|
Post by tonyshuman on Jan 22, 2010 15:38:53 GMT -4
I have adopted a sweet little Syrian from the Humane Society. She's a tri-color, named Phoebe. She was born in early Dec. She's very skittish--not at all what I'm used to with my aggressive, cranky dwarf, but she's very sweet and will let me hold her. I've been trying to get at least 5 solid minutes of in-hand time a day, plus up to an hour outside the cage in an exercise pen.
Questions: 1) She smelled much worse than usual yesterday. I have read that Syrians go through estrous every 3 days or so, and that can make them smell strongly. Is that what was going on?
2) Do Syrians take dust baths like Dwarves?
3) Any ideas on the Potty Training Litter? I've put it in there, but it seems to be disappearing and she's not really pooping in the tiny litterpan I have for her. I saw my dwarf put some in her mouth (in a separate cage of course) so I took hers out. Could Phoebe be doing this as well? Is that bad?
4) Any other care taking differences between Syrians and dwarves? I know that I need to keep an eye out for wet tail, and perhaps should feed less veggies as treats to prevent it. Anything else?
5) Any opinion on the Space Saucer exercise thing? It's like a wheel, but it's really a flat-ish disc that spins as they run on it. She likes it, but it seems a bit small.
|
|
|
Post by Die Fledermaus on Jan 22, 2010 16:51:07 GMT -4
>> my aggressive, cranky dwarf, << I've had a few of those. And some who were not! Three days is a bit too often from my experience. Yes, females go in "heat". I never found the smell much. But I took on a rescued mouse (see the story of Lil Bit on RR) as the original rescuer could not stand the smell of that ONE mouse. I guess she did not know of many odor remedies - see a sticky thread on RR. But they do not apply much for your hands if you handle such a female Syrian. So wash. Or put some Vicks VapoRub under your nose to mask the smell! It never bothered me. I have not heard of Syrians taking dust baths. But perhaps I missed something, but I doubt it after all this time. Those baths mostly refer to chinchies and gerbs. You could always gently rub a little of the dust in the fur if dirty. Litter training. Rabbits use them automatically. GPs almost never no matter what we do. Syrians: totally clean and deodorize everything in the tank including toys. But first save a little soiled pooped on litter. Rub it into a litter pan and leave a bit of it in there. The smell should attract her. The DO poop in the same place, so that's the idea. Some will use it; some not. Katie should have experience, also. Dwarfs seemed to pee and poop at random in tubes, unlike Syrians. The love pooping in tubes, and it made a mess - why I moved them out of the Habitrail. Veggies do not cause Wet Tail the disease. Too much lettuce will cause "the runs". Avoid lettuce; it has no nutritional value anyway. Rabbits like it, but I don't give them much. Just keep the place clean. I have never had Wet Tail, and I have had scores of Syrians. But always keep an over the counter Wet Tail antibiotic at hand for immediate use; tetracycline (usually used for fish) is also good for emergencies. They are weak but better than nothing. I once took Princess to an emergency vet in march of 2003 when she had the runs bad, and looked dehydrated - sunken dull eyes. She got Baytril, and survived, but it likely was too much lettuce. Care differences. I would be sure to give dwarfs less if any kernel corn, refined carbos, fruits. etc. anything with sugars or that are quickly turned into sugars, as they are prone to diabetes. Syrians climb and jump better, and are stronger gnawers. Be careful of escapes! They fooled me more than once, before I figured out their tricks. Anything else. . . maybe or Robin or Katie, or someone, can add more. If you leave a tube in a dwarf's habitat he will pee and poop in it! If there is minimal back bend, and no chance of feet getting trapped, the saucer thing, which I have not seen, should be OK. When running, the back should show only little bend. Syrians come in different sizes, somewhat, so it is hard to give you a set size for a wheel. Anything else? Good luck to you both!
|
|
|
Post by gerbilgal on Jan 22, 2010 17:56:03 GMT -4
I have a longhaired boy and he loves to be brushed. Maybe try brushing your little girl. I use a soft toothbrush. She might like it. For a wheel i use the Wodent Wheel. Good size for hammies and very quiet. Keep working with her. She sounds like a good girl already. Don't forget the hamster ball. Most hammies love their ball. Fred does.
