Id and help, please!

Rancid

This little guy was literally outside my front door tonight looking very lost.
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/2171/img0335y.jpg
What do I have?
A long-haired hamster, maybe?

I assume it's an escapee but until I can find its owner, I need some advice.
I have it in a little cage with a shallow bowl of water, a piece of apple, a couple pieces of rehydrated dry cat food and it's on a substrate of newspaper.
What else do I need right now?

shu

Looks like a hamster alright! They eat stuff like sunflower seeds if youve any of them lying around. Torn newspaper should do alright for a bedding, maybe pop a little box in as a bit of shelter for the lil fellow. Hopefully he just escaped from a neighbours house!

mymo

hi looks like a hamster.
Too much fruit and veg could give it the runs so go easy on that, as far as i can remember dog biscuits, peanuts(unsalted), sunflower seeds, small amount dandelion leaves and flowers, can't remember what else been years since pet hammy.
I hope someone else can give better advice, cheap loo roll for bedding, has to break up easy so no andrex or bounty.
Keep out of draughts,
Best of luck he looks bright enough.
Yes as above shelter to sleep in, old clean flowerpot or similar would do.

Rancid

Good, good!
Keep the advice coming!

He's very active, burrowing under the newspaper and hiding, then coming out and climbing up the cage.

I have sunflower seeds... and can shred some newspaper for him... and I have empty loo rolls, too!

mymo

just googled and found this hope it helps
http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters.asp
Looks like you're doing well so far.

Rancid

Little flower pot added but he seems to prefer to get right under the newspaper and he's not bothering much with the shredded stuff.
Oops. He's just overturned the water dish!

Wolfsberg

All good advice given so far... Just leave him be for a few days as he is prob a bit stressed. People often turf out hamsters unfortunately.
If you are around any petshops tomorrow get him a bag of hamster food and a cheap wheel (they cover massive distances each night in the wild so they need to get plenty of exercise in the cage). The 2 items should only cost €7 or €8. I'd remove the cat food and the apple as this might cause him to get an upset stomach.
Cage looks good and newspapers fine, but wood chips would be a little better.
The point about throwing in some little box with some shredded kitchen paper is a good one. They like to make a nest for sleeping.
Good luck!;)

Wolfsberg

Rancid wrote: »

He's very active, burrowing under the newspaper and hiding, then coming out and climbing up the cage.

.... A sign of a healthy and content hamster!

star-pants

Nawh the cute little thing, aye they don't normally run round outside... probably an escapee, and I would assume close enough to you. So maybe ask around in the morning or put up fliers.
Yeah he'll want bedding and a little place to hide, so if you have something he can crawl into maybe even upside down egg carton, so he can get in and out.
Seeds n some fruit, and some water. Be aware he'll probably be fairly active at night.
bless you for taking him in, the poor mite

Wolfsberg

I somehow don't think that it is an escaped hammy... It would be some challenge for them to get out of a house... they usually just hide under the nearest couch or fridge when they break out. I have a hunch someone probably let it go.

Rancid

Wolfsberg wrote: »

All good advice given so far... Just leave him be for a few days as he is prob a bit stressed. People often turf out hamsters unfortunately.
If you are around any petshops tomorrow get him a bag of hamster food and a cheap wheel (they cover massive distances each night in the wild so they need to get plenty of exercise in the cage). The 2 items should only cost €7 or €8. I'd remove the cat food and the apple as this might cause him to get an upset stomach.
Cage looks good and newspapers fine, but wood chips would be a little better.
The point about throwing in some little box with some shredded kitchen paper is a good one. They like to make a nest for sleeping.
Good luck!;)

Grand. Ok, now he has shredded kitchen roll as well.
He appears to be eating it. Is that ok? Or maybe he's just storing it in his cheeks to nest build later?
If nobody claims him tomorrow I'll pick up a wheel for him and some food.

star-pants

Ha yes they do that with stuff in their cheeks IIRC - should be ok.
Aye wolfsberg you're probably right, that's horrible someone would toss one out.

