Hi from Claire and Dave the hamster

[Clairetaylor37]

Hi folks,

I'm new to this forum and am after a quick bit of advice.
I recently adopted a dwarf hamster from pets at home and I have noticed he grooms a lot and over uses his sand bath.

I use the naturals range bedding which is made of Kapoc pods. Could he be allergic to it? I've always just used the standard stuff but got this as the staff said it was good.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance x

[souffle]

Welcome
Dwarf hamsters are quite fastidious and do groom a lot particularly if you clean them out too much and they lose their scent around the cage. In warm weather they will sand bath to try and cool themselves too.
I wouldn't use the kapok bedding as despite what it says on the pack I wouldn't consider it safe for hamsters. They are not like other rodents in that they pouch bedding and can swallow it and get blockages as well as it tangling in the teeth and pouches and causing choking. It can easily tangle round tiny toes too.
Best thing is cheap loo roll ripped up. If you put some in water you will notice this virtually dissolves and that is what you want to see. If you put the fibres in water I bet that doesn't.
Check the skin for signs of redness or small scabs and if you find anything then it may be an idea to have him checked out at a vet however if the skin seems clear he is likely fine.
I would use a food without added sugars like Harry hamster or burgess dwarf with him. Fresh food are enjoyed too and you will find a list to try (one at a time) on the feeding boards.

[cypher]

Welcome to HC & congrats on your new ham

As souffle said they are fastidious & spend a lot of time grooming they also just enjoy the sand so will often spend time in the sand bath, rolling, digging or even just lying or sitting & eating their food just because they like it!

I agree about kapok, I know some consider it safe but I really don't think it's worth the risk, far better to stick to shredded toilet paper which they love to pouch & carry off to the nest.

Which substrate are you using? It is unusual but some hams can be allergic to wood shavings so it is possible that could cause him some irritation.

It sounds most likely that he's just doing the normal ham things & probably scent marking his new home a lot, do keep cleaning to a minimum for at least a month, just spot clean pee really & he should settle down.

As long as his skin & fur look ok I don't think you need worry.

[Pebbles82]

I think the others have said it all really How do you mean by over-uses his sandbath? Dwarf hammies do like a sandbath and do groom a lot. If you have wood shavings as a substrate your hammy might be allergic to it. They can be allergic to any kind of wood, even hardwood. Carefresh or Fitch are good alternatives. Fitch is like Carefresh but is recycled food grade paper and has no dust - it's also a lot cheaper as sold in bulk.

I would also remove the Kapok bedding. "Natural" isn't always safe unfortunately. As Souffle says, torn up strips of plain white toilet paper are best. Put a heap of that in the cage somewhere and your hammy will pouch some and take it to her house and build a new nest with it.

Cage cleans can stress them, especially in the first two weeks. For the first two weeks it's usually advised not to do any cleaning, while they scent mark to find their way around and to settle in and familiarise. After that you can "spot clean" mostly - taking the odd handful of pee'd on substrate out and replacing it with a new handful.

You don't need to do "big" cleanouts so often then. Even then I wouldn't clean everything at the same time. So maybe do the substrate (I put some of the old dry substrate back as well on top, so it still smells familiar), clean the wheel a different week and the toys a different week again. That way something always smells familiar and it's less stressful. It's best not to remove the nest or hoard unless they're pee'd on, and then try and leave a little bit of the old nest behind and put more toilet paper strips out for her to rebuild it. Dry hoard can be left for really quite a long time. If you do need to move some hoard if it's soiled, then replace it with new dry food in the same place - otherwise if they think it's been pinched they can start peeing on it and then it's catch 22 for a while!

They use a litter tray if you put it in the place they've chosen as a pee location - although I'm not so sure if this works as well with dwarfies as Syrians. Sometimes they'll use the sand bath as a potty too.

Apart from grooming a lot does she seem ok?

[Clairetaylor37]

Thanks everyone- you are very helpful.

I have had 3 dwarf hamsters over the years so am just comparing although I am sure they are all different just like us!!

My last one was super friendly and sociable- he would be up on his toes looking for me whenever I walked by his cage.

This one however tries his best to pretend I don't exist!!

He doesn't hiss or bite - he just tries to hide!!

And as I previously said, he grooms and scratches a lot as if trying to distract from what is going on.

I try and handle him each day but I really don't think he likes human contact

If I feed him a mealworm he comes over but that's it!

I will change the bedding to see if that helps with the scratching

He has sawdust but he had that at pets at home and was ok.

Oh and he is an acrobat- he did a back flip out of my hand and fell onto a hard floor 😐 I checked him over and he seemed ok (running, eating etc) but he frightened me as none of my others have ever done that!!

Anyway, thanks a million

Claire

[CMB]

Congratulations on getting a hamster. I recently got a dwarf hamster from Pets At Home. I to was told about the kapok bedding pods.

I knew that fluffy/cotton wool looking bedding was unsafe and thought that the kapok bedding pods looked similar, so I didn't buy it. I bought the paper strip bedding. It is long, so I tear it into small pieces about 2 inches long.

Once you have a name for your hamster. You could start a thread for him/her.

All the best with your new hamster.

[dreamtree1234]

Clairetaylor, hi and welcome to HC. Congrats on adopting Dave.

Since your question has been answered, I won't reiterate the thorough answers that others have given you. If you have any other concerns, please don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck, and have fun playing with Dave. I look forward to seeing you around the forum and hearing about and seeing pics of your tiny furball. Eros says HI to you both.

[Thin Lizzy]

Hi Claire and Welcome to HC.
Congratulations on adopting a dwarf hamster. Looking
Forward to pics of Dave once he's settled in to his forever home