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Old 02-15-2017, 03:19 PM   #1
essentiallysue
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Default Today, I brought home Donna

I haven't had a Syrian hamster for a long time. I would appreciate your suggestions as to what she wants to play with, special foods she will like, and want to know if it is OK for her to live alone. Please bring me up to date.
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Old 02-15-2017, 03:27 PM   #2
Cinnamon Bear
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Default Re: Today, I brought home Donna

Syrians are solitary animals & must live alone. They don't get lonely, no worries

Welcome to HC
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Old 02-15-2017, 03:29 PM   #3
WelshHammi
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Default Re: Today, I brought home Donna

Hi
Syrian live alone! I have a female Syrian too! Mine loves her wheel and she had lots of substrate as she loves to dig! She has big tissue boxes with holes cut into and she loves nothing more that destroying it to reach tasty treats! Mine enjoys veggies like broccoli!

Apart from that mine is really fussy and loves nothing more than making chaos in her cage!

To keep her happy I normally get some big tubes like pringles and stuff with subtrate and her food then she has to dig to find it!
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Old 02-15-2017, 03:40 PM   #4
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Today, I brought home Donna

Syrians are a solitary species,so as for living alone it is mandatory once they're old enough to be weaned from a litter.

As for food,start with your high quality base diet(Harry/Hazel Hamster,for example,or a combination of foods using Higgins Sunburst and either Carefresh hamster food or Mazuri rat and mouse lab blocks).Then,you can figure out any safe foods that aren't already in the diet.In the case of Higgins and Carefresh you'll need to add animal protein regardless just to make it completely suitable,ideally Pure Bites freeze dried chicken or another product of the same quality(meaning pure chicken with no additives).

In terms of treats,do stick to high quality and beneficial ones only.I would skip out entirely on Milk Bones and stick to brands that do not have unsafe or questionable ingredients(as those do,including preservatives known to cause cancer and unspecified biproducts).It doesn't have to be expensive though,as Dollar General sell a box of small breed dog biscuits(make sure they're the ones with no unsafe ingredients,as not all of the flavors are safe).Those are very cheap and considerably higher quality than Milk Bones!Another option you should be able to get which is a bit pricier would be certain flavors of the Wet Noses dog biscuits.I'm not sure if you can get them anywhere but Petco,though they're very good biscuits which luckily do come in smaller $2 boxes.I've got the peanut butter & molasses flavor at the moment,and while the box is very tiny it could last a long time with hamsters due to how big the biscuits are(one biscuit would be four servings for a Syrian if you break it up,and the box comes with around 4-6 biscuits I think).The Dollar General ones are just as appreciated though if you'd rather not spend much on them

Gerber baby puffs,depending on flavor yet again,are also very popular!Some flavors aren't safe,but the good side of them is that they're fairly low in sugar as long as you don't feed a ridiculous amount(60 pieces or more,and even that in the organic apple flavor is just 1 gram of sugar).

Higgins Sunburst veggie stix are one of the less popular(but still eaten)treats that I've used.They're cheap if you get them from certain sources such as Petsupermarket or possibly Drs Foster and Smith,and unlike similar treats those are at least healthier and less sugary with no added dyes or flavors.

Going with the crunchy treat theme,Vitakraft AnimaLovens Garden Patch biscuits can be popular as well.They're not the healthiest treat out there but they're far from the worst,and while they do have added sugar there are no unsafe preservatives.They're a treat you could easily skip out on,but if you really wanted to try them it would be fine!

Tiny Friends Farms Gerty guinea pig biscuits(forget the exact name!)are also popular.Some of the Tiny Friends Farms line is unsafe,but these are fine and are definitely a favorite.

