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Imogen · 07-10-2021, 06:39 PM

Hiya!

A few days ago I posted about my new little addition, a male Russian Dwarf who I ended up calling Oreo.

He is 6 weeks old, so still pretty young - adopted from the pets at home section as he was put there about 2-3 weeks ago apparently from an unexpected/accidental litter of pups so he was around 3-4 weeks old when they got him.

Only 2 days in my care - and seems to settle in well. I would usually leave my hams alone for an entire week but I've hardly seen him (probably literally only 2 times for less than a minute for the last 2 days) so tried giving him a treat earlier and glad to say he actually tried to take it! I put it down after he tried to take it to let him be, but wanted to see he was all well, moving and alert.

I've never seen him on the wheel, except once when I walked in but he was quick to scurry away. But when I saw him it looked like he was having a heck of a lot of trouble moving the thing - it's a 22cm wheel from Amazon. It's that blue and white one that ended up drooping and bashing from my Syrian - however thought it'd do the trick for the little guy since he's only 6 weeks old and a lot lot smaller than my Syrian who is 3 months.

It looked like he was trying his best to move it - running pretty fast. Almost doing a 90 degree turn and couldn't really see it move that easily (when I noticed anyway) and sounded like his little claws were just slipping. But after about 2 tries he noticed me and scurried.

Is this normal for them to look like they have a little bit of trouble to try and move the wheel to start with because they're so small and need further force to make it spin? It is very easy to spin, I can spin it with a gentle tap and flick and it'll spin like 3 times.

I do plan to purchase another wooden trixie wheel as it's wood with a cork grip. But I haven't got the available funds as of yet since I had to go out of my way to purchase £30 bedding alongside when I got him. Need the rest for food, hamster food and vet fund - and I don't start my job until another 3 weeks. So I'm stuck with £6 spare cash. Never owned any species besides a Syrian before, so please do let me know! I know a lot about their care (and all other of ownable species) from 5+ years of study, but when diving into actually owning one and their behaviour and struggles - will need some guidance!

07-10-2021, 06:39 PM
Imogen Hamster Pup Join Date: Apr 2021 Location: Essex, England Posts: 215	Dwarf Hamster - Wheel worries. Hiya! A few days ago I posted about my new little addition, a male Russian Dwarf who I ended up calling Oreo. He is 6 weeks old, so still pretty young - adopted from the pets at home section as he was put there about 2-3 weeks ago apparently from an unexpected/accidental litter of pups so he was around 3-4 weeks old when they got him. Only 2 days in my care - and seems to settle in well. I would usually leave my hams alone for an entire week but I've hardly seen him (probably literally only 2 times for less than a minute for the last 2 days) so tried giving him a treat earlier and glad to say he actually tried to take it! I put it down after he tried to take it to let him be, but wanted to see he was all well, moving and alert. I've never seen him on the wheel, except once when I walked in but he was quick to scurry away. But when I saw him it looked like he was having a heck of a lot of trouble moving the thing - it's a 22cm wheel from Amazon. It's that blue and white one that ended up drooping and bashing from my Syrian - however thought it'd do the trick for the little guy since he's only 6 weeks old and a lot lot smaller than my Syrian who is 3 months. It looked like he was trying his best to move it - running pretty fast. Almost doing a 90 degree turn and couldn't really see it move that easily (when I noticed anyway) and sounded like his little claws were just slipping. But after about 2 tries he noticed me and scurried. Is this normal for them to look like they have a little bit of trouble to try and move the wheel to start with because they're so small and need further force to make it spin? It is very easy to spin, I can spin it with a gentle tap and flick and it'll spin like 3 times. I do plan to purchase another wooden trixie wheel as it's wood with a cork grip. But I haven't got the available funds as of yet since I had to go out of my way to purchase £30 bedding alongside when I got him. Need the rest for food, hamster food and vet fund - and I don't start my job until another 3 weeks. So I'm stuck with £6 spare cash. Never owned any species besides a Syrian before, so please do let me know! I know a lot about their care (and all other of ownable species) from 5+ years of study, but when diving into actually owning one and their behaviour and struggles - will need some guidance! __________________ Age: 20 years old • Hamsters I currently own: 2 • Hamsters at the Rainbow Bridge: 1 Last edited by Imogen; 07-10-2021 at 06:46 PM.