Hamster advice!

mark66

mark66

mark66

Soldato
Joined
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Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advice from members here with Hamsters!

My 5 year old son asked for a hamster from his Grandma for Christmas. I wasn't overly keen on the idea, as if anything I would prefer to get a cat as our first family pet, but that sort of fell on dead ears and now Tizzy, a white Syrian hamster is with us. Neither me or my wife have any pet experience of anything smaller than a cat, so we are all in new territory here.

He seems to have settled in well and from going on what I have read, he is already very tame and accustomed to us. He allows me to pick him up and is happy clambering around the sofa and surroundings in the evenings and hasn't once nipped me when handling him outside of his cage. The only awkward part is actually getting him out of his cage from the opening in the roof. I have read that they don't like being handled from above as this is where their threats from prey would come from. So I have found it easier to pop the roof off the cage and just pick him up from the base and then he is fine.

The advice I am after, is more what to do with him! He doesn't seem to really wake up much before 7pm and by then it is close my boys bed times. So what usually happens is we have a small play with him (15-20 minutes) where I will hold him and let him have a explore around the sofa and room we are in. He also has a plastic ball he can go in and may spend 5 or 10 minutes exploring the house in that. After this, he goes back in his cage and the boys go to bed. So unless I then go back to him and get him out again, that is his day done. I therefore feel a bit sorry for the little chap! Usually later in the evenings we can hear him going for it in his wheel and if I go in the playroom he is either sat upright in his cage staring out at me or is back asleep.

I know it sounds silly, but is this what a hamster life is like? As I said, I only have experience of having a cat and they sort of entertain themselves! I usually end up getting him back out later in the evening for another explore, but this is more due to feeling guilty that he is bored and isn't always convenient as I am working most nights on the laptop.

So how long do others play with their Hamsters for? Is just 30 minutes a day cruel, it seems so to me?! Can I wake him up earlier so he is awake more when the kids are up? Ideally I want them to do more with him, whereas at the moment it seems like Dad, who didn't particularly want a hamster, is the one who is having to spend the most time with him!

Any advice appreciated!
 
You could always invest in a hamster ball for him to trundle round in. Then you don't have to worry as much about him ending up down the back of the sofa etc. Just avoid the stairs if you let him out upstairs :D

Ours gets a run every evening but isn't out much longer than Tizzy.
 
Nocturnal pets and people don't really mix that well and it's the pets that tend to suffer but hamsters are a traditional child's first pet.

When I had them as a young kid the hamster would be out of the cage running around the large living room area from 7-8pm onwards until my folks went to bed at maybe around 11pm to midnight. So I'd like to think they had a a decent amount of exercise.
If you're up late, then no reason you can't have the hamster out when your kid's asleep. Just make the rooms escape proof. Putting the hamster back in as late a possible.

When they gnaw on any cage bars, it often out of boredom and can cause neurological problems and damage teeth. So if that happens, try and increase their stimulation.

If you can't let them out much, you should try and have very large enclosure for them with branches for climbing/gnawing and deep substrate for digging etc.

This hamster owner below is very enthusiastic!

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mark66 said:
Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advice from members here with Hamsters!

My 5 year old son asked for a hamster from his Grandma for Christmas. I wasn't overly keen on the idea, as if anything I would prefer to get a cat as our first family pet, but that sort of fell on dead ears and now Tizzy, a white Syrian hamster is with us. Neither me or my wife have any pet experience of anything smaller than a cat, so we are all in new territory here.

He seems to have settled in well and from going on what I have read, he is already very tame and accustomed to us. He allows me to pick him up and is happy clambering around the sofa and surroundings in the evenings and hasn't once nipped me when handling him outside of his cage. The only awkward part is actually getting him out of his cage from the opening in the roof. I have read that they don't like being handled from above as this is where their threats from prey would come from. So I have found it easier to pop the roof off the cage and just pick him up from the base and then he is fine.

The advice I am after, is more what to do with him! He doesn't seem to really wake up much before 7pm and by then it is close my boys bed times. So what usually happens is we have a small play with him (15-20 minutes) where I will hold him and let him have a explore around the sofa and room we are in. He also has a plastic ball he can go in and may spend 5 or 10 minutes exploring the house in that. After this, he goes back in his cage and the boys go to bed. So unless I then go back to him and get him out again, that is his day done. I therefore feel a bit sorry for the little chap! Usually later in the evenings we can hear him going for it in his wheel and if I go in the playroom he is either sat upright in his cage staring out at me or is back asleep.

I know it sounds silly, but is this what a hamster life is like? As I said, I only have experience of having a cat and they sort of entertain themselves! I usually end up getting him back out later in the evening for another explore, but this is more due to feeling guilty that he is bored and isn't always convenient as I am working most nights on the laptop.

So how long do others play with their Hamsters for? Is just 30 minutes a day cruel, it seems so to me?! Can I wake him up earlier so he is awake more when the kids are up? Ideally I want them to do more with him, whereas at the moment it seems like Dad, who didn't particularly want a hamster, is the one who is having to spend the most time with him!

Any advice appreciated!
Click to expand...

This is pretty much it for a hamster.

Try some cage toys.

Also they don't last very long. 2 years if you're lucky.
 
They gnaw the cage because their teeth keep growing and need to be worn down,

Getting a ball is a good idea ,but don't leave it out too long, say 20mins.
 
Thanks all.

We do have a hamster ball and he seems to enjoy that. He has also got a mineral block for him to keep his teeth healthy on as well as a few toys.

I have just ordered a Play Pen which will hopefully get the kids a bit more involved with him. Plan is to get them to make some toys out of loo rolls etc.

As for the homemade cages, they are indeed awesome! Quite fancy making something like that as I feel his current cage is a little small.
 
Sounds like you take good care of Tizzy. I think a hamster is a good choice because as your boy gets older he can take more responsibility for caring for it and when Tizzy finally pops his cloggs, hopefully after a long and happy hamster life, your boy will gain experience from this when he is about 8-9 and this will hold him in good stead for the inevitable losses he will experience later in life. Sounds horrible I know but important for kids to go through this stuff and learn to cope.

My advice is don't let him wander round unattended, even if you think he can't escape a closed room. He'll find a way to get under the floorboards or something and be on the rampage, biting through wires and stuff. This happened at my Mum's because of me :)

Also regular handling is essential to stop him getting bitey.
 
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