New owner concerns

[MlleMischief]

Hello;
My names Liss and I've had my hamster Loki (a long furred Syrian) for 4 weeks now. As he is my first pet as an adult I am a little over concerned and jittery.

Currently he is having soft slightly sticky poo. It's in the right shape and I'm positive it's not wet tail, I called up a vet and they're pretty sure it's more a diet issue (he has had some small portions of fresh fruit/veg and has treats like yoghurt drops.) But if that's the case and I cut that out for now, how long before it becomes hard pellets again? He seems happy in himself (with the exception of suddenly going nuts for bar chewing) and still plays and likes a stroke but I'm just a little worried. What do you think is causing it and should I be getting overly concerned?

Any and all advice would be amazing, thank you x

[cypher]

I wouldn't be over concerned it sounds as though it's just a little soft rather than actual diarrhoea, cutting out the yogurt drops is a good idea as the sugar may upset his stomach a little & isn't good for him.
See how he goes for a while with just his mix & if it settles down try introducing the veg again very slowly, a tiny bit at a time & try a few different things as it may just be that one or two things don't agree with him.

[Pebbles82]

Hello and welcome. Good advice from Cypher about the poo. Four weeks isn't that long for him to settle in. Generally it's advised not to clean the cage for the first two weeks as this can stress them while they are settling in. Hamsters are very territorial about their cage. There are lots of tips on here about cage size and how and when to spot clean or do a full clean.

He is bar chewing because he wants to get out! Sometimes this is a temporary thing if he's a bit freaked out by something, but it can become a habit. Sometimes it is caused by the cage not being big enough and when they have enough space they are happy in their environment.

You've come to the right place - I was feeling like you when we got our Syrian last year and have learned a lot on here.

What cage is he in at the moment? If you post a photo we can advise on size and layout of the cage. My main tip on getting a new hamster would be to get a potty litter tray - they usually start using it straight away for their wees and some poos, and that keeps the rest of the cage clean, meaning you only need to spot clean mostly and only do a full cage clean less often, and you just empty the potty once a week and refill it with potty litter. I gave our Syrian a potty when we'd had him about 2 or 3 weeks and he started using it straight away. The trick is to put it in the corner where they normally wee (they tend to choose a particular corner as a toilet).

I found this video of cage cleaning tips by Erin's Hamsters to be extremely helpful as our Hamster used to get very stressed if anything even moved in his cage never mind having it cleaned! Now I clean the toys at a separate time to the substrate, and less often. (Video link below).

For now, give him as deep a layer of substrate (litter) on the bottom of the cage as you can as hamsters like to dig in it - at least 4" deep. This also provides a soft landing if he falls off something.

If you are like me, and most people, you have probably been sold a cage and wheel that aren't big enough for a Syrian. They need a 27cm or larger wheel when fully grown and it is best to start off with one big enough. If the cage is too small, this won't fit. Syrians also need plenty of floor space (minimum 75cm x 45cm) and they need a hide/house where they can be in the dark and build a nest, plus material to build a nest with - torn up strips of white toilet paper is the best nesting material (and never use anything that is called 'fluffy bedding' - paper is the safest bedding in case they try to eat some.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

It is lovely that you can handle him - he sounds quite tame. I found that nerve-wracking at first - best to handle him over something soft like a sofa, bed or cushion and make sure he can't fall more than 12" or less and can have a soft landing, in case he tries to jump!

[MlleMischief]

Thank you both so much :)

He is in a savic Cammy at the moment which having a look is only 62 by 36. What's the best cage you would advise (we were looking for a new one but I don't want to get more than 2 stories as Loki spends a lot of time trying to climb across the ceiling. I'll get him a toilet right away and hopefully that will mean less fuss for both of us.

He never does it in the day, just when I go to bed (it started a few days ago) he is out of his cage being handled or in his ball (with water breaks etc) unroll bed, he just seems to have boundless energy. When I've got him out to stop the biting (he has already rubbed the fur off his nose) he seems perfectly happy just exploring the bed and having a stroke. I guess it relates to cage size again.

