Hi, all hamsters sifus. I just bought a pair of Robos . They said its adult. I wanna ask, do i need to buy vitamins ? if i dont give vitamins can cause disease ?

Hi, you don't need to buy vitamins for them. A good proper diet will be sufficient enough.

Hi guys.. wondering is this bedding safe for dwarf hamster?



Updates:

Hamtari's white flaky (look like dandruff) have gone but furs still havent grow back. Still there is bald patch at his back. He still scratch abit but been grooming alot! I mean he lick his paws & scratch his body & then lick again (Is this call grooming)? Is it normal for a hamster to be grooming alot & always? Sometime he would wet his fur with his paws

This post has been edited by babybb: Dec 7 2012, 12:19 AM

Is it safe for me to give my dwarf hamster this cheese
(got other flavors to like shrimp)



Features: cheese grain is rich in calcium and protein, helps to strengthen teeth and bone development in Shushu (especially dams and pups), and extremely creamy taste.

What kind of dwarf hamster you have? U can actually but try to double check the ingredients 1st.. If it does contain sugar try not to feed so much as dwarf hamster are prone to diabetes. You can feed them once in a while in a little quantities. Anyhow you can purchase some healthy treat that are sugar-free

This post has been edited by babybb: Dec 7 2012, 11:37 AM

Robos. Just bought yesterday kindly guide me for diet. Btw, the pet shop owner told me that robos cant stand hot weather. is it true? coz im planning to buy cool plate/cool house for my robos .

Mine little fella was a robo too I have 2 of them but they living in a separated cage cos they keep on fighthing especially the small brother bully the big brother until butt oso bleed

They will get used to our hot weather dont worry but be sure not to put your cage where sunlight can reach. Otherwise your hamster will die of heat stroke! Cooling plate is a great idea. I buy cooling plate for each of my hammie & they love it. They will just sleep & pancake at there. My hammie used to pancake at alot at the cooling plate but no more since he was getting old. No idea y.. maybe no longer fancy of the cooling plate

Bout the diet you can buy them a good hamster mix. A good hamster mix for hamster is composed of pallet & mix that have a protein content of 14% or more. The nutritional which take between 18%-19%. You can always refer to the ingredients & the chart before you buy a hamster mix. You can refer to here also



I'm currently feeding my hammie Vitakraft menu with sugar free receipe but which i have know recently it's not that good cause the protein was low but i scare sudden change their foods they will not getting used to it & stress them. So i think i'll change slowly. Heard harry hamster are good too. While actually you can feed them fresh vege & fruits but not everyday. Twice a week in a small quantities shud be enuf. They love broccoli

This is a very usefull site that you should really refer :-



My hammie used to pancake like this when he was young but now he old edi.. i miss my young hammie

My hamster still pancakes like that in my hand.

Anyways guideline for a healthy food mix :-

protein - 17 to 22%
fibre - 8 - 10%
fat - 4 - 6 %

try to find the best that can suit this. If you want to treat your hamsters, why not try fresh food? My hamster likes tauge or green bean but one tip, you hold it and control their portion. Don't let them take and stash it else it goes bad. Don't go too much with fresh food either, give them bit by bit to see if they're ok with it, if too much water content, they can kena diarhea.

Also sunflower seed (kuaci) and corn are NOT to be made as their staple food. It's fattening and sugary. Give them as treat. I heard that you shouldn't give more than 5 a day. I give my hamster kuaci after it ran in the ball for 15 mins - as a reward. Use that to bond with your hamster. My hamster will stand up if he thinks he's getting kuaci, he's been "trained" that way. They love their kuaci but you as the parent must control their intake.

My hamster used to sleep on his cold plate when the weather was dry few months ago. Very cute. It's ok to give them the cold plate.

Welcome to the hamster club. As long you're willing to learn, we're willing to guide.

Thank you very much ! now i edi know not to give too much kuaci and corn . But most of their food package contains a lot of kuaci and corn lah . now im searching to buy Vitakraft menu (or can recommend others?) and cold plate as my house a lil bit hot at day . i just put under the ceiling fan and turn it on even there is no one

This post has been edited by soul_star: Dec 7 2012, 03:44 PM

Ya starrynight do you think its ok if i use this as bedding?



