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Originally Posted by Serendipity7000
Any bedding or other items would need to be disinfected and left at least 3 weeks ideally in case of unknown illness or disease that could be passed on. Food I'd leave a couple of weeks as well.
I agree that reading up about the species of hamster is a good idea and making sure everything is right for them. Also read up about what to look for to check a hamster is healthy.
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But the bedding is closed in the bags, unopened. I threw all of the chew toys etc away.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ria P
I think it would be too soon.
My advice would be to look for a good vet first and to do more research on hybrid dwarf hamsters.
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My last vet was really good. I wouldn’t get a dwarf this time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000
You might want to look into good cage set ups for dwarf hamsters as well, and good houses. There are lots of set ups on here for ideas and toys can be home made or cardboard. I think on one of the photos you had a fleece donut bed as his nest? Anything fabric like that is risky to have in the cage as hamsters chew things - especially nice soft things that could be ripped up for nesting material, and they could swallow some and get a blockage - plus some of these things have foam padding in as well. I have one of those I use for out of cage time. Same thing with "fluffy bedding" material - it can be swallowed and cause blockages. Paper is best for nesting. Sorry if you know all that already.
They do like building a nest in a house, with just torn up toilet paper strips and that helps give them normal behaviours as well - foraging for the paper strips and nest building. They almost always love labyrinth houses (eg houses with more than one room inside which makes it dark inside). And would go straight into one to build a nest - because it's dark inside. It mimics an underground burrow basically.
Not sure which cage you had but possibly even think of a cage upgrade. If set up well with lots of enrichment, tunnels, toys and hideouts and a shelf it can give them a very good life. The more cage space you have, the more enrichment (and larger labyrinth houses) you can add. An ideal sized cage for a dwarf hamster is 80cm by 50cm - and not really any smaller than 70cm by 40cm. They can also really enjoy a bigger wheel - eg an 8" wheel.
The key to a happy life and normal behaviours is to set things up to encourage normal behaviours like nesting, foraging, hoarding and digging. So a house that's open underneath and sat on top of the substrate allows them to bury hoards under their nest (and keeps it well ventilated so it doesn't get whiffy). Some labyrinth houses are large enough to fit a corner toilet inside and they almost always use an "ensuite" toilet. I'm not so sure about dwarfs - Syrians do and our robo uses his as well.
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Hi!
I'd like to get a Syrian hamster. I felt so sorry for this hamster:
He doesn't have anything, no wheel, nothing and he seems to be kinda fat. I haven't seen him moving, but he has been at the store for awhile and I don't know. I just feel sorry for him. That's how I also got Bogie. I just felt sorry. for him.
Yeah, Bogie slept under the donut. He always used it on his nest. Never chewed it though and he never was on it actually either. He just slept under it. I threw that away as well.
My cage is bigger than that and I am not looking for a new cage. I just have so much unopened paper bedding and food left as well. It's true what they say. You can buy stuff for a hamster only once and he'll have it for the rest of his life.
Hmm, Bogie almost never used his house. He had many houses and his last house was the biggest. He had smaller houses, but he didn't fit into those, because he was too fat. You know what? Maybe I shouldn't get that overweight Syrian hamster. I should try to pick a healthy hamster the next time. They all look sick at the store though. Except some very small dwarf hamsters.
I can't find the old paper that I used for Bogie anymore, so I use some kind of weird paper and I have it left over. I just used some of it for Bogie's carrier.
I was thinking of getting a Syrian, maybe. Specifically the one I showed you the picture of. I feel so sorry for him. I have never seen him moving, but I know he's breathing. I've been keeping an eye on him for awhile.
I can't get a new hamster yet, since cleaning Bogie's cage takes time.
The minimum cage size for a Syrian hamster: Depth: 50cm. Width: 80cm. Height: 50cm.
My cage is even bigger than that. I bought the biggest cage I saw at the store and as it later turned out, it's for guinea pigs and Bogie never used the other half of it.
I'll keep cleaning Bogie's cage. I threw many of the you away. Also the donut, since it was quite a mess.