Advice for a New Hamster Owner?

HeyitsHolly

HeyitsHolly

Active member
Member
Messages
14
Reaction score
13
Points
33
Hi! I’m a beginner hamster owner of a Syrian named Holly. She’s had quite the journey: she lived in a frat house for a while in a tiny plastic cage with less than a centimeter of bedding. My brother is in the frat and we were able to get her out of that awful environment. She lived with him in his room for a while, but now she’s at home with me. She has a 20 gallon tank, which I know isn’t enough (I’m working on getting a bigger one - a 55 gallon hopefully - but it’s a process because I’m still in high school and don’t have infinite space). Sorry for the rant but long story short now I’m trying to learn EVERYTHING I can about how to take good care of her.
What are some of the best and most helpful tips you’ve ever gotten on hamster care?
IMG_3324.jpeg
Here’s Holly emerging from her slumber!
 
Hello and welcome :) Holly looks very cute and it's lovely you've taken her to give her a better home. Are you in the US? If so you can get a 160 or 200 quart bin to make a cage, from Homemart (apparently). I can't link it as I'm not in the US so the page won't open for me. ilguy on here has one.

A tank probably would be better for a Syrian though as the height can be limited with some of those big bins.

Most helpful tips? There are a lot on the home page articles :-) Especially under the cleaning tips section. For me when I first had a hamster, the most helpful tip was feeding early evening and making a bit of cage noise at the same time, so the hamster comes out at feeding time and it's an opportunity to have some out of cage time. As otherwise they can get up very late.

However, female Syrians can be notoriously maverick and she might be up anyway. They usually need a lot of space and plenty of things to destroy, like cardboard egg boxes, toilet roll inners etc. I'm sure she'd enjoy a home made treat parcel to destroy :-)

There are lots of inexpensive ideas on this thread

www.thehamsterforum.com

Cardboard creations

This is a thread to show how many things you can make for your hamster or enclosure, out of cardboard :-) Cardboard is your friend.
www.thehamsterforum.com www.thehamsterforum.com
 
Maz said:
Hello and welcome :) Holly looks very cute and it's lovely you've taken her to give her a better home. Are you in the US? If so you can get a 160 or 200 quart bin to make a cage, from Homemart (apparently). I can't link it as I'm not in the US so the page won't open for me. ilguy on here has one.

A tank probably would be better for a Syrian though as the height can be limited with some of those big bins.

Most helpful tips? There are a lot on the home page articles :-) Especially under the cleaning tips section. For me when I first had a hamster, the most helpful tip was feeding early evening and making a bit of cage noise at the same time, so the hamster comes out at feeding time and it's an opportunity to have some out of cage time. As otherwise they can get up very late.

However, female Syrians can be notoriously maverick and she might be up anyway. They usually need a lot of space and plenty of things to destroy, like cardboard egg boxes, toilet roll inners etc. I'm sure she'd enjoy a home made treat parcel to destroy :-)

There are lots of inexpensive ideas on this thread

www.thehamsterforum.com

Cardboard creations

This is a thread to show how many things you can make for your hamster or enclosure, out of cardboard :-) Cardboard is your friend.
www.thehamsterforum.com www.thehamsterforum.com
Click to expand...
I am in the US so that’s a great idea. Would there be any risk in her chewing her way out through the plastic?
I’ve heard female Syrians are pretty crazy. She’s actually a male but the frat boys just assumed she was a girl for no reason so we’re all used to using female pronouns for her lol.
I’ve definitely amassed quite a collection of cardboard for her and she loves the homemade treat parcels. She goes through toilet paper rolls like crazy.
 
What would be your budget for a hamster cage? I can definitely recommend a few in your price range! Here’s a few hamster basics (that you might already know!)

1: I recommend 600 sq inches or more. Preferably 800 sq inches!
2: They need a high variety seed mix. Getzoo is a good one, but there are some more good food mixes.
3: They need about 6 inches of bedding!! More is always a good choice!
4: They need multiple hides, a sand bath, and toys etc.
5: Sprays are lovely choices! Sometimes you can get some from the bird isle!
6: Some boredom breakers can be the seed mix inside of a tissue, or some seed mix in a toilet paper roll and then you scrunch up the ends! They tear them apart.
There are other tips and tricks: let me know if you have any questions!! I’d be happy to help and give you cheap options for great hamster care! (You can direct message me or just use this thread :) )
Here is an inspo picture of my cage right now. I go a little over the top, so it doesn’t have to be as extravagant as this!
IMG_2363.jpeg
 
Angel's Teddybear said:
What would be your budget for a hamster cage? I can definitely recommend a few in your price range! Here’s a few hamster basics (that you might already know!)

