Hi (and a new owner question)

[steve75]

Hi all. My name is Steve. I've just brought home a wee Syrian Hamster for my daughters Christmas. We're first time Hamster owners so I suspect I'll be on here a lot asking questions.

So here is my first one. I've got the Savic Hamster Heaven cage and I've set it up like it is on the box with the water bottle and the food accessible from the platforms. Given that it's a young hamster and not fully grown will the wee fella be able to climb up to the platforms or should I move it down to base of the cage? I'll upload a picture of the cage.

Also I've not seen the hamster for a while and think he's buried under the bedding. Is that normal? Will it he able to breath ok?

Any help much appreciated.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Hi and congratulations on your daughters new hamster.
Do not worry about the hamster being buried under the bedding, that is perfectly normal and he/she will be able to breathe, I guess they have little air pockets and there is enough air for them to breathe. I guess it's all in relation too and they are only small.

I have only had older hamsters so I will let someone else more qualified to answer your other question.

Welcome to the forum and do ask if you have any more questions, plenty of people are here to help.

[Ria P]

Hi and welcome to HC!
Well done for getting a good sized cage and getting involved with your daughters new pet. You are in the right place, on this very friendly forum, to get all the information you need, share stories and photos and have a good old chat.

I'm just trying to think back to my hamster's set up when he was wee. His bottle was and still is on ground level which i think is better for getting a drink during the day.
The food should be fine on the shelf but i would scatter some on the paper substrate for the hamster to find.

Keep an eye on the tubes. They are fine if the hamster runs through them but you don't want him to sleep/nest in them or the penthouse on top because he'd be likely to pee in it or hoard food in it which would be unhygienic and difficult to clean. People often take them off and sometimes a plastic shelf as well then replace with a smaller, wooden corner shelf which would make room for a big house. Hamsters need somewhere to build a nest and keep a hoard. My Syrian has the Ferplast guinea pig house and loves it.

Once your hamster grows into an adult he'll need a bigger wheel but that's for later.

Your hamster is a shy and scared baby at the moment so hiding away is perfectly normal. Most hamsters love to burrow and its so cute when their little faces suddenly pop up somewhere. He'll need time to settle so best to leave him to it for a few days. Talk to him gently so he gets used to your voices and keep him fed and watered. You can also stuff some plain, white tissues up your sleeves for a few hours, then tear them into strips and leave them in the cage so he gets familiar with your scents.

In the meantime, you could have a look at the "Let's see your cages" thread on the Forum under Housing to see a variety of set ups.

[chloeeruth98]

Welcome to the forum! And congratulations to you and your daughter on becoming hammy parents! I think your hammy is very lucky to have a lovely cage like the Savic HH. Little hammies do tend to be quite skittish and can tumble quite easily - having lots of deep bedding is a good way to help soften a fall, but plastic platforms aren't as good as just having plenty of bridges, card tunnels, hideouts, chew toys and best of all a sandbath! As Ria says, keep an eye on your little one in the wheel - a Syrian hamster needs around an 11in-12in diameter wheel by the time they're 4 months. Their back shouldn't bend at all while running in the wheel, otherwise they can damage their spine. Big houses seem to be a hit with my hammies, as Ria says guinea pig houses are usually better than ones advertised for hamsters!

[steve75]

Hi guys. Thanks for your replies to my original post. The wee guy now has a name and "Buddy" is settling in well to his new home. There are no issues with him accessing his food and water. The only problem we've had is that Santa didn't close his cage properly on Christmas Eve and he was running around the room when we got up on Christmas morning. Silly Santa!

He's getting used to all of us as well. We've been going through the taming process and he's now comfortable with us putting our hands in the cage and he'll take treats out of our hand.

Only slight concern is that over the last 2 days he's spending most of his time in the tubes and penthouse and as Ria P said might happen he's nesting in there, hording his food and pooing. So I'll take the advice to look at an alternative set up for the cage. We have a bigger wheel ready to go in so would have to do that anyway.

Thanks again for your replies and best wishes for 2020!

[cypher]

This issue with the tubes is very common & it's best to just remove the tubes & penthouse with the hamster heaven using the blockers for the holes that come with the cage, far better to do that sooner rather than later.
He may get a bit stressed but will soon get over it if you give him a nice alternative house, a cardboard box like a shoe box with no base & a hole cut out for a door can work well as a temporary house, maybe put a bendy bridge over the door to make it darker inside & place it on a nice deep layer of substrate in the base of the cage.
You might find it easier to set up things without all the bits that come with the cage tbh, the house can double as a shelf & with deep substrate & maybe some small shelves or something like lava ledges you ham should be able to access everything easily enough.