Hamsters: advice required

[goooogal]

Haha Jingles, I think it's not necessary that having 2 hammies would mean that they will have a lower standard of care and attention. Actually I've been holding on to my 2 cages for a long time cos I dunno if one day I may keep hammies again. BTW, my favourite hammies are the black bear dwarf hammies... I find them so cute.. like little teddy bears..

I also like the bigger syrian breed... they have big noses which give them a rather comical look. Anyway, would like to recommend this website for all hamster lovers www.hamsterific.com Have fun!

 

[chillipadi25]

goooogal, thanks very much for the site!! i had learn new stuff - such as chewing on the cage is unhealthy for the pet

thank you thank you. Unfortunately, i cant find pics of the black bear dwarf hammies, able to put one here to show me pleeeeaassssee... By way i had bought the book on the website "Dwarf Hamsters" and i love reading the book, never fail to make me smile when i read that as there are so many pics of hamsters

as wat my hubbie said - is this book a new kind of PLAY BOY...heheheehe

 

[goooogal]

Hah... your hubby so farni.. Hehe... Play Boy Hammies??? OK I've got a pic of a black bear I got from the net.

Cute right?!? This is actually a European Syrian breed (no a dwarf hammie) but I've seen the mini dwarf version in some pet shops here. Not sure if they are just babies are really the dwarf breed. But I like the black fur, tiny ears and white paws...

 

[goooogal]

This is the typical Syrian hammie I was talking about... it's also called a Golden Hamster or Teddy Bear Hamster. Look at the big nose... it's so funny looking.. heh..

 

[pinkbunny]

hi girls! sorry been MIA for a while - meeting at 11 and spent all morning preparing for it. *bleah*

wow the black bear hammie really looks like a black bear!

yup i think i read somewhere too that the metal of the cage is bad for the hammies. that's why i was looking for plastic cages. plus remember my ex hammies died cos of the cold? they were always shivering

wow ah huat really likes his new house! so many corners for him to explore. he's even found his favourite spot. so cute

try to show you guys photo soon.

he doesn't like drinking though... you girls got the same prob?

i was just thinking - since the packs of food and treats usually come in big bags, what say you we pool resources and share, so we can give our darlings a wider variety?

 

[chillipadi25]

goooogal - hey they look so cute but i really dont see any of the black species in the pet shops. Care to let me know where u see them so i can view them too? Might consider to get them for the empty cage

pink bunny - if ur hammy dont enjoy drinking water its ok, due to their size they drink very little anyway. But just ensure that the water supply is always ready and there for it if it is thirsty.

share food ar...my food supply can be gone quite fast as he is a great eater keke so no need to share. Hey pink bunny, u may intend to buy berry tablets for ur hammy to eat! they love it!

 

[goooogal]

Jingles, I saw the black bear hammies at a pet shop in Great World City. It's just outside the cineplex. But they are quite rare...not many available and not many pet shops carry them too.

Pink Bunny, ya hammies dun drink alot but it's important to change their water everyday and make sure the bottle is clean. I wash my bottles with salt water (just dump half a teaspoon in the bottle and shake with water) to kill bacteria. If I ever get another hammie, I dun mind sharing food

my hammies used to love the star shaped kibble from the Japanese brand Minimal by Marukan (finally remembered the name!). It's so cute when they nibble on the tiny stars in their tiny paws.

BTW, here's a forum I found for hammie lovers! www.hamsterhideout.com

 

[chillipadi25]

thanks goooogal, thanks for all the links cos i really an ardent lover of small animals (use to keep 2 loop rabbits, 1 guinea pig, 1 mini rabbit and 6 hammies at one go at one time)

oh i believe the pet shop u are mentioning is call pets kampong. The hammies they sell some are award winning one leh!!!!!

 

[goooogal]

Ya Jingles that's the shop. Wow you really love animals! Good thing all your pets can share similar food and bedding. For me, now that I have a cat at home, I dun think I should keep any hammie at home in case it accidentally ends up as a snack...

 

[pinkbunny]

girls, i think ah huat don't want to friend me. cos my husband put him on the top layer, and then he couldn't come down all day (we knew from the mess he made) so i opened the lid to try to carry him down. and he jumped off my hands and fell

then he screamed when we put him back into the cage. after that every time he saw me he went to hide in his sulking corner

he purposely hide in the tube where i couldn't reach him

but the good thing is that he ate quite a bit and drank alot when he finally got the chance.

goooogal what is kibble? special kind of food? or a name ah?

jingles what are berry tablets? i bought him yoghurt treats but he didn't like. maybe he just doesn't like me!!! boo hoo

 

[goooogal]

Hi Pink Bunny, sorry to hear about what happened to Ah Huat. I think you should not touch him this few days but you can try to feed him fresh fruits like apple or lettuce to gain his trust (cut longer strips so your hand is a distance from him so you dun frighten him).

