Under Construction - Still being updated with information. Syrian hamsters (especially the long hair hamsters) are also commonly known as, but mistakenly called; teddy bear hamsters, fancy hamsters, black bears, panda bears etc. Petshops like to use these names to describe the hamsters hair length or color/pattern to try to increase sales and/or price. They are ALL just Syrian hamsters. Nothing ra
re about them, their hair length or their coloring/markings. :)
Care sheet/info:
STARLYTE SYRIAN HAMSTERS
Congratulations on adopting your baby hamster! Just wanted to pass on a little information about caring for your new hamster. The breed of the hamster is a Syrian. They are the largest of the hamster family. They can get between 5-7” long. They do prefer to be alone (not housed with other hamsters) due to fighting/territorial issues. It is not advised to put two hamsters together ever, not even for ‘playtime’. They can cause serious injury to each other and/or death. Hamsters are not really nocturnal, but instead believed to be Crepuscular. This means that hamsters tend to sleep during the day and they are most active during the twilight hours - dusk/dawn. Although...some hamsters will run on their wheel allll night long!! The last litter of babies that are pictured came from Spryte (mom) and Jazzy (dad). Spryte is a long hair banded black eyed cream. Jazzy is a long hair sable. Together they had 12 babies that were born on April 11th. 7 girls and 5 boys. The colors are mink, sable, black eyed cream and red eye cream...both solids and banded of each color. All of these babies are long hair. The girls hair will stay shorter but soft and fluffy, the boys will get the crazy long hair! Spryte is a first time mom and so far, has been my most protective mom - always hovering over those babies. She also let them nurse longer then my other moms. Fall and winter is hard on hamsters, especially the younger ones - - its been very cold outside and unfortunately these little furballs have a really hard time keeping warm with a sudden drop in temperature or cold drafts. Be sure to keep the cage away from windows and doors. Cover the cage if you have too (leaving an area open for airflow), invest in a cage heater or room heater and keep the temperature at a consistent temperature. Give them an extra big pile of shredded tissue/toilet paper so they can line their nest and help keep warm. Your hamster should never hibernate, it is very dangerous for them, but it can happen with a sudden change of temperature or cold draft. When this happens they slow their heart rate and breathing is slow and shallow. If you find your hamster laying lifeless it might be hibernating - check its tiny nails. They should be pink. If they are grey/blue/black then the hamster is deceased. If the body is hard/stiff then it is too late….a hibernating hamster maintains a soft/floppy, kind of flat looking body. If your hamster does happen to hibernate - warm him up immediately with a heating pad, rub him vigorously (but not rough) to help blood flow. Have water on hand, pedialyte/sugar water, and offer drops from a syringe. Hydration is key! It may take several hours for him to fully awake and start to recover. Bring him to the vet as soon as possible to have him checked out. Please research about hamster hibernation so you are aware of what steps to take to prevent and help recover from hibernation. When you take your baby home, it will be the first time they will have to sleep alone…in a big cage…by themselves! They might be a little scared and confused. Make sure to give them extra shredded toilet paper so they can snuggle and keep warm! Some hamsters like to sleep inside a house/hut – others like to build their own nest. You will just have to see which way your little one decides to sleep. If you want, I can give you a bit of the nest/bedding so your baby will have something familiar in its new cage - just ask. Also, bits of cucumber in the cage will provide extra fluid for them until they find the water bottle and get use to their new home. Bedding– You can use any commercial hamster approved bedding – I prefer to just use shredded paper. I use my old printer/computer paper and shred it in my paper shredder. Use white plain paper and throw in a couple sheets of colored paper to keep it festive! Its great fun to match the colors with the holidays or your own favorite color. Blues/greens for the boys, pinks/purples for the girls, red/white/blue - July 4th, pastel colors/Easter etc. Anything to make cage-cleaning more fun!! lol They like deep bedding so they can dig and bury their food and themselves. Potty Time - Since hamsters tend to urinate in one certain corner, you can buy a corner litter box and litter and have your hamster potty in the litter box! That makes cage cleaning a breeze! My boys love it, my girls tend to rearrange their cage too often and don’t use one but I am sure that some do. Give it a try! It makes it so you can clean out the corner