Updates:

Hamtari's white flaky (look like dandruff) have gone but furs still havent grow back. Still there is bald patch at his back. He still scratch abit but been grooming alot! I mean he lick his paws & scratch his body & then lick again (Is this call grooming)? Is it normal for a hamster to be grooming alot & always? Sometime he would wet his fur with his paws

And the bolded part as well. Please advice me

I actually feed Bonanza Hartz to my hamster. The best mix available in the world is either Hazel Hamster or Harry Hamster which our local pet store does not carry. I went through the mix in the shop and found Bonanza instead which is the closest I can get to the nutritional need. It lacks of protein a bit, if not mistaken but fibre and fat are just nice.



A lot of food mix do have kuaci and corn - even this so I sat down for two hours separating them. Kuaci, corn, white kuaci, fruit bits, smashed corn all I put in a separate bag. Dwarves are prone to diabetes so control their sugar.

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Added on December 7, 2012, 5:26 pmPersonally I would not use the bedding cause I don't know what wood they're using. I been searching as well but not knowing what wood used could be dangerous to the hamster's respiratory system. Cedar and pine must never be used. Had to bold that to catch everyone's attention Plus I read they come in scents and that is actually not good for hammies. Stay away from scented stuff.

Although yes, I am using scented sand from Delikate as well but I wish I have better choice. The others are dust which can get into the hammie's nose and into their system. Avoid dust bath.

In terms of Hamtari, I asked the fella before - let me get back to u when he reply me.

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Added on December 7, 2012, 5:29 pmHere's Hazie again - saying hello !



This post has been edited by starrynight: Dec 7 2012, 05:29 PM

Thanks. Wow. i tot scented bedding is good Will try to avoid after these. I got a question, how to tame our hamster? ive tried to hold them many times. Tried to pick em up but they always run after smell my finger . And my robos always sleep . Btw such a cute hammie u got there

And is this food mix okay?


This post has been edited by soul_star: Dec 7 2012, 08:20 PM

what food brand is that? is it just pellets? cause most hamster dislike just pellets. also the fat content is so high.

your hamsters don't know you yet so best to let them be by themselves for 3 days before approaching them.start taming by taking unscented toilet tissue paper and tuck it on yourself for few hours

I tuck my tissue during work and gave it to him after work. they will use the tissue to nest and sleep so they'll get used to your smell and don't see you as a threat.

also robo are quick creatures so be careful if you pick them up. if they're new or still young they'll sleep more.

Hey there hazie fella. He look such a baby

Thanks starrynight for helping me to ask. I might need to bring hamtari for a second visit to vet if still no improvement after he finish the medicine. I still thought hamtari would fully recover or at least much more better after seeing vet but *sigh*.. Not sure if the vet not expert or my hamtari are old.

Heard positive comment from owner after bring their hammie to vet but not mine

babybb,

No, to my knowledge it is not normal for
a ham to constantly groom itself. It
could mean that there are mites still
present and/or the ham is nervous. Has
Hamtari's owner properly cleaned the
cage and objects in the cage to get rid
of the mites there as well (no harsh
chemicals, just mild soap and water and
lots of rinsing!)? Is Hamtari still taking
the anti-mite medicine? I would advise
her to have her call the vet back up and
ask if they will do a re-examination for
mites based on the excessive grooming.
The one bit of good news is that the
flakes have gone away. Can you ask her
if she sees any little hairs growing back
at all in the bald spot (it looks like baby
fur!).

Hey babybb, I found this article , not sure if you came across it.

I guess my Robo is almost 1 that's why he has fur loss.
And I also found out my other winter gold also had a huge bald patch, but according to the article she's moulting, so yeah, no worries though.

Probably you should not give more medication, just another visit to the vet, and let nature take its course. :/

I need a help on opinion guys.
I have this thing where when I love my "kids", I want a generation of "children" under them.
I was thinking to get a boy within one month. Perhaps a winter, to mate with my winter gold.
The thing is, I'm scared that my house may be too crowded.

