New hamster owner and hamster central member :)

Louis1d1million · 06-06-2016, 12:19 PM

Hiya , my name is Jenna and i come from the United Kingdom. It's my birthday on the 19th. For my birthday I am getting a hamster

I have had one hamster in the past but he was more a family pet where as this one will be mine. I ordered the cage on Friday and it arrived today, I got the hamster heaven metro savic as it was the only one big enough that met the requirements that I could find in the U.K. I put it together -> woahh well that was a task ahah but it looks like a pretty awesome cage with plenty for my little hamster to do! I also brought a load of other bits and bobs ready to make a hamster happy. I was planning on buying a ball for him / her to excerise in but after reading about the safety of them I decided against buying one.

Just thought I would introduce myself, any tips or advice would we warmly welcomed

xx

cypher · 06-06-2016, 10:50 PM

Hi & welcome to HC

Look forward to hearing about the new ham when your birthday present comes home!
The HH is a nice cage, just one word or warning though, after you've gone to the trouble of putting it all together lol!
New hams will sometimes hide away, sleep, eat & pee in the tubes or penthouse which can be very unhealthy & make it stressful for both you & your ham if you need to get to him/her, it doesn't always happen but is a really common problem so it's best, at least to begin with to not use the tubes or penthouse at all & close the holes off with the stoppers provided, you can always add them back in once your ham has settled in & made a nest elsewhere in the cage.

Pebbles82 · 06-06-2016, 11:12 PM

Hello and welcome! Exciting getting your hammy and it's great that you have the cage all organised first. The Hamster Heaven is a lovely cage and has a nice big front opening door. My last cage was a Savic Mickey 2XL which is identical to the Hamster Heaven but with smaller bar spacing and without all the extras - and I did love that big front opening door

I'm guessing it's a Syrian hamster you're getting? If so you'll need a Syrian sized wheel as well - cages only come with very small 6" wheels usually, that are only just big enough for a small dwarf hamster.

A lot of people find that means needing to remove one of the shelves to fit a Syrian sized wheel in, but I think you can fit one between the shelves on the back wall of the cage.

I did a thread on suitable wheels if that helps

Guide to suitable hamster Wheels

One of the good things about the hamster heaven is it comes with everything really so easy to have everything set up and ready to go (now you've put it all together!). I'd just see how it goes with the Penthouse and tubes - you can always adjust things later.

One thing that might help is watching Erin's Hamsters video on cage cleaning tips. A lot of the behaviours that make hamsters block tubes off is to do with stopping people messing with their nest and hoard! Some hamsters will stuff up tubes and some won't so just see how it goes.

Their nest is their big important thing, so it's best to leave it in tact if you can. Obviously if your hamster pees in it you'd have to remove some of it but it's always best to leave some of the original nest behind so it smells familiar. And then just put out a big pile of torn up strips of white toilet paper somewhere in the cage, so your hammy can pouch some and rebuild the nest.

Just in case you didn't know, don't use anything that says "fluffy bedding" even if it says it's safe - it isn't! The safest nesting material is plain white toilet paper torn into strips

There are also lots of options for substrate these days. I use Fitch which is recycled food grade paper bought in bulk. It works out really cheap and our hamster loves it because it's nice and soft.

Toys and chews are good for enrichment and making them happy so your hamster sounds lucky you have these as well

I'd avoid any hanging toys with chains though - they can be a bit risky. Sputniks are good (the hamster heaven comes with one). Bendy bridges are popular and useful as hides and ramps. A lot of toys that say they are for a hamster are far too small for syrians and some are badly made and have nails in, so check them carefully. Anything with an entrance hole needs a diameter of at least 6cm or they can get stuck.

Anyway - here's Erin's Hamsters video!

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

Lala Noma · 06-06-2016, 11:32 PM

Hello, welcome! It is cool that you are getting ready for your hammy, I hope he or she comes soon!

Louis1d1million · 06-07-2016, 08:49 AM

Thank you all for your replies

I will be taking all of your advice into account. I must say I didn't know about the wheel size - the one we have is 7.0something inches, would this not be big enough? Yes I was thinking Syrian or Russian dwarf, I will be going to my local pet store so will see what they advice on the day.

