New Syrian hamster

[BooseysMom]

DS has just got a hamster for his birthday..his first pet! He's really sweet. He's named him Fuzzy! (See pic) We bought as big a cage as we could afford and to fit in the space we have. He seems to be settling in well and was active instantl... when we opened his box, he came straight out. He's eating and drinking. But I have a question about sleep..he doesn't seem to like the sleep cabin at the top of the cage and has made a little bed in the bottom of the cage. He appears to be sleeping now. We are trying to keep quiet but as we only have one room to do everything in, it's pretty hard. So should we move him upstairs during the day do you think?
Any advice much appreciated..thanks.

I wouldn't worry too much about noise, they can sleep through a lot!

They can cope with general living noise. As long as you aren't screaming next to the cage, or playing music really loud, Fuzzy should just sleep through it.

Bless you that is adorable he will sleep fine through the noise of the day they "switch off" you might find he gets up for the toilet or a drink but generally they sleep till dusk. We had various hamsters when my dds were young they can be bitey little buggers but they are great pets

Ah, thanks everyone for replying. That sounds encouraging. I did move the cage upstairs as it was getting a bit loud in the lounge and then DS promptly ran upstairs and lifted the cover off! He was asleep in the corner and had a rude awakening! His little eyes all wide and staring and then he promptly stretched his legs out, yawned and went back to sleep! I cant believe how mushy I'm getting over a hamster...I def should have had another baby!!

I would keep him in the living room it might help him to settle in and your son will get used to him sleeping and not be tempted to wake him up.

They are nocturnal so generally not out and about during the day. They will make somewhere to sleep wherever they feel safe - not always where you want them to!

We’ve had two rescue Syrians and I’ve always thought that they wouldn’t make good pets for children because they sleep during the day and don’t really like being woken up to play when they’re asleep.

@Mrsjayy.. thank you. You are right! Today we kept him in the living room and he slept all day! He went in his exercise ball and my son introduced him to the sleep cabin and he curled up and made a nest in there and was very content.

Thanks everyone for your advice

They prefer to sleep at the base of the cage. It's natural, being burrowing animals (on that note, he would appreciate deeper bedding, up to the top of the plastic tray). The little houses from the pet shop are too small for them to sleep comfortably in because they like to build huge nests and stretch out. Lots of people use the wooden guinea pig houses, or just a shoebox. It's especially important with the nights getting colder that they're able to nest properly. If they get too cold, they can go into a condition called torpor.

There's no need to keep very quiet around him. They can sleep through normal noise.

@user127819.. thanks for your advice. That is super! He's actually started using his little sleep den now which I didn't expect tbh. We have added much deeper layer of burrowing material to the bottom of the cage.

Do you know whether it would be possible to add plastic tunnels to the cage? It's a Rosewood Pico xl, recommended on the Hamster websites.

Thanks again.

@BooseysMom I actually wouldn't recommend the plastic tunnels... for your sanity. I have a Savic Hamster Sky Metro with all the tubes and my hamster actually created a nest in the tubes and moved all its food up there on its first night home. It would be difficult to clean. Standalone plastic tunnels are probably fine for cleaning if you have a bottle brush.

I have dismantled all the tubes and my hamster seems happy with the 4 toilet and kitchen rolls that i have given him. When he destroys one, I just replace it with another.

@hopingforonlychild.. thanks for replying. Gosh, what a nightmare! Maybe I will stick to kitchen roll tubes! I was a bit concerned as he started chewing his cage wires and climbs alot so he's very active. He's only 8-10 weeks old. I wanted to give him more space and have realised that floor space is more important than height.

Our hamster only started chewing his cage when his wheel got stuck. May be worth checking.

He's gorgeous

If you fill the bottom of his cage with sawdust and scatter bedding around he will make a lovely cosy nest for himself. General noise shouldn't bother him but his burrow should be deep enough for him to be completely hidden. This does mean that your son won't be able to peek at him sleeping... but he will feel much more secure (and spotting them emerging from their self made tunnels is really cool).

They will also make themselves a little food store underneath all the sawdust or in one of the hides you provide. Try scattering their food around their cage instead of placing it in a bowl as this is great for promoting natural behaviour and keeping busy.

Enjoy your new pet!

OP, I also meant to say please make sure the wheel is large enough for his size. When the wheel is too small it can damage their back when they run in it. Our wheel was huge but luckily so was our cage.

Also most hamster balls aren’t safe - some because they’re not big enough but all of them because they cause stress and disorientation. It sounds like you have a cage big enough for him to climb around the bars of - I’d ditch the ball if I were you.

[quote BooseysMom]@user127819.. thanks for your advice. That is super! He's actually started using his little sleep den now which I didn't expect tbh. We have added much deeper layer of burrowing material to the bottom of the cage.

Do you know whether it would be possible to add plastic tunnels to the cage? It's a Rosewood Pico xl, recommended on the Hamster websites.

Thanks again.[/quote]
I don't think that cage can take tunnels. In any case, it will be too small for him very soon and adding cages on doesn't really help. Hamsters need one large space. The Savic Plaza cage from Pets at Home is good. If you haven't got quite that much space, there's the Alaska cage on Ebay. You shouldn't really go any smaller than the Alaska though. Chewing the cage is often a symptom of needing more space.

@Crocky.. thank you, we will check now.

@Milkshake7489.. thank you .. we just nearly lost him! DS built a wall with his magic track and he was up and over in no time! We got him back getting him in his ball. He is displaying some healthy behaviour with his food scattered about and his bedding. Just he will chew the cage.

@FamilyOfAliens
@user127819

Thanks both. The wheel is ok for him but won't be for long. I wish we'd invested in the Savic Plaza cage. I wonder if Pets at Home would take ours back. It's a Rosewood Pico xl and I thought it would be ok.

I world love to ditch the ball! I want to get a long set of interconnecting tunnels.

Is he ok to have tap water to drink and do we need to change it every day?

I'm finding MN really helpful with this so thanks everyone.

My daughter loves the YouTube videos by a woman called Victoria raechel on hamster care - has become a regular expert and vocal hamster advocate! Just be warned some of this stuff is expensive;)

Thanks @Cupoftchaiagain.. I'll have a look at those.
We could have spent alot more on a bigger cage but were budget constrained. I've just got up and was surprised to find him curled into a ball asleep in a corner! It was pitch black. I thought they were nocturnal. But he slept all day yesterday until 7pm. I can't see any places where he has chewed constantly so that's good.