Kibble is just a term for dry food that looks like cereal, like those dry food for cats and dogs. Actually I dun really buy tablets and treats for my hammies last time cos they are costly and not as healthy as fresh fruits and vege. I get some tablets free from my fren though so once in a while I'll give them to my hammies. But personally I still believe fresh food is best cos no additives, colouring or preservatives. I usually give my hammies the apple core after I finish eating my apple and they are happy to munch on it

 

[chillipadi25]

Pink bunny – hur…how come ah huat so antisocial one…never mind lar just let him have some time to get use to the new environment. Plus need to tell u small animals go according to scent as their 1st priority so try not to put so many pair of hands in the cage as it will get confuse with the scent and get a little cranky. Agree with wat gooogal mentioned, should give him some treats to gain trust too. Just to ask u, did u buy him when there are only 2 mice left in the cage? Should not buy remaining pair single as they may be a couple and will take longer to get use to the new environment due to the separation. Berry tablets are those treats lor…they have many kind of treats got berry got milk got banana…wah I myself almost go bananas just at looking at the variation. Also there is new kind of food too – some compressed pellets (look a little like cat litter) which claimed that frequent consumption can prevent cancer of mice…dunno how true it is lar but this is claimed by the gal at pet kampong (novena)

Goooogal - last time i also used to feed fresh food to my hammies but I read somewhere and understand from many pet shop owners is best to stick to dry and packaging food as they are pastuerised and safe to be consume. Also many fresh food may cause them to lau sai…………but anyway should be no harm if given in moderation… I also give them eat some bread and my butter cake…hahaha..There is one time where I even give them eat the Chinese new year – gua zi and chocolate cake…hahaha.. ïŠ must let them enjoy the festive mood too. Think next time I should let them eat apple core too…hmm gooogal u put whole core inside the cage hur? Will they drag the thing around the cage…aiyah like that ants may get into his cage n bite him leh

 

[goooogal]

Hi jingles, i didn't feed the fresh food to my hammies everyday, maybe once or twice a week cos I dun eat fruit everyday also.. I only gave vege if I happened to cook. For the apple core, I left it there for a while only, not overnight cos I didn't want to attract ants or let the food rot and contaminate the cage. Once the hammies had eaten enough and lost interest in the apple core or whatever fresh food, I would remove it immediately.

 

[chillipadi25]

gooooogal - eh...i also read somewhere they like to eat hardboil eggs leh. Gave them during Xmas and they love it. Maybe u should also try

 

[goooogal]

Jingles, now I dun have hammies leh. But my cat likes eggs also. sometimes when i fry eggs, I will give the extra yolk to my cat.. he loves it too!

 

[pinkbunny]

hi girls

when i bought ah huat, he was the only one in the cage. and i even bought the same kind of bedding (cat litter) and food bowl so he'd have some familiar things.

bought apple - will give the core to him later. hope he likes! and hope he friends me back soon

he really bo hiew me leh, always hiding in the tv or the tube. he very notti, took ALL the cotton and enclosed himself with it in the tv. i scared he suffocate leh :S

jingles: hardboil eggs??!!! ok next time i try!

 

[goooogal]

Hey gals, I just adopted a rabbit!! My friend found it while jogging outside the other day, but she has asthma and had to house the rabbit at another friend's house. Unfortunately her friend can't keep it cos she already has a rabbit and can't cope. So I decided to take it in else the poor bunny may be sent to SPCA. My friend has agreed to help me get a cage so that my cat can't get too close to the bunny. Hope they can become friends..

 

[chillipadi25]

pink bunny - eh the hammy wont suffocate one lar! they love hiding in the pink floss like us humans enjoying to huddle under the blanket.

so no worries!

gooogal - heheeh talking about rabbits, hey last time i manage to toilet train my loop ear. So cute...kekekeeke

 

[pinkbunny]

oh goooogal, bunnies are so cute!! err maybe better not put the cat and the bunny next to each other ah?...

jingles - really ah? they like it? but can you imagine it's really like a small area, and he pull so much cotton in with him leh. like he goes inside the TV, and then pulls the cotton in. it really looks crowded in there!

i so feel like a parent. scared he cold, scared he hot, scared he hungry, scared he not drinking enough water...