I have
1 winter gold in a a big cage in my room
1 winter pearl in medium cage at the living room
2 robo in small cage at the living room

There is still space in the living room, but my sister might be getting a rabbit (onlyGodknowswhen).

So should I adopt another male? I want my gold girl to have babies before she's barren. She's about 4 months old.

This post has been edited by jeremysoon93: Dec 10 2012, 02:53 AM

Hi starrynight, thanks for helping me to ask. I been cleaning their cage once a week but just raise with water no mild soap o anything but i make sure it's a lots of rinsing & it complete clean. While the play toy i soak it with hot water (10-15min) every 2 weeks once. Hamtari still taking the anti-mite medicine (0.05cc drug put with 30ml water, shake it & take 0.01cc to be feed to hamtari). I'm not sure bout that but it's really a very tiny dosage. I basically put all my trust to my vet

But i have saw some hairs growing back at his bald patch just like those tiny baby hair. The bad news was there was a little bit of white flakes coming back He still got a few course of medicine left. I have thought of feeding him finish with the medicine & observe for 1 week. If there are still no improvement then i'll take him back to the vet.

Starrynight, could you be kind enough to help me ask your friend if he/she know anything bout demodex mites? (it's according to the vet hamtari mites was a demodex mites) I try to googles it but cant really find much info abt it. I just want to know it's this demotex mites curable? It is a very stubborn mites? Any diet do i have to take note? Will he be recover back? Thank you very much.



Hi jeremy, Thanks for the article.. but my hammie got record of demodex mites (according to the vet it's a very stubborn mite) so i assume it's kinda take time to recover but i was hoping of some improvement. He was less scratching but groom alot. He still got few course to go probably 2-3 courses and i thought of after that will observe any improvement within a week if no then will take him back to the vet.

I hope there are another vet for me to choose but nearby my bf area just got 1 vet only & i don't want to stress him more so i got no choice but to go to the same vet again

This post has been edited by babybb: Dec 10 2012, 09:51 AM

Hi, its been a few days since i bougt a pair of robos. But i still cant even get them onto my palm/pick them up . They just smell my finger and bite it. Just now i tried to lure them onto my palm by putting food but they bit my finger after they smell instead of getting onto my palm for the food and its bleeding Sometimes they smell my finger and run. haizz. are they still scared to me? i dunno how to tame this very fast robos need Thanks

They are not scared of you, they are curious about you. They nibble your hand to know you better. Do that more often and the patience will reward you.

I would say no. I'm sorry but I'm against breeding after reading information about them. Do read this article written by this girl who had to take care of a hamster resulted of bad breeding.

Hamsters are already rodents with an average lifespan of 1-2 Years on average. If they are cared for very well, they may even live up to 3. Each time you think of breeding your female hamster - regardless of syrian or dwarf - You are taking away some of their lifespan. Hamsters are treasured by their owners as a friend, a companion, a responsibility. Breeding them could stress the hamsters out, which may decrease their well-being. Hamsters are small animals that are occasionally, the stepping stones to one's love of animals. Many people were given hamsters as their first pet, if not fish.

If you think that you'll breed for the fact that it's cheap , easy , and the income is high, then you are sadly mistaken. The costs of hamsters , cages , supplies, will add up and it will eventually be too much to handle. What will you do if you buy a male and a female and they don't get along? They're fighting? You have to seperate them. This means that you'll need another set of supplies for the seperated hamster. Baby hamsters are cute, but they're not simple, oh no. If you're breeding syrians, can you afford the costs of buying a set of supplies PER hamster ? They're solitary animals ?

If you're thinking ; "Oh, I've researched enough, it should be already alright" then I regret to inform you, you're probably not. Even the most experienced breeders out there can make mistakes. They may take years to research. They probably know a lot. But one mistake can ruin their reputation. No matter how much you know, there will always be more that you can learn. Many members here on Hamster Hideout have had hamsters that had problems due to improper breeding. Stargazing hamsters , Spinners, You name it. No matter what, it shatters an owner's heart. I'm even one of them.

