Hamsters

[J4ckdaw-]

Does anyone have a hamster.? We realized a turtle for my oldest may be too big a commitment for her just yet. She's turning 8 and reaaaaaly wanted a turtle. But she conceded that if she can take care of something like a fish or a hamster for a year or so (or it's few years life span, really) then we would get her a turtle. I know nothing about hamsters. My cousin has a couple but that was 20 years ago and care info has obviously changed. So does anyone know (as far as bedding, chew toys, sand for bath, type of food, etc) what is best for them.?

Picture of Miko for attention

Hamsters are a fun pet, especially for younger kids like yours. I’ve had a few in the past so here is what I know: a good thick layer of bedding is in order, I used 4-6” at least. Her best was at least 8-10” deep.

As for food, I fed her pellets and some fresh greens or carrots. She liked her pellets best though, which is probably why she got so fat… anyhow, I’m no expert on hamster nutrition so I could be totally wrong here.

As for chew toys… my hamster chewed on everything, she climbed up her glass aquarium (somehow) and chewed the plastic rim. She would also destroy any toy I put in with her, she was nuts for that stuff.

I had to change to an aquarium because she would pee out of the bars onto my wall- and DAMN does hamster pee stink, it’s terrible.

 

[Hazel_Basil10]

My friend has a Guinea pig which are similar and we were about to get a hamster but then we got a Bearded dragon instead (Which I'm glad that we got Hazel) and fun fact, they can collapse their bones so they can fit through things so yes they can escape from a cage(That can be one way they die as well if they tried to squeeze their tiny little bodies through something that was too small) but my friend's Guinea pig has done fine in a cage one so I don't see the problem. I think it should be fine

 

[acidburn01]

It's been decades since I've had a hamster but one thing I remember is be sure to check thier bedding for food stashes now and again and make sure they aren't rotting.

Hamsters supposedly choose one area as a latrine and another as a pantry, but some of mine weren't very smart and would pee all over the piles of food they stored causing a nasty mess if you didn't catch it early.

I've noticed our hamster just goes wherever, even if it's right on his food so we've been staying on top of it. It's... mildly gross.

 

[acidburn01]

I have a hamster too she’s in a wire cage. She has at least 8” of bedding and the cage is not one of those tiny ones that companies think are great for hamsters. I got one that’s at least 600 square inches of floor space. She’s actually happy in there she comes out most nights so she’s only asleep, eating or getting some water in there. She’s almost 2 years old now so she mostly sleeps.

I'm not sure how many inches of bedding he has, maybe 4 to 6 but it's a two level cage with two platforms, some ladders and tubes that go through it and over the top and he seems to like it. He's super active at night, which I guess is good. He likes to drag piles of food into the middle of his tubes, right where I can't reach without taking it apart.

 

[Xjrosie]

This is kinda late, but I have a Syrian hamster. His name is Puff Hammy, and he's 1. He lives in a rabbit hutch. He doesn't climb and only likes the Timothy hay treats for chewing. He mainly get pellets from Oxbow, but every other day he gets treats. So far he likes carrots, radishes, strawberries, bananas, Brussels sprouts, arugula, kale, turnip and mustard greens, peanuts, and scrambled eggs. Not fond of raspberries. LOVES apples.

Most important, make sure the wheel is the right size! Those little wheels that come with cages are not appropriate for most hamsters. I moved to a rabbit hutch because PH has a 12" wheel.

He bit quite a bit when he was little, but not anymore. He knows me and when I call him, he comes over to his doorway and climbs on me.

He is, however, afraid of Thor. Guess they can't be friends. He loves my cats though.

 

[acidburn01]

This is kinda late, but I have a Syrian hamster. His name is Puff Hammy, and he's 1. He lives in a rabbit hutch. He doesn't climb and only likes the Timothy hay treats for chewing. He mainly get pellets from Oxbow, but every other day he gets treats. So far he likes carrots, radishes, strawberries, bananas, Brussels sprouts, arugula, kale, turnip and mustard greens, peanuts, and scrambled eggs. Not fond of raspberries. LOVES apples.

Most important, make sure the wheel is the right size! Those little wheels that come with cages are not appropriate for most hamsters. I moved to a rabbit hutch because PH has a 12" wheel.

He bit quite a bit when he was little, but not anymore. He knows me and when I call him, he comes over to his doorway and climbs on me.

