A few questions for hamster owners?

Question

Hi, I'm thinking about getting a Syrian/golden/teddy bear (whatever you want to call it) hamster. I have a few questions about them so if you have ever owned hamsters or taken care of them your help would be greatly appreciated. :)

1. I know hamsters are nocturnal and most active at night, but what time do they usually wake up, that I could handle/play with them? (I don't want to have to wait until super super late.)
2. I have a 10 gallon tank right now, would this be an okay place to keep a Syrian? Or would I need a larger one, or a cage?
3. Are hamsters very noisy at night? I'm a fairly light sleeper; do you think the noise would be enough to keep me up if I kept the hamster in my bedroom?

Thanks for any answers, also if you have any advice or personal experiences to share that would be awesome also!

Answer 1

1. Every hamster is different. I have two hamsters right now. One wakes up around 730pm and is asleep in the morning. the other is awake in the morning and won't go to sleep until after 11am. Depending upon how tame your hamster is, you may end up with a hamster who will get up, pee and be ready for action. I have found through experience is that if you gently wake a hamster up approximately the same time every day, and provide treats and yummy food, then the hamster will be awake and waiting for his/her daily fun. I had a hamster who would wake up every day for approximately the time I got home from work and started dinner (she enjoyed getting the bits of vegetable scraps from my cooking).

2. Honestly, get a cage. we have one hamster in a habitrail cage with the various attachments, and the other is in an aquarium. The aquarium is such a sad home in comparison to the cage. The hamster in the cage loves her tubes and has a great time running around, pushing shavings through the tubes, etc., while the hamster in the aquarium is constantly leaping at the walls, wanting out. The hamster in the cage can knaw on the bars of the cage for activity and the all-important teeth trimming.. we have to provide the hamster in the aquarium with things to knaw..and that's really hit and miss.

3. YES. They run on their wheel, they move shavings around, the knaw on stuff.. and they're generally noisy. We have our hamsters in the livingroom, because they are so noisy. My daughter originally wanted a hamster in her room, but she quickly discovered that they keep her awake all night.

Some other tid-bits - when you have a hamster, always wash your hands before handling them. Hamsters have very poor vision, but excellent sence of smell. If you go to pet the hamster and your hand smells like food, they have a hard time figuring out that there isn't five giant sausages coming their way!

It can take a while to tame a hamster, but the slower you go, the more tame a hamster you will have. once your hamster is tame (and you keep washing your hands) your hamster will be completely trustworthy.. except about the subject of escaping. When hamsters escape.. they don't look back to say good bye, they just GO. And it's not personal, it's just who they are.

EDITED TO ADD: Oh, please remember the golden hamster rule: 1 hamster = 1 cage. Syrian hamsters are extremely territorial and they are solitary. If you put more than one hamster in a cage, they will fight. You may not see the fighting because they are most active at night.. but it will happen.

Answer 2

Here are your answers:

1. I know hamsters are nocturnal and most active at night, but what time do they usually wake up, that I could handle/play with them? (I don't want to have to wait until super super late). = I would say, about 8:00 P.M. You can try to wake your hamster up with some food and treats! If that's too late, then, try 5:00 P.M.

2. I have a 10 gallon tank right now, would this be an okay place to keep a Syrian? Or would I need a larger one, or a cage? = Well, you can use the tank, it will be A LOT easier to clean, well, besides the cages with tubes! It won't hurt if you have the tank as the hamster cage. Just make sure, though, that you clean it once a week, and, that you try to let your hamster out of the cage either: once a day, or, once every other day!

3. Are hamsters very noisy at night? I'm a fairly light sleeper; do you think the noise would be enough to keep me up if I kept the hamster in my bedroom? = Well, hamsters are only loud at night, because of a squeaky, loud, wheel. If you purchase a wheel at your local pet store, and, it's loud, all that you have to do, is, put some Vaseline on the back of the wheel, until it's not squeaky, and, loud! This should do the trick! If your hamster digs at night, or, is loud in any other way, then, just move your hamster into a different room at night.

I have two female dwarf hamsters! I adopted them from our local animal shelter! I have also had two female Syrian hamsters! I hope that this answers all of your questions! Thanks, and, good luck,

~ Future Vet

P.S. If you don't know where you are going to get your "future hamster" I would recommend that you try the website: www.petfinder.com. You will be able to see where your local animal shelter is, in your area, and, if they have any hamsters in at your local animal shelter! Thanks, and, good luck,

~ Future Vet

Answer 3

!. My hamsters usually wake up around 7pm, so I have about 2 hours to play with them until i start to get ready for bed. That is usually the time an average hamster wakes up

2. Tanks are not very good at all, because they have very bad air ventalation and they can cause respatory problems in your hamster. I think 10 gallons is way to small for a hamster, i would not go less than 15 if you have to use a tank. If you can buy a cage, that would definately be best, good air ventalation, and they can climb on the bars, there are also plenty of toys that can be attatched to the bars of the cage

3. If you decide to buy a hamster cage, don't use the wheel that comes with it, those are the loudest, and will definately keep you awake. These are the best wheels out there...they are called Super Pet Silent Spinner, they sell them at petsmart...it makes no noise at all. I would make sure that there is plenty of light in your room during the day while your not there, so the hamster can tell when it is day and night

