Help! I rescued a Syrian

[alpacassei]

Today I rescued a female Syrian, I haven't named her yet but her previous name was Millie. She's white with mottled light brown-grey fur on her head and her face is kind of rat-ish and very cute

Her previous owners kept her in a tiny cage with no toys and just threw a handful of food in once a week or so. They never interacted with her either for the entire 6 months they had her because she bit them once. The owner also had an obese Russian Hybrid that's sadly still at the pet shop (if he's still there in a few weeks, I'll probably buy him tbh).

She's slightly underweight and her teeth are quite long and yellow, and she has an injury on one of her toes (it's slightly cut and bruised but it's not infected so it should heal well). Her teeth aren't long enough to stop her from eating and she's been given lots of chews so hopefully her teeth will shorten?

I'm feeding her Harry Hamster with mealworms for protein and I'll give her some fresh carrot when I'm cooking dinner tonight. She's in a 70 x 40 bin cage but I'm going to expand it once she's settled and adjusted to her new home because I think it's too small for a Syrian. I'll make a post later with how I'm planning on extending the cage.

I haven't had a Syrian since I was 14 so any advice would helpful.

[Drago]

Congrats on giving her another shot at life! It's terribly sad to hear how some people treat innocent animals yellow teeth in hamsters are a good sign, in fact it would be bad if her teeth were white instead! As for their length though, it's important that you get them trim very soon. Some hamsters will chew wooden toys happily, but others will mostly ignore them, and with her teeth as bad as they are, it's important she's chewing something. I'd recommend buying her greenies or whimzees so she can put those teeth to good use and get a healthy treat too! If after a week or two, her teeth haven't trimmed, you may need to take her to a vet to get them clipped. It sounds like you're doing all the right things thus far, make sure to let her be alone for a week or so, this way she can settle in. Once again, it's a very kind and honorable thing you've done to take her in. Keep us updated on how she's doing

[Cinnamon Bear]

I'm glad that you rescued him, hope you decide to also get the Russian that they abandoned. I agree with Drago, a lot of times hammys don't chew on their wood toys although many do. A trip to the vet for a health check and teeth & maybe nails trimmed might not be a bad idea. I'd also keep an eye out for parasites, keep an eye on her for excessive scratching.

If you do get the Russian quarantine it to make sure that she is heathy as well before putting them in the same room. What a nice thing to do

[alpacassei]

Originally Posted by Drago

yellow teeth in hamsters are a good sign, in fact it would be bad if her teeth were white instead! Some hamsters will chew wooden toys happily, but others will mostly ignore them, and with her teeth as bad as they are, it's important she's chewing something. I'd recommend buying her greenies or whimzees so she can put those teeth to good use and get a healthy treat too! If after a week or two, her teeth haven't trimmed, you may need to take her to a vet to get them clipped.

That's good, I was worried she had bad teeth since my Russians' teeth aren't as dark as hers She has greenies and wooden chews and she's been chewing both of them which is good.

She's settling pretty well, she's very sensitive to noise though so I think her previous house must've been very loud.

What toys are good for Syrians? My other hamsters are all Russian's so their toys are mostly too small.

[Pebbles82]

These were our Syrians favourite toys Rat sputnik and hyacinth tunnel (the small size tunnel is plenty big enough even for a large Syrian). It has holes in the side to go in and out of and is chewable as well.

Rat rations let you choose the top and bottom colours of the rat sputnik.

Sputnik - XL - £4.99 : ratRations.com

This is what they look like hanging in a cage. They work best next to a shelf so they can get access to it easily

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ra...CRBksQ_AUIBigB

Hyacinth tunnel small

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Small-Ani...yacinth+tunnel

Other than that, generally hidey places, a good sized house to build a big nest in, lots and lots of substrate and a shelf or level - plus chews.

[AmityvilleHams]

Greenies actually do very minimal teeth trimming.They're softer than Whimzees and have gelatin(a product of boiled bones,actually)which make them very flexible and terrible for keeping teeth trimmed Whimzees are much better,safer,and do a lot more for teeth trimming!

[alpacassei]

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

Greenies actually do very minimal teeth trimming.They're softer than Whimzees and have gelatin(a product of boiled bones,actually)which make them very flexible and terrible for keeping teeth trimmed Whimzees are much better,safer,and do a lot more for teeth trimming!

Yeah, I noticed it was a lot softer when I gave it to her I usually give my hamsters whimzees but I had none left and a spare greenie that I was gonna give to my dog (sorry Ben) so I thought it was better than nothing. I'm going into town tomorrow for uni so I can pick up more whimzees then

[AmityvilleHams]

Hopefully you'll be able to get a good supply of them!I know my hamster and dog both adore Whimzees(though the dog is a heavy chewer but not too big and does destroy the smaller ones pretty quick).

[ladyntramp002]

I swear by Whimzees! All my hamsters have absolutely adored them! Plus they wear there teeth down nicely and are safe for the hammies to ingest. Another great edible chew is dog Milk Bone biscuits. I know this sounds unconventional or whatever but all our families hams love them!


I am so glad that you rescued you ham! I can't wait to see pics and stuff!

[AmityvilleHams]

Milk Bones are not good.They contain biproducts(unspecified,therefore unsafe)and unsafe preservatives.Instead,look towards high quality natural biscuits There are plenty options in various countries,but they must be completely safe which Milk Bones are not!

By the way you won't specifically see those things on Milk Bones in the UK.There are label loopholes(EC permitted antioxidants/additives/etc for example)which allow unspecified preservatives to go into products.EC permitted includes ethoxyquin/BHA/BHT and therefore should be automatically considered unsafe.You won't see specifically labelled biproducts in the UK either,instead you'll see something like animal digest.This is just as bad as biproducts and is a loophole to include slaughterhouse waste and all the undesirables.