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Ria P · 03-28-2020, 08:04 AM

Lovely hamster and the set up looks good and the cage is fine but there are two important points i'd like to mention.

A Syrian needs a big, upright wheel which would be easy to attach to the cage bars. 10in-12in works well for a Syrian to enable them to run with a straight back.
I'd put the flying saucer in the playpen. You can easily extend the playpen with a second cardboard box connected with an empty plastic water bottle.

Is the little grey plastic house the house he sleeps in? These houses are way too small for a Syrian. They need a large bottomless house to sit on top of the substrate so they can make a proper nest with lots of torn into strips plain white toilet paper. A removable roof is very practical. You can make a house from a shoe box, get a Ferplast guinea pig house or go for the more expensive Rodipet or Getzoo houses. You said that you made him a cardboard house but is it big enough for a nest and hoard?

A whimzee dog chew is well liked by hamsters if you haven't got one yet. My hamsters ignore all other chews but love their whimzees.

Don't feel deflated. Sometimes its not easy to suss out what a hamster wants. Took me ages to figure out the right set up for my Syrian. I started off with wheels too small, house too small and toys he didn't like. Once he had the set up he liked which included his big wheel and big house plus his beloved coconut hut and other enrichment he got so settled that now its a job to get him out of his cage!

03-28-2020, 08:04 AM
Ria P House of Hamsters Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: Wiltshire, UK Posts: 7,103	Re: Bar chewing (on the doors) Lovely hamster and the set up looks good and the cage is fine but there are two important points i'd like to mention. A Syrian needs a big, upright wheel which would be easy to attach to the cage bars. 10in-12in works well for a Syrian to enable them to run with a straight back. I'd put the flying saucer in the playpen. You can easily extend the playpen with a second cardboard box connected with an empty plastic water bottle. Is the little grey plastic house the house he sleeps in? These houses are way too small for a Syrian. They need a large bottomless house to sit on top of the substrate so they can make a proper nest with lots of torn into strips plain white toilet paper. A removable roof is very practical. You can make a house from a shoe box, get a Ferplast guinea pig house or go for the more expensive Rodipet or Getzoo houses. You said that you made him a cardboard house but is it big enough for a nest and hoard? A whimzee dog chew is well liked by hamsters if you haven't got one yet. My hamsters ignore all other chews but love their whimzees. Don't feel deflated. Sometimes its not easy to suss out what a hamster wants. Took me ages to figure out the right set up for my Syrian. I started off with wheels too small, house too small and toys he didn't like. Once he had the set up he liked which included his big wheel and big house plus his beloved coconut hut and other enrichment he got so settled that now its a job to get him out of his cage!