I have a hamster that I brought from P@H about 18 months ago, a little boy called Zeus. He is in a pennine cage (that was advertised as a rat cage!!). I keep him on a mixture of sawdust and carefresh, clean him out once a week and feed him on hamster mix from the local pet shop and fresh fruit, veg and nuts. In his cage he has a house to sleep in (in which i put the snoozey stuff you can buy), a few toys (cardboard tubes, wooden blocks ect) and a wheel.

Thing is he never uses his wheel. I have him out free-ranging in my room for at least an hour a day so he gets exercise but I don't understand why he won't use his wheel ! Is this a bad thing and if so how can I introduce it to him ?

Also another question. What is the life span of a hamster ? Someone told me it was about a year and a half but he's now that and he doesn't seem to be slowing down, thank god, I love him so much ! He's like a cuddly little teddy bear !

Thanks for any help. Oh and by the way he is a syrian.

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Syrians usually live to around 2 1/2 years on average although many people have had them that live a lot longer. Think TDM on here had one that lived over four years.

All my hamsters love their wheels and go on them every night. What sort of wheel is it that you have got and is it big enough for him?

Yay ! So I could still have him for a while yet ! Yay ! I was worrying he was getting old !

It was sold as a hamster wheel, its about a cm bigger than a saucer, is that too small, if so I'll get him a new one. It's a plastic one.

I've tested to see that it's not too stiff but it's fine.

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Have you got a picture of the cage and wheel and your gorgeous hamster of course.

Mine has the wheel that came with hamster heaven and also a silent spinner too that she sometimes uses.

A picture would help as a general rule, a Syrian's wheel should be 8inches (18cm I think). But some hams just don't like running in wheels. My Doughnut very rarely uses her wheel. Infact, I took it out once and I don't think she even noticed. As long as they get plenty exercise, I wouldn't worry too much!

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Hi, I had the pennine cage for my girl Buffy, she was the one who we lost recently at 4 1/2,when she got to about 2 she started to struggle getting to the higher levels and I bought her the Savic Hamster Heaven, which I think prolonged her life, I would reccomend the wodent wheel, Buffy never showed any interest in wheels till she got a wodent wheel, they are really hard to get hold of though so if you can't get one I would go for a large silent spinner, you need to get a wheel that is at least 8 inches, if your hamster is having to bend its back to use the wheel then its too small. As far as life expectancy goes 2-3 is average, however if you feed a good food, and treats from the treats list as well as a large cage and plenty of mental stimulation it should help keep your hammy with you for as long as possible.
Hamster Treats.

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I've had a hamster that lived for 5 years.
But 2-3 is the average lifespan of a hamster.

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I've just got a new hamster and my OH was insisting on calling him Zeus!

Luckilly we named him Bailey before she found out that other people called their hamster that or I would have never won lol.

My hamster LOVES his wheel so no advise i'm afraid but I would love to see a picture of Zeus

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I think his wheel is only about 6" in diameter so I will go and get him a new one when I get some money, which should be tomorrow, he needs a new house anyway.

I only have one picture of him at the moment and it's not a very good one, I will take more pictures tonight for you, if he would stay still for 5 seconds, bless him !

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Blackie hates his wheel too. Its definately big enough for him, he just doesnt like it

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