What cage setup do you have?
|
|
|
Post by Die Fledermaus on Jan 22, 2010 22:28:26 GMT -4
That's another thing. After many trials with other options, one Syrian here goes in one 20 gallon tank. Such as Critter Trail 2 or Critter Trail Classic are small enough only for a few spiny mice (the size of a gerbil). A gerb would not go in those as they gnaw too much. I avoid cages as they gnaw the bars.
With a 20 gallon tank you can add many toys and things, tubes, etc. But don't let them have easy teeth access to the mesh top as they might gnaw a hole a do a chin up out!
|
|
|
Post by tonyshuman on Jan 22, 2010 22:40:33 GMT -4
Ah I forgot about the ball! Whenever I take my dwarf out to play, she just seems to want to escape or nap, so I haven't been putting her in the ball, and forgot that my Syrian might like it too!
I'll have to take a pic of the saucer thing--it's quite strange. She has a wheel that's big enough as well. She's housed in a rubbermaid bin with air holes, and big holes covered with hardware cloth (which is really wire mesh). The bin is about 2ft wide, 4ft long, and 1ft high. It's pretty big. I used to use a Crittertrail setup for my dwarf, but got sick of her chewing on the plastic and wire, plus it was a pain to clean, so now I'm trying to sell it all on Craigslist. Not a big market for used hamster cages, unfortunately. She has a few hidey houses too.
I will have to try the potty training techniques the next time I do a full cage clean, and pick up some Dri-Tail.
She's short haired, but I will try brushing!
I cannot stand how mice smell--I cleaned the tank of a trio we had at the shelter last week, and almost gagged while cleaning the wheel (where I assume they do their peeing). It was too strong for me! This smell she was making wasn't like that, but it wasn't unbearable.
Thanks for the advice, guys!
|
|
|
Post by Die Fledermaus on Jan 22, 2010 23:04:19 GMT -4
Keep the Crittertrail as a play or holding area. Not for use as a permanent home. Let them forage in there for food, and then return home.
See the thread on odor solutions I started some time ago.
Watch Rubbermaid or Sterilites. It is conceivable they can gnaw a hole. It has happened to me, though rarely. Twenty gallons is a minimum size.
|
|
|
Post by Dezzi on Jan 23, 2010 5:35:05 GMT -4
1) Syrians can be territorial of their cages so she could be marking her cage. Sometimes having a bit of litter that smells like her can help. (doing DF's suggestion for potty training should help, too)
2) Some do, some don't. Mine never did, they preferred to poop in the litter or hide things in it. They don't "need" a dust bath but having one in there doesn't hurt.
3) Depending on what kind of litter is in there, it might be harmful. Sometimes they put clumping cat litter in the little baggies and the hamsters may eat them. I'd suggest going with a safe litter or different type of bedding and then following what DF said.
4) Not many care differences. Feeding is a bit different (but not much) and yes, they can get wet tail. A lot of times Syrians mellow out when they get older so taming can be easier than with dwarfs. Not always, though.
5) I have a saucer and the Syrians just used it as a sleeping spot. One of the dwarfs actually ran on it. I'm not a fan of them, but if you do decide to try it out be sure they have a regular wheel to run on as well.
|
|
|
Post by Die Fledermaus on Jan 23, 2010 16:16:08 GMT -4
My bedding is usually aspen, sometimes with some dust-free Carefresh Ultra mixed in.
I would not want to leave dust in there indefinitely as they might breath it in too much.
My Syrians always get a large wooden hide box/house. It is big enough for three Syrians to get in there, but of course we only let one in as they will fight!
|
|
|
Post by Die Fledermaus on Jan 23, 2010 21:55:08 GMT -4
I should add that I think spiny mice can be potty trained. They seem to poop and pee in the same place, and never on their mesh wheels as fancy mice do. I just cleaned a tank of them and saved a little soiled bedding and put it in a small can, like with the instructions in my post above. I should have tried this before. We shall see if it works. I'll let you know.
