My Roborovski Dwarf Hamster prefers less space

[cloudy]

Originally Posted by arnoldshirl

Thanks, I do love her so much and her happiness means a great deal for me because these small sweet creatures don't have a long lifespan, in which I felt in the beginning that is so unfair, however, I took that negative feeling towards and chose to make something positive from it. Give these cuties the best years of their short span lives.
That's another suggestive thought towards this second tank, gather as much research and hands-on experience too and give another home to another cutie when the day arrives. I don't want to take on too many at once, they all need personal attention. One hamster at a time allows them to feel the extra special, undivided attention they should have. If you know what I mean, not saying it's wrong of others to raise a room full of hamsters. Just for me personally, I rather have one at a time.

I understand that. I love your positive thoughts on ensuring you give cinnamon bun the best possible care and attention. I hope you post a picture of her some time. I would love to see her.

[arnoldshirl]

Originally Posted by cloudy

I understand that. I love your positive thoughts on ensuring you give cinnamon bun the best possible care and attention. I hope you post a picture of her some time. I would love to see her.

I've noticed how many have posted photos of theirs. Does the flash bother them? I tried to take a photo of her without the flash but it came out crappy. I don't need her scared of the sudden flash of a light. I am open to suggestions on how to post her picture without causing her stress.

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by arnoldshirl

Wow! Really?! Hospital Cage? Why is it so far what I have threaded to gather knowledge on giving my friend the best years of her short life you have been so negative towards? Yes I want the best for my hamster! But I don't need the the rudeness of suggestive comments as in me keeping the bigger cage for a hospital!

It wasn't ever intended to be rude, I'm sorry you felt that way. You've already gotten a great suggestion for another wonderful cage and you're clearly very caring about your hamster!

My suggestion was made with the best of intentions as something that unfortunately many people may end up needing with hamsters. Hopefully you're never in that position.

Regardless of your view on that - the most important thing I mentioned was definitely about the walnut shell. That is a very serious danger as I've already said, nothing personal there, just a dangerous product.

ETA for hamster photography questions - I think flash could potentially bother them. Others might have different opinions on that, but I can't imagine it would be pleasant at the very least. It can be really hard to get good hamster pictures in general but I know others have had great success and probably have some really useful tips!

[arnoldshirl]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Some breeders actually start a hamster off in a small cage for taming, and then upgrade them. They do seem to always like something they've been in before - familiarity - but I'm not sure it would be good long term. Of all the species of hamster, Robos have the fastest metabolism and need a lot of exercise and places to run around.

The Tamburino looks promising. I could give it a go, the company ABBA seems to be here in the states. New Jersey. I'll call the business during their hours and make sure they have them in stock. Thanks for this information.

[cloudy]

I would not use a flash. Maybe when she is relaxed one day you may find a suitable time to snap a picture on your phone. It is so hard to take pictures of fast animals.

[Pebbles82]

I think sometimes when people post safety issues it isn't meant to sound like saying you're doing something wrong - it's passing on information - but we should all consider each others feelings .

I personally don't know much about ground walnut shells. Something to look into! It won't clean them like sand does but it's another interesting texture. You do want to avoid any kind of soils though as they can create damp and humidity. I did get some pieces of cork bark which our hamster seems to like, for a different texture. That's safe enough.

Re flash photos. Again I personally don't because I do find it startles them and it's not nice for them. Some people do. The problem without using flash is there needs to be enough light or they come out blurred. So a phone camera might not do it - then you need an actual camera.

Sometimes I've just adjusted the room lighting and that can be enough light for photos with a phone without flash. For example we have an anglepoise lamp in the room near the sofa so when the hamster was on the sofa I could take photos as that was a really good directional light (without actually pointing it at the hamster).

[Ria P]

It is possible that a hamster simply prefers a smaller habitat. I once housed a dwarf in a very long cage but i could tell by his behaviour that he wasn't happy. He'd duck and dive from one hide to another while rushing to a favoured wheel. I then moved him to a smaller habitat and he relaxed, probably because all his favourite things were within easy reach.

