r/hamstercare

Hi everyone! I just got a new male syrian hamster yesterday. At the pet store he was super friendly and explorative to me, and when I brought him home and put him in his enclosure he instantly started burrowing in his 10 inch deep bedding, which was so cute!

My question is, when can I expect him to start taking food from my hand? I have a bunch of yummy treats for him (pecans, walnuts, spinach, strawberries, bananas, and mealworms) but I only want to give him these special treats from my hand. I tried last night around 2 am when he was walking about his enclosure (I happen to wake up a lot in the night to pee) and he instantly froze, I tried inching my hand closer but he was just frozen and so I just dropped it and closed the door. He then instantly ate it. Is that a good sign? He seems so scared and I don't wanna scare him more.

Another thing he did is when I was quietly watching him make his burrows, he was hissing and screaming (?) And I have no idea why. I just hope he is doing alright! He hasn't hissed since. ​​Otherwise I've just been watching him snooze the day away.

Hello hamster lovers!

So here is my hamster Maggie, a cutie who has been with me since April. She had babies (I already separated them after they weaned, a week or so ago), and ever since she gave birth she's had this weird postpartum "condition" where her fur looks soggy (see the images) for some reason.

She has a sandbath that is always cleaned and sifted through regularly, and it's been with her since the day she stepped foot (or paw? XD) in her 120cm x 70cm enclosure.

Is this a cause for concern? She doesn't look or act lethargic at all, she eats a lot (no fatshaming!), and she's as affectionate as ever. She seems very healthy to me, aside from a little dip in weight and her.. "bad hair day".

Has anyone else's hamster gone through this after raising a litter? Any advice is appreciated!

She doesn't come out until like 3:00 a.m. so it's rare for me to see her..

I've not had her too long, but I really love her!

Also I really want to get some cork to go on my wheel so if you have any recommendations I would appreciate it!

Anyone’s hamster sleeps with their bottom sticking out like this? Why would they do this? She is sleep because we checked on her 10 minutes later and she is still in the same position. Not every day since I’ve only seen this once so far, this is after a clean out and enclosure configuration change.

My girl Po used to have claws that curled over themselves. Rocks didn't work, and nail clipping would be dangerous, so I put some medium grain sandpaper on the platform where she enters/exits her wheel, and next to her water-sandbath area. Within one week, her nails are now back to a normal length! Thought I'd share this in case it wasn't already discovered. ♡

Upgraded from bin(roughly 500 sq ft) to wooden enclosure (980 sqft!!!)!!! She has so much more room! I am so happy

Could use advice! Please let me know if everything looks safe! And if the design is practical/functional

I have since moved the small white water bowl to the top of the multi chamber hide and added bedding to the sides of the small chamber hide in the front so if she jumps down it is less than 1/2 inch fall. I moved her food bowl down as well.

Thank you!

Charlotte seems to love the green hide. Giving her 1 teaspoon of pelleted food daily so she doesn’t get obese.