The BRODENTS! Rodent Enthusiast Thread!

[Keletheryl]

The cage is too small. Syrians (teddy bear hamster is just another name for a Syrian) needs at least 2sq feet of usable floor space. The bar spacing should also be only a half inch or smaller. A lot of people just convert plastic storage totes or flip an Ikea detolf onto it's side since it's so hard to find the needed dimensions in store bought cages.

Hamsters do need things to chew on as their teeth never stop growing just like all other rodents. Pine and cedar are both bad. You should aspen or paper based bedding. Also, never give them cotton 'nesting material' as it can get caught in their mouths or wrapped around the feet, causing them all sorts of bad medical situations.

I'll leave food to someone who actually has a Syrian.

Don't have a hamster but I was seriously considering for a good while before life happened.

In that case I was also thinking of this one: it has two levels, so perhaps it's better? If not, i'll just get maybe a small rat cage for it since they are a little bit bigger.


I have had gerbils before so yes I figured that they would need something to chew on. When I had my gerbils I believe I had recycled paper bedding for them, i'd probably get the same type of bedding for a hamster as well. Thanks for reminding me about the nesting material, I knew it was bad but i'd forgotten and quite honestly I probably would have accidentally gotten it for the hamster. So good on that.

[darkvoodoo]

Some mousery pics:


2 litters in 1:


different blues:


Splash/tri colors:

[cat;;]

The cage is too small. Syrians (teddy bear hamster is just another name for a Syrian) needs at least 2sq feet of usable floor space. The bar spacing should also be only a half inch or smaller. A lot of people just convert plastic storage totes or flip an Ikea detolf onto it's side since it's so hard to find the needed dimensions in store bought cages.

Hamsters do need things to chew on as their teeth never stop growing just like all other rodents. Pine and cedar are both bad. You should aspen or paper based bedding. Also, never give them cotton 'nesting material' as it can get caught in their mouths or wrapped around the feet, causing them all sorts of bad medical situations.

I'll leave food to someone who actually has a Syrian.

Don't have a hamster but I was seriously considering for a good while before life happened.

In that case I was also thinking of this one: it has two levels, so perhaps it's better? If not, i'll just get maybe a small rat cage for it since they are a little bit bigger.


I have had gerbils before so yes I figured that they would need something to chew on. When I had my gerbils I believe I had recycled paper bedding for them, i'd probably get the same type of bedding for a hamster as well. Thanks for reminding me about the nesting material, I knew it was bad but i'd forgotten and quite honestly I probably would have accidentally gotten it for the hamster. So good on that.

Even that is too small unfortunately. 2 sq/ft is a good rule to go by. A lot of people get bins like this:

from like walmart or something, and convert them into cages like this:

This way they get the space they need but it's not extremely expensive either(:

[Keletheryl]

I'm really not handy, so if I can buy something without having to modify it it would honestly be a lot better.
I also hate to admit it, but appearance does kind of matter to me.

But anyways, based on the example you gave me, I'm pretty confident that this would be a good size then? As long as the bar spacing is good, i''d have to check that myself.


Dimensions: 14"L x 24"W x 15"H

[guineapigsrock100]

this is what i have mine in it's super boring though. i don't know what to do.

[guineapigsrock100]

So I was thinking of getting a hamster. I haven't had a hamster since I was 10 and both of them ended up having cancerous tumours. Anyways, I'll be starting up my job at Petsmart soon which means discounts, so after my first paycheck I was thinking of spending some of that on getting a hamster. Not a dwarf hamster like I had before, but I was thinking of getting a teddy-bear hamster.

So, can anybody tell me what it's like to have a hamster, first hand? Can they be affectionate? I'm assuming they need stuff to chew on as well. Do they need anything special that they don't mention in stores?
I know not to give them pine bedding of course.

Also, how is this for cage and food? Oxbow I know is good food-wise, and the cage I think looks pretty good, I'm just not sure about the size.

i don't have the teddy bear hamster i have the short hair one. i think it's really fun! the hamster is very relaxing to watch in its cage when it plays around and digs etc. very entertaining and cute. but not so fun to play with because they are so tiny and keep moving if that makes sense. i think a hamster can be affectionate, well the most i've gotten is that my hamster doesn't mind me petting her and won't bite when i pick her up it's not really as affectionate as other animals though. hmmmm i think the store covers the basics really... AND I USE THAT FOOD!!! they said it was very high quality food at the pet store AFTER i selected it so it's good. i personally get fruit/seed mixes as well and sprinkling a little bit in addition to it so my hamster doesn't get bored of plain pellets all the time. the cage is your preference, i wanted to try a tank for easy viewing and you can watch them dig and nest. when i was younger i had a crittertrail cage but it was for a dwarf hamster. one thing i do not like about that cage is the hideout, you'll never see your hamster when she is sleeping and if you want to pull her out it's not like you can just lift the hideout, you have to take the whole thing off.

also i've heard bad things about pine bedding but i use it for mine because it's so soft and fluffy and she seems to like it and some sources say it's ok. aspen is kind of rough

[Saracirce]

@CaptainMarvel: Personally I think a bin cage can and often does look much nicer then the store bought cages. You're also saving a ton of money on the cage. I do understand not being handy though. The Ikea Detolf cage doesn't require much modding except for poss. building a lid if you have a cat or want deep bedding or tall toys/ornaments. You can always ask someone to help you with the lid.

@guineapigsrock100: that cage is way too small and your hamster doesn't appear to have a suitable place to hide. Hamsters are prey animals low on the food chain and they don't feel comfortable out in the open.

idk why I'm awake right now.

[guineapigsrock100]

@CaptainMarvel: Personally I think a bin cage can and often does look much nicer then the store bought cages. You're also saving a ton of money on the cage. I do understand not being handy though. The Ikea Detolf cage doesn't require much modding except for poss. building a lid if you have a cat or want deep bedding or tall toys/ornaments. You can always ask someone to help you with the lid.

@guineapigsrock100: that cage is way too small and your hamster doesn't appear to have a suitable place to hide. Hamsters are prey animals low on the food chain and they don't feel comfortable out in the open.

idk why I'm awake right now.

her hiding box is the gray tree stump, she just blocked off the entrance with bedding. ya i guess it is kind of cramped as there is not really any room for other toys (we realize this after we bought it) and we have tried to put stuff in but it seems to take up room...i'm hoping it's good enough for the hamster though but if you got any ideas to make it more fun let me know? or is it ok? at least she has a lot of space to run around and dig.10 gallons is actually the recommended size by the aspca

[Angelus Gaston]

You really need a bigger cage as even the aspca can be wrong that cage is far to small.
The bin totes mentioned in the above post are more suited and can be customized by the maker.

[Keriae]

Her tank is way too small and the substrate isn't deep enough. Syrians love to dig - the substrate should reflect this. As a minimum, Syrians need 360sq in of floor space minimum. This is bout 30”x12” (totally not using Hekomi's hamstery blog nope)