Syrian Hamster - tell me all, ds has got one for christmas already

[jellyjelly]

My mum has got my son a syrian hamster and cage.

I dont really know what they can eat and what they cant so can anyone tell me i dont want to poison the poor thing.

Apparently its a feisty thing and has already escaped!!!

Hamster food from the pet shop and bits if carrot, lettuce, apple etc as a treat (too much will give them the runs!) If it is feisty you will need to handle it daily so that it can get used to you or they bite when scared. Personally you should have gone with her and asked to hold it before you brought it, if you cant handle it a child wont be able to. You will prob be able to tame it just open the cage and let him have a sniff about each day for a short time (no more than 10 mins) and never put your hand into the cage you need to remove the cage from the tray, theyre short sighted and will go for you. They are lovely pets for kids though (And also grown ups!!)

Ours especially likes grapes and broccoli as treats.
If the cage has bars it is unlikely that it will be able to be in your ds's bedroom at night as the chances are it will chew the bars and make an unholy din.
Ours now lives in a converted fish tank, which is fab. Very easy to clean and no bars to chew. Obviously though Treacle does have other chewy items to keep her busy.
As an aside, we were sold this hamster as a male, because I had read that generally they were more docile, but a year later 'he' is clearly a 'she' if the anatomy pics in the book are correct! But she is a poppet, and very easy to deal with.

I was bought a syrian for my 40th, he was called Bobby and was a real sweetheart, unfortunately they don't live very long so we now have Molly. She loves to eat all of the above and also likes scrambled egg, carrot, pear, beansprouts, sweetcorn, mange tout, sprouts, cheese, bread and toast, peas, lettuce and cucumber. When your hamster arrives you shouldn't try to get it out for atleast 3 days but go to the cage often and talk to the hammy so they get used to your voice. Day 4 I would offer a treat and see if it takes it, they are all different and it takes time and patience to tame them. Once you have though they are lovely pets. I didn't get to hold this one for 2 weeks but our other one only took a week, hope this helps,

They are more likely to be grumpy when they are first woken up, so if you are going to handle if from sleeping give it a chance to get used to the idea of being awake for a short while before you try and pick it up. If it is not so keen to be handled then nice and slowly get it used to taking food from you, then being stroked etc. If you are unsure about handling it then do so close to the floor so if it does "run" or perhaps bite and gets dropped it is far less likely to hurt itself. Another idea is to put the bath plug in and get it out into the bath and that way it can not run and hide under furniture etc and then not be caught easily afterwards if it hard to handle. Don't leave it in there unattended though and ensure the kids know that it is not at all allowed to try and turn the taps on.
The library or local pets shops - or amazon will all have hamster care books - hopefully your mum decided to buy one when she bought the wee thing?!

Doh - "It is not allowed to turn the taps on"...that refers to the kids behaviour of course....visions of small hamster trying to turn on taps and take a bath Ha Ha!

Make sure you wash your hands before handling them, they dont see too well and if your hands smell of food they will bite you thinking its something to eat.

Get a book from the pet shop to help. They aren't expensive. Get rid of fresh food daily that hasn't been eaten and give fresh water every day.

HAVE BEEN TO MEET THE HAMSTER WITHOUT MY SON AND IT SEEMS to be a lovely little thing, very pretty too with nice colours.

It does jump so any idea on how to stop that, it seems to be when first picked up and not when holding it after.

Do i really need to get special disenfectant stuff?

Can i use shredded papers for some bedding as well as saw shavings?

Handling tips and other info here and
here

I've had hamsters on and off for years and they are brilliant fun as pets

Good Luck!!

Hiya - me and ds have a lovely little hamster - I was told they can eat most things but DEFINATELY NOT oranges. Think that goes for all things citrus.

Also don't use shredded paper with print on as ink may be poisonous. Pet shops do sell plain shredded paper. Books advise against fluffy bedroom bedding. Shredded paper safer. Ours loves to chew on toilet roll tubes.

Our really likes those fruit wood sticks to gnaw on.

Avoid falls - they don't land on their feet like cats do.

Never poke your finger through the bars. It WILL bite!!

The smell of onions on your hands may make it angry!!

Enjoy your new pet xx