Hey,

Well done for getting the info first. If it's your first hamster, best place to start would be getting a book, you can even get care guides for hamsters on the kindle.

How to Raise Hamster - Kate Boyd - is alright.

It's all about being sensible really, a bit of paper isn't going to hurt them, a bit of ink isn't going to hurt them, consuming large amounts of ink filled paper will hurt them. Toilet tissue is good.

Roll the paper up in your hands first and make it nice and squishy. I'm not paper's biggest fan, only because it's not very absorbant, if they pee they have to lay in it, also it's not very cosy. To be honest I lay down different types, megazorb (which is amazing - £7 for a MASSIVE MASSIVE bag, google and order online - Farmway is one supplier - it's super absorbant, none dusty, and traps odour, then I put down recycled paper tissue - pet shop stuff and I also put down a little of the special pet shop cotton wool type stuff (NOT normal cotton wool that's very bad for them).

You're going to find such huge degree's of differing opinions on hamster care that it's a mindfield.

The only things you really have to get right are:

cage size - this is going to make or break your hammie's life. Getting the right sized cage, i.e. the biggest possibly - is going to set up your hammie for it's life. There are going to nights when you're not home, poorly, or you've just plain old fallen asleep - get them the best cage and give the little dude space to hang and have fun when you're not about or in the land of nod. 80cm length wise, 50cm wide - that's the RSPCA guidelines. Zoozone I hear are fab for dwarf's.

Enriching environment - toys, tunnels, boxes, can be cheap and cheerful and homemade, or posh and petshop bought, doesn't matter - just make sure they have stuff to do and change it around, add new toys, take old ones away, swap them around a bit, like every couple of weeks etc

Good size wheel - something like a wodent wheel - I know dwarfs run like the clappers but also have a tendancy to shoot right on out of open wheels. These could be your best bet.

Good diet and clean water

And time out to play - dwarfs are a bit harder to handle, but line an empty bath tub with some towels set up some toys and watch your hammie go crazy.

The rest me dear is completely opinion orientated, for instance, I've been recently to two very reputable rescue's. One outright banned woodshavings, I had to sign an agreement to say I would never use it - no big deal but yeah they were mentally strict about it.
Another rescue when I said this, well the lady rolled her eyes and went oh for goodness sake - I've taken in 500 hamsters, only 5 of them have had a URI (a respiratory illness) and that was because they came from filthy conditions- it's a bit like saying, don't let your child out in the summer 'incase' they get hayfever....If you have a hamster that's sneezing then look at the bedding - but her stance was a deffinite - dust-free woodshavings do not give hamsters URI's, dirty unclean cages give hamsters URI's - but no one is ever going to admit that at the vets, there going to blame it on the bedding.

To be honest, I could see her point! Still I switched to megazorb, 1) because I'd promised the other rescue and a promise is a promise, 2) financially it just makes sense 3) it does just seem like a nicer environment for them to live, 4) I'd rather ere on the side of caution.

You just got to use your arm yourself with the info and make your best judgement.

xx

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Mummy to 4 piggies, Manny, Floyd, Izzy and Eve, 3 hammie's, Jean Claude van Ham (aka JC), Princess & Prince Philip, 3 Gerbils Itsy, Bitsy and Ditsy. Foster piggies China & Alfie.

Just thought I'd highlight that it isn't just URI's that is the issue with shavings, pine and cedar (the two worse culprits) also release phenol fumes which can cause liver damage.

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Thanks for the replies. The original post was made in 2009. I just did a little update as he died on Thursday. My own fault, I should have made a new topic x

im sorry Mikels passed on xx dont blame yourself on something you might have done wrong because in all honesty you havent done anything wrong. you gave him two whole years and that is a good long life for a hamster; they normally only manage 18 months to 3.5 (if theyre lucky) with rare exceptions living 4-5 years.

as for why he died where he did, he may have just found that spot comfy at the time, napped there or just dropped there. i think he died away from his house because that would be considered his nest and in the wild (as he is a dwarf) they live in small colonies so a dead body would start to smell and attract predators to the nest and the rest of the hamsters. rodents dont often show signs of illness as theyre prey animals (and showing illness would make them more vunerable to predators) so its not your fault you didnt spot anything wrong with him although it sounds mostly like old age rather than an illness and theres no cure for old age.

again dont blame yourself you gave him a lovely life and im sure theres nowhere else hed rather have spent it

RIP Mikel

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http://uk.pedigree.com/pedigreeadoptiondrive/ Please take a second to do this vitual dog walk and raise money to save a dogs life! itll only take a minute, thankyou for helping! xx

Thanks for a lovely message

The things that go through your head when you're upset.

Now I am convincing myself that he was hibernating and I've buried him alive. I know it's complete and utter codswallop but I just can't stop thinking about it! X

When I had my first hamster as a child, when he went I was convinced that my parents had buried him hibernating rather than dead. I was six at the time, so I doubt I was right, but you're not the only one to think that *hugs*

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"I don't believe in the concept of hell, but if I did I would think of it as filled with people who were cruel to animals."

My family's cats: Fudge the Vile Cat and Charlie the Wimpiest Cat in the World.
My uni roommate: Darla the Roborovski hamster.

At 27 I should be more rational though haha. I know deep down its not the case. He was lay stretched flat out. Stiff. Cold. And not in his house. I presume thats where he would have chosen to go if he wanted to hibernate.

Thank you very much for your kind words. X

most likely he wasnt hibernating, if he was his whiskers would be twitching slightly and hed be barely breathing. i think they are more likely to curl up to conserve heat too unless it was a sudden drop in temperature (10 degrees celcius and below) where he just collapsed spread out as he was. i still feel guilt whenever i think of my first hamster as a young teenager i found him cold and unmoving but still limp but thought he was dead and now i know better i sometimes panic thinking i buried him alive too! i know i didnt though as i carried him around in my arms the entire day i found him and he never woke up

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http://uk.pedigree.com/pedigreeadoptiondrive/ Please take a second to do this vitual dog walk and raise money to save a dogs life! itll only take a minute, thankyou for helping! xx

It's funny what goes through your mind when you're grieving.

X