Meet Heaven, my new Syrian

[Cinnamon Bear]

Thank you Lizzy, Hamsterita, & FF for the compliments. The wheel in the drawer worked out! She didn't mind the vet so much, at least she didn't bite during the nail trim. just got wiggly.

I like her coloring too, Lizzy
FF the wheel does seem like the perfect fit.

[Coco61]

Good to see Heaven's set up with her wheel. Such a beautiful girl.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Thanks Coco

[Cinnamon Bear]

Heaven is a success story thus far. After having some discouraging times with 2-3 dwarves being rescues and/ or elderly. So Heaven is a pleasure to have in my hamily. She has been tame since the moment I brought her home. I'll have had her for a month pretty soon. She loves cuddles every night. She wakes up early for me to spend lots of time with her every evening. Not too much but if she could have it her way she would want attention every waking minute almost.

She loves to crawl on my arms and cuddle, all nested on my sweaters. I have to be careful because I know that she would love to jump out of that bin cage if she had the chance. She likes eating Oxbow surprisingly instead of the lab blocks. So I feed her Oxbow and Higgins Sunburst seed mix. Plus snacks and last night she had a little bit of an apple. That went over well as she loved the apple.

She is completely potty trained in the sand bowl, which will make cage cleanings much less frequent and less smelly too! She still tries to escape by climbing up the back of her Silent Runner wheel but is unsuccessful every time. I guess that is the nature of most hamsters, always wanting to escape it seems, at least for me anyways

I let her roll around in her hamster ball for about 10-15 min each night. It seems that she's had enough when she rolls back up to my feet and sits there. So I peel back the painters tape and put her back in her cage. I wish that I could give her an even bigger cage. Maybe someday?

She doesn't drink out of water bottle since she tries to climb it and knocks it around at night making all kinds of noise so she gets a little bowl of water which she enjoys just as much, if not better? She keeps her cage tidy. There is never any bedding in either her sand dish, food bowl or water. She even uses her food dish as her stash.

I want to start feeding her veggies but I don't want them getting moldly in her cage. Guess that I'll give her little bits of veggies at a time. I think I've given her banana, walnuts and sunflower seeds. She has a huge variety of treats but the vet said to give them sparingly so she will eat her food mix. It's hard to resist giving her treats constantly.

So that's my experience with heaven so far a pleasure! So far so good! I like her cuddles very much

[AmityvilleHams]

Bigger cages can definitely come with time,or you could gradually expand a bin cage system as mentioned previously

Fresh food is a tricky thing,but as long as you give small amounts it shouldn't go bad as it will likely be eaten quickly.

I often take out quite a few different pieces from the Higgins mix,such as the seeds and fruit,and then feed that by hand which my Syrian seems to love.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Thanks Amity, she'd like a 8 ft cage but space is an issue. That's a good idea to feet the nuts & dried fruit as treats from the seed mix. Right, little bits of fruit & veggies should be eaten quickly, hopefully

[AmityvilleHams]

It doesn't have to all be in one long line though,so if you can somehow make it work by having the bins in a different formation that works too as long as they're directly connected and not connected by tubes or anything like that!That is honestly one of the biggest appeals to extended bins,since it isn't like a tank or other types of cage where they have to be a set shape which may not be a good fit for everyone.

[Hamsterita]

If you are worried about moldy food and she 's so tame, you can always hand feed her, don't letting her to pouch it, and problem solved

Anyway as Amity said, they usually eat fresh food first, so If you only give her tiny amounts, once you know what she really likes she probably will devour it in a jiffy

[Coco61]

It's lovely to read how much Heaven has added to your hammy life CB. She sounds absolutely delightful. Fingernail size of veggie treats will go down well while you work out her likes and dislikes. She will most likely eat them straight away to make it easy for you.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Ok thanks all Will try your suggestions, especially finger nail size amount, easy enough to remember. Going shopping today. Pick out some veggies we can share

Coco, she is a present sent from Heaven I believe