Hi!

JustinThyme · 03-25-2018, 06:54 AM

Hi, I live in York, Uk, and am hoping to get a hamster for myself soon. Unfortunately I can't drive, so this does rather limit my search... (there's a 24hr open vets4pets in walking distance, and a pets at home to get food/supplies/toys, so I should be fairly well set, once I can get one!)

I also keep a 4 year old human in my house, who I fully expect to be very excited about a hamster for maybe half an hour, before getting told off for going near and getting bored

It's not for them, anyway.

SKB_Hamsters · 03-27-2018, 08:07 AM

Hello and Welcome to Hamster Central - you must be very excited to bring your new family member home for yourself.

CMB · 03-27-2018, 08:11 AM

Hope you can get a hamster soon. Have you decided on what species of hamster you are getting? If you get a Syrian. You will need a bigger wheel, hides/house and toys.

Pets At Home unfortunately have a lot of hamster cages that are too small. They do have some rat cages that could be ok for a hamster.

The zooplus website have some good sized cages (Alaska, Barney). They deliver, so you wouldn’t have to carry a large cage home.

cypher · 03-27-2018, 08:35 AM

Hi & welcome to the forum

Look forward to hearing about your ham when you bring one home.

JustinThyme · 03-27-2018, 02:31 PM

I got her about 24 hours ago - her last owner was selling her on gumtree as her grandson had lost interest in the month since she'd bought her.

She was in a tiny cage, with a minimal amount of wood shavings, then piles of damp (and full of poo) cotton wool to bed in ��. I hadn't been planning on getting a hamster quite so soon, so I've popped her over to a slightly bigger cage I had bought from pets at home (intending to use as a travel/ use while cleaning cage) . Moved over what clean safe substrate I could find and her toys, and popped in the "house" my kid had helped me make out of a small cardboard box - he drew Windows and a door on the outside, and cut out a big hole for her to get through.

She seems pretty happy now, I put a bowl of sand in earlier todayand the last few hours she's been in there often, and pooping in there (which will make cleaning out easier)

Waiting on the Barney cage to arrive to move her into - I may wait a week or so, try and avoid stressing her out too much with constant housing changes - as well as a whole new environment.

I called her Elphaba (elf-aba), or Elfie for short. I am very happy with her, she's very cute.

Only big issue is that I haven't seen any wet spots yet - could she be burrowing down into her bedding to pee? She's been drinking and pooing and I haven't seen anything that makes me think she's distressed.. so it could just be that I haven't found it yet? I'm sort of hoping that she'll decide that the sand is a great place To use as a toilet

Rads · 03-27-2018, 06:15 PM

Congrats on you rescuing Elfie by the sounds of it her previous owner did not have a clue...!
She may well be peeing in her nest, this is not unusual, they also do like to have a toilet spot quite often in a corner of their cage, once she is in her spacious Barney environment she will soon settle down and make it her own.
Are you giving her any fresh food yet? Cucumber is a good start sweetcorn peas too Ghost has them defrosted to room temp and scoffs them...!
Looking forward to her of Elfie's adventures

cypher · 03-27-2018, 10:03 PM

Congrats on getting Elphaba

I'm sure she'll settle in soon & being in a smaller cage for a little while may help if she's been used to something tiny.
Not seeing any pee in just 24 hours doesn't surprise me at all, the don't drink or pee that much at all & it may take a while for her to settle on a permanent pee spot, nothing to worry about at all.