First Time Hamster Owner 😅

[madisongrace]

Hey everyone! I’m Madi. Brand new to the forum… AND to owning a hamster. In fact she’s the first pet I’ve ever owned. Anyone have any tips? After all my research, I’m a bit overwhelmed by all the information, and some of it seems to conflict.

For reference, my hamster is a fancy bear Syrian and I’ve had her for six days.

Glad to be here!

[Jeir]

Welcome! Gratz on the new fur friend, and yeah, the info can be conflicting at times, but this forum is a pretty good place to get consistent and accurate information, even if it is a bit quiet now. If you click on the 'Wiki' link on the left, you'll find a large repository of info that you can use.

First, 'fancy bear' is just marketing. =) There are five domesticated species of hamster; Syrian, Roborovski, Campbells, Winter White and Chinese. There's also 'Russian hybrids', which are a cross between Campbells and Winter Whites.

Anyway, given the above, you likely have a Syrian hamster. The standard recommendations given on this site are;

- For cages, the minimum size should be 100x50cm/40x20inch of continuous floor space, and the cage should be tall enough to fit a 28-32cm/11-12inch wheel, on top of suitably deep substrate. The Savic Hamster Plaza (and XL, which is 120x60cm) is considered to be a great commercially bought cage that fits these measurements. Note that shelves in cages are just extra, and don't count for the continuous floor space needed.

- As said above, wheels should be 11-12inches in diameter. Syrians can be as small as 100g, or as big as 250g, so this size wheel is good for most sizes to ensure they can run well. I use the Nightangel wheels (Medium for Dwarfs, Large for Syrians), but have Silent Runner wheels as my backups. Be aware that long haired Syrians would be better in an axle-less wheel (no bar connecting front and back of the running space), to avoid their fur getting stuck in it. Some hamsters also prefer closed running spaces (has a front, like with the Silent Runner), while others prefer open ones.

- Food can be tricky, depending on your location. A good hamster mix is the Harry/Hazel Hamster mix from Tiny Friends Farm. I tend to use this, and mix it with some of the species-specific food from Rodipet (which is expensive, so not ideal for everyone). For the first year or so, you'll want a mix with high protein (17-19%), and supplement with things like cooked plain chicken, cooked egg, or even freeze dried insects. After a year, protein levels are fine if they're lower. No, I'm not sure why, but it's probably due to them being 'middle aged' at 1 year old, and thus they no longer need protein to grow. =)

- For other cage accessories, a sand bath is a good thing to have in the cage all the time. They love to dig and roll around in it, and many will eventually learn to use it as their potty, which is helpful for keeping the cage clean. You can use children's play sand (cook in oven first to dry it and kill any bugs) or pumice-based sands, such as the Tiny Friends Farm or Rodipet ones. Avoid clay-based sand, and definitely never give them bathing dust. They also need things to chew, as they need to grind down their continuously growing teeth, so cardboard and wooden toys/tubes are ideal.

- Cage substrate is largely a personal choice. Some like to go with basic wood shavings or hemp, some like to use paper or teabag based (I use teabag), and some like to go all out with soils and sand and make a fully natural cage. Go with whichever one works best for you. Some brands to look at: Fitch, Megazorb, Carefresh, Aubiose. There are others, so please look around! Just be aware that the depth of it should be a minimum of six inches, to encourage natural tunnelling behaviour, so that might factor into costs. But, also be aware that with a large enough cage, and a hamster that has specific potty areas, you should only need to do a full cage clean a few times a year, and only spot-clean in-between.

- Taming! My advice, as someone who has cared for hamsters for 20 years, is to let the hamster lead. After a week, you should be good to try and make friends with yours. Put tissue in your sleeves, bed or anywhere that will help it pick up your scent, and then leave it in the cage for your hamster to find. If she takes it to her nest, it's a good thing, even if she starts 'angrily' tearing it up. XD
Almost all hamsters are food-motivated, so if you start by offering treats, she will quickly learn to associate you with something good. Usually after a couple of days, I would begin stroking the hamster's back, gently, while they're distracted by eating (again, associating pets with food). Then I would move on to stroking the sides, and eventually can start gently lifting them a bit as they eat (getting them used to being picked up).
If your hamster freaks out at any stage, don't worry! It happens. They're prey animals, and can be slow to trust. It can take months before they're comfortable with you. Just take a step back, and try again the next day after she's had time to calm down. Even the most terrified hamster can learn to trust you, as long as you're patient.

