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Old 07-19-2020, 10:28 AM  
AmityvilleHams
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Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Howdy! Future hamster owner (but not a newbie to hamsters)

Definitely don't feed Sunburst & Mazuri. Mazuri isn't very high quality and shouldn't be fed at all, and Higgins Sunburst is not a species appropriate food as it is very high in dried fruit. The actual proper diet would be Higgins Vita Garden, which you can add a pinch of flax seed and a few pieces of freeze dried chicken(or similar high quality protein sources - look for Pure Bites, the shrimp are also a great choice).

I would ditch the reptile sand too. It has debatable at best safety, and you'll spend a lot less long term on children's play sand which is much safer as long as you rinse, sift, and bake it.

Make sure your wheel is also a suitable model. Silent Spinners are a very poor choice, as they have a safey flaw due to the design itself. They also do not remain silent, and if you get lucky enough to have one that spins when you get it they don't exactly keep being able to spin smoothly. Silent Runner wheels are a much better choice(9 inch for dwarf species, 12 inch for Syrians) or if you had to use one a Comfort Wheel would also be a better choice(8 inch for dwarf species with this wheel, 12 inch for Syrians). Flying saucer wheels are not a good choice though as they don't allow for a natural running position and often end up flinging hamsters off especially with very young smaller species!

I would recommend Small Pet Select's paper bedding for substrate instead of Clean and Cozy. It's much higher quality, has extremely low dust if any, and is made of pure virgin fiber paper with no dyes or other questionable additives - something you really can't say about Clean and Cozy, even the natural version.

If you didn't already know, definitely keep the cat and dog out of the room the hamster lives in. This is really important for your hamster's safety as even seeing a predatory species(which all cats and dogs are even if they seem very sweet) can be extremely stressful to hamsters and many other prey species. Stress inevitably lowers the immune system and can lead to hamsters or any other species for that matter being more prone to illness, parasites, etc.

ETA after reviewing the setup pictures I would remove the plastic bits. They're not very safe for hamsters as they can end up being chewed which is really dangerous for various reasons, and plastic tubes in particular are notorious sources of behavior problems and odor issues as well as potentially contributing to poor respiratory health overall due to the lack of ventilation plastic has in general even with holes in it. Toys with chains should also be removed since those are a potential source of injury - feet can get stuck, falls can happen, etc. I also saw a ladder in one picture which is quite dangerous due to the open rungs which are dangerous for similar reasons as chain toys.

I also think I saw a hamster ball in one picture which you really should never use as an actual hamster toy. They provide no enrichment value but have many serious issues. They force hamsters to run even if they don't want to, they have extremely low ventilation which contributes to poor respiratory health, they inhibit hamster senses, and the holes for ventilation can and have lead to serious hamster injuries which really need to be avoided especially with current events.

Last edited by AmityvilleHams; 07-19-2020 at 10:35 AM.
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