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Old 11-12-2022, 07:15 PM   #1
pepperthehammy02
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Join Date: Nov 2022
Location: Texas
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Unhappy Hi! New owner- hamster stressed need help!

Hi guys! My name is Stephanie and I am a new hamster owner. I got a winter white dwarf hamster from someone who lives on my college campus. She is 4 months old and her name is Pepper. I absolutely adore her and would appreciate any help.

Information:
She has a 2 ft by 3 ft cage (it is a plastic container), an 8 inch wheel, white soft bedding, and a huge rock underneath the bedding from the previous owner. I keep her in my bedroom away from ultrasound noise, and it is usually not too sunny during the day and is dark at night. I do not own any other pets and the noise level is quiet. I used the same brand of bedding the previous owner used to make her comfortable. She has a large bowl of food, a water bottle, and water in a bowl that is standing as I find she prefers to sip from the bowl. She also has plenty of toys and wood chews. She has a hut and a mug that she likes to hide in. I also scattered a few pebbles or small rocks around her cage. I keep the temp anywhere from 69F-73F. I also place down a sand bath two days of the week. I replace her bedding weekly and spot clean when I can. I also replace her food once every 3 days and change water daily. She poops on her wheel all the time, and the previous owner warned me of that as well. The previous owner did not take good care of her. She had a tiny cage and her bedding was full of poop. Owner advised me to change the bedding only once every month, which I was shocked after doing my research to find that is awful. Her old cage was filthy and she seemed like she did not care for poor Pepper.

Normal at first:
She seemed to be doing just fine in the first two weeks. Sleeping during the day and active on her wheel at night. I followed all the guidelines about not touching her for a few days and let her settle in until I touched her. When I finally got around to introducing myself she let me hold her just fine and I put my scent on paper towels. She ran up to my hand a lot to check me out and never ran away from me.

The problem:
However, these past few weeks have gone crazy. She started biting me all of the sudden out of nowhere. I think she is running up to my hand to check me out when really she runs up to my hand to bite me. To the point where she actually broke skin on one of my fingers. This is strange because she still allows me to pet her and basically do whatever I want when she is nibbling on food. She also allows me to feed her sunflower seeds in my palm no problem; she picks it apart and lets me pet her while she eats. Next, she stopped coming out from 6-7 PM. She would always come out and run on her wheel per usual until 7-8 AM. Now, she stays hidden mostly all night in her mug or under her bedding. Not only this, but wherever she hides she ends up pooping there everywhere instead of her normal spot, to the point where the cage has started to smell bad even after I freshly cleaned and replaced the bedding. Also, her poop is green and sometimes runny and I noticed this around week 1. I feed her hamster food from PetSmart and take time to remove the sunflower seeds from it because that can be too much for a hamster. I am not sure if the artificial dyes in it make her poop green? Here is the link to the food:

https://www.petsmart.com/small-pet/f...kaAuHqEALw_wcB

Changes:
The only changes I have made was the bedding and her wheel. I didn't know scented bedding wasn't good for hamsters. I only had that bedding for a day or so when I noticed she refused to burrow and was running on her wheel constantly due to stress. I changed it to the non-scented brand of bedding her previous owner used and she finally burrowed and did fine. Next I changed her wheel out because it was making a ton of noise and keeping me up at night- the only difference was the size was an inch smaller but still 6 inches. The material was the same plastic. I just changed her wheel back to the old one to see if maybe that is the issue. I also recently put pebbles (or small rocks) in her cage but that was after her behavior started changing.

Please if anyone could help me regain trust with my hamster and figure out what is wrong? I asked someone at PetSmart who is supposed to be the expert in hamsters and he gave me a basically "I don't know". If this worsens I think I will take her to the vet. Please help!!!
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Old 11-15-2022, 04:48 AM   #2
cloudy
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Default Re: Hi! New owner- hamster stressed need help!

Hello Pepperthehammy and welcome. It is lovely you have taken on this hamster and are trying to give her a better life.

First I would say, the food is a poor quality one. Sunflower seeds are fine for hamsters and if you remove those then it will change the nutrition of the food.

It would be really helpful if you could show a picture of the cage so members could give advice about that.

