Taming a shy hamster

[Ana Rebeca]

Also I can't tell if it's a 20" wheel or a 28cm wheel, but it looks like it may be the 20cm one? That size is fine initially but they do need a larger 28cm one when they start to grow and that might mean the need for a cage upgrade, to fit one in. It's very difficult when you want to fit more in - I had the same issue with my robos cage set up recently. I wanted to fit a lot more in but there wasn't the space to do so and he is in a 100cm x 50cm cage - but I have some large items in there. If one of the dig boxes has sand in and the other has a different substrate, you could maybe lose the one nearest the edge of the cage and just scatter the other substrate. Add a few treats to it for him to forage for so he doesn't get upset by losing the box! It will give him a bit more space to roam around in that area

Most cages are not ideal to set up! They can be too tall or not tall enough to achieve everything.

It is the 20cm one. I will build a new cage starting in a couple of weeks and I will sure try to find a bigger wheel then. I will also try to make it fit the bigger wheel as well as the same level substrate along the entire cage. For now, I couldn't even fit this smaller wheel on top of enough substrate, even though this was the biggest cage I could find in any petshop in this city )

The box in the corner is the sand bath, while the other one is just a diy multi-chamber made of cardboard until I can get him a proper one. I wanted to scatter some bark chips in the lower level but I found out they were pine chips and I read that they could be harmful, so I will have to find other chips.

Thank you very much for the advice! <3

 

[RainbowBrite]

A DIY multichamber hide is fine. You do not have to worry about buying a wooden one. Making your own things is lovely and you can design them however you wish to.

 

[Ana Rebeca]

It might be a Ferplast mini duna then if it's about 1000 square cms and that is very small for a Syrian, but I can see you've given him enrichment and made the set up nice for him. For now, he will probably need a lot of out of cage time, if the cage is that small - once he has stopped hiding away!

A bin cage might be an option, if you can find a bin big enough, Or if you have the space, an Ikea detolf conversion usually works out cheaper than a glass tank. I think Ikea is in most countries. Is there one near you?

Ikea won't be an option for me, and I've been looking for bins, but most of them are more deep than wide. I guess I could try to stitch more of them together, but for now I think I will try to get some plexiglas pieces and aquarium glue/silicon to make one from scratch.

 

[Maz]

Actually one thing to be careful of is the wood log. Sometimes the holes aren't big enough for a syrian hamster, especially as they grow larger, and they can get stuck - which is a bit of an emergency. The side holes don't look too bad, but I can't see the size of the end entrance hole. Ideally any holes need to be at least 6cm diameter for a Syrian. 5cm might be ok but anything smaller than that wouldn't be safe.

 

[Ana Rebeca]

A DIY multichamber hide is fine. You do not have to worry about buying a wooden one. Making your own things is lovely and you can design them however you wish to.

I was a little worried he might just chew through it, that's why I was thinking he might need a wooden one. But I could make him another one any time and you are right, thank you!

 

[Ana Rebeca]

Actually one thing to be careful of is the wood log. Sometimes the holes aren't big enough for a syrian hamster, especially as they grow larger, and they can get stuck - which is a bit of an emergency. The side holes don't look too bad, but I can't see the size of the end entrance hole. Ideally any holes need to be at least 6cm diameter for a Syrian. 5cm might be ok but anything smaller than that wouldn't be safe.

The entrance one is indeed a bit smaller than the others, but I am going to try to carve it out a little and if that doesn't work I'll just slice it into two half-tubes maybe?

 

[Member ID2]

You could also replace it with a large cardboard tube with holes cut out to fit a Syrian. Cardboard has become my best friend.

 

[Member ID2]

Taro is gorgeous! He is quite little and still a baby so he has a lot of growing to do yet. He is so cute.

 

[Jain]

You may feel as though you are getting no where with him and that he will never interact with you but age has a lot to do with it just persevere and keep on trying a little bit at a time and you will get there. After 6 weeks of letting Pete have it all his own way I changed tactic and gently took hold of him even if he was hiding he quickly learned he got a treat at those times now he loves to sit on my hand and asks to come out of his cage during the day for a cuddle before going back to bed. I'm sure Taro will too eventually.

 

[Ana Rebeca]

You may feel as though you are getting no where with him and that he will never interact with you but age has a lot to do with it just persevere and keep on trying a little bit at a time and you will get there. After 6 weeks of letting Pete have it all his own way I changed tactic and gently took hold of him even if he was hiding he quickly learned he got a treat at those times now he loves to sit on my hand and asks to come out of his cage during the day for a cuddle before going back to bed. I'm sure Taro will too eventually.

Aww, I'm really happy for you and Pete
I will be patient and hope for the best, thank you so much!!