New hamster - tips please

[Rushme]

So “Hay” iş not that important for hamster! Right

 

[Socks' Mum]

Hay isn't important for hamsters. If you use it, it needs to be frozen for about a week as it could have bugs in it. But hamsters wear their teeth down eating grain and don't need as much fibre in their diet as a rabbit or a guinea pig would, so they don't need hay at all and can live healthily without it. So no need to buy hay

 

[Rushme]

How is chinchilla sand bath can I use that

 

[Socks' Mum]

Coarse sand is OK, but the sand used for chins is often more like dust, so not good for hamsters. Reptile sand with no calcium in it is a good option

 

[Rushme]

Her downside fur are little yellowish, can it be cleansed, I think that’s because may be she sits on her pee, sometimes she smells very bad

 

[Maz]

Her downside fur are little yellowish, can it be cleansed, I think that’s because may be she sits on her pee, sometimes she smells very bad

This is quite normal as dwarf hamsters have scent gland on their belly so it's normal secretions from that. Their pee isn't yellow She will clean herself don't worry

 

[Rushme]

Today I just started giving her pellets but she is not eating it

 

[Rushme]

This is quite normal as dwarf hamsters have scent gland on their belly so it's normal secretions from that. Their pee isn't yellow She will clean herself don't worry

But why yellowish color

 

[Maz]

But why yellowish color

It's just what happens in the scent gland area - normal secretions. If it ever looks crusty then it may need cleaning because the scent glad can get blocked which can lead to infection, but that isn't very common.

Maybe she's not keen on the pellets - she will be eating something though - they really don't eat a lot - maybe one pellet's amount a day.

Which pellets are they? What hamster mixes can you get?

 

[Rushme]

This is quite normal as dwarf hamsters have scent gland on their belly so it's normal secretions from that. Their pee isn't yellow She will clean herself don't worry

But why yellowish com

It's just what happens in the scent gland area - normal secretions. If it ever looks crusty then it may need cleaning because the scent glad can get blocked which can lead to infection, but that isn't very common.

Maybe she's not keen on the pellets - she will be eating something though - they really don't eat a lot - maybe one pellet's amount a day.

Which pellets are they? What hamster mixes can you get?

 

[Maz]

I can't read that unfortunately Pellets are not usually very good or good quality for hamsters and not very enriching or appetising. A good muesli mix is better, if it has the right proportions of protein etc. Can you get Tiny Friends Harry Hamster? That is often available in most countries, and contains everything needed and has reasonable variety.

 

[Rushme]

I can't read that unfortunately Pellets are not usually very good or good quality for hamsters and not very enriching or appetising. A good muesli mix is better, if it has the right proportions of protein etc. Can you get Tiny Friends Harry Hamster? That is often available in most countries, and contains everything needed and has reasonable variety.

 

[Rushme]

 

[Maz]

The food isn't great quality to be honest. "Animal derivatives" can mean all sorts. The sand sounds ok but you would probably still need to bake it to sterilise it. Can you get things from Amazon?

 

[Maz]

I found Amazon.ae - is that any good? They stock this hamster food which is a good muesli mix - although it is low in protein and you'd need to supplement the protein with fresh food - eg chopped hard boiled egg a couple of times a week, freeze dried chicken bites and nuts.

It's specific for dwarf hamsters as well

Little One Dwarf hamster mix

Also this one (but the first one is better as it's dwarf hamster specific):

Higgins Vitae Garden

I don't know how high those prices are though as am not familiar with the currency

 

[Socks' Mum]

The sand sounds good

 

[Rushme]

So pellets iş not necessary it seems.
I have one seed mix will send pics as it was given by the person from whom I adopted her.

 

[Rushme]

My hamster is Russian dwarf, does she need cold environment

 

[Maz]

All hamsters need a comfortably warm environment . Ideally the room about 20 degrees. I see what you mean but their lifespan in the wild is very much shorter - and they would also probably live a long way underground to avoid the cold.

 

[Socks' Mum]

If it gets too cold, hamsters can go into a state of torpor, but you don't want this as domestic hamsters are not able to prepare themselves for it and often cases of torpor in pet hamsters end in death, so it's important to keep temperatures fairly stable and as Maz says about 20C.