1: I recommend 600 sq inches or more. Preferably 800 sq inches!
2: They need a high variety seed mix. Getzoo is a good one, but there are some more good food mixes.
3: They need about 6 inches of bedding!! More is always a good choice!
4: They need multiple hides, a sand bath, and toys etc.
5: Sprays are lovely choices! Sometimes you can get some from the bird isle!
6: Some boredom breakers can be the seed mix inside of a tissue, or some seed mix in a toilet paper roll and then you scrunch up the ends! They tear them apart.
There are other tips and tricks: let me know if you have any questions!! I’d be happy to help and give you cheap options for great hamster care! (You can direct message me or just use this thread :) )
Here is an inspo picture of my cage right now. I go a little over the top, so it doesn’t have to be as extravagant as this!
View attachment 8119
Click to expand...
I don’t have a specific budget right now. Im trying to find space first but if the bin cage idea is safe I’d love something so inexpensive. She’s got bedding in there - definitely at least 6 inches.
If you’re in the US, what seed mix would you recommend that I can get in a general pet store?
I’m absolutely in love with your setup. That is one lucky hamster you’ve got ❤️
 
I think the issue with bin cages would be the height for a Syrian. You can get some quite large/long ones but they're not that tall once you have bedding in. Better for a dwarf hamster. If you're in the US, is there an Ikea near you? A fairly cheap diy cage is the Platsa. It's a basic wardrobe frame tipped on it's back - comes flatpack. And quite inexpensive. Although you'd need to make a lid out of strips of wood and mesh. If you had space for it - it's 120cm long

Platsa

Also have a look on our cage list :-) There aren't that many on there for the US though. A lot of people get glass tanks (Petco do a dollar per gallon sale sometimes). Something like a 40 gallon breeder tank is about the smallest you'd want to go really. That's about 36" long x 18" deep. But it would sit on top of a chest of drawers maybe - it wouldn't matter if there was a bit of overhang. So in a sale that could be $40. But you would need to make a lid again (or buy a mesh lid). You could also look out for second hand 40 gallon tanks maybe.

The Niteangel cages are lovely, but very expensive, if you're on a tight budget.

There's also the Bucatstate, Mewoofun and Sahara tank style cages (on the list below) :-)

www.thehamsterforum.com

Cages 2024

Here is a list of suitable cages available for hamsters in 2024. Whether you prefer tank style or barred cages, front access or top access, there is, thankfully, plenty of choice in the Uk and Europe. Choice in the US is mainly tanks and tank style or diy. Both tank style and barred cages...
www.thehamsterforum.com www.thehamsterforum.com
 
HeyitsHolly said:
I don’t have a specific budget right now. Im trying to find space first but if the bin cage idea is safe I’d love something so inexpensive. She’s got bedding in there - definitely at least 6 inches.
If you’re in the US, what seed mix would you recommend that I can get in a general pet store?
I’m absolutely in love with your setup. That is one lucky hamster you’ve got ❤️
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! I am in the US as well, but there aren’t many good seed mixes. I would ask @Daisy because.. cough cough food expert.. cough. I am currently trying to make my item hamster food mix, which I could give you the recipe for if you are interested! ( if so it is on my making homemade food mix need input thread! )

I would say if your hamster is female to probably not get the forty gallon. Angel had some cage rage, though every hamster is different! Amazon has some wonderful 100 dollar cages. ( if you can spend that much) If your figure out a particular limit to how much you are willing to spend, let me know and I’ll recommend a few for you!!
 
The Higgins Vitae garden is the only real commercial mix that's suitable (it's sugar free) but it would need the protein supplementing. You could do that a number of ways - either supplementing with fresh food like chopped hard boiled egg, nuts or freeze dried chicken pieces, or insects if your hammy will eat them! Some people buy the Getzoo Syrian Hamster mix from Germany (they ship to the US I think and it might also be on Etsy) but that does work out a bit expensive.
 
Hi! It’s been a few days and I’m back. I ended up finding a plastic tub that’s 17.5 inches tall. Is that ok or would you still recommend the tank?
 
