Got my first ever chinese dwarf hammy today

[Rhianna]

I've owned hamsters before but none for some years and have been thinking about getting another hammy for some time as I still have the cage.

I usually rescue my pets but haven't been able to find a hamster locally so went to PAH and there was a chinese dwarf hammy in their adoption section who was too old to sell. I had no idea chinese hamsters were so tiny but once I saw her I fell in love.

I got her home and put the box in the cage with some food, water and a hidey-hole for her. I am just leaving her to settle in but have decided to call her Suki.

I've noticed that there are now hamster playpens available and am looking to buy one of these so she can stretch her paws a bit. I have nine cats so am keeping Suki in my study which is a cat free zone. I spend a fair bit of time in there so thought I could set a playpen up for when I am there to supervise.

Will be reading the rest of the forum with interest as I want to make sure Suki's life with me is as happy and healthy as it can be.

[HamstersAreHardcore]

Welcome ! . What type of cage is Suki in ?

[Vectis Hamstery]

Congratulations on your new addition. I hope you enjoy your Chinese hammy ownership. I've found that they aren't that keen on the wire panel playpen (they don't really like wide open spaces) and they are good climbers so can easily shimmy out of it. My Chineseys prefer a playbox which has enclosed sides giving them a sense of security and making it harder for them to escape. I use a large plastic storage box, but a thick cardboard box is just as good especially if there are lots of cardboard tubes and things to climb on and explore in it.
I look forward to seeing piccies of your little lady when she's settled.

[Ministottie]

Welcome! I have a chinese and she hates the wire playpen, so I gave her the box Marley's zoozone came in, and she loves that a lot more because it is enclosed. I prefer it too because I like to put a box full of megazorb in for her to dig and it leaves no mess if she is in the box. So my reccomendation is to go cheap and just give your hammie a box full of toilet rolls, boxes and toys

[Hamtastic]

Congratulations on your hammy, and welcome!

[Rhianna]

Thanks guys. I would have wasted my money. I've got eight rabbits and try to give them as much open space as I can. I thought Suki would like the same. I've got lots of big plastic boxes she can play in.

She is in a cage I've had for years - tall with lots of levels and tubes joining each level. I did worry she would be able to get through the bars but they are very close together and her head is bigger than the gap between them. Now I know chinese hammies don't like open spaces I will need to add more hidey holes on each level. She currently has the box she came in and a long tube.

Is it OK to use megazorb to line the bottom of her cage? I am intending to buy some for the cats' and buns' litter trays so it would be good if I could use it for Suki too.

She is asleep at the moment. I have checked on her as I was worried I hadn't seen her. She has sat in her food bowl but I haven't seen her eating anything

She is so tiny compared with the hamsters I have had before. She is more like a little mouse.

Will go and have a look on Amazon to see if I can find a good book on Chinese Dwarf Hamsters.

[KatiePillow]

I use megazorb for my little lady and she loves making burrows in it, so I'd put a deep bit of substrate on the base,
Hamsterlopedia is a good book on general hamsters, with bits on chineses, I don't know any just chinese ham books though, although vectis hams was amazing when I got my girl, and is really friendly and helpful (as is her website)

My girl likes having a box with the top covered over, so she doesn't feel threatened by me, so I have a cardboard box some hammy stuff came in and just have two of the flaps folded over, so she feels all safe. They can be very timid, but they're so interesting to watch (if she lets you, anyway )

[fluffymunchkins]

Welcome to HC and the chinese side
I'd love to meet Suki if you have some pics!

(hamsterlopaedia is the best hamster book ever )

[Rhianna]

I am incredibly useless with technology. On my bunny forum I had to text another member with my bunny photos and they would put them on the forum for me. My mobile won't let me send photos any longer

I have now worked out how to get photos from my camera onto the PC, but not how to get them on a forum.

Suki is still asleep in her tube. Should I be worried? I don't want to disturb and scare her so I just check to make sure she is breathing and have been talking to her to get her used to the sound of my voice. There is some food in the tube so she must have been out in her cage while I was asleep.

I think it will be a while before I will be able to get any photos sadly.

I am not sure the cage she is in is really suitable as it has lots of tubes joining each level and I think she may be too small to be able to climb them
It's a nice big cage as it's tall but I don't want her to be stuck to one level.

I don't have a lot of money but could maybe get another cage from e-bay. I've had a look and most of them look far too small though. Her cage is just under two feet wide by just over two feet high (which doesn't sound very big but it has different levels to break it up).

[thelittleteacup]

hello welcome to HC i have a chinese girl aswell, and she id kept in a mini duna cage she loves it, check ebay out for a good second hand deal x