He is, however, afraid of Thor. Guess they can't be friends. He loves my cats though.

His wheel did come with his cage but it's an okay sized wheel for his size, he's a winter white dwarf hamster so he's a little puff ball. He's super picky. We give him the mixed food from kaytee, I can't remember what kind. It comes with corn, seeds, some pellets and other stuff. He doesn't like hay. I put a mini barrel in his cage and I've never seen him eat it nor do I ever see pieces of it. He likes bananas kinda but doesn't really like most fruit but freaking loves mealworms. He looses his mind for them and will jump into the container if I let him. He's only a few months old so I'm hoping it changes as he gets older. He does really like the honey glaze peanut treat stick from PetSmart. He destroyed that darn thing. He's starting to like me, when I hold him, he'll sit still and go into that weird reset/glitch mode where they sit totally still for a solid minute and he comes to the door when he's up and I come into my kids room at night. I think he just associates me with mealworms

 

[Xjrosie]

His wheel did come with his cage but it's an okay sized wheel for his size, he's a winter white dwarf hamster so he's a little puff ball. He's super picky. We give him the mixed food from kaytee, I can't remember what kind. It comes with corn, seeds, some pellets and other stuff. He doesn't like hay. I put a mini barrel in his cage and I've never seen him eat it nor do I ever see pieces of it. He likes bananas kinda but doesn't really like most fruit but freaking loves mealworms. He looses his mind for them and will jump into the container if I let him. He's only a few months old so I'm hoping it changes as he gets older. He does really like the honey glaze peanut treat stick from PetSmart. He destroyed that darn thing. He's starting to like me, when I hold him, he'll sit still and go into that weird reset/glitch mode where they sit totally still for a solid minute and he comes to the door when he's up and I come into my kids room at night. I think he just associates me with mealworms

Facts. There's three doors on Puff's hutch, and the first two are wire, and the third is solid. I always feed him in the solid door. So he comes to say hi at the wire doors, then heads around the corner to the third door where he knows I give treats!

 

[acidburn01]

Facts. There's three doors on Puff's hutch, and the first two are wire, and the third is solid. I always feed him in the solid door. So he comes to say hi at the wire doors, then heads around the corner to the third door where he knows I give treats!

That's crazy. I wish we could train Smokey. He's so damn hyperactive, it's unreal. When he runs in his wheel at night, we can hear it with my kids door closed and our door closed, like he's running from a 'Nam flashback or something. And when I bring him out on the bed, I don't know if he can smell the mealworms, smell the lizards and freaks out or what, but he just bolts all around my bed. It's ridiculous.

 

[Xjrosie]

That's crazy. I wish we could train Smokey. He's so damn hyperactive, it's unreal. When he runs in his wheel at night, we can hear it with my kids door closed and our door closed, like he's running from a 'Nam flashback or something. And when I bring him out on the bed, I don't know if he can smell the mealworms, smell the lizards and freaks out or what, but he just bolts all around my bed. It's ridiculous.

They make wheels that are quiet. I can't even hear Puff's wheel if I'm standing right next to him! And you can use a little cooking spray if you have it. Spray it into the spot where the pin is. Don't use anything like wd40, of course. Cooking spray isn't toxic for them and it's not appealing so they won't try to eat it. They love their wheels! I wish I could take him out more, but I have a cat who I know I can't trust.

And you can train him. You just have to be repetitive. He will figure it out. You also have to work on his schedule. Like, Puff wakes up at 11 pm. So that's when I give the treats. If I try to give treats when he's sleeping, he looks at me like I'm an ***** and crawls back in bed.

 

[acidburn01]

They make wheels that are quiet. I can't even hear Puff's wheel if I'm standing right next to him! And you can use a little cooking spray if you have it. Spray it into the spot where the pin is. Don't use anything like wd40, of course. Cooking spray isn't toxic for them and it's not appealing so they won't try to eat it. They love their wheels! I wish I could take him out more, but I have a cat who I know I can't trust.

And you can train him. You just have to be repetitive. He will figure it out. You also have to work on his schedule. Like, Puff wakes up at 11 pm. So that's when I give the treats. If I try to give treats when he's sleeping, he looks at me like I'm an ***** and crawls back in bed.