Your hamster has had a lot of changes right now and I can imagine this is all new to her and she is still settling in.

I notice when hamsters first arrive they may have a routine that then changes once they become familiar with their new environment. If she is coming out at different times this is okay.

A 6 inch wheel is far too small for any hamster. With a dwarf hamster they need a minimum of 8 inches but 10 is better.

How deep is her bedding? Her bedding should not be smelling and I am wondering if it is not deep enough. 6 inches minimum is best for the bedding. She will need access to sand at all times. Sand will help to keep her fur clean and she may also like to play in it. With bedding spot cleans are usually done but by changing it all you remove the hamsters scent and this can cause stress. So you will remove any wet bedding and then add fresh bedding.
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Old 11-15-2022, 05:59 AM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hi! New owner- hamster stressed need help!

How long have you had her? It can take them a good two weeks to settle into a cage without changes or disturbance so she may just be stressed or scared after the scented substrate, then the change of substrate and change of wheel.

It's probably best to go back to square one. Leave her alone for 2 or 3 days to settle in and then avoid any changes or cleaning for two weeks and she should calm down. She's probably scared and stressed. If she settles down she can get into a routine. They need to find a place to build a nest, get used to where everything is in their environment, scent mark everything. It's probably the substrate issue and then need to change it that has stressed her out. So it's time and patience now while she settles, then start again with taming.
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Old 11-15-2022, 06:43 PM   #4
lovehamsters01
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Default Re: Hi! New owner- hamster stressed need help!

wow, you sound like an amazing hamster owner! as someone who is also a somewhat new owner, i found with all 4 of my hamsters that they often had a routine the 1st few weeks that ended up drastically changing once they settled in. in fact, I have a hamster (also a dwarf) that only goes on his wheel for 1-2 hours a night, and prefers to spend his time doing other things at night.
for the behavior issues, i found with this same dwarf hamster that he also went through a random biting phase which was completely out of character for him, and after a few weeks he was back to no biting so I would recommend giving it a few weeks, and like Serendipity7000 said, starting the taming process from the beginning. u can also make sure that you wash ur hands with soap and water before holding her in case she's smelling food on you.
hope this helps!
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Old 11-16-2022, 01:48 AM   #5
Ria P
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Default Re: Hi! New owner- hamster stressed need help!

Hello and welcome!

There are just a few things i'd like to add.

A hamster's poops shouldn't be smelly, green or runny. If it continues i'd get her checked out by a vet.
One of my hamsters had the same problem and the vet diagnosed internal parasites which were easily treated.

It could be that your hamster had been fed too much fresh food like lettuce, kale and other leafy greens which can upset their sensitive digestive system.

Why does your hamster have a large rock under her bedding? Many hamsters like to burrow and a rock would get in the way of making a tunnel. What they do need is plenty of paper based substrate.

Are the pebbles big enough not to get pouched? I find flat pebbles very useful under a water bottle or used as a step.

Is her bin cage ventilated with a meshed lid? Lack of ventilation can also make a bin cage smell quicker.

Don't worry if you don't get everything right at the beginning. Nobody does and we all learn as we go.
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Old 11-16-2022, 10:49 PM   #6
pepperthehammy02
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Default Re: Hi! New owner- hamster stressed need help!

Hi guys!

Thank you so much for everyone’s feedback. I really appreciate it. First of all I did attach images with her cage- pls let me explain first lol. I got her a bigger wheel but I don’t think she’s strong enough to push it. She can go at it for sure but it takes much more of her. For tonight, I put both her wheels in there (new and old) to see which one she prefers. She has been using both. I know it’s very cramped I have tried to free space and plan on getting an even bigger cage. If this is a bad call though, please let me know.

Second, I listened to yalls suggestions. I made sure the bedding was much thicker because it was not 6 inches. Also her old wheel is 6 inches but you guys said that is too small. Any links to good wheels? Pet smart didn’t have any besides the big bulky one which is hard to push. The pebbles are relatively flat and small and she usually burrows them, not sure if they are visible in the pictures. As far as her poop, it’s very green. I plan on taking her to the vet on Friday. I also removed the large rock.

