*waves* Beginner Needing Advice Please

[_Lu_]

Hi all,

This is my first post, so be nice please :)

(... although I did post this same thing within the Syrian group, but it hasn't appeared?)

My partner and I got our first Syrian hamster, Humbert, on the 12th October. He's 4 months old.

We bought him from an independent pet store, and they sold us a cage meant for a dwarf hamster (little did we know). We have since purchased a temporary larger cage from a second-hand website while our new preferred cage is being delivered.

Humbert is the tamest little thing. We let him settle for 24 hours before we attempted to handle him (yes, we know we should have waited longer - but it was a struggle to wait 24 hours!). He runs onto our hands and lets us pick him up, stroke him, kiss him - and hasn't nipped us once :)

However, I do have some concerns...

#1: He's massive. He's bigger than most of the pictures of other Syrians on this site. I know my profile doesn't make him look that large, but he's too big to fit on one of my hands - and can't even fit through most of the cage furniture (I'll upload another picture soon, if I can ever figure out how).

2#: Due to his large size, we thought it would be a good idea to buy a massive cage (before purchasing the one we have in the post). So, we went out and bought a cage suitable for rats from Pets At Home for £85.

We got it home, assembled the shelving and popped Humbert in to make sure all was okay.

Unfortunately not. It seems we have a little climber on our hands, and the cage was totally unsuitable and dangerous because Humbert could climb all the way to the top on the side wires - get stuck - and if we weren't there to catch him, he would plummet! We immediately returned it.

Is this climbing behaviour normal?

#3: He doesn't like his wheel. We bought him a much larger one than that provided in the dwarf cage (which was obviously far too small). The new wheel is a perfect size and easily turns in the cage, but he just doesn't seem to care about it. Is this an issue in regards to his exercise? He loves his ball and we get him rolling around every evening for half an hour - along with 'floor time'.

#4: He makes strange noises. We think it is when he is introduced to new smells. It sounds like a breathing in noise/chirp. It doesn't sound distressed - but then we don't know what distressed noises sound like. He rarely makes the noises, and I haven't heard any since the weekend - but I am concerned something may have been bothering him. Any ideas?

Well, that was a long post and I think I've just about covered everything. Any suggestions or advice from you knowledgeable lot would be greatly appreciated. We love our little (well, not that little) Humbert and want to get things right :)

Thanks in advance for any response!

Lu

(oooh, look - I figured out how to add a picture!)

[souffle]

Hello and welcome.
Your first four posts are moderator approved so may take a wee while to appear.
If the pet shop gets it stock from a hobby breeder then he will be large. A breeder hamster male will likely be between 160 - over 200g when full size. Our 17 week old male is 220g!
Glad to hear you have got a nice big cage. The climbing is normal but we tend to not have cages that allow it as it is not really a natural activity. In the wild they are pretty much ground dwellers and they can fall and hurt themselves. If you have a high cage it needs broken into levels with shelves and hammocks to protect them from a straight drop down.
Not every hamster bothers the wheel and as long as he is active otherwise and has other types of enrichment that is fine. He likely uses it when you are asleep!
Young hamsters often chirp and squeak and can be quite vocal. They do 'call' if they can smell others and it is a whiffly noise. Nervous hammys chatter their teeth so watch if he does this as he may bite. Calm him then carry on stroking and handling.
If it becomes a chesty wheeze then see the vet as it could be a chest infection or cold. Hams can catch human colds.
Be sure to post lots more pics

[emilyweb]

Welcome
your boy looks perfectly healthy
as souffle said if it was a hobbyist breeder he will be a big boy
some of the smaller cages, cage furnitutre is very small so I wouldn't worry about that
it sounds like the cage your waiting for is the savic hamster heaven which is a very good cage
only thing is the wheel that comes with it is to small.

[shazzy]

Hi and welcome - he certainly looks like a big boy in the picture!

My girls Darcey is 220g, so also quite large. Ive got her in a zoozone 2 (100x50) and she has a senior wodent wheel (12") - your boy might like the size of the senior wodent wheel and may use it more. It has a nice wide running track too. Darcey also has a guinea pig size wooden corner house as normal hamster sized ones on the market are not big enough!

What cage did you order in the end? I dont think it says in the post

[souffle]

I would say he is definitly from a breeder as he has a beautiful head shape and type. That coupled with the fact he was so tame would indicate this. Breeders will handle the babies from a young age and tame them nicely.

[LocoRocoPanda]

Awh he's beautiful!!!

My breeder boys are all huge. Shisui is only 11 and a half weeks old and he's 172g now!!! However Shisui's a mink which, correct me if I'm wrong, I've always found to be chunkier than most.

Your boy is so adorable. Sometimes it takes a while for them to figure out their wheel and some, like my Claudio, don't bother.

Noisy is fine. My Izu is 7 months and he still chirps for attention. You get used to it.

I have such a soft spot for creams. Your boy looks adorable!!!

[vanilla-yazoo]

He looks gorgeous! Welcome! Don't worry about him being big, my show girl Nancy was 180g and bigger then one hand when I got her at 10weeks
What cage have you ordered? I know hamsters can really like climbing, some prefer running. I suggest a nice big wheel looks lol you will need a seniour wodent wheel or the big 39m karlie we can throw links at you if you like sounds like you are doing the right thing getting a new big cage, I hate it when they sell you something really unsuitable!

[_Lu_]

Thanks for the replies everyone. We've got an Alexander cage from Zooplus on its way. Hopefully it'll be big enough for our chunky man!

[LocoRocoPanda]

Oh two of my hams are in the Alexander. He'll love it. Trust me. XD Izu adores his and he's a wikkle ham however my Claudio is in one as well and he never seems bored in it at all.

[shazzy]

Woah spoilt hammy! Thats a really good cage for him