potty anytime, as many times as you want, but you wont have to change out all of the other bedding as often. If you don’t want to use or try a corner potty, then ‘spot cleaning’ their toilet area is advised on a weekly basis so you don’t have to change out ALL of the bedding each time. Be sure to wash the entire cage with warm, soapy water to keep it a clean and healthy living environment. You can use any kind of commercial bedding except PINE and CEDAR! Do Not Use It! It can be toxic to these little guys!! Water bottle - Make sure you always have a water bottle full of fresh water for your baby…they can drink quite a lot! Also, ensure that it is not placed too high so they can reach it. (Walmarts small animal water bottles, (under $3), come with a ‘bracket/holder/hanger’ that you can easily hang inside a tank type cage or the plastic storage/tote/bin and adjust the height.) Also - be sure to check your water bottle often to make sure that it is working properly!! I have had to replace a couple of them due to water not flowing! Everyday I tap the ball of the spout a couple times to make sure water comes out. Food – I had to switch the brand of food I was buying because they stopped selling it around here. Now I am feeding them Kaytee Forti-Diet for hamsters and gerbils. Walmart, $5.98 for 5lbs. (They did a price increase, it was $3.97 for 5lbs. Grrr! That was a huge increase!) If you search online you can buy in bulk and reduce the price of food. If you do buy it in bulk, keep some out and keep the rest in the freezer so it stays fresh longer. My hamsters do eat most of it – but hate the processed pellets and some of the small seeds. I keep saying that I am going to make a homemade mix for them so there isn’t any waste…just havent done it yet. I make sure that they ALWAYS have dry food in their bowl. I tend to overfeed. I typically will feed them 1-2 tablespoons a day. I also scatter feed so they have to hunt for some of it. It might not be the ‘best food’ in town but they also eat a lot of fresh food which is better then any dry processed food you can buy. Don’t forget that hamsters ‘store’ food - it may seem like they are out because the food dish is empty, but they usually have a big reserve pile hidden somewhere in their cage. Don’t let them fool you into giving them too much!
1-2x daily I also give them a large variety of fresh foods. It may include a mix of diced cucumber, (lightly cooked veggies or fresh) broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, peas, beans, cheese, dry oatmeal, oatmeal made with milk, milk soaked bread, pasta/noodles, flaxseed, meat (chicken, beef, etc), dry cereal (kix, corn pops, cheerios, etc), crackers, rice cakes, bits of apple, cooked egg, wet and dry kitten food (extra protein for the babies and moms). They love to try different foods and like just about anything you give them. They also like to chew on dog biscuits! Easy on the sweets and NO onion/garlic and NO citrus fruits!! My hamsters love a french fry now and then also! Make sure that if you feed fresh food that you check their storage area for bits of food that have sat too long so it does not spoil. Your new baby hamster is at a very curious age – give your baby lots of toys to play with, places to explore, things to chew on and climb on. They are still a little young for a wheel – their little feet can get caught in the holes if you use the open wire kind instead of the solid plastic. Just watch them carefully. If your wheel is squeaky (most are) use a tiny bit of vegetable oil/spray on them and they will be quiet again for a while.
** a word on wheels ** There have been a couple studies that talk about wheels v.s. hamster growth. Its been said that you shouldn’t give your hamster a wheel until its about 4+ months old. The babies are still growing during this time and end up using all of their energy on the wheel and they never get to their full, potential weight. I do not know if this is true - so you can make that decision yourself, just thought I would throw it out there on what I have been reading. It does make sense and I do tend to hold back on a wheel for Spryte (the runt) to make sure that she keeps growing as much as possible. Paper towel and toilet paper rolls make fun tunnels and something to chew on. I have also bought popsicle sticks and made bridges, huts etc for them to climb on and to chew up. I have seen people use Legos to build things for them! They like to run and explore everything - give them something to do! Cages - Old fish tanks work good (buy them off of craigslist for a couple bucks) - there is more floor space then most commercial hamster cages and they are cheaper. New ones are about $13 at Walmart. The floors are solid and are better for their feet then wire floors -plus they are clear so you can see them and they can see you too. You don’t have to worry about ‘bar chewers’ (the noise can drive you crazy!!) lol Just remember - no matter what you choose – the bigger the better!!!