I know I may sound rude, but I am just trying to convince. I adore all my animals and love them dearly. I'm not purchasing them because I want to be known as a person with a hamster. It's the same with other members too. I do not purchase from pet stores at all now. There are breeders out there that have started off with Pet store hamsters. What's there to say that they're not carrying a genetic problem? Not much. Many people out there have lost hamsters and have cried dearly, because they have bonded with the small rodent so much that it's hard to let go. I can agree.

Many of us have stayed up feeding hamsters, helping treat their wounds, caring for them when they're sick. They're like our very own blood, our child. Just the thought of breeding gets to many of us. If you're a child, don't think about it anymore and enjoy life. If you're a teenager, stop and rethink about your future that DOESN'T involve breeding hamsters. Adults, you too, start enjoying life again and forget this whole idea. I know this has sounded like a rant, but it's truly how many of us feel.

Breeding is not a short-term GAME. You are dealing with the lives of a living creature. Why BREED when you can save a LIFE ? There are hamsters becoming snake food, becoming mistreated, abandonned. They need a chance to find a new home of people that will love them. Not to remain in the shelters for the rest of their life.

Then there's the experience :-

After another week, my friend found the hamster to be gaining weight really fast and took her to the vet, where it was confirmed that she was pregnant. My friend was very shocked and made another trip down to the THS to ask. That was when the assistant that helped her with Cinna explained that the previous owner gave her up because it was going to be too big a responsibility.

Weeks past and Cinna gave birth to a little of 5. They were all perfectly fine and all five remained. She had them adopted out to new homes and Truffle was the last one to find a home. It didn't really work out. That was when she called up me and asked if I could take her. I asked my mom right after her call. Mom wasn't very pleased but when I mentioned that Truffle was needing a home and was the last one. My mom's heart melted and she let me get her. I picked Truffle up just two days after that. She settled in very well for such a small hamster. Nothing seemed wrong at that time.

Until a few months had passed. I caught Truffle running around her cage endlessly in large track-like circles. I thought nothing of it until she dod that every waking moment she had. That's when I brought her to the vet. The vet and I were very confused until she tried a few tricks that normal hamsters reacted very well too. Some things Truffle did were.

- Continue running and even running into her food bowl and out, when it was in her way. She never ran around it.
- She closed her eyes and froze from even the softest touch. [This is when she was fine with being touched by ANYBODY.]
- She couldn't even stand up on her hind legs properly, she'd fall onto her back within a second, sometimes even with a grip on the bars. it's gotten better thankfully.

The vet's exact words were 'Since her parental figures had one with an unknown history, then she's most likely recieved a bad recessive gene.'
It shattered my heart.

My friend heard and said that another hamster she had given her friend had the same problem, but no one else. So it was just two.
Truffle was suffering in her own way and I couldn't do anything. I remember coming home in tears as she was doomed to have this
until she passed. Which meant she had a chance of not living out her full life-span. I was beyond worried and upset. But then I knew.
I knew I had to adopt at the time, but with the results, it only pushed me further. I know put all her items around her cage hoping
that it would block her and try and calm her down. I know I have to make things easy for her.

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Added on December 10, 2012, 4:43 pmI'm going to let you read this article written by an experienced hamster owner. Please do take a moment to read, it might help you out. Bear with the length.

A quick definition of 'Fear' from Google.com :

"An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat."

- - - - -

A bit of a 101 information

Hamsters in the Animal Kingdom appear as Prey animals. They are sought out by various predators that call the same habitats home. All animals have a natural instinct in which helps them determine who is a threat and as a result , will use that to determine the actions needed to stay safe. For hamsters , Examples include
Remaining still and lifeless , an act to simulate death in which will cause a predator to leave them unharmed

Fighting with the 'predator / threat' as a method of self-protection. This is often seen in the Syrian Hamster.
A Syrian Hamster has the natural instinct to protect itself within it's own territory and has the reputation of being a 'Solitary' animal. A Syrian , due to said nature , will fight with those of it's kind when they come into close contact with another . The only time a Syrian will come into contact with another is when a male and a female come together to breed and produce offspring.

