Me and my Shadow

[LucyToons]

Well I took the plunge and got a hamster (to add the cat (Nova) and rabbit (Angel) I already have ).

He is 8/9 weeks old from Pets at Home and his name is Shadow.

I bought his cage/home a couple of weeks ago when they were on reduced from £37 to £25, I have had him for 3 days now and he is settling in well.

I have not had a hamster for about 20 years so it feels new again, although I started off with the basics in his home I have added a new item each day, this is the setup so far



On the first day I added the wooden stick, yesterday I added the tubes to the side of his cage and today I added the food stick.

So far he seems happy

[Thin Lizzy]

Hi LucyToons and Welcome to HC.
Congratulations on Shadow who's gorgeous!

[chi0]

welcome to hc! shadow is so cute, i can't wait to see more of him!

[AprilPearl]

Hi Lucy, Shadow is lovely! I am in a similar position to you, in that I have not had a hamster for many years, but 2 weeks ago purchased Mushu (my current hamster) from Pets at Home. I even bought the same cage!

Just wanted to say that you will want to buy a bigger cage for shadow. Of course, the pets at home large wire cage is the biggest they sell in store (or at least, in the store I went to), but it still is not big enough for a permanent home. And the wheel is so tiny that at 12 weeks old, my Mushu has pretty much grown out of his. Also, running on small wheel can cause spinal damage.

See this thread on the cage in question: Pets At Home "Large" Wire Hamster Cage

I’ve ordered the Alaska cage off Zooplus (which is still much smaller than I’d like and certainly smaller than the majority of HC memebers’ cages, but the biggest I can accommodate) and the 12 inch silent runner wheel, which is one of the best wheels on the market, elsewhere.
See both here:

Alaska Hamster Cage | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!

Silent Runner 12 Inch

You can buy cage mounting plates from the same website to attach the wheel to the side of the cage, or just have it free standing.

Looking forwards to updates on shadow!

[cypher]

Welcome to HC & congrats on getting Shadow, he looks really sweet

You may want to upgrade your cage & wheel at some point (I'm guessing that one won't be big enough for long) the main thing I would suggest though is lots more substrate & a big pile of shredded plain white toilet tissue to make a nest, it may be difficult with the way that wheel is positioned but if you can find a way just fill the base of the cage with substrate.

[BorisPasha]

Hello and welcome to HC

[PanLuna]

I've been here since 2013, but haven't posted since my last hamster died, so in a way, I'm new too. Your hamster is really cute and it reminds me of my Pandora. (My user name is made up of her and my past dwarf Luna.) My newest hammy is called Mogget.

Welcome to the forum!

[LucyToons]

H, thank you all for the nice welcome

AprilPearl when I put Shadow in his home I did fee it was too small, but this was the biggest one they had my Pets at Home also, I am looking at getting a one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...J6GSO7EV&psc=1 in the next 2 or 3 weeks once I have some new storage units put together and will possibly find a way to connect his current home to it to give him more space.

I do have a 28cm wheel ordered from Amazon which seems quite big so I am not sure if it will fit in his current home but I will find a way lol

I gave him the chance to go in his exercise ball last night for 10 minutes and he even let me hold him for a few minutes, after I put him back in his home though he wanted to come back out so he got another 10 minutes in his exercise ball lol, this will be an evening regular for him increasing to 15 minutes a time eventually and in between allowing him back in his home to use his potty and have something to eat/drink as when i put him back in after 10 minutes he went straight for his water.

So far so good he seems to have settled in well, I had to move bits in his home around a bit yesterday to accommodate his sand bath and hopefully allow enough space for his wheel, I have moved the current wheel up to above the platform to allow more room downstairs, what is substrate exactly? when I had hamsters when I was younger we always just used the woodchip I have now and never had any problems but when he tries to dig he does end up with bits all over his head lol, I don't wan to make it any deeper though if it will cause him health problems so will nip wednesday to see if I can get the more suitable stuff.

[Drago]

Hello and welcome to HC! Glad to heard he's settling in

As for substrate, it's just another term for bedding. Aspen wood shavings are perfectly fine to use, but the best substrate in the UK is Fitch. It's soft, not dusty, cheap, and holds tunnels very well. There's really no such thing as too much bedding, especially for a Syrian hamster! Syrians should have a bare minimum of 8-10 inches of bedding, but it's really best to have 12 inches or more. No harm in adding more bedding, but you'll be able to add the optimum amount once you've gotten your permanent cage. Good luck



Edit: I'd like to second cypher's suggestion on the playpen, it's definitely much more stimulating than a ball. Hamsters explore using scent and by touching objects with their whiskers, and balls don't generally allow this. It's sort of like running about blind in all honesty! Not very stimulating unfortunately, but playpens are very simple to make. Here's a thread on it Stylish playpen

[cypher]

I wouldn't recommend that wooden cage from Amazon, wood needs to be treated with either Plastikote or cuprinol garden shades to water proof it & there is always the potential problem of chewing plus a hamster needs one large floor space not lots of shelves or smaller areas ideally, I'd have a look at the cages recommended before, Barney & Alaska from zooplus are really good options.

Have you thought about a play pen? Best to make one as those sold for hams aren't suitable for syrians, it would be a lot more fun for your ham & give you a chance to interact rather than just having him run around in the ball.