Anyway, I hope this helps. Feel free to ask around the forums if you have any questions, or use the forum search to find other posts that may have your answer. You can also look on youtube for advice; SomethingAnimal is one such Youtuber who has a lot of videos about care and DIY projects.

[madisongrace]

Originally Posted by Jeir

Welcome! Gratz on the new fur friend, and yeah, the info can be conflicting at times, but this forum is a pretty good place to get consistent and accurate information, even if it is a bit quiet now. If you click on the 'Wiki' link on the left, you'll find a large repository of info that you can use.

First, 'fancy bear' is just marketing. =) There are five domesticated species of hamster; Syrian, Roborovski, Campbells, Winter White and Chinese. There's also 'Russian hybrids', which are a cross between Campbells and Winter Whites.

Anyway, given the above, you likely have a Syrian hamster. The standard recommendations given on this site are;

- For cages, the minimum size should be 100x50cm/40x20inch of continuous floor space, and the cage should be tall enough to fit a 28-32cm/11-12inch wheel, on top of suitably deep substrate. The Savic Hamster Plaza (and XL, which is 120x60cm) is considered to be a great commercially bought cage that fits these measurements. Note that shelves in cages are just extra, and don't count for the continuous floor space needed.

- As said above, wheels should be 11-12inches in diameter. Syrians can be as small as 100g, or as big as 250g, so this size wheel is good for most sizes to ensure they can run well. I use the Nightangel wheels (Medium for Dwarfs, Large for Syrians), but have Silent Runner wheels as my backups. Be aware that long haired Syrians would be better in an axle-less wheel (no bar connecting front and back of the running space), to avoid their fur getting stuck in it. Some hamsters also prefer closed running spaces (has a front, like with the Silent Runner), while others prefer open ones.

- Food can be tricky, depending on your location. A good hamster mix is the Harry/Hazel Hamster mix from Tiny Friends Farm. I tend to use this, and mix it with some of the species-specific food from Rodipet (which is expensive, so not ideal for everyone). For the first year or so, you'll want a mix with high protein (17-19%), and supplement with things like cooked plain chicken, cooked egg, or even freeze dried insects. After a year, protein levels are fine if they're lower. No, I'm not sure why, but it's probably due to them being 'middle aged' at 1 year old, and thus they no longer need protein to grow. =)

- For other cage accessories, a sand bath is a good thing to have in the cage all the time. They love to dig and roll around in it, and many will eventually learn to use it as their potty, which is helpful for keeping the cage clean. You can use children's play sand (cook in oven first to dry it and kill any bugs) or pumice-based sands, such as the Tiny Friends Farm or Rodipet ones. Avoid clay-based sand, and definitely never give them bathing dust. They also need things to chew, as they need to grind down their continuously growing teeth, so cardboard and wooden toys/tubes are ideal.

- Cage substrate is largely a personal choice. Some like to go with basic wood shavings or hemp, some like to use paper or teabag based (I use teabag), and some like to go all out with soils and sand and make a fully natural cage. Go with whichever one works best for you. Some brands to look at: Fitch, Megazorb, Carefresh, Aubiose. There are others, so please look around! Just be aware that the depth of it should be a minimum of six inches, to encourage natural tunnelling behaviour, so that might factor into costs. But, also be aware that with a large enough cage, and a hamster that has specific potty areas, you should only need to do a full cage clean a few times a year, and only spot-clean in-between.

- Taming! My advice, as someone who has cared for hamsters for 20 years, is to let the hamster lead. After a week, you should be good to try and make friends with yours. Put tissue in your sleeves, bed or anywhere that will help it pick up your scent, and then leave it in the cage for your hamster to find. If she takes it to her nest, it's a good thing, even if she starts 'angrily' tearing it up. XD
Almost all hamsters are food-motivated, so if you start by offering treats, she will quickly learn to associate you with something good. Usually after a couple of days, I would begin stroking the hamster's back, gently, while they're distracted by eating (again, associating pets with food). Then I would move on to stroking the sides, and eventually can start gently lifting them a bit as they eat (getting them used to being picked up).
If your hamster freaks out at any stage, don't worry! It happens. They're prey animals, and can be slow to trust. It can take months before they're comfortable with you. Just take a step back, and try again the next day after she's had time to calm down. Even the most terrified hamster can learn to trust you, as long as you're patient.

Anyway, I hope this helps. Feel free to ask around the forums if you have any questions, or use the forum search to find other posts that may have your answer. You can also look on youtube for advice; SomethingAnimal is one such Youtuber who has a lot of videos about care and DIY projects.

