new hamster owner

[Grffin]

Hi, I'm a brand new hamster owner - we just got our little guy on the weekend and love him to bits.

He is a sweet little Syrian, his name is Leo and he has settled in amazingly well - eating, stashing food in his plastic tube, rearranging everything and being super cute. He doesn't seem to drink much and has ignored his wheel - I'm thinking maybe it's too small, it came with the cage but I see recommendations here to get a wheel that's 12 inches across?

Leo also seems to prefer sleeping in his tube, rather than his little house.

Looking forward to learning more about how best look after him and keep him happy and healthy:)

[AmityvilleHams]

Wheels that come with cages are pretty much never permanent for Syrians.They get very large in almost no time,even if you get a hamster from a pet store!

The 12 inch Silent Runner is definitely a good wheel to get.It may seem expensive but it is completely worth it,being the safest wheel on the market.It is also far more durable than other wheels,and if sterilized could last several hamster lifespans rather than one or two if you're lucky with other wheels,especially those that often stop working within the first few months(the Silent Spinner for example which is just not a good wheel).

Sleeping in tubes is not good :( It can lead to respiratory problems as tubes are not breathable.Remove them as soon as possible.Your hamster might be a bit upset at first but it is much better to have a tiny bit of stress than a stressful vet trip and serious illness!

[stephanie32705]

Welcome! I am a new hammy mom too. Mine liked to sleep in his tube, but I stopped that right away and also got bigger wheels after all the reading I did. Mine adjusted fine and wasn't upset about not being able to sleep in the tube and adjusted fine to his home. :D

[Rads]

Welcome to HC,
as for sleeping in tubes best to block them off for a while until your fluff ball gets used to his house, give him lots of torn up plain white loo roll they love that, he will soon make his own nest, is his little house plastic? If so may I suggest you get him something wooden as the plastic houses get a lot of condensation in them from a sleeping hammy and it isn't pleasant.
There are lots of wooden houses on line ebay/amazon for a few pounds that are good and roomy for him.

[Thin Lizzy]

Hi Griffin and Welcome to HC. Congrats on your hammy Leo.
Block the tubes off, they can get very smelly and should your ham become ill, it would be difficult to get to him. I find those tubes very narrow and don't use them and prefer to buy the rat tubes.
Many of the plastic houses are ventilated now, the igloo has several slits on the top. I usually start off with a wooden house but end up changing to plastic as I find they can get a bit smelly and it's much harder to clean.
There has been a couple of times where I've put in a plastic & a wood house.

[AmityvilleHams]

I've never thought the slits did much for plastic igloos.Honestly using a plastic house it still ends up smelling far worse than if I just used wood houses,so ventilation still has to be an issue!

[Thin Lizzy]

Wooden houses can get very smelly also and should your ham decide to pee in it then it ends up needing replaced whereas the plastic can be cleaned.

[BorisPasha]

Hi Grffin, welcome to you and Leo :)

[flowerfairy]

I paint my wooden houses (and shelves) with cuprinol garden shades which makes it easier to clean and helps keep the wee at bay!

I always have houses with no bottom and put them on top of really deep piles of fitch bedding to facilitate burrowing.

Leo sounds great. Glad that he is settling in so well. You are probably right about the wheel. Mine have silent runners (two of the syrians) and karlie wooden wheels (the other syrian and both roborovskis). All great wheels.