#hamster care

[poisonbloomandnightshade]

Beanie Baby gets to go back to school on Monday! He stays at home during the winter months just in case of snow days (which we had a lot of). I can’t wait to set up his cage for March 🍀.

[emotional-support-hamster]

Intro post

Hello! This is my hamster blog (my main blog is @emotionalsupportgoblin420 ). I post all things hamsters and give hamster care advice. If you any questions about proper hamster care, whether you have a hamster or want a hamster, feel free to DM me or drop an ask in my inbox (asks are preferred as that way I can reach more people). Lemme introduction y'all to me currente hamster:

Name: Teddy Roosevelt (or just Teddy)

Age: 2 months

Breed: Campbell Dwarf Hamster

Gender: Dude

He's pretty chill, doesn't mind human touch, and takes sleepy time very seriously. He's still just a baby and doesn't understand stuff like climbing and was very surprised when he discovered his wheel moved lol. He's timid yet curious about new things

[trapp3dinv01d]

This is my baby Diana she is about three and a half months and in two weeks I’m getting her a bigger space, for now she has a small cage bc my dad bought her compulsively but I’ll get her a 50x50x100 box that I’m gonna modify w all that she needs, I hope someone can give me some advice on how to take care of her <3

[d0gmold]

Hamster Husbandry Zine! 16 pgs! Gore Vidal! 🐹😼👹

[elijahvolkovhateaccount]

[hamsternostalgia]

cage setup for my neurological robo (and his campbells wife)

1st: obligatory this is an account who believes in individualized hamster care, meaning i meet the needs of the individual rather than follow arbitrary rules. I am always happy to hear your questions about this style of care, so if you are curious, feel free to send asks!

Please feel free to read the whole post if you have a question about an enrichment choice in this particular bin, as many of the items were chosen for specific reasons. If your question isn't answered send an ask!

also heads up that truck IS a sandbath, they're rude though and keep turning it into a stash and currently they've filled it with paper

Epipen is odd even for a neurological robo, because despite his spins he has a very good fall inhibition, meaning when he reaches the edges of a surface he backs up so as not to fall off because he knows a drop is unsafe for him. Unlike my prior neurological hamsters, he traverses levels quite remarkably, so I've been able to be more generous with the height range on enrichment here. Also unlike my prior neuro robo, he lives with an adult female campbells dwarf hamster.

i have not actually measured this bin myseld it was given to me at some point and i honestly never measured, my estimate is 28x20? maybe a tad narrower? All I cared about was if whoever lived inside was content, if i get around to measuring it I'll update this!

Starting with the items specifically picked to help with his disability:

the saucer wheel was chosen because after testing 3 different upright wheel types, it was confirmed that the shape of a wheel track worsened his risk of getting stuck in a tight spin. This issue hasn't yet been 'cured' in this wheel type, as epi needs a sharper angle on his saucer or else he can make a full lap around it faster than it spins (currently helped with the wheel being put at an angle w a piece of folded paper, but considering trying the oxbow saucer since it seems impossible to misuse the way he does! will update when i can get that!). Silver wasn't a big wheel user when offered the upright one, but she does use this one occasionally and as you can see from this pic, she inherited her father's propensity for wheel peeing *eyeroll*

The crittertrail tubes are chosen specifically because they're next to impossible for a robo to turn around in. Using tiny tales or habitrail tubes would unfortunately not work for this purpose, especially for a smaller robo like Epi. The purpose of them is primarily to give him stretches where he can walk without his body evem trying to spin. I find nearly every spinny hamster i meet (dwarf at least, pls dont give your syrian a crittertrail tube) enjoys relaxing in these. I also rarely see repetitive head turning while they sit in the tubes, which is a behavior you'll see in some spinny robos even when sitting still. In theory, due to him being in a colony, i should be using exclusively T and X shaped tubes, but do as I say not as I do pls (unless you know your pair enough to know they wont argue over small enclosed spaces! i wouldnt offer most of my pairs a tube without a third entrance, these two i trust). Silver likes the small straight tube but ignores the other two. One of those tubes gives Epi access to the top level of the boat, which he sometimes likes to sit on when he wants to be let out for run around time, while the s shaped tube set is an extra way up/down the multichamber hide.

The bridge under the water is completely unnecessary for Silver to drink, and wouldn't be necessary for a healthy robo, but Epi doesn't balance still very well any time he has to lift his front paws at all, so he drinks sitting on the bridge so he can hunker down to hold still. Silver chooses to use it as a paw rest while she drinks sitting on her hind legs, so she seems to find some enjoyment in it lol! It's also one of my favorite spots to stash treats for them to find!

The amount of clutter was chosen to be on the heavy side as well in order to give him more things to run into, preventing him from spinning as often. No long distances in any direction other than narrow passages are available, nearly every hide has multiple entrances along the sides to give him ample chances to duck in and out of hides for his more cautious robo nature, but also to accommodate a colony setting and give ample areas to separate if needed.

Things I did in the cage that wasn't specifically to aide in his disability:

Cork tunnel: this was primarily added just for variety, and because Silver does like to chew toys. It also just fit the space well.