I also make sure my hands are clean before handling her maybe it really is all of these new changes overwhelming her. I really just want to provide what’s best for her. I wish they could talk and tell us straight up!! For now I am going back to square one and leaving her alone again with these new changes. It has been about a month since I have had her so I think I need to give her time to adjust without handling her. I will also establish routine like an exact time to change her food and water etc. I hear hamsters like routine.

Finally, what food should I get her?? I held off on getting new food without you guys’ input. For now I am still using the one I linked in my first post. Also I plan on putting her sand bath in! I just washed it out so it wasn’t in the photo. I still change bedding every week or so- is that bad? And I do spot clean and replace with new bedding every day (as well as replace water).

Thank you seriously everyone I am just trying to make her new home as comfortable as possible and I appreciate the help so much
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Old 11-17-2022, 03:51 AM   #7
cloudy
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Default Re: Hi! New owner- hamster stressed need help!

As you are in US you have access to Niteangel. They make amazing products and I love their wheels. You can order one through Amazon.

Hamsters do not need their whole bedding changed. Doing this removes their scent and causes them stress. You can just do spot cleans removing the soiled bedding and replacing it with some fresh bedding.

As to food I hear in US people like chubby cheeks but I am not sure of others.

Hamsters actually like a more crowded cage. I am.sure adding more hides and a tunnel would be really appreciated.
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Old 11-17-2022, 10:32 AM   #8
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Hi! New owner- hamster stressed need help!

The proper diet in the US for any hamster species is going to be Higgins Vita Garden, not Sunburst as that has dried fruit. Fruit isn't really something hamsters would naturally be eating in the wild, plus dried fruit has even more concentrated nutrients than fresh fruit including sugar which isn't great for diabetes prone species. All you'd need to add to that is a good quality animal protein (Pure Bites chicken or turkey for example, or plain boiled egg is a good choice as well). I would also add a pinch of flax seed for overall skin & coat health.

As far as wheels go, using a wheel that is too small is unsafe(harmful to the spine) and you should definitely remove the 6 inch one. The main thing is using one that's solid plastic without any injury risk like gaps where toes and nails could get caught in the running surface, and appropriately sized too of course.

If your bin cage doesn't have a lid at all that's a very dangerous thing as well. It's absolutely essential to have a secure lid regardless of cage setup with hamsters. They can escape very easily regardless of setup if they're determined enough, and it's generally in ways you'd expect to be impossible or very unlikely!
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Old 11-18-2022, 12:15 AM   #9
lovehamsters01
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Default Re: Hi! New owner- hamster stressed need help!

as a fellow US based hamster owner, I absolutely love the Niteangel wheel, as cloudy also recommended. its a bit pricey but i've tried them all and can tell you its well worth the money!
as for diet, Higgins Vita Garden is good but not for every hamster. every single one of my hamsters, for example, will only eat a few parts of it and not the majority, so most of it stays in their food bowl and they dont get a complete diet.
many people prefer to use Mazuri Rat and Mouse diet and supplement it with seed mixes, proteins (hard boiled egg, Pure Bites freeze-dried chicken, etc), and small portions of small veggies. hamsters also LOVE whimzees (get the xs size) and different wheat and millet sprays which you can find in the bird section of a pet store, or on amazon.
there's also many additional foods you can give them from your house such as raw rice, raw noodles, and much more and many fruits and veggies but only limited amounts as treats. you can look up the full list online.
good luck, and I hope this is helpful!
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Old 11-18-2022, 06:15 AM   #10
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Hi! New owner- hamster stressed need help!

Lab blocks really aren't necessary and will actually be lowering the overall quality of the diet. Yes, they're high protein, but they aren't a high quality source of protein. Stick to just the Higgins Vita Garden. Picky eaters really aren't an issue - keep in mind that some bits left behind will be things like shells of seeds which aren't meant to be eaten anyways which can make it much easier to think they're being picky eaters when they may not even be.

It's also worth mentioning that some hamsters may not eat all their food in a single day either, plus they could be eating more food from their hoard instead of entirely from their bowl. I know not everyone even gives the main diet every single day with hamsters and they're really not the fastest eaters in general especially compared to larger rodents like rats!
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