Mm, i would recommend trying to find one that is a bit taller if possible. But if that’s the only one you can find, maybe wheel on one side of cage and then a big burrow section on the other?
 
But a 75 gallon aquarium would be best. How many sq. Inches is the plastic bin? Or at least the measurements?
 
Last edited:
Angel's Teddybear said:
But a 75 gallon aquarium would be best. How many sq. Inches is the plastic bin? Or at least the measurements?
Click to expand...
The bin is 17.8 in tall, 21.5 in wide and 39.75 inches long. But if you think an actual aquarium would make a big difference then I’ll work on getting one immediately.
Unfortunately there’s really no way I could get a 75 gallon. A 40-50 gallon is the most I can do for both monetary and spacial reasons. I’ll do everything I can to make her life better but a 75 gal isn’t possible.
 
A 50 gallon would be the best option. Hopefully you can get that one. I’d you done it isn’t possible, and the 40 gallon is the best you can do, that is perfectly fine! You’re giving Holly a better life, and that is what matters!! I will say, if you plan on getting other hamsters in the future, I will recommend not the 40 gallon. I would say the 50 gallon is a much better option. Hopefully everything works out!
 
The bin does seem to be about 854 sq inches, so it would be a good option. 40 gallons are over 600 sq inches. 50 gallons would probably be around 700+ sq inches? I’m just not sure about how much bedding the bin could hold. I’ll see if I can measure my wheel and see about how much bedding you would be able to put in (if the bedding was even). With the bin you would probably not be able to put in any stands, unless they were very short.
 
HeyitsHolly said:
The bin is 17.8 in tall, 21.5 in wide and 39.75 inches long. But if you think an actual aquarium would make a big difference then I’ll work on getting one immediately.
Unfortunately there’s really no way I could get a 75 gallon. A 40-50 gallon is the most I can do for both monetary and spacial reasons. I’ll do everything I can to make her life better but a 75 gal isn’t possible.
Click to expand...
I think that sounds a good sized bin :-) It's the equivalent of 100cm by 50cm or 800 square inches ish, which is the recommended size (or larger).

The height isn't too bad either. The equivalent of about 45 cm tall, so you should be able to easily get 20cm of bedding in there in most of the bin but have a lower area where the wheel goes. You'd need to make a lid for it though to prevent escapes. By cutting out the whole centre top panel, just leaving the edges, and attaching mesh. There are various ways of attaching the mesh quite simply but cutting the lid can be tricky. Some people use a hot knife.
 
Maz said:
I think that sounds a good sized bin :-) It's the equivalent of 100cm by 50cm or 800 square inches ish, which is the recommended size (or larger).

The height isn't too bad either. The equivalent of about 45 cm tall, so you should be able to easily get 20cm of bedding in there in most of the bin but have a lower area where the wheel goes. You'd need to make a lid for it though to prevent escapes. By cutting out the whole centre top panel, just leaving the edges, and attaching mesh. There are various ways of attaching the mesh quite simply but cutting the lid can be tricky. Some people use a hot knife.
Click to expand...
And there’s no chance of her chewing her way out of the bin? That’s my biggest concern.
 
Well it's a possibility. It would be important to have an enriched set up in the bin, with plenty of things to do. Enough bedding so she can dig and build mountains, a large house that's dark inside - they need somewhere dark to feel secure (A shoebox house is ideal for this. Cut the base out of a shoe box and keep the lid as a lift off roof, cut a hole in the front for a door and ideally put a bendy stick bridge over the door to make a tunnel entrance. It also doubles up as a ramp onto the roof). A wheel that's big enough (needs to be at least 11"), a sand bath, and tunnels and smaller hides. A cork log is ideal as it's a nice big tunnel and also an interesting texture and something to climb over. Cleaned out Pringles tubes also make good tunnels.

And plenty of boredom breakers. Female syrians often like to have something to destroy and rip up. A nesting instinct probably. Cardboard egg boxes eg. There are lots of ideas on the cardboard creations thread on here and some people make small treat parcels out of toilet roll inners - the hamster is occupied trying to get it apart to get at the treats.

She will probably need a routine as well, of feeding at the same time each day, and out of cage time regularly, in a hamsterproof area or playpen area.

The lid of the bin will need meshing for ventilation and it does need a lid or she will escape. Just keep an eye on it. Hopefully she won't chew out of the bin as it's quite large.
 
I think it says Holly is a she above 🤔 First post onwards.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top