 

[goooogal]

Haha... Pink Bunny you really have maternal instincts!! I'm sure your Ah Huat is just having a great time with the tv and pink floss.

Last night I let the bunny out to explore while my hubby tidied his cage a little bit cos he pooped a lot after eating! Funnily my cat was really wary of the bunny and kept his eyes on him all the time. But he didn't want to get close and he wasn't hostile. He just sat a distance away and watched. And when the bunny got too close, he stood up and moved aside. We tried to put his closer to the bunny but he struggled to get away!! My cat is a real scaredy cat...

 

[chillipadi25]

pink bunny - really never bluff u one! if it is hot, they will know how to auto to remove all the floss. They are quite smart creatures so no need to worry too much for them, u just need to ensure that their beddings are change regularly, food and water enuff can already.

gooogal - hey show us a picture of your cat leh!! must be quite cute

 

[pinkbunny]

goooogal, your cat is so funny!!!
jingles - i change water and food everyday, and bedding once a week.... can?

today got to buy more floss for our little friend. hey, any good recommendation for toys? i bought him stuff to chew (cos the cage has no metal bar) but he like not interested

oh.... speaking about maternal instinct, ah huat has like a tube to climb up to an 'observation tower'. and that's where he got stuck the other time (then i tried to carry him down, and he fell, and that's why he don't friend me now, remember?). so he's been afraid to go up but yesterday in front of us, he climbed all the way up by himself. and down! hubby and i were so surprised and we were so proud of our baby really felt like a parent at that moment

 

[goooogal]

Ok here's a pic of my cat... He's a fat boy

Pink Bunny, my hammies also didn't like to chew on the stuff I bought for them (waste my $$). They liked to chew on their house though!! I think Ah Huat is starting to feel more confident

Just let him be and watch him, but dun touch him yet. After a while, he'll forget the incident and friend you again. Changing his bedding once a week cleaning is ok.

 

[goooogal]

Oh and this is my bunny Alphie!

 

[chillipadi25]

gooogal - ur pets are soooooooooooo cute! like ur fat cat especially!

pink bunny - u can buy her those bells that hang around the neck of bigger pets. Used to buy one and hang on the ceiling of the cage. My hammy simply goes crazy pawing on the bells and hear them ring. If not they are also interested to play with toilet paper rolls...hehehe u can try.

 

[pinkbunny]

goooogal - wah your cat looks like he's dancing! and your bunny - usually white bunnies have red eyes? i think that's quite scary. but your seems to have black eyes. alphie, what a cute name! how about your maomao?

jingles - the bell seems like a good idea! play with toilet roll? he will chew on it right? i scared he choke leh.

oh thanks for the tip about apple core, i tried on saturday and he seemed rather interested for a while. then he abandoned it so i threw it away. scared ants come. but that was still when he was not friending me, so guess i'll try again soon.

 

[goooogal]

Hehe.. thanks Jingles.. they are my babies..

My cat is now about 5 yrs old, and the bunny is about 4 months old.

Oh yes, my hammies loved toilet paper rolls... even better, give them the hand towel rolls which are longer!

 

[goooogal]

Pink Bunny, ya.. my bunny has black eyes and grey "outlines" on his ears. His nose is grey also! At first we thought it was dirty, then realised that it can't be cleaned off.. haha..
Oh my cat's name is Amous...rhymes with Famous. But sometimes I just call him Ah Pui... cos he looks really fat... his belly wobbles when he walks!! He just likes to eat and sleep....

 

[pinkbunny]

yo! ah huat likes celery! breakthrough! hubby is sick so i made chicken soup for him. thought i'd give some carrots to ah huat. he sniffed at it then walked away (kuai lan). then i gave some sticks of celery and he came out from the tv even before i put it in his cage! he nibbled a bit from the piece i was holding. guess that means.... FRIEND LIAO! keke

 

[goooogal]

That's great news Pink Bunny!

