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Old 05-28-2017, 03:24 AM  
cypher
Dwarf whisperer
 
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Join Date: May 2014
Location: Wales UK
Posts: 24,789
Default Re: Dwarf care advice, please!

Congrats on your first hybrid capricorn They do have a bit of an undeserved reputation but I've found them easy to tame & adorable pets, I'm sure you're really going to enjoy your new girl
Your set up sounds good, they do love to burrow so she'll enjoy plenty of substrate, if you have a silent spinner that actually spins (not many do these days!) the size is fine for most hybrids, any other wheel needs to be 8-9".
As long as she's running comfortably in the silent spinner then I would stick with it for now at least as the larger wheels do take up a lot more room meaning you have to compromise your set up a fair bit to fit them in.
(The old silent spinners are just fine Amity, I have some really old ones that are well used, spin well & silently so not necessarily a bad wheel.)
Does she have a sand bath yet?
They love their sand & it is important for keeping their coats in good condition so anything big enough to dig & roll in with chinchilla sand (not dust) will be enjoyed.
Their claws tend to grow very fast so it's good to have some rough surfaces like terra cotta (small flower pots are great) or tiles turned upside down to help with trimming.
I would switch to the Burgess dwarf hamster harvest food, it's about the best in the UK for diabetes prone species.
They tend to love mealworms so they make a good treat & she might enjoy a millet spray in the cage along with a whimzee to have a chew on.
Other simple toys they really seem to enjoy are coconuts as a hideout or place to hide food/treats & an egg box with a couple if holes cut out is always a favourite, they aren't hard to please with simple toys really

ETA I should have said (in case you don't know) regarding diabetes, hybrids can be prone to it so it's best to be extra careful with the diet, avoid all sweet commercial treats with sugars, honey or fruit, there are a few natural treats without sugar like the Rosewood dandelion sticks for example which are fine but read ingredients carefully, fresh low sugar veg daily (once they have got used to it, maybe every three days to begin with) are really good for them but avoid fruit or veg that are high in sugars although the sweeter veg can be given occasionally as a treat in small amounts.
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Last edited by cypher; 05-28-2017 at 04:34 AM.
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