Soom to be hamster owner dillemas

[Jindee]

Hello everyone. I have been planning to buy a hamster for so long. I think now is the time I should. A lot of people are saying that we should adopt from animal rescues. As much as I would want that, here in the Philippines I think there are ni animal rescue shelters...or there's nothing close to my residence. So definitely my plan is to buy from the pet store. The closest pet store we have is a local one. So here are my questions.

1. Can I use woodshavings as bedding? As in pure,wood shavings. And it is not branded.

2. They have a grilled wheel. Since I know that it is bad for the hamster, I'm planning to put a folder or a padding so that it will be covered. It's okay to do that right?

3. Is it okay to feed them pellets. The pet store has "purina pellets" is that okay or I should just check other types of food?

That's it for my questions. I know some bits of information about hamster care because of Erin, a youtuber I watched.

I would deept appreciate all of your replies. Thanks in advance.

[Piebald]

Hi Jindee welcome to HC!

What kind of wood are the shavings from and how big are the shavings? It's important to know because some kinds of wood can make a hamster sick. I'd worry about regular shavings being sharp and rough too.

I have seen people put cardboard or something inside a grilled wheel with good success. Just be sure it is big enough so the hamster doesn't have to bend his back at all to use it.

The "pellets" don't sound good. Are they made for Rabbits? Hamsters have different needs and I don't think they would like pellets anyway. Hamsters also need some fresh veggies.

What kind of hamster are you planning to get? Beware that pet shops often will sell you a cage that is much too small and they will tell you it is fine. It is not! Check out the minimum requirements for the different breeds of hamsters and the cages in the housing section of the forum.

Thanks for asking the questions you will be a good owner!

[Jindee]

I'm planning to get a dwarf hamster

I saw in other threads that dwarves are social but there is still a tendency to fight. So if I get 2 dwarves and they fight, I wouldn't have an extra big cage to store the hammy. So what do I do to "fulfill" its social needs?

Also I would just find a bedding that is a little bit more with quality brand and is trusted.

Btw thank you so much for replying. If ever I have more inquiries, I will definitely post here.

Just a back story (feel free not to read hehe)

A few years ago, I had a syrian hamster. I was really having fun with her. She's Sophie I had fun making a mini maze for her hehe. Then after a few months, my parents decided to give it away to our helper because my asthma was worsening. I felt really sad. Then after a few weeks I heard that the let out Sophie for a while then when they came back, she was bitten by a cat. RIP Sophie.

After a 3 years, a friend of mine gave me a rabbit. I was really happy. Her name was Milkshake. Since I really had no idea how to take care of rabbits, I only researched about the foods that are allowed and not allowed. After a few weeks, I arrived from a wedding. My rabbit was there. I thought it hadnt eaten for the whole day so I gave it a chunk of pineapple. I came back and it wasnt moving. After few hours, rigor mortis happened and milkshake passed away.

Ever since then I was really scared to take another pet. But ever since last year I watched tons of hamster care videos in youtube so that I could be more aware. I realized that I had a lot of mistakes what it came to caring for hammies. Like my cage was way way small. So yeah I joined this community so that I could get more information from long time hamster owners

[racinghamster]

Hello Jindee, welcome and thanks for joining Hamster Central`s forum. It`s the first step to finding out many things before you actually get a new hamster, which is great. Where you live is probably most important because you need to firstly:

Look at your living situation and whether there is anyone in the household who may not want/like/allow a hamster?

If this is all fine (and your parents if you live with them) are happy for you to have a hamster and care for one, do you have a vet near you and do they treat small animals? If you don`t, then it would be a case of preventative care throught the hamsters life and hoping he or she won`t fall ill enough to need a vets help.

Cage: You need to look at what cages are available to you and whether they are suitable.

Wheel: Runged/barred wheels are unsafe as you rightly pointed out, but they can have a strip of card weaved through the wheel, although this isn`t ideal. Solid running wheels are much safer.

Diet: Purina are know in the UK for making cat and dog food rather than good quality hamster mixes! Do you know of any hamster mixes sold where you are that would suit a dwarf hamster? They also enjoy millets and bird seed mixes as they have smaller teeth, so enjoy a hamster food that is easier for them to consume.

I would say familiarise yourself with the basics and take some notes about these. Cage, diet, health requirements/care and whether you every go away or don`t have anyone to care for the hamster if you had to go on holiday or study. Just things that need addressing.

[Thin Lizzy]

Hi Jindee and Welcome!
I'd avoid pet shop cages as they can be tiny. The recommended size is 80cmx50cmx50cm.
Many of the members have bought their cages online.
Glad you're being organised.

[RedSky]

I brought home 3 dwarf hamster sisters, the first one to be removed I saw attack one of the others while they were eating (I scattered food but if one of the others came near her while she was looking for food she would attack, poor thing was trying to get to the wheel too, didn't even want the food).
So the attacker was moved into her own cage, and the other two stayed together for a while. Until I started hearing squeaking coming from the cage, I always went to check and never found signs of a fight and never saw them fight but the stress it was causing me and therefore them every time I ran to look wasn't worth it.
In the end all three lived separately and seem to have thrived from it. Mine aren't massively social with me, and seem to prefer to stay in their cage. Although that is probably more because I got them when they were adults and they hadn't had much handling, and I've never really pushed them with it. My syrian is more interested in escaping she is also easier to handle and enjoys coming out of her cage.

As for the diet, if you can't find a good hamster mix (and dwarf hamsters shouldn't have fruit!) then you could always research into what they need and make your own, assuming you can get the things you need, mainly bird food, sugar free cereals and other things I usual find at the local health food shop.

As for asthma, mine used to be really bad when I used shavings, I never really though about it, having had small animals my entire life. I switched onto a paper based, dust free substrate and now I rarely use my inhaler. I know everyone is different, but that must have been what was setting me off. Now if I'm near shavings my asthma flares up and I get horrible headaches.

[Jindee]

As for the cage, i'm planning to make a bin cage for my hammy

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'll still think more about getting a hamster and take in consideration everything you guys said. I'll just post more if I have other questions. Glad I joined this community. All of you are so supportive

[Pebbles82]

A bin cage sounds good. I wouldn't buy shavings unless it says on the packet that they are kiln dried and dust extracted pine (which is unlikely) as another member from the Philippines said pine shavings weren't treated). If it is Aspen it is ok. A lot of people here use paper based bedding and you can make that out of toilet paper if you look at Erin's video on how to make your own paper bedding. Otherwise I would try and find somewhere that sells aspen wood bedding - they use it for snakes and reptiles so it might be available.

Is there anywhere you can buy hamster food from online? I think if you haven't got room for two cages then just get one dwarf hamster rather than a pair. They do fine on their own.