Whimzees dog chews are kind of an obvious one.They're available in bulk at a great price with some variety pack options depending on where you go and if there are sales,and they're much healthier than a lot of other storebought treats.These are definitely better than Greenies,and would provide a better surface for teeth wearing as they're much more stiff(Greenies contain gelatin,which makes them flexible and not as good for teeth wearing).
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Old 02-15-2017, 03:44 PM   #5
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Default Re: Today, I brought home Donna

A cardboard tube ( from toilet paper or kitchen towel) cut a slit along the length so she doesn't get stuck in the tube. You can also buy thick cardboard tubes for hamsters.

Hiding food can help keep them busy. There is a diy toy thread you could look at and also YouTube has diy hamster toys etc.

Hides, a digging area, a variety of chewing materials,a shelf/platform are often enjoyed.
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Old 02-15-2017, 03:45 PM   #6
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Default Re: Today, I brought home Donna

Hello and congrats on your new little ham! Syrians are solitary creatures and will fight if kept with one another if over the age of 8 weeks or so. When it comes to chews and toys, the key is a little bit of everything so you can learn your hams preference! Wooden chew blocks, loofah chews, apple sticks, cardboard, pumice, and natural toys such as coconut, seasgrass, and sisal all male wonderful sample chews! As for food, Hazel/Harry hamster is a superior food for Syrians and can be supplemented with vegetables several times a week, as well as a protein source like crickets, mealworms, chicken, or Tofu. Fruits can be fed once or twice a week as treats and hams tend to love them. You can also offer edible dog chews such as whimzees and greenies. These have the benefits of being both a chew toy AND a fun treat for your hamster. To tame her, start by leaving her alone for the first week so she can settle in. After the week is up, begin taming by standing near her cage, talking softly to her, and offering strips of tissue with your scent on it. Then as she becomes more comfortable feed her treats like cheerios and place your hand in her cage to sniff. For exercise, let her into a tub and sit there with her, letting her crawl about on you and become used to you even further. Then, once she's comfortable enough, you can pick her up, pet her, and hold her. Good luck taming her down and remember that patience is the key! If you have any more questions, ask away
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Old 02-15-2017, 04:17 PM   #7
essentiallysue
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You all are so wonderful! I used to come to this site regularly when I had dwarf hammies. I will take all your advice, and I know little Donna will be glad. I will keep you informed as to how she does. And maybe get a picture or two when she will let me.
Even though I have white mice, I have been visiting this site because your contributions are always interesting and good. Thank you again!

I have another question for you. Do Syrians chirp a lot. I hear her doing it and nothing seems to be wrong. Is this normal?

Last edited by souffle; 02-20-2017 at 10:29 AM.
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Old 02-18-2017, 09:10 AM   #8
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Default Re: Today, I brought home Donna

Syrians naturally make small clucks and chirps when they run all about and dig. They also do it to indicate curiosity. Sometimes clicks can be a sign of respiratory infection, but unless she seems to show other symptoms that are indicative of this, I wouldn't worry!
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Old 02-19-2017, 09:42 PM   #9
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Default Re: Today, I brought home Donna

Congratulations on your syrian Donna, looking forward to pics once she's settled.
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Old 02-23-2017, 02:38 AM   #10
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Today, I brought home Donna

Congratulations on your new hammy. She sounds rather vocal! I have heard of some chirruping frequently - talkative ones See if you can work out what she's talking about. It could be happiness over lots of substrate, it could be annoyance at something that isn't quite right in the cage or she could just be a chatterbox.

The fact they need to live alone can make them easier to bond with a human so that's a plus.

For her environment, the key really is lots and lots of substrate (not pine if you are in the US and not cedar), lots and lots of paper nesting material (torn up strips of plain white paper). Boxo is a popular substrate than can be bought in bulk. Otherwise Kaytee Clean n Cosy is good. Try and have min 4" and up to 6" if you can so she can burrow and build mountains.

Plus a good sized house/nesting box - somewhere dark she can hide and build a nice big nest. A good option for this is a shoebox. Cut the bottom out and a hole in the front. And have the open bottom on top of the substrate so she can bury hoards in her house. They like to snack and sleep in privacy The lid can be good as a lift-off roof, so you can check inside without taking the house out - that way her nest doesn't collapse.

