Dragon swoops in.

[bulby]

My newest (and cutest) addition to my family.

Dragon is the first hamster I've ever owned, bought from my local pets at home shortly after work one day as a surprise (I was surprised I left the shop with a hamster). There was some debate at the shop as to whether Dragon is a boy or a girl and so far I haven't been able to tame him enough to find out for sure either way.

He lives in a two story bin cage with a rotastak pod on top and loads of toys and hidey holes yet only seems interested in his wheel, staring at me through the walls, sleeping, or chewing on the bars u_u

Dragon's markings are absolutely adorable and I'd be interested to know if there was a name for this type of colouring?

[Thin Lizzy]

He's beautiful! Lovely colouring.

[CMB]

He is lovely. The wire shelf would be more comfortable and safe if it was covered. Your hamster could get he's foot or leg stuck in the gaps and hurt himself.

a grass mat or even cardboard could cover the shelf.

[oddlyoblivious]

What a handsome fellow!

[cypher]

Aw what a little beauty, hello Dragon

How long have you had him now? If he is indeed a he it will be quite obvious as he gets a little older!

I agree about the shelf, you could put some card or something like a piece of hemp mat on there.

[freyashamsters]

Aw he is adorable A hemp mat over the level could prevent bumble foot and injuries

[bulby]

Ah, I'll get right on that straight after work today! I was using his bin for gerbils originally and they always had the ledge completely covered with substrate. (Don't worry, it's been fully cleaned and disinfected since). Cardboard will do fine for now, but what would you suggest the best thing to use that it won't matter if it gets slightly wet?

I've had him for 20 days now, since the 2nd of May. To start with whenever I would put my hand anywhere in the cage he would rear up on his hind legs and show his teeth to me but I've read that that's just a sign of him feeling threatened/being nervous?

I'm trying to only clean him out every two weeks even though at the store they told me to clean his cage every week I've heard that can be super stressful, especially after just settling in.

[SKB_Hamsters]

Dragon is beautiful, love his colouring.

Covering the shelf with cardboard would be fine, but you might need to change it regularly if it does become wet, I don't know what other material you can cover it with or could make a wooden DIY cage platform.

It's recommended to do a full clean monthly as this is less stressful as your hamsters scent will remain the cage. But weekly you would spot clean the area he is using as his toilet and change his nest if that becomes dirty (but you can leave his nest longer if it still clean and doesn't smell)

You could try to get a picture of him from behind that might help determine whether Dragon is a he or she. But as Cypher said males get more obvious as they age.

Dragon was probably scared when you put your hand in his cage as this pose - if they were in the wild - would makes them seem bigger and to warm predators not to mess with them also he hasn't had much human interacting before so he was unsure as what you are. Is he still doing this when you put your hand in his cage?
If he is - Have you tried the tissue trick putting a peice of White unscented tissue up your sleeve and giving that to him so he gets to know your scent. Try offering him a treat as Dragon will soon associate you with good things like treats.

Can't wait to see more photos of Dragon as he is adorable!

[cypher]

If the shelf is going to get a bit wet then it might be best to just use card so you can replace it if need be although hemp mat would dry out quickly if it was just a bit damp like you get with the odd drip from a bottle.

You really don't need to clean him out every two weeks, have you found a pee corner or put a litter tray in yet?
Once you know where they pee & they usually settle on one spot you can just spot clean that area daily & only need to a partial cage clean about once a month, the smaller the cage the more it will need cleaning but you should never clean it all at once & if you clean the nest area always put some of the old nest back, the same goes for the food hoard, either leave it be or put some fresh mix back in the same place.
That will reduce the stress of cleaning.

It may be difficult with your set up but always try to approach from the side rather than above when you put your hand in, it's much less frightening for them.
Have you done the tissue trick with him? That's putting some toilet tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then putting it in the cage, repeat that daily for a while & they soon get more used to your scent & stopped being frightened by it.

Hope that helps a bit.

Cross post with SKB!

[pinkneon]

Awwww what a little cutie! Hi, Dragon! My Sweep (Syrian) waves a paw!