Couple hamster questions (long!)

[jess32247]

Hey guys, I have a couple hamster questions for all you hamster owners out there! I just want to start off by saying I recently lost a huge part of our family, my hamster Dede. She and all the other furry ones are what kept me together the past couple years and her death has effected me tremendously. She wasn't "just a hamster", she was part of the family just like we humans are. She was the sweetest little thing I have ever met, I wish she would of at least made it to her second birthday before her time came.

I wasn't expecting to adopt another furry friend so soon, but when I saw Hilda I just had too. She was living in a very small glass aquarium at the petstore with four other hamster. She would fight constantly with them, I'm surprised wasn't serously hurt by the time I got there. The lady working there said she had been in there three months which is insane. I have no idea why someone wouldn't want to buy such a sweet hamster!

Sorry about the long introduction, I just thought I'd share what's been happening! Time for the questions!

This is a little bit of a silly question, but Hilda has red eyes. Does that mean she has albino genes in her? She is mostly white, but has light tan in some areas like her bum and above her eyes. I really know nothing about gentics, so some insight would be very intresting!

When can I introduce fruit/veggies/herbs into her diet? I would give Dede a small peice of whatever safe food we had everyday or so, but since Hilda is still very new and still adjusting, I don't want to rush things. (As a side note, I would only give the fruit/veggies as a "treat", not a full meal)

Hilda does a sort of "popcorn" thing where she shakes all around, is this hamster popcorning? It's kind of what a dog does to shake off water, that fully body shake and jump (just like chinnies do!). I've seen Dede do it before, but I thought that was just her "thing" lol

Does your hamster get really attached to there wheel? I had to take out Hilda's wheel to measure it and she started to panic in a way. She didn't know what to do with herself during the time I had it out, which was only a few minutes. Dede would do the same thing if I took out her wheel or put her somewhere without her wheel, it's really strange.

One last question! I want to get Hilly a new wheel since she's quite large for a hamster (large is a understatement, I thought she was a small guniea pig when I first saw her). I use a 7inch mesh wheel, I know mesh wheels aren't the great but I've never had a problem with it. I plan on getting her a 9inch mesh wheel and was thinking about putting cardboard over the mesh where she runs. I'm not sure how to hold it in place, but will a little bit of Elmers glue be ok to glue the ends with? I've also heard of using duct tape to cover the mesh, but I'm not sure if that'd be the best idea. What do you think?

Sorry about how long this turned out to be, I can be quite the rambler when I want to be. To be honest, I feel kind of obligated to do everything right with Hilly since my first few hamsters growing up were taken care of that well (even though back then hamster care was a lot diffrent then it is now), and with Dede passing away, I really don't want to mess up.

But thanks so much everyone that reads all of that! Here's a little video of the new furry family member and a quick view of her cage - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XziyE6f6rg

And I can't leave out Dede - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jq4ows4UeA I know watermelon shouldn't be given as a treat beacuse of how watery and sugary it is, but as you can see it was only a few bites worth

 

[Flyingstupid]

When I look at wheels I tend to go with two main rules.

First no mesh or bars as the run surface. This is first because of the danger aspect. This can be a foot (or tail for my rats) getting caught funny in the mesh and causing a break or sprain or a body part getting caught sticking out as the support bar for the wheel passes the hinge bar. Painful for the critter and for the wallet when a vet visit is required to deal with the issue. Second the mesh or bar wheels tend to be noisy. So I go with a plastic wheel even if they are a few bucks more.

Second rule is how easy with it be for the critter to run. Some cheap plastic wheels don't have bumps to help the critters feet get traction on the wheel and that's just no good.

To answer your question on the mesh wheel with cardboard. The glue should be fine but as with most things if she starts to chew at the glued area take it out. I fear the cardboard will have the same issues the wheels without bumps do and not allow for a good grip as she runs.

I really like these the Woden Wheel. I have one for my rat Jill and she loves it. I also have a Silent Spinner for my dwarf hammies. They like it and its one of the quietest wheels I've seen but I'm not sure they have them in the size you are looking for.

I started giving my hams treats right away. They'll sometimes get grumpy and push my hand away but then they realize its a tasty treat and grab it and start eating. I even feel they are warming up faster because of it.

Hope this helped.

 

[Lirana]

Wow, Hilda is huge!!!

According to the Humane Society, you should feed hamsters a small amount of fresh food daily to supplement their seeds and pellets.

As far as the red eyes go, I believe it's like chinchillas where some just have red eyes. Unless the hamster is pure white with red eyes, they're not albino.

 

[melbur10]

Personally I feed my hammy marley (rip) veggies, fruits, herbs, fresh dandilion leaves, and on occasion a small piece of cooked wheat pasta... And occasionally unseasoned cooked meats... Baby foods, some times a cat kibble... Hamms are omnivores and I feed them the same way I would feed rats, with a few exceptions. His main staple were lab blocks and he would get a small dish of fresh stuff daily... He would eat about 1/3 of it and store the rest in his house, which I would then clean out, wipe down and give new bedding in every morning. Marley also got probiotics and chinchilla lifeline