Does yours ever wake up throughout the day.? Smokey gets up two or three times to eat a few bites, run around a bit or bathe in his sand bowl but then go back to sleep. Sometimes, hell take a treat during the day but he wakes up at different times at night, but always always takes a nap after waking up. Like he'll get up at 9pm, then is back asleep from like 10 to 11 and I'm like, you're too tired from sleeping so you need to sleep.?

 

[Xjrosie]

Does yours ever wake up throughout the day.? Smokey gets up two or three times to eat a few bites, run around a bit or bathe in his sand bowl but then go back to sleep. Sometimes, hell take a treat during the day but he wakes up at different times at night, but always always takes a nap after waking up. Like he'll get up at 9pm, then is back asleep from like 10 to 11 and I'm like, you're too tired from sleeping so you need to sleep.?

Lol, that's funny. No, he sleeps straight through. Although, today, I did wake him to give him some plum. He came over, grabbed the plum, and headed straight back to bed with it!

How did you get Smokey to use a sand bath? I tried with Puff, and no dice. I also tried to potty train him, but if I put anything in his preferred corner, he just goes to a different corner.

 

[acidburn01]

Lol, that's funny. No, he sleeps straight through. Although, today, I did wake him to give him some plum. He came over, grabbed the plum, and headed straight back to bed with it!

How did you get Smokey to use a sand bath? I tried with Puff, and no dice. I also tried to potty train him, but if I put anything in his preferred corner, he just goes to a different corner.

We didn't do anything, I did basic research and saw they needed sand to bathe, like chinchillas so I got a little sandbowl from PetSmart and a bag of sand for hamsters and he used it on his own. And he's neurotic about it. He goes in there two or three times a day and flails about. He does the same if I let him in the containers with mealworms. I guess because of the sawdust type material they send mealworms in, if I let him in the container, he kicks it everywhere and rolls around in it.

I can't potty train mine, either. He just goes wherever, doesn't have a preference. He does like to drag heaps of food up into his tubes, where I can't reach to clean without taking it all apart.

 

[Xjrosie]

We didn't do anything, I did basic research and saw they needed sand to bathe, like chinchillas so I got a little sandbowl from PetSmart and a bag of sand for hamsters and he used it on his own. And he's neurotic about it. He goes in there two or three times a day and flails about. He does the same if I let him in the containers with mealworms. I guess because of the sawdust type material they send mealworms in, if I let him in the container, he kicks it everywhere and rolls around in it.

I can't potty train mine, either. He just goes wherever, doesn't have a preference. He does like to drag heaps of food up into his tubes, where I can't reach to clean without taking it all apart.

They don't need sand baths but some do like them. They'll clean themselves without one. It's quite amazing to watch. When I had Puff in the wrong sized cage, he would prop himself up and go to town. It's adorable watching them scrub their ears with those little hands!

Yeah, I imagine the mealworm sawdust feels the same to him. I didn't think to give Puff any worms. Just the pellets and fruits and veg.

 

[acidburn01]

They don't need sand baths but some do like them. They'll clean themselves without one. It's quite amazing to watch. When I had Puff in the wrong sized cage, he would prop himself up and go to town. It's adorable watching them scrub their ears with those little hands!

Yeah, I imagine the mealworm sawdust feels the same to him. I didn't think to give Puff any worms. Just the pellets and fruits and veg.

Man, Smokey loves mealworms. They're supposed to have meat, since they're omnivores. They can have crickets, mealworms, dubias, red wigglers and a few other bugs that I wouldn't have considered.

It's so damn cute when I'm holding him and he's sitting on his arm and he sits up to scrub his face with his little paws, especially when he does his cheeks and behind his ears because it pushes all his fluff into his face

 

[Xjrosie]

Man, Smokey loves mealworms. They're supposed to have meat, since they're omnivores. They can have crickets, mealworms, dubias, red wigglers and a few other bugs that I wouldn't have considered.

It's so damn cute when I'm holding him and he's sitting on his arm and he sits up to scrub his face with his little paws, especially when he does his cheeks and behind his ears because it pushes all his fluff into his face

Yes! I was literally about 4 inches away watching that little Puff bathe himself. It was really weird to watch him "put his poop away," as I called it. Any time he had to poop, he would grab it as it was coming out and put it off to the side, then go back to cleaning. It was kinda weird!