Thank you so much, Jeir! I so appreciate the tips and tricks—thank you for taking the time. The cage and wheel I received with her were way too small so I purchased her a bigger cage and am ordering a bigger wheel. She’s been in a tiny cage for a week and I just transported her to the new cage today.

Unfortunately, she seemed very distressed. Even though I mixed in some of her old bedding and gave her her same toys for familiarity, she squeaked a lot which just about broke my heart. She also kept climbing the bars (and sometimes falling) looking for a way to escape. Is this a sign the cage is not right for her or does she just need time to adjust? Is she going to hurt herself by falling when she climbs the cage?

I also had a question about changing her substrate/bedding. She does not yet have a sand bath/potty area. How often should I change her bedding until she uses a potty area? When the sand bath area does arrive, how do I train her to use it?

I really want her to be happy and healthy but feel like a bad pet owner when she is so upset. Can’t wait until she gets used to things and settles down!

Thank you for pointing me to the wiki as well. I was able to read some great information.

Hope you’re having a great start to 2025!

[Jeir]

Likely she's just upset because she's gone from something familiar (the small cage) to something new (bigger cage) in a very short time. Basically treat it as if she's just been brought home from the pet store/breeder. She should calm down in a day or two, but even if she doesn't, another big change will be too stressful.

For the bar climbing, make sure that the substrate is as deep as you can make it to soften her falls. Hamsters are more resilient than they may appear, and will often walk away from even large falls, but it's still a good idea to minimise any possible danger. Otherwise, just be patient. Give her time to become familiar with her new home, although it may be she might prefer a tank-style cage (or you might be able to buy or even make perspex screens for the cage). The bigger wheel should also give her something to focus on; hamsters actually get a 'running high', so she can put any excess energy on running instead of climbing.

I would not do anything with the cage, other than putting in the new wheel and replacing food/water, for a minimum of a week, to avoid much more stress. It is likely she has got spot she goes potty at; hamsters are very clean animals (well...in general XD), so do tend to pee in one or two places. You can watch her to see where she goes (they usually do a little dance, maybe twirl a couple of times, and point their butts at a corner with a look of extreme concentration when they go), or in a week, see if you can spot any obvious yellow damp areas. Once found, only clean that patch of peed-on substrate, and place the new sand bath there. You can add a little of the pee-d on substrate into the sand bath so she can recognise it as a toilet, but often I've found that hamsters just gravitate to the sand bath anyway. You can then clean out the pee-d on sand once or twice a week, leaving the rest/topping it up.

Lastly, don't feel bad. We've all started somewhere, and even I'm still learning things. These forums are a great resource, and I wish they were around when I first started caring for hamsters. You'll be fine. =)

[madisongrace]

Originally Posted by Jeir

Likely she's just upset because she's gone from something familiar (the small cage) to something new (bigger cage) in a very short time. Basically treat it as if she's just been brought home from the pet store/breeder. She should calm down in a day or two, but even if she doesn't, another big change will be too stressful.

For the bar climbing, make sure that the substrate is as deep as you can make it to soften her falls. Hamsters are more resilient than they may appear, and will often walk away from even large falls, but it's still a good idea to minimise any possible danger. Otherwise, just be patient. Give her time to become familiar with her new home, although it may be she might prefer a tank-style cage (or you might be able to buy or even make perspex screens for the cage). The bigger wheel should also give her something to focus on; hamsters actually get a 'running high', so she can put any excess energy on running instead of climbing.

I would not do anything with the cage, other than putting in the new wheel and replacing food/water, for a minimum of a week, to avoid much more stress. It is likely she has got spot she goes potty at; hamsters are very clean animals (well...in general XD), so do tend to pee in one or two places. You can watch her to see where she goes (they usually do a little dance, maybe twirl a couple of times, and point their butts at a corner with a look of extreme concentration when they go), or in a week, see if you can spot any obvious yellow damp areas. Once found, only clean that patch of peed-on substrate, and place the new sand bath there. You can add a little of the pee-d on substrate into the sand bath so she can recognise it as a toilet, but often I've found that hamsters just gravitate to the sand bath anyway. You can then clean out the pee-d on sand once or twice a week, leaving the rest/topping it up.

Lastly, don't feel bad. We've all started somewhere, and even I'm still learning things. These forums are a great resource, and I wish they were around when I first started caring for hamsters. You'll be fine. =)

Thank you SO MUCH! That seriously helps me a lot and I feel way less overwhelmed. I really appreciate the help. ❤️