Offering pellets in a large bowl while sprinkling seed mix and forage, especially with a robo cage, is a very good way to monitor pellet intake. Silver isn't a huge stasher, and usually only takes 1 block at a time, which helps a ton as well! I expect to see the top couple blocks looking nibbled overtime, and can easily adjust seed mix allotment based on how much i see snacked on in the pellet bowl. I'm lucky theyre both lazy <3

Cardboard drink holder: a bit for the 'robos like cover' thing, but also another material for Silver to chew on. Sometimes I sprinkle a bit of seed up over it for them to forage around and on!

The Boat: has like 4 portholes on the sides that made it a PERFECT colony hide, they actually nest in this thing! They have a very cute shared nest in there, and both seem to contribute to it regularly!

Things that'll be added over the next few weeks since I add incremental enrichment to keep interest fresh:

hay (i use alfalfa/orchard, but any hay that isnt terribly sharp is fine. I've used oat and timothy as well) - VERY underutilized as occasional enrichment! putting a fluffy layer of hay over the whole cage a week after you spot clean!! Or, if you have a lotta spare space, put a BIG pile of hay in that section, sprinkle in a bit of seed mix or forage, and watch your ham go, well uh, ham?

Edible Chews/Enrichment - I currently have an abundance of critterpops, corncobs, sprays, and seed balls treats, so this cage will probably get a chunk of critterpop and a few tiny sprigs of a variety of sprays.

Non Edible Chews: I've got a few bags of various chewable woods/seed pods/etc, I'll usually put in 1-2 at a time and add more later in the week.

Assorted Forage: this to me means any of those vague treat mixes like Rosewood Naturals' forage mixes, flower petals, sometimes more hay if i have any fun small bags that are different varieties than normal, and any other bits and bobs im trying to get rid of (looking at very stale 8 grain bread im about to break up into tiny pieces).

anywhooo

that is my current setup for this pair! They didn't show any interest in butrowing when they were in a 20 gal for bonding, when offered about 6" of bedding, so I only have them on like 4" right now. They have never really cared about the chamber hide, so when I get the oxbow saucer I'll hopefully be able to get rid of the chamber hide for something like a bigger sand bath, since Epi and Silver seems to love it when its clean, but they just keeps trashing it at this size!

I'd be down to tell y'all about my other adult colony as well if ur interested! Bluebell and Matpat are a pair of sister Campbells!

I wish i had the space to keep a buncha adult colonies all the time, I love talking about the quirks and preferences between them 💔 alas the life of a breeder who can't colony breed (meaning i'd keep multiple girls together and add/remove just the male, but if girls give birth on the same day/too close together you can't guarantee who the mom is) bc I'm obsessive about pedigrees, so I end up with a lot of solo adults (until i adopt off a litter of freshly weaned pups to them lol).

[what-hamster-is-that]

just spotted some misinformation in the comments of a post i'm about to ID to just a reminder: the best wheel you can have is an upright solid wheel that is large enough for your hamster to run without having their back curve.

saucers can be suitable is some very specific circumstances but it is completely false to say that saucers are safer than upright wheels.

the way saucers are designed, they sit on an incline, and the wheel spins horizontally rather than vertically. on an upright wheel, when a hamster stops running, they stay on the bottom of the wheel, while when a hamster stops running on a saucer, they will continue to be spun around and are often flung off. this is especially dangerous for robos since they can run (and therefore be flung) at extremely high speeds. this incline also forces them to run at a very awkward angle, meaning one side of their body is under more stress/carrying more weight.

some people claim that saucers are better because it's "impossible" for a hamster to have a curved spine when running on them and therefore puts them at a higher. in actuality, a hamster's back can still be bent by running on a saucer if it is too small. you usually need to go one size larger when using a saucer than an upright wheel, which already uses up alot more floor space than a vertical wheel, limiting the amount of space you have to add everything else hamsters require. (i've also never seen a saucer near big enough for syrians!!)

saucers also usually will have some sort of "bumps" on them to help the hamster "push off" and move the saucer, which can increase the risk of bumble foot.

there's a lot of misinformation and outdated information about hamster care out there, be careful out there and remember that we are finding out new things about hamster care all the time!

[mathsbian]

Most people’s cats find mice in their homes.

Mine just found a hamster.

I had also added a paper towel and plan to add shreds of another if she doesn’t start shredding them herself in the next hour.

She has had 1.5 pecans and 3 small blueberries and 3 leaves of spinach, which had some water on them, so I’m holding off on figuring out another way to get her water for a little bit. She has peed and pooped.

I’m not sure what else to do for her? Should I put a towel in there for her? I’m worried she’ll be able to try harder at the lid with extra padding in the bottom, but I weighted it down already to be sure she couldn’t knock it off and to block more light as it has a glass panel in the center. I’m worried the shiny walls are bad for her, so she’s in a mostly dark corner where I can still watch to make sure the cats don’t knock the lid off trying to look at her closer. They weren’t really trying to get her, just trying to watch her and sniff her but I’m keeping them away so she doesn’t panic and have a hear attack.

We’re planning to knock on the neighbors’ door tomorrow morning to see if she’s their pet? If she is a pet, which seems likely, she’s not allowed under the lease terms of this building, so we’re trying to avoid involving the landlord until we’re sure she’s not a pet so she doesn’t get taken away. But I’m also curious how she got in and if we have a hole in our cabinets through the wall that needs patched. If there is one, it’s down behind a gap in the liner they stuck to the bottom of the cabinets, it was sagging on one side like a rodent had just squeezed over the top