Other than that toys are mainly tunnels or hidey places. Rat sized toys are good for Syrians - tubes need to be big enough so they don't get stuck with full pouches. Anything with entrance holes needs a hole of at least 6cm diameter (eg house windows). Tubes about 7cm plus diameter really.

A shelf a platform is quite important, it's something for them to sit under and also something to climb onto and can be a useful place to put a food dish so it doesn't tip over.

Enough floor space and a 10" to 12" wheel. Tall cages aren't good - they can fall and injure themselves. If it's taller than 40 to 45cm then you'd need a full level in it really.

Tanks are popular in the US and Petco do dollar per gallon sales so you can get a 40 gallon breeder tank for $40. It's about 3 feet long by 1 foot 6 inches deep.

The advantage of a tank is you can have really deep substrate so they can dig tunnels and burrows. But it can feel a bit exposed from the top so large floor tunnels, shelves and levels and plenty of hidey places on the floor can help them feel secure.

Cleaning is the big change probably. Don't overclean as it stresses them out. For the first 2 or 3 days leave them alone to settle in, then don't clean anything for the first two weeks, or move things around. They scent mark to get familiar with the cage and layout and cleaning and moving things disrupts their scent trail.

If a wee area gets a bit whiffy you can take a handful out and replace it with a clean handful and mix it in a bit.

Syrians tend to use a litter tray if you put one in the place they've chosen as a toilet. You can put Chinchilla sand in it (must be sand not dust). If it's big enough it could double up as a sand bath. Or likewise a sandbath could become a toilet. Or you could have both

The key with cleaning is - the more substrate you have, the less you need to do a full big cage clean. You can spot clean mostly. Poops aren't an issue, they're not dirty or smelly and they sometimes hoard them and eat them for extra vitamins.

Then when you do think it's time for a big clean (I go 3 to 4 months before doing one but our hammy used a litter tray), try and save some of the old substrate (maybe the bottom third) and mix it in with the new. Then do the toys a different week to the substrate and the wheel a different week again. In other words, don't clean everything all at the same time - leave some things familiar smelling.

It's a human instinct to feel satisfied at having the whole thing clean all at once, but it's very disruptive for the hamster. As if you came home and found your room had been decorated and all the furniture had been moved round and everything smelled perfumy - it wouldn't feel like your room and you'd feel a bit weird.

I just use a damp cloth or warm soapy water (eg dishwashing liquid) for cage cleaning - no need to use disinfectant unless there has been illness or disease. You need to avoid scented things.

I'd also use Harry or Hazel Hamster as a good basic mix. They are the same formula produced to different countries labelling requirements. Contains all nutrients required and just about enough protein.

Most people supplement a bit with a few extras - the ocasional mealworm, small piece of cheese or half a brazil nut adds protein. Also a small piece of fresh veg every day (every 2 or 3 days at first until her tummy gets used to it). I used to give a different one each day - out of carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, green beans. There are other veg's suitable but not tomatoes. Also cabbage and lettuce aren't that good for them and if used it should be rarely. Just a very small piece about 1cm cubed size (not necessarily that shape though!)

Pumpkin seeds are very popular and could be good for taming treats

Once she's settled in a bit for a few days you could start taming, if she isn't hand tame already. You can start by offering the odd treat through the bars. If it's a tank, hold the treat between finger and thumb maybe. Although sometimes they don't like a hand in the cage so in that case it might be easier to have her out of the cage and have treats on the palm of your hand.

Some people do the tissue trick to help them get used to your scent - some toilet paper sheets up your sleeve or down your bra for a couple of hours, then tear them into strips for nesting material and put them out in the cage. When she uses them your scent will become familiar.

Playpen or bathtub taming can help too - you can sit in the playpen or bathtub with her and let her run all over you. It needs to be secure though. So maybe on her own at first and just see if she gets used to being stroked while in there.
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