I also noticed that number003 said you can house 2 hamsters together if they were raised together...this is totally wrong if you are getting a serian hamster, serians are very territorial, and will fight to the death if given a chance. Dwarf hamsters can live together if raised together, but not serians

Answer 4

1. Hamsters are nocturnal indeed but that doesn't mean that you can't play with them during the day. I used to have hamsters and sometimes they were awake during the day too. If not you can always wake them up :P They just fall asleep again as soon as you leave them alone.
Other than that they wake up as soon as it starts to get darker. By the time I wake up they are usually already asleep.
2. That sounds quite about right. I had my 2 hamsters in a tank just a lil bit larger then yours and they had a lot of space. On the other hand I have a friend who has 3 hamsters in a smaller tank and they seem to do fine as well, so don't worry about it.
3. If you give them a chance they could be very noisy. For instance I used to leave a small plastic house in the tank. If I happened to forget it inside during the night -> bad. They used it to sharpen their teeth or would simply push it towards the tanks walls and make a lot of noise too. I would also feed them earlier, like1-2 hours before going to bed because if you give them some kind of hard seeds or something they can be pretty loud while eating them. Not a problem for me but if you're a light sleeper might turn out to be annoying.

Also, little advise. If you get more than 1 hamster watch them closesly at first. They might start fighting each other. If they do and it's a severe fight you'll probably need to separate them in different tanks. However they might be just playing with each other so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. If you're lucky they'll get along with each other and you won't have to worry about it. When you buy them just make sure that they were raised together and that should be enough :)

Have fun with them =)

Answer 5

I'll keep my answer nice and short

1. One of mine wakes up in the day cos she loves people, the other one is always awake by 20:00

2. Tanks are the best things to keep hamsters in as they are very good escape artists. I would recommend getting a bigger tank though that is glass.

3. They are only as noisy as the wheel you give them. Buy cheap wheel and it will squeak and rattle. Spend a bit more and it will make all the difference

Its also a good idea to buy them a ball and put your hamster into it at about 18:00 for 30-60 mins. This will tire it out a bit more and it wont be on its wheel as much in the middle of the night,

ADDED

Tanks are definatly the best. With cages they like to chew the bars and make a lot of noise. Tanks are also much safer for them as they cant escape. Why do you think most pet shops keep their hamsters in glass tanks? they are also easier to clean

Answer 6

1)Hamsters are nocturnal so they begin to come lively at around six in the evening. However you can change that little by little by waking him/her up an hour earlier every day or every other day.

2) The tank is a palace - make sure he/she has a wheel and a house and possibly a ladder to climb - they are very energetic. I prefer a cage myself because they like to swing from the bars.

3) Yes unfortunately for you although you may be able to play with them during the day - they will still wake up sometime at night and go round and round in their wheel. Hence better get a cage and move him/her somewhere else for the night. make sure the cage (if you decide to get a cage) is shut tight. They are very smart and can learn how to get out if they have a loose latch.

Enjoy your pet - they really are very friendly.

Answer 7

You can wake them up about once a day, to come out and play. Mine figured out what time I got home everyday and would comeout for about 15 minutes when I got home. Aquairium tanks can be good, but for a syrian, a 20 gallon would be better, as they get to be very large. I wouldn't reccomend the ones with the tubes, syrians get to be very karge, and can posibly get stuck in these, mine did and we almost had to rush to the vet to have him removed from the tube. I would reccomend a large wire cage, with small bar spacing so they cannot escape. Some homes they sell for guinea pigs(which are much to small for pigs), can be good for syrians. And as for the sleeping, I would take him out of your room each night. I enjoyed the noise, but I'm a heavy sleeper. You may not like it, you can hear them running in thier wheel, drinking, eating etc. It can get annoying on those nights you are trying to fall asleep and the hamster just makes it more difficult. You can have him live in your living room,they will be able to interact with evryone and not bother you while you try to sleep.

Answer 8

1. My hamster is really cool if you start to play with her around 7 or 8 she is up for the night. But if you don't bother her she doesn't wake up until 8.

2. I wouldn't say so because there is no wheel and you cant put tubes in there for it to climb on.

3. They are very noisey because of the wheel but like one person said DO NOT put them in the garage that is mean. Put it in your living room so the whole family can enjoy the hamster.

Answer 9

i dont think that a aquarium tank is good for a hamster, cages with alll the built in tunnels and levels are really cool and safer for them.

sometimes hamsters come outin the day, but evening at maybe 5 or 6 they stat moving around.

oh yea, and hamsters do make a little noise at night running on their wheel that makes the most annoying squeaking sound and then their pitter patter of their feet... it can get annoying so we put him in the garage. its fine in there as long as its not too hot.

i had a black bear hamster whos name was Herman (which i think is th ebest name EVER for a hamster! =D) and he was pretty nice

Answer 10

1 - the hamsters we had - emphasis on had - were up most of the night, through the wee hours of the morning
2 - if you still want a hamster, get a larger cage
3 - Hamsters are very noisy at night, if ou keep them near where you sleep, you won't

I do not recommend hamsters as pets - sorry