My new winter white, questions and day -by-day

Culprit · 08-27-2016, 05:47 PM

Hey guys! I just got a dwarf Winter White. As some as you know I was originally planning on getting a short hair Syrian. However, as I was looking around, this little guy caught my eye. He was adorably cute, and very friendly. I bought him along with a small Silent Spinner, a food bowl, a water bottle, and Kaytee Clean substrate. I had pre-prepped a bin cage, with four windows on each side, and the top cut out. It had a large wooden platform on one end, with popsicle stick railing. I also built a popsicle stick house with a wooden platform, and a half-tunnel made out of wood. I filled in the substrate, 3 1/2 inches plus a little, and installed the water bottle and wheel. The food bowl was placed at one end of the platform and filled with one tablespoon full of food. I put him in, and he immeaditly started running around and exploring, making little tunnels, and checking everything out. He also made little burrows. I stuck ripped tp in the middle of the cage, and he started pouching it and going into the house, there he made a burrow that went OUTSIDE the house, and stuck it there. Now there is a big mound. Is this OK? I dont want to mess it up when I clean it. After about 15 minutes of activity, he went into his burrow in the house and I think went to sleep. He has been sleeping for 3 or 4 hours now. It is 8:45, will he wake up and move tonight? I think I will leave him alone for 3 or 4 days. More tomorrow! P.S. I think he is a hybrid, so I've heard that these are prone to diabetes, should I take out the corn out of his food?

AmityvilleHams · 08-27-2016, 05:52 PM

The burrow is perfectly fine,just leave it

For food,do not remove any ingredient.What food is it though?Higgins do make a diabetes friendly food but it will need protein boosting and it is the highest quality brand on the market in the US(forgot the exact name but it isn't Higgins Sunburst).

Removing ingredients from foods such as pellets or even something like corn causes a complete imbalance and then the overall GA is not the same.The GA is not all that is affected though,vitamin and mineral balances are completely changed which is very bad for hamsters and other small pets.

cypher · 08-27-2016, 09:56 PM

When you say small silent spinner what size do you mean? It should be the 6.5" which I think is called the medium, make sure it spins very freely as the newer ones often don't & can be hard to use.
His behaviour sounds totally normal, he'll burrow & sleep where he wants to which may not be in the house you gave him, what kind of house is it? Generally best to just let them get on with it then work with them, rather than expecting or wanting them to sleep, eat or pee where you planned!
Just leave him to settle for now & sort his new home out for himself.

Try & make the substrate a little deeper if you can, dwarf hams do love to burrow much more than syrians generally do, mine are all in barred cages & I fill the bases with substrate which works out about 6", a little less would be ok but your ham will enjoy his cage more if he can really dig down in there.
He'll need a sand bath too, any container that is chew proof would do, even a small cardboard box, filled with chinchilla sand.

He will be a hybrid so you do need to be aware of the potential for diabetes & pay careful attention to diet, don't remove anything form his mix though unless it has dried fruit in it as that is way too high in sugar.
What are you feeding him?

Culprit · 08-28-2016, 05:08 AM

Good morning! I woke up around 6:30 and checked on him. He was running around, exploring everything, running on his wheel and all that. I have a big wooden platform on one end of the cage, I'll post a pic. To start, he had a most unorthodox way of getting onto the platform. He would go to the side with the water bottle, camber up the wire, and climb over the platform ��. He then grabbed some food and ran over to the other side of the platform and ran down it. He had packed the bedding down more, so I'm going to put another inch or so in. He has burrowed all over, although idk when or where he will make his nest. It should be in his house right? He had eaten all his food, but not any water that I could see. Is that ok? This morning I started my new schedule. I emptied his water, and dumped his food bowl in the trash. I washed out the food bowl with soap and water, then rinsed and dried it. His water bottle I rinsed out and filled half-full. Will I be able to find his potty corner by the feces lol? I heard someone say normal kids sand is ok if it is cleaned and sterilized. Is that fine? In his house he has no tp, only 1 or 2 little pieces, he does have a tunnel out, but nothing else! Will his nest be noticable? Should I put the tp where I think his nest should be? Will he mabye make it underground because THAT wouldn't be good. More tonight! P.S I haven't decided on a name, but I'm entertaining Rocky and Zero and mabye Smoky.

I'm feeding him All living Things hamster and gerbil daily diet. It has no fruit, but pellets and grains and corn and seeds. I'll have to check the label. Will post that when I get a chance for the wheel.

He is very friendly, sniffing my finger when I put it next to the cage bars, and not scared at all. I want to start taming him SOOO badly but I know I need to wait 3, 4, or 5 days to let him get settled.

Culprit · 08-28-2016, 05:53 AM

It's a 6.5" wheel. Here's pics

hamtarokid · 08-28-2016, 06:04 AM

I think you need a bigger wheel. 6.5 might be okay while your hamster is still a baby, but my 6 month old winter white would be way too big for that.

cypher · 08-28-2016, 09:08 AM

Aww! He looks sweet in his bowl there

I've had a few fully grown Russian hams that used the 6.5" silent spinner, it should be fine for him.
He will make his nest where he wants it, not necessarily in his house no, some sleep in the open some just burrow down, I had one who had at least 6 nests on the go only two in houses!
You may not see him drink or notice the water level go down, they only drink a tiny amount but do check the bottle is working, just run a clean finger over the ball to make sure it comes out ok, if you are concerned.
You won't find his pee corner from poo no, poo can be all over the place or in a specific spot, often around the wheel, they do eat some of it so don't be in too much of a hurry to clear that away. It may take him a while to decide on a final pee spot but if you put a litter tray with sand in (chinchilla sand really is best for this) they will normally use it to pee in.
I would stop worrying about where he'll do what for now! Give him time to settle in & take it from there.

Culprit · 08-28-2016, 04:48 PM

Do I need to be quiet during the day? I've found out that if I talk to him when's he's in his burrow he will come out, also should I worry about turning on/off my light?

AmityvilleHams · 08-28-2016, 04:53 PM

It doesn't hurt to have a light-based schedule or at least try to,but it isn't as important as with other animals like reptiles.As for being quiet,just speak at a normal volume and try not to be extremely loud or make sudden noises and you should be fine

Culprit · 08-28-2016, 04:54 PM

Can I turn on my light in the morning around 7, 7:30 or will that throw him off?