Amber_x · 06-07-2016, 09:20 AM

The savic wheel should be fine for a Russian but just be warned they are quite noisy! When I used them I took off the spindle and rubbed on a tiny bit of sunflower oil. For a Syrian though you could do with upgrading the wheel once they get a bit bigger to an 11 or 12 inch wheel.

Pebbles82 · 06-07-2016, 09:56 AM

A 7 inch would be too small for a Syrian - even a baby. It's probably easier to get an 11" rather than spend money on and 8" and have to upgrade to a bigger one in a few months. Our Syrian got so big he needed a 12" but you can't really go wrong with an 11" wheel.

I don't know if you have seen the hamster cages that Zooplus sell, but they sell the Barney cage for just under £50. It's a really good size for a Syrian - comes with an 8" wheel which would do for a while, and it also comes with a good big house suitable for nesting, which makes cleaning out easier as the house sits on the substrate. And it has a shelf and ladder. You just need a few toys - cardboard tubes etc and there's plenty of space to add things. It's a bit bigger than the Hamster Heaven at 100cm, but it's only 20cm longer than the Hamster Heaven.

I just thought I'd mention it as you aren't getting your Hamster till the 19th and there's time to look at other options if you wanted. The Hamster Heaven is a great cage, but a lot of people end up removing most of the contents it comes with if something doesn't work out (eg if the hamster is too big for the tubes or starts blocking them off, or if they need to fit a wheel or new house in. So then you're paying extra for things you don't use. If you did see another cage you liked, you'd still have time to return the other one for a refund.

Zooplus prices are very good as well and it could save some money. They take about 5 to 7 working days to deliver but delivery is free.

This is the Barney cage anyway. It maybe doesn't look as much fun empty like that, but once you have substrate and a few toys in it can look fun. I've added a pic of my set up in the Barney below (I have a different house in it) and there are lots of different ways people set it up. Zooplus also sell the Alexander cage which is an amazing cage for a hamster - it's about the same size as the Barney but has a whole extra level virtually - but it costs more. I really wanted the Alexander but am happy with the Barney and one advantage of it is the wheel fits in easier with the flat roof. Plus it comes with a wheel that is big enough for a Syrian as a starter wheel.

Barney Pet Cage | Great deals at zooplus!

Great deals on small pet cages at zooplus: Alexander Small Pet Cage

Having said all that - the Hamster Heaven is a great cage and a good size cage for any hamster. It's well made and has great access with the large front opening door, and you could actually set that up how you want and not use all the accessories that come with it. I actually had one of the Hamster heaven shelves in my old cage (the corner one with the house, bowl and ladder) and it was a total pain! The shelf isn't flat so pee used to run down it. Our hamster decided to nest in the little plastic house which used to get really sweaty and stinky inside - the food bowl was where he wanted his pee corner so he kept peeing in it, and then the ladder broke - lol! So I ended up taking the thing out and buying a bigger house that could sit on the substrate with plenty of space for a big nest in and the roof doubled up as a platform.

This is my Barney cage set up - also if you look on the "Let's see your cages" thread it can give some inspiration too

This is our hammy's current set up in it - he's an older guy now so I've had to put most things at floor level and have lower ramps, but he still uses all the floorspace, he's just not as good at climbing

Rat tubes make good toys for Syrians and our Syrian is a bit big for the hamster sized tubes, but some are fine with them.

A good sized house open to the substrate underneath works well for them - and a shoebox is often a good option - you just cut a hole in for a door and they can chew it safely as well

Louis1d1million · 06-07-2016, 12:42 PM

Thank you - i think i am very happy with my current cage as its bigger than the RSPCA requirements and has some lovely features, however i guess i will see what my hamster thinks of it. - i have kept the tube stoppers just in case - thanks , and i will probably be ordering a bigger wheel at some point as i have found one which is 11inches big and lcoal to me!! Thats a lovely set up, i am still trying to figure how to work this but once i have i will upload a picture of my cage and toys.

Pebbles82 · 06-07-2016, 12:53 PM

It does have some lovely features, and I miss the big front opening door! Good move keeping the stoppers. It's a great cage for a hamster.

Looking forward to seeing it set up and your toys

Fluffagrams · 06-07-2016, 02:52 PM

Welcome to Hamster Central.

You must be so excited to be able to welcome a new hamster into your life and I shall look forward to hearing more about your new arrival in the future. People here are very friendly and are always willing to share tips and offer advice where they can so don't be afraid to ask questions.