hello and welcome to the forum. Can't wait to hear more about Leicester and see a photo.
If you have any questions we are happy to help!

A few little tips - leave him alone for 4 to 7 days to settle in (this depends upon each individual hamster) but you can talk softly to him. Also the tissue trick works well to get him used to your scent, put a unscented white tissue up your sleeve for a while a put it in his cage so he can use it for nesting material this way he will get used to your scent.

Thanks! Leicester's feeling calmer and more at home now

[cypher]

Welcome to the forum & congrats
Look forward to meeting Leicester!

You'll find plenty of info to help you on your way to learning how to care for him here, if you have any questions ask away

[Thin Lizzy]

Hello and Welcome! Congratulations on Leicester!

[Pebbles82]

Hello and welcome They do need 2 or 3 days left alone to settle in. After that you can start offering the odd treat through the bars maybe. Then after a week or so you could try offering one on the palm of your hand and see if he puts his paws on your hand. They generally don't like a hand in their cage too much, so if you can do it just inside a door that helps

The main thing is - don't do a cage clean for the first two weeks. If after a week or so it starts to get a bit whiffy, you could spot clean the wee area - just take a handful or two of wet substrate (not all of it - a little bit left helps keep it smelling familiar), add another handful or two and mix it in a bit.

They need about two weeks to really get familiar with the cage and scent mark it so they can find their way around.

My biggest tip would be use a hamster potty litter tray - you put it in the place where he has chosen to wee (usually a corner somewhere). Most people put chinchilla bathing sand in the potty. Then you just clean out the potty about every 4 or 5 days (sometimes it can go a week). And the rest of the cage can stay a lot cleaner. They often pee in their wheels but the occasional wipe out in between cage cleans usually suffices. I wouldn't clean the wheel for the first week or two though.

After he is happy taking treats from your hand you could start on some gentle taming - this is best done out of the cage. So if he will walk into a tube or a hamster ball (or hop into a ball if the cage door is open) you could transport him to a playpen area or the dry bathtub that way.

I've added Erin's hamsters cage cleaning tips video - worked wonders for our hammy who got stressed by changes and cage cleans - most do but some more than others.

I also added a little video I did on how we tamed our Syrian - it's not great quality but has a few tips - most of which I got from this site

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjyEme2xcq4

Before they're tame they can suddenly leap high so any handling or out of cage time needs to be low down over something soft like cushions.

[Pebbles82]

Other than that - lots of substrate, a big pile of torn up white toilet paper in a heap in the cage (so he can take it to build a nest), a good hamster mix (I use Tiny Friends Harry Hamster which has good sized pieces for a Syrian and no sugar). A water bottle (check it is working ok every day). And a good sized house/hide to nest in that's dark inside.

I'm sure others will have tips on diet and supplementing as well. A bit of fresh veg every 2 or 3 days is good, but only a very tiny amount. There's a safe list of fresh foods on here. Broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, cucumber are all fine. About a thumbnail sized piece or 1cm cubed size whichever is easiest to imagine.

This is the potty litter tray I have - ours likes to pee in the back corner and sit in the front part for a wash

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00178PJ...=hamster+potty

This is the Chinchilla bathing sand. It's an add-on item at Amazon but there are other sellers if you click the link, or viovet sell it, or you might find it locally in a pet shop. I think it's been rebranded recently so might say "Tiny Friends" on it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Supreme-Pet...a+bathing+sand

And don't use anything that says "fluffy bedding" even if it says it's safe - it isn't! Plain white toilet paper torn up is safest.

[Lala Noma]

Hello, welcome!