New hamster - tips please

[Filly]

We were told that Higgins Sunburst is a good choice. Pretty high in protein and available on Amazon. My hamster, Harley likes her Oxbow small pellets. We also add Mazuri rat and mouse blocks

 

[Maz]

We were told that Higgins Sunburst is a good choice. Pretty high in protein and available on Amazon. My hamster, Harley likes her Oxbow small pellets. We also add Mazuri rat and mouse blocks

Hi . The Higgins vitae garden is supposed to be a bit better than the Sunburst as its sugar free and better ingredients generally . The oxbow pellets aren’t really recommended at all though - sorry to be the bearer of bad news! It is too hay based for hamsters.

 

[Rushme]

Hi everyone,

I was on vacation, my koki was at home , told my helper to feed her and clean her house , but I saw she is shredding her furs, little worried about it!! Reason ???
How to teach them for peeing at same place , any suggestions, thanks in advance

 

[Socks' Mum]

The best thing is to take your little hammy to a vet. If you can find a vet who is experienced in treating hamsters, that will be the best option. For peeing, hamsters usually use one spot, but it might not be the place you prefer. It's worth trying a small sand box as some hamsters will use this. Good luck, I hope Koki gets better soon

 

[Maz]

Hi everyone,

I was on vacation, my koki was at home , told my helper to feed her and clean her house , but I saw she is shredding her furs, little worried about it!! Reason ???
How to teach them for peeing at same place , any suggestions, thanks in advance

Fur loss can be caused by a number of things - stress, diet, mites, a moult if it's hot, hormones. As Socks Mum says, a vet can diagnose. Considering the circumstances with you away, and a different person feeding, it's possible it could be stress related. And if she was cleaned out too often, and her hoard removed, that would have been stressful. It shouldn't be necessary to do a major clean out more than every few months, providing there is enough depth of bedding, and the odd bit of spot cleaning in between. Personally I would give her a while to settle, now you're back, and plenty of treats and tlc. If there's no improvement in a couple of weeks then a vet visit then. Doing it straight away may just add to her stress.

It does sound a bit worrying. How long were you away on vacation for? Hamsters get used to us being around .... Lack of nutrition can also cause fur loss - especially lack of protein. I would give her a pinch of linseeds daily for the next two weeks and see if the fur grows back (they can work wonders with fur loss if it's nutrition related and for various reasons). In addition to her regular hamster mix, a tiny piece of veg daily and maybe the odd fresh protein supplement 2 or 3 times a week (eg chopped hard boiled egg, half a shelled walnut).

 

[Rushme]

Thank you guys,
Okay I will keep eye on her , let’s c . What’s linseeds ? İş that flaxseeds.
What are your view on hamster ball?

 

[Rushme]

Thank you guys,
Okay I will keep eye on her , let’s c . What’s linseeds ? İş that flaxseeds.
What are your view on hamster ball?

I was on holiday for 15 days

 

[Maz]

It’s probably long enough that the hamster is a bit affected if they had just got used to you. Our first one was very stressed after we were away 10 days. Have to say we stopped having holidays after that - unless it was not far away and just for a week and we’d take him and everything with us (self catering). However our later jammies have been fine being left for a week and I have a pet sitter - but maybe because I have two now (separate cages) - they are not completely alone.

 

[Rushme]

Please share your cage setup and cute hammies