Multiple questions from a to be hamster owner

[Chun]

Hello everyone here! I have multiple questions about syrian hamsters, housing, food and home I suppose. I would appreciate any help possible.

Question 1: How much would I have to feed my hamster a day, I have heard that it whorls be 1-2 teaspoons a day but I am not sure...

Question 2: Does the hamster need to be able to look outside the cage? I am planning on getting a zoo zone 2 and I wonder if the substrate needs to be high enough for the clear plastic.

Question 3: How big in diameter, cm, does a plastic tube need to be all over?

Question 4: What is the rule with cardboard boxes? Does it have to be completely plain? Can I place tea boxes (they are “glossy” on the outside) in the cage is it only important the box is completely clear when cutting in it?

Question 5: Can I vacuum my room with the hamster in?

Question 6: What are the rules on hamster balls?

That is all from me, I would love responds on all questions, clearly, but anything helps ^7^

[cypher]

Hi & welcome to the forum
Syrian hamsters will eat about a tablespoon of food a day, to begin with they may need more so they can build up a bit of a hoard.

It's better if your ham can see out of the cage or tank, just filling the base part of the Zoozone up to the clear plastic should be ok.

Tubes should be at least 8cm I think, they do vary a lot in size & a larger ham may need tubes of closer to 10cm.

Hams soon get used to normal household noises so vacuuming is fine, I generally tend to begin by just doing another room close by & not going close to the cage for the first few ays or a week when I bring them home then I'll start in the next room before coming into the room where they are so they get some warning & then after doing that a few times they should be perfectly fine with it & not bothered at all.

Balls are highly controversial so you will possibly get varied opinions & just have to make up your own mine.
I personally don't think they offer any benefit & can be both stressful & dangerous, far better to use a playpen or other safe play area with toys & other things to explore.

[Brianh96]

one mistake i made years ago when i got my first hammy was the ball size . i got him the smallest ball thinking it wouldn't matter since he could just fit. he wouldn't run in his ball and i notice he would urinate and sit in it . then i was looking online for a solution to this problem, it turned out that the ball i had got him was designed for dwarf hamsters and was wwwwwaaaayyy too small for a Syrian. as soon as i knew this i ran to the local pet store and got him a big ball . literally straight away he was like a new man. he love it so much that when hes awake and i show him his ball he climbs to the entrance of his cage and into the ball . I give toffee 20 mins a day in it and he loves it. this also helps with the taming process.

[SKB_Hamsters]

Hello and welcome to Hamster Central!

1. I don’t measure out how much I feed Pumpkin but I tend to fill her bowl half way up every week and top it up if needed with some more if needed - that way she eats most of the food instead of picking out just her favourite.

2. Some hamsters do like to look out of their cage, so you can fill the base up with substrate and this will also allow a good minimum depth of substrate for your hamster to dig in too. You will need to leave part of the cage shallow to allow enough room for an appropriate Syrian size wheel.

3. Good size plastic tunnels for Syrian hamster are 8cm rat tunnels as this will provide plenty of room for a full grown Syrian to use. Most Syrians can fit through holes which are of a minimum of 6cm.

4. Cardboard boxes are fine with glossy surfaces such as tissue boxes etc, I wouldn’t recommend tea boxes as they have a strong aroma of tea which can be overwhelming for them.

5. Yes, you can vacuum your room whilst your hamster is in there. Some hamster initially are a bit wary of the sound of the hover but over time they get used to the sound of the hover as well as other household noises. Although I prefer to hover when my hamster is asleep.

6. Like cypher has said their are mixed opinions surrounding hamster balls. I personally prefer to use a play area opposed to a ball as they can decided when they had enough and it allows better interaction as well as being a secured place for them to have fun - as I have had a few of my past hamsters who have managed to open the lids and escape - which is really worrying. So now I use the ball as a safe way to transport my hamster from her cage to her play area downstairs.

[Chun]

Thank you all for the great answers, they all have ensured hammys’ lives will change for the better, as they should, in the near future ^^