 

[chillipadi25]

hey pink bunny! that is something new leh..cos due to the strong taste of celery, not many hammies like to eat that...by way cooking wat soup for ah lao?? celery,tomato,carrot soup hur? hehehehe

 

[pinkbunny]

ya i was also surprised. i thought carrots would be more of a hit.

ah lao grew up in a culture of chicken soups for sickies but i had no time to make real soup from real chickens so i just bought swansons stock (in cans) and boiled for about 45 minutes with onions, carrots and celery (small small pieces), and shreads of chicken meat. can also throw in some garlic (whole. no need to smash or chop). he said very nice. we also added in a bit of alphabet marcaroni in the last 10-15 minutes

 

[chillipadi25]

ooohh.. tot u boiling wu po soup (witch soup) for him...hehehe cos this soup was highly recommended to loose weight. It consists of celery, tomatoes, carrot, capsicum, onion and a little lean meat for taste. Drink it for couple of days for every meal and u will lose weight in 1 week. Seen this in many programmes eg. Dong Fang Billy, Kit Chan and Faye Wong.

 

[pinkbunny]

haha my ah lao kena lao sai so i think no need to lose anything else la! keke. it's his 'feel good food' when sick.

 

[chillipadi25]

gooogal - hey!!!!!!!! my hubbie saw one black bear hammy in suntec and mms me the pix...its so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no i feel like keeping one too kekekee

 

[goooogal]

Hi gals... sorry was out of office today so no internet access..keke..

Jingles, cute hor... but now I got Alphie cannot keep anymore pets liao...my house is becoming a zoo!! He is very naughty!! He keeps flipping his water dish and pooping in his food bowl (is their way to mark territory). I have to clean his cage 2x a day!! And Amous is sulking a bit Cos he thinks we pay more attention to the bunny...

Pink Bunny, your soup sounds delicious

My hubby is the one that makes chicken soup for me... he uses skinless chicken legs, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion and cook them over a low fire for 4 hours... slurp!!!

 

[pinkbunny]

ladies, meet ah huat! he's eating celery! he's camera shy. so many photos were blur cos he kept running away. there's also him in the tv to show you girls how cuuuuuuuuuute the tv is!

goooogal, eek i didn't know bunnies also need to mark territory one! and i will try your husband's recipe too! but... how to have skinless chicken legs ah? they're already so skinny... how to remove the skin?

 

[goooogal]

Hi Pink bunny, Ah Huat is really cuuuuute!!

Esp the pic of him in the TV!!

Chicken legs are so meaty...why do you say they are skinny? You can go to the market and buy and ask the seller to remove the skin for you if you don't like to do it yourself. You can ask the seller to cut into smaller pieces for you too.

I have some bad news about Alphie though... my hubby doesn't like him. Today Alphine pooped and peed inside his food bowl and then I think he dug and kicked all the s**t all around. Since the cage is against the wall, my wall is now dirty with brown stains all over. My hubby thinks we should let someone else take care of this bunny. My fren says another fren is willing to taking him in if we cannot cope. I dunno how.... I want to give Alphie a chance but I'm v tired having to clean the cage twice a day and now I have to clean the wall and floor too. Sigh...

 

[pinkbunny]

chicken legs as in thigh or the feet ah? feet like in dim sum 'feng jiao'... cos those are really skinny right? (confused bunny)

eh ah huat got attitude leh. when we look at him in the tv, sometimes he stares back at us like 'kwa si mi!' hehe

aiyoh alphie sounds like a terror!!! why don't you try hanging on to him for a while then at worst, ask your friend to take care lor. better to have a good relationship with your ah lao (so that he can also help you clean up)

 

[goooogal]

Pink Bunny, chicken leg refers to the thigh and drumstick portion. And chicken feet is chicken feet mah, like you said, the "feng zao". I can't imagine drinking soup made from the feet.. Eek... haha..

Yesterday, we had a great shock. We came back to see Alphie sitting in his food dish (attached to the cage above ground) and the inside was filled with his excrement. Not only that, he must have dug and kicked the faeces in boredom or frustration, until it splattered all over the floor and the wall behind the cage. My hubby had to spend the evening cleaning up the entire area with disinfectant. We also had to wash Alphie's feet and keep him in the cage while we clean the area (in case he licked the disinfectant on the floor).

Sigh.. I really dunno what to do. I talked to my friend last night. We agreed that Alphie is probably a) having separation blues cos he was at her friend's place for a week and they had no problem with him. b) He's probably traumatised from moving from one place to another. So I am reluctant to let my friend send him to another friend to look after. c) He's having behavioral problem cos he has to be cooped up all day till we come home in the evening.

My friend said that if I cannot cope and nothing improves by this weekend, she will take Alphie to SPCA.