[Pebbles82]

Zooplus have a good range of cages for hamsters at reasonable prices. The Alaska cage is probably the smallest recommended on there. It meets the minimum cage size, but the Barney is a really great cage - it's 100 cm and just under £50. It also has smaller 7mm bar spacing so it is futureproof as could be used for a dwarf hamster as well if you ever got one at a later stage. I agree about not too many levels as they can fall and also they're better with more continuous floor space on one level - a shelf or platform is a bonus.

I bought something too small to start with and had to upgrade Charlie quite quickly as he got so big! I bought an 80 x 50cm cage and now wish I had got a 100cm cage - syrian toys and wheels can fill up the floor space quite easily, because now I am going to need to upgrade again!

100cm cage is quite big but it would fit on top of a chest of drawers, for example, and the top of a chest of drawers isn't much use for anything that can't go on a window ledge or something!

The Alaska is a good cage but the house with the eyes/holes in would need removing if it was for a Syrian as the holes are too small and a hamster could get stuck if it grows.

Alaska Hamster Cage | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus! (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/hutches_cages/hamster_cages/hamster_cages/284288)

Barney Pet Cage | Great deals at zooplus! (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/hutches_cages/hamster_cages/hamster_cages/189303)

The Barney also comes with a good sized house plus a shelf and a ladder. It has a nice deep tray so you can put plenty of deep substrate in - I fill the base to within 1cm of the top (which also reduces the height so drops are safe). The wheel it comes with is about 8" and might do for now but you would need to get a bigger one as he grows, and there's plenty of floor space and height to put one in the Barney cage.

It might be better to get the new wheel at the same time as the cage, if you can afford to, then your hammie won't have further changes in his cage and things will stay they same. When we moved Charlie to his bigger cage, he was a bit freaked for the first 10 days but then he was happy as larry and never pestered to come out as he liked it in there! You can add enrichment, toys etc like a cardboard tube. We used to have a kitchen roll tube for Charlie but he got too big for it, so then I got one of these 10cm chew tubes which are quite sturdy and plenty of space so he doesn't get stuck (most tubes are a bit of a risk for Syrians unless they are rat sized!).

It hurts having to pay more money for a cage when you have already bought one and it's very annoying that they sell cages that are too small!

Personally I would recommend getting the Barney cage, a new wheel if you can afford it now, rather than change the wheel later, a cardboard tube and a potty litter tray to begin with - anything after that is a bonus, as long as you have lots of nice deep substrate/litter on the floor of the cage which they love.

This 28cm wheel would be good, and here's the link to the chew tube as well

Small Pet Exercise Wheel | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus! (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/exercise_wheels/174195)

Rat tube medium 10cm
Boredom Breaker Rat Medium Tube: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boredom-Breaker-Rat-Medium-Tube/dp/B002RB80AM/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1435740969&sr=8-8&keywords=boredom+breaker+tube)

Have attached a photo of our current 80cm cage - which is now too full! He needs more floor space. Our Syrian grew very large so he has quite big stuff in there! If you move your mouse over the photos they get bigger!

[Leila0420]

Just out of interest which brand of hamster food do you use? I wouldn't really recommend yoghurt drops although I know a lot of owners give them as treats simply because of the sugar content as Cyper said. A wee bit of fruit/ veg or a piece of cold cooked pasta is usually good for a treat :)

I'd also recommend the barney cage from zooplus, I have one for my syrian Pumpkin too. It's good value for money in terms of the size and like Serendipity said you can fill the base really high with substrate which is great for them to dig in.
My only concern would be that if you're a nervous owner and your Loki likes to bar climb I'd worry about him dropping down from the top of the bars. Atm Pumpkin seems to love jumping off everything (including the highest parts of her Barney cage) which is a bit scary so I would recommend if you do get the barney cage you invest in a few platforms/ hammocks to distract them and make use of the height of the cage and really pile up the substrate to cushion him if he likes to jump and drop down off his toys.

Hope that's helpful and your Loki's tummy settles!

[MlleMischief]

Thank you, he currently has Wagg but I'm thinking of getting the Harry Hamster mix instead as I've been told it's best.

Yeah, I'm hopefully going to order the new cage tonight, and Loki will be with his other devotee so it's just where Paul can get it delivered too but thank you all so much for your advice so far. You've really put my mind at rest :)