New here

[Ginger_gnime]

Hi folks, I'm new here, haven't posted an intro yet but will do

My son has been saving up for a hamster and on Saturday he finally had enough ... he chose a gorgeous wee Robo who he's named Anakin Skyhamster!

We're new to hamsters ... one of my other sons has guinea pigs but this is something new and we thought we'd done lots of research ... I guess actually having a Robo is different to reading about it!

He's very wary of us ... he won't go near my son at all but has run over my hand and my husband's too. We've been just laying our hands flat in his home and staying still. Tonight he go really panicky though and just hid in his wee house ... is this normal? I'm guessing it's still really early days yet but I hate to think he's not happy.

Also, twice we have seen Anakin get so carried away in his wheel that he's completely flipped over. I got a flying saucer for him as he'd had one in the pet shop but he doesn't seem able to move it.

Any tips? He's absolutely gorgeous and I'm loving watching him ... terrified about him escaping though, especially as we have three (mostly outdoor) cats (also with Star Wars names!). Thanks

[Candra_Faulkner]

Well, I've never had robo, only syrians , but I know some important things when it comes to any hamster.

Keep them at a comfy temperature, too hot and too cold can be dangerous to their health.
If they are in a cold room, make sure they have plenty of bedding/ substrate like Carefresh, or aspen bedding to snuggle into.

NEVER use that "fluff" or cotton/ bamboo nesting material you can buy in packages, or that comes with
the cardboard tubes you can buy for your hamsters. The long fibers can wrap around limbs and become lodged
in the digestive tract. My best friend didn't know this, and her hamster actually lost a leg due to this.

I believe dwarfs are prone to diabetes to be careful with sugary cute treats or raw veggies like carrots that are
naturally high in sugars (the youtube channels / playlists I posted below can help you out with diets )
Dried mealworms are great for adding protein, and my hamster adores fresh broccoli. There's a list of safe foods
in the playlist below on ErinsAnimals channel.

Keep watch on their teeth to make sure they aren't broken or falling out. I've noticed with my hamsters that
wood chews are interesting to them for a while, but then they won't chew them at all. Hamster food like Hazel
Hamster (Harry Hamster in the UK I believe) is full of lots of biscuit type pieces and such that are great for their teeth,
and Whimzee Chews (dog chews made of hamster safe veggies) are cute and very beneficial for keeping teeth trim.
Cardboard tubes are a big hit as well. If their teeth are yellow , this is actually normal. White teeth are a sign of
health issues.

Toys like bend-a-bridges from petco and online are great for chewing, climbing, nesting under and keeping nails trim.
you can use certain stones, scrubbed clean / boiled and let to cool , placed in a place like under the water bottle to keep
nails trim too.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head , other than they need lots of space! a glass 20 gallon tank is good, but I
always recommend at least a 40 gallon tank so they have lots of continuous floor space to explore and room for lots of toys and tubes.
you can get a 40 gallon tank at petco right now for only 40 dollars if you are in the US. (in stores only though, not online).


Some awesome youtubers to watch for hamster information are
ErinsAnimals - Here's a great playlist of important info from her channel, she's very knowledgeable!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...LnU9C9rRVFaNV7

HoppingHammy - a playlist with helpful info, aaand ,her AMAZING cage tours, they inspire me a lot to make my hamsters environment stimulating, cute, and fun
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...cJbFYUgKco4UO5.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...swZnCFYkzZl1_6

[cypher]

Welcome to the forum & congrats on little Anakin Skyhamster

Some robos can become very tame with time & patience while others will remain more a pet to watch than interact with but each individual ham is different so try to go at your hams pace, slow & steady & you should make progress with him.

Have you done the tissue trick with him yet? That's putting some plain white toilet tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then putting that in the cage & repeating daily for a while, this helps your ham to get used to your scent & not see it as a threat.
Taming often takes a step backward before progressing again so don't get disheartened if he suddenly seems more nervous again.
Talk to him quietly whenever you're close by his cage & carry on just putting your hand in the cage, maybe with a nice tasty treat on, & let him come to you or just to start with even continue to run around with your hand there without getting to scared.

I wouldn't worry about flipping out of the wheel lots of young hams do that until they get the hang of things, just try to make sure that he only lands on soft substrate if that happens.

Look forward to hearing more about him

[Thin Lizzy]

Hi and Welcome to HC and congratulations on your robo.
Like Cypher mentioned, the tissue trick is a great way for your ham to get familiar with your scents and talking to him really does work.

[Ginger_gnime]

Thanks so much for your replies ... I've not tried the tissue trick yet, I'd not come across that but I'll do it for the next few days and see how it goes. Will post a pic at some point, he really is he cutest wee boy!

[SKB_Hamsters]

Hello and welcome to Hamster central. Congrats on your little Anakin Skyhamster.
This tissue trick is a great way for him to gain comfort in your scent.

[MeganAndMisty]

Hello welcome to HC! Robos are just the cutest little things aren't they? It took me almost 6 months to fully tame my robo Misty. I found that if they're a bit nervous a lot of hides / tubes help as Misty doesn't really like large open spaces.

Misty has a medium flying saucer and has no trouble turning it, I'm guessing that yours is still a baby?

Misty lives in a Zoozone 1 and she's never escaped, what cage is he in?

[flowerfairy]

Anakin skyhamster. What a great name!

I love roborovskis. I have two girls. Flower has the grosvenor large rat and hamster cage and her sister Fairy has the alaska from zooplus. Both barred cages.

My two are the watch and enjoy types and have never liked being handled. I adore them. Their cuteness is wonderful!

Hope Anakin soon settles.

[MeganAndMisty]

Originally Posted by flowerfairy

Anakin skyhamster. What a great name!

I love roborovskis. I have two girls. Flower has the grosvenor large rat and hamster cage and her sister Fairy has the alaska from zooplus. Both barred cages.

My two are the watch and enjoy types and have never liked being handled. I adore them. Their cuteness is wonderful!

Hope Anakin soon settles.

Did you have to mesh the bars on their cages?