We of HH do Not Condone breeding. Please Adopt instead and save a life

The Dwarf Hamster Species are more social and are able to co-exist among one another but even then , a sense of fear may develop to a point where they will begin fighting , causing a separation to be required for the sake of safety and their wellbeing.

Cage Aggression & Being Territorial

By being kept in a small cage , the hamster is made aware of their small habitat that is to be their territory. When you place your hand into their cage , they see it as a foreign object or another animal. Their instinct to protect their territory will kick in , making you a threat that wants to take what they have called theirs. They will proceed to attack.

Here on HH , We recommend a habitat with a floor space of 360 Square inches of Floor Space , excluding levels. The bigger the habitat , the better. By having more space , they do not feel so confined and do not feel that they must claim a place as theirs. This is very noticeable in the keeping of multiple hamsters in one habitat. If you have multiple small cages connected together , they start dividing it up and claiming what is theirs to a point where they will attack 'trespassers' . By giving them enough shared space , you will prevent that aggression.

How it applies to us? Well , you are coming into their habitat that is already small enough. The thought in their head generally is "They're coming to take it . I must not let them." If they have adequate space (above 360) , they will see it as the wild where there is a lot of field space so everyone can pick and choose with a lot of area. By being confined , they are limited and see to it that the more they have, the better.

Fear in Handling / Surprises

For many hamsters that are in the pet stores , they are very minimally handled to a point in which they do not see human interaction as a positive event and will interpret it as a threat. Let's take a look at this scenario to get a better idea of the situation within their eyes.

A Hamster is generally classified as a palm-sized pet. In their eyes , they will view humans as a large creature and will classify them as a predator that is hoping to harm them in any way. Many pet stores will roughly grab the hamster to place into a box for the new pet owners. They do not take into consideration that they are suddenly creating motion and exhibiting an 'attacking' behaviour towards the hamster that is classified as the victim or prey.

In all living creatures , our nerves are triggered by sudden movement and we as a result will 'jump' in surprise. A hamster's instinct will tell them that in this situation , they must make the first move and attack. They will quickly latch on and deliver a bite which may induce bleeding to the person handling them. Their nerves associate this as something they are to fear. They must defend themselves.

A common way to prevent that from occurring is making your presence be known. Methods include ;
Shuffling the bedding

Soft words directed at them such as calling their name.

Quiet chirping and noises to alert them of you.
By being aware that you are around and exhibiting a calm 'aura' , you are making sure their nerves that are associated with fear remain dormant , which calls for a calm and friendly hamster. By also handling them slowly and gently , you will cause the nerves to remain even more dormant so they can begin to associate handling as a positive thing to experience.

Your Nerves and Theirs

Many a time , an owner will be the one exhibiting a sense of fear and nervousness. Your nerves will send this message to the rest of your body , making you become afraid of handling your hamster. Many animals are able to sense fear. They will sense your nerves being at full attention and will often become nervous themselves as a result. This may lead to them biting rather than nibbling , which is a sign of curiosity while biting is a sign of attack.

By letting yourself be confident -Start off with a pair of gloves perhaps- , you will cause your own nerves to remain calm and relaxed so they do not pass to the hamster's senses. If your hamster bites and nibbles for the initial beginning , please do not fret. Like human children and infants , they use their five senses to determine the environment around them. Similar to a child putting things into their mouth.

You do not have to rush as when you do , the shock of the quick-paced methods of taming will not only stress them but yourself.

"Slow and Steady wins the race" . Your goal is to handle them without being hurt. Why rush and ruin when you can be steady and achieve more?

Hopefully it will help you understand them. Did you try the tissue paper method? Put some on your body and give it to them after some hours. They will get used to your smell and not see you as a threat. If you're approaching them, let them know first. Don't grab them from behind. Let them know you're coming.

This post has been edited by starrynight: Dec 10 2012, 04:43 PM