I hope we dun have to do that but my hubby is now getting irritated with the bunny and my cat is sulky too. I've had 2 rabbits before with no problems so I dunno why this time, Alphie is so hard to look after. I dun want him to go to SPCA to be put down, but my friend says it's better than letting him drift from home to home.

 

[pinkbunny]

goooogal, do you have a garden or an open space you can let alphie run about in? actually if you move him to SPCA, that'd mean moving to another place right? how long have you had him? maybe he needs a bit more time to adjust ya?

and btw, ok now i understand about the chicken soup....

 

[goooogal]

No leh.. I dun have a garden now.. but used to when I had the 2 rabbits. I dun think I can bring Alphie downstairs at night... not so safe and he can run very fast.

My fren actually meant bringing Alphie to SPCA to be put down...

I'm trying to give him more time.. He has been with us since last Sunday. We're giving him time till this Sunday. I wish I can keep him longer, but if he behaves like this everyday, I think my hubby will not tolerate it. In fact last night he already told me we shouldn't keep Alphie.

Oh and my fren can't take him cos of asthma.

 

[chillipadi25]

goooogal - ur rabbit sounds like a very naughty one!!! Last time I had a few rabbits also not so problem. Had u been trying to talk sternly to it like “hey I don’t like u to do that…very naughty if u continue doing that u will be hit understand†try to talk and lecture it like a dog or kid. It will help…that is what happened to one of my previous when it try to be funny and after a while it works. Try to use some patience…it may try to be getting use to a new environment too. Try not to put him in SPCA that should be the last resort, my hubbies’ previous loops are being sent to SPCA and tell u it is really damn sad thing one…u think they have so much space, manpower and money to keep all animals…most of them are going to be put to sleep lor…sigh..i don’t know..but for me, I will feel so shattered to send an animal to sleep. Sorry if I sound too emotional – but that is exactly how I feel when my MIL placed the house rabbits to sleep.

pink bunny – eh your ah huat so cute leh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! still know how to grab things to eat….u know most of the time my hammies are really spoilt lar. Cos I will be the one holding the food for them ïŠ

 

[goooogal]

Jingles, ya, as I said, SPCA is really the last resort. But my fren said she would prefer it over transfering the bunny from home to home. I do scold it when it misbehaves, but I think it's acting out of boredom and restlessness since we're not home most of the time to play with it. Like you, I would be quite sad if the bunny has to be sent away.

 

[goooogal]

hi gals, good news... Alphie's behavior has improved and he is not as jumpy as before. However, he still eats a lot!! I have to control his diet else he produces so much poop My cat has been trying to be frenly to Alphie. He even licks Alphie's head now and then

Sometimes Alphie will let him lick but sometimes he would swat at him for no reason

Dunno how a bunny thinks?!

Pink Bunny how's Ah Huat? Are you able to carry him now?

 

[pinkbunny]

hooray for goooogal!!!

still trying to get ah huat used to my smell. haven't tried carrying him yet. but just wanna check with y'all.... ah huat's fur seems to be a bit 'wet' looking (sponsored by loreal?) these days. i wonder if it's a sign that he's sick? any advice?

hey girls sorry for late reply. just returned from japan (biz trip, not even honeymoon).

 

[chillipadi25]

pink bunny - he is hot and sweaty. checked if he is drinking water or sufficient ventilation.

 

[pinkbunny]

hi jingles. ah huat is ok now. thanks

i opened up the cover a little more and put him in a cooler place. we bought him a container for bath sand and it's quite long. he likes to stretch out in it. hubby say this hammie very ho mia. got bath tub! hehe. it's from IKEA by the way.

 

[pinkbunny]

goooogal i tried your recipe yesterday. threw everything in slow cooker then went out. i think somehow cooking on the stove makes things tastier. i always feel food cooked in slowcooker is more bland. anyhow, it was nice and hubby and i both enjoyed. we added the soup to marcaroni and shredded the chicken. his recommendation: can add some thyme or basil next time to enhance the flavour!

 

[pinkbunny]

err silly question: do we need to give ah huat a 'toiletbowl'? he seems to like using the 'observation tower' and his tv set as his toilet. this morning my husband wanted to clean the observation tower but ah huat was inside. he scared ah huat bite (we still haven't carried him yet!) so he used something to nudge ah huat a bit so that he will climb down so we can clean. i think he scared ah huat when he did that. i very angry with him! all my weeks of refraining of touching ah huat so as to gain his trust, then my hubby just go and disturb him and make him angry and show us temper again