|
|
|
Post by Hamsters82 on Jan 24, 2010 13:28:31 GMT -4
Welcome to the wonderful world of taking care of a Syrian! And good for you for adopting Phoebe; what a cute name for a syrian too! Syrians and dwarfs aren't really that much different to take care of. Syrians are just bigger and need more space as that of a dwarf, plus they're a bit slower too, in playing I mean. plus up to an hour outside the cage in an exercise pen. ^That's fine for a syrian, but just make sure they can handle the hour out. Not many people take their hamsters out for that long, I did, however. Once I took both my syrians out for more than an hour! So see how they do at first. Is that what was going on? ^Probably. Females will smell a lot, but unlike dogs where the blood will show, hamsters shouldn't have any blood coming out. If they do, get her to a vet. I forget how often females smell, but I remember it was a lot. 2) Do Syrians take dust baths like Dwarves? ^Not sure on that one as none of my hamsters, dwarfs or syrians, ever had dust baths. 3) Any ideas on the Potty Training Litter? ^Personally when I had hamsters, I didn't use that at all. I don't see the point really as they're hamsters, not cats where they have to go in one spot cause they can't go outside. Let the hamster go wherever he/she wants. Besides, you're going to clean the cage out weekly anyway. Hamsters will eat their poop because it's nutritious for them. Gross to us, yes, but delicious for them. Okay I'll stop.... 4) I know that I need to keep an eye out for wet tail, and perhaps should feed less veggies as treats to prevent it. ^I rarely gave my hamsters treats, but what I did give them were: cheerios, spaghetti, eggs, stuff like that. But each were plain, some even like plain dog biscuits, but mine never did. I had fussy hamsters. Baby food is fine for them, Harriet had it when she was sick and Chewie had to have it cause he barely had teeth and the ones he did have they curled inward. 5) Any opinion on the Space Saucer exercise thing? ^I don't recall that kind of toy although it sounds familiar. I say, as long as it's safe and she likes it, go for it. My guys always liked the exercise ball although I went through a couple of them with Sophie, lol. How is she with you? When I adopted my two syrians, I made sure they were both hand trained. What I mean by my first question is, does she bite you? Maybe I shouldn't be saying this, but when I had a long-haired syrian, we would just cut (as in using scissors) his hair. I never brushed Chewie, we just cut his hair and he was fine with it. Everyone is right saying that Aspen is the best bedding to use as there aren't any dies in it or too much dust. Just like dwarfs, you don't ever want to wake a sleeping hamster unless you have to give him/her medication. I really can't think of anything more that everyone here as already mentioned. My dwarfs were never cranky, but then again we hand raised Theo and Benny since they were young. Harriet, she was okay...but she came from the pet store. Good luck with Phoebe!
|
|
|
Post by tonyshuman on Feb 5, 2010 16:51:11 GMT -4
Thanks for all the help, guys! She seems to like to pee and poo in the corners of her house. I keep moving it to the pan to see if she'll learn, but whatever. Here are a few pics of Phoebe, who is not quite as terrified of me as she used to be. MWAH Yes, she's by one of my dirty socks so she can get used to my scent. The blue dish is the saucer exerciser--they run on top of it, not inside it like a wheel. it rotates around the middle like a plate.
|
|
|
Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 5, 2010 21:01:50 GMT -4
As long as she does it in one place; that can be easily cleaned. GPs just do it as the spirit moves them, wherever and whenever. I have seen those saucer wheels before. How often does she use them, and what's your opinion? You have the house resting on a cardboard roll? I have a house just like that for some spiny mice. What is that for bedding? RAINBOW Carefresh Ultra? We can make many jokes about Phoebe being subjected to your socks - witness the photos! ;D
|
|
|
Post by pinky on Feb 5, 2010 22:28:29 GMT -4
She's a cutie! The first photo needs a thought balloon!
I haven't commented earlier because I'm the dwarfie/Chinese gal and have no experience with Syrians.
|
|
|
Post by Hamsters82 on Feb 6, 2010 7:28:50 GMT -4
Aw, Phoebe is cute! That's a nice idea where you put your sock in with her to get her used to your scent. Never thought about that, but only one of our hamsters came from the pet store.
That's the type of bedding we use for our ferret where I work. I can't be around the stuff with my allergies, but it seems okay. I just like Aspen for hamsters, always used it with mine. You want to be careful of the dies that are in that kind of bedding.
Is there anything else for Phoebe to chew on? I mean besides that toilet paper roll? Oh yeah and just to forewarn you, she may try to bite through that exercise wheel. My girl bit through almost three exercise balls. ;D
|
|
|
Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 7, 2010 21:16:10 GMT -4
Yea, Robin, thought balloons! Who wants to add one?!
So they DO have rainbow Carefresh??
|
|