Personally, i don't think that bigger is always better. A lot depends on the individual hamster and i always go with what the hamster feels comfortable with.

I don't actually know the dimensions in cm of a 10 or 20 gallon tank.

As for hamster balls. I have used them as a safe means of transport but found that hamsters become quite agitated and panicky when trapped inside one. I believe they run because they're trying to get out and rolling around in a ball is a very stressful experience for them. Not something i'd ever subject a hamster to.

[arnoldshirl]

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

It wasn't ever intended to be rude, I'm sorry you felt that way. You've already gotten a great suggestion for another wonderful cage and you're clearly very caring about your hamster!

My suggestion was made with the best of intentions as something that unfortunately many people may end up needing with hamsters. Hopefully you're never in that position.

Regardless of your view on that - the most important thing I mentioned was definitely about the walnut shell. That is a very serious danger as I've already said, nothing personal there, just a dangerous product.

ETA for hamster photography questions - I think flash could potentially bother them. Others might have different opinions on that, but I can't imagine it would be pleasant at the very least. It can be really hard to get good hamster pictures in general but I know others have had great success and probably have some really useful tips!

There are a lot of products on the market that are harmful to a hamster, however she is showing no signs of being stressed or breathing difficulties or even any thing wrong with her eyes (I constantly observe for anything and everything different of her). She prefers the walnut shell over the sand bath. I need her to enjoy every inch of her home, even if I feel it's too small for her and she doesn't. I'll do this...I'll introduce her to smaller amounts of another brand by gradually removing some walnut shell and replacing it. A scoop at a time. Do you have any suggestions on what brand that will be safe?
My concern of the flash of the camera will cause stress. I know she doesn't like bright light and she is nocturnal. I even changed the wattage in the room to accommodate her preference. I would like to share her picture, she is what I recently learned of the color...a platinum. She has a white face and this color markings called agouti on her backside. Looks to me like an upside down cinnamon bun to where the icing is all on the bottom side.

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I personally don't know much about ground walnut shells. Something to look into! It won't clean them like sand does but it's another interesting texture. You do want to avoid any kind of soils though as they can create damp and humidity. I did get some pieces of cork bark which our hamster seems to like, for a different texture. That's safe enough.

Cork bark is a great suggestion for something safe but fun. Grape vine(wood) is another good idea for more wood texture.

Ground walnut shells are widely known in the reptile community for being incredibly dangerous and a big part of that is the extremely high likelihood(basically guaranteed inevitably) of growing dangerous mold spores. There are other natural fibers that are also equally likely to cause mold spores that are dangerous for the same reason, for example corn cob. The other big danger known in reptiles is impaction(basically digestive blockage), though I'm not entirely certain that part translates to hamsters as well. The mold spores definitely do. I'd imagine the reason we don't seem to have that information being spread around in the hamster community is because people don't tend to consider things like that for hamsters!

Coconut fiber is an excellent alternative for that sort of thing though and is far safer, providing you keep it neither too moist nor too dry.

[arnoldshirl]

Originally Posted by Ria P

It is possible that a hamster simply prefers a smaller habitat. I once housed a dwarf in a very long cage but i could tell by his behaviour that he wasn't happy. He'd duck and dive from one hide to another while rushing to a favoured wheel. I then moved him to a smaller habitat and he relaxed, probably because all his favourite things were within easy reach.

Personally, i don't think that bigger is always better. A lot depends on the individual hamster and i always go with what the hamster feels comfortable with.

I don't actually know the dimensions in cm of a 10 or 20 gallon tank.

As for hamster balls. I have used them as a safe means of transport but found that hamsters become quite agitated and panicky when trapped inside one. I believe they run because they're trying to get out and rolling around in a ball is a very stressful experience for them. Not something i'd ever subject a hamster to.

I have stopped using that hamster ball all together, she seems to prefer traveling in her 'Let's go explore' mug to stretch her legs in the playpen. Sounds to me yours done what mine done, prefers the 'small' because everything is nearby.
The dimensions are 61 x 30.5 x 40.6 in cm for a 20 gallon and the 10 gallon is 50.8 x 20.3 x 30.5 (I googled the cm's to know myself)