**Best cage** (in my own opinion) I use the clear plastic storage totes/bins that you can find anywhere. $5-10 at Walmart depending on the size. (I have switched all of my adult hamsters to a tote/bin – more floor space and much ‘lighter’ then the tanks so they are easy to clean!) Get onto Google and search "hamster bin cage". You will find some of the most amazing cage setups out there!! I melt/poke a small hole through the sidewall so the spout of the water bottle can be put through it and I use the water bottle bracket to hang it off the outside wall. This prevents them from trying to crawl up the bottle and out of the bin! They are SMART! Don’t ever forget that! No matter what kind of cage you get, make sure it has a lid/escape proof! Its very sad to lose your hamster. I cut the center out of the lid and replace with screen so they cant crawl out but have airflow. I have also seen people remove the side walls and replace with screen for more air ventilation - if you do this then you can stack up a couple bins and add tubes so they have a multilevel cage. If you have questions on how to do it, just ask and I can help you. Just make sure it is secure and escape proof so they do not get lost! There might be a time that you will need veterinary care for your little furball….hopefully not, but it does happen. I found Dr. Michael Hord, owner of Val Verde Animal Hospital, when I was looking for a small animal vet to look at one of my older boys foot/leg. He was wonderful with Cheddar, very kind and caring! I did contact him to let him know that I was giving his name out to all of my new hamster owners. He is located at 9841 Giles Road, LaVista NE68128. Phone number is (402)932-6192. Not only is he GREAT, the price/office visit was the lowest in town! If your hamster gets hurt or appears to be ill, please bring it to the vet. Sometimes people overlook their injuries because they are ‘little’ or they don’t want to spend the money. No matter how little they may be…they do feel pain! Hamsters can get colds/respiratory infections from people - take care in washing your hands and minimally handling your hamster during you time of illness so it does not get passed on. A lot of people have asked about ‘those things on their hamsters sides’ ?? Syrian hamsters, both male and female have two scent glands. They are located on their hips. As they get older, they become more obvious. They are dark and slightly raised. Kind of looks like a scab from a wound. Do not try to pick it off, it is perfectly normal. The fur around them might become slightly damp if they trying to mark their home/cage by rubbing up against the walls of the cage or their toys etc. (especially after a cage change or if they ‘smell’ something in the air).
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Don’t forget that your baby is still very young - right at 5/6 weeks old! Right now they are going through, but overcoming, the skittish phase. I call it the ‘Don’t Eat Me!’ phase. These little guys are just learning to trust. Be nice to them so they are nice to you. They wont know your voice, your scent, or their new house - but within days, the baby will be trying to crawl out to you! They are very nice, sweet babies! Your baby might nip at your fingers - its not being aggressive, its testing you. They are like puppies/kittens/human babies….everything goes in the mouth. Their sense of smell is very good, you might not know that your hand still smells of a hamburger or tasty apple. Don’t ever reprimand them for this, you don’t want him to be afraid. Play with it every day, whenever you can!! Even if its during the day and they are asleep - just reach in and pick it up. It is very important for the next two weeks!! Hold it close and secure with two hands if it gets squirmy, when it calms down, let it walk from hand to hand, over and over again. (over a bed or other soft place is best in case it falls) and give it a soft kiss on the nose before you put it back in the cage. J
Some hamsters are ‘screamers’ as babies…they think you are gonna eat them and they will have a fit when you pick them up and hold them (and they might p*e on you)!! Just hold them close with two hands, let their little head pop up and when they STOP screaming, and squirming, wait for a bit, then slowly open your hands and put them back in the cage. They will figure out soon that you are not going to hurt them. (and I promise, soon they wont p*e on you!! LOL it only happens when they are babies - they are scared, they scream, they try to run away, they jump, they p*e - anything to escape and stop you from eating them). Another thing is to put the baby in a container that it can barely crawl out of…but…only let it crawl ONTO your hand to get out. It will learn that if it wants out, it must come to you and that your hand is a good thing, not a scary thing to be around. Talk to your hamster, let it know your voice. I always make a squeaky/kissy sound when I am feeding them so they will all hold their heads high LOOKing for me when they hear that noise. Hand feed them yummy treats. Sometimes I just sit there with the bin next to me and my hand just hanging inside. They come up and sniff, nibble, walk on my hand, try to crawl up my arm. They are very fast and squirmy as babies but suddenly, one day, they calm down, slow down and kick back and chill. They are content sitting with you in your hand, your shoulder, on a pillow, watching a movie etc. They will beg to be taken out of the cage!! Ohhh - if they are asleep (especially as adults)....gently wake them up before handling them...they can be grumpy! I take mine out all hours of the day. Also - give them a chance to go potty if you just wake them up and you want to play with them…or else you might get a wet surprise – ewww! :P
I hope you enjoy your new little bundle of fur! The internet is full of good information but if you ever have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me!! [email protected] or search me on facebook, Lora Monique (MoonLyte Cakes) and also go to my new page StarLyte Syrian Hamsters - Lora Monique....be sure to 'like' my page also!! :)
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I think I covered everything – have fun!!