Rancid

star-pants wrote: »

Nawh the cute little thing, aye they don't normally run round outside... probably an escapee, and I would assume close enough to you. So maybe ask around in the morning or put up fliers.
Yeah he'll want bedding and a little place to hide, so if you have something he can crawl into maybe even upside down egg carton, so he can get in and out.
Seeds n some fruit, and some water. Be aware he'll probably be fairly active at night.
bless you for taking him in, the poor mite

I'll definitely see if I can find owners tomorrow, I guess in this warm weather it would be easier for him to escape, people leaving doors and windows open, etc.
I have a little dish of water in the cage, but I haven't seen him drinking.

gwhiz

Ahhhh...... he looks a bit be-raggled looking !! (but very cute)
He needs some bedding... ie. you could use some cotton wool as a substitute as they burrow into the middle of it and sleep about twenty hours per day and only come alive in the middle of the night.

Wolfsberg

If you are stuck you could give him a few corn flakes/ cheerios/ rice krispies if he is hungry... nothing with too much sugar or salt though.

Bluefrog

Lost & Found Pets caters for listing the little beastie you found though he can't have wandered far. Fair dues for stepping up and taking care of him/her.

Lost pet posting form

Rancid

He made it through the night!

I went to bed at 12:30 while he was still sorting out his "bed".
I checked on him at 5 this morning, he had bundled all the shredded stuff into one corner and he was snug as a bug in the middle of it!
He peeked out at me so I know he's ok.

He's still snuggled up in the corner now so I guess he'll sleep for another while.

Thanks for all the replies and info, it got him off to a good start on his unplanned holiday, I think.

mymo

Morning, sounds like it's going well.
Check all the neighbours, even the ones with no kids. Hamsters are quite popular with adults now, if you work all day they don't care and when you get home they're just waking up.
One of those ball things for exercise are great fun for him and you:D
think you may have found a new pet.

Rancid

You may well be right!

My 13 year old cat is VERY suspicious of his presence in the house, refused to pass by the cage when it was between her and her food last night.

One more question:
Does he need much interaction with us? Given that we provide toys and exercise gadgets would he thrive or just survive?
I'm thinking in terms of giving him a part of the spare room, a cordoned off area to himself rather than keeping him cooped up in the cage all the time he's awake. I can set it up so he has "perches" and branches to run up and down and maybe a little hammock-type thing low to the ground to jump into or whatever he wants.
Would that work for him?
To me, the cage looks like a little prison for him, tbh.
It's about 18 inches long x 12 wide and approx 16 in height, discarded by a neighbour.

mymo

Wow, I want to come back as one of your pets
I don't know much more about them, cage does seem a little small, you can get big ones with tunnels and stuff but I'm not sure how good they are. Think giving him his own room maybe overdoing it, and they are pretty good at escaping. Hopefully someone on here is an expert and can advise.

They do like being handled, but can get stressed so start easy, little food on your hand in cage let him explore but don't pick him up for while.

Tomebagel

Well done for taking him in,

sounds like your doing a good job so far,shredded toilet paper makes good soft bedding for them,for food you can give him corn flakes,and egg white for the time being,

as for handling him,they love attention even if its just for a few minutes a day,

all the other info youve gotten has been spot on!

gwhiz

Glad to hear the little critter is doing well.
You should pay a visit to the pet shop and get him a hamster wheel... My daughter's hamster runs on this at high speed for a about four hours every night. In human terms, it must be the equivalent of running a marathon every day !
Ps. make sure you get a wheel that does NOT squeak when he is ripping around on it... if you do, you will have many sleepless nights and be pulling your hair out cause these little cuties can cover some milage in one night !
PPs. they also love raw carrot to munch on !

Rancid

He's wide awake and mooching around, collecting the shreds of paper from one place, packing them into his mouth, moving to the other side of the cage and taking them out of his mouth and packing them into the corner!
Hoarding bits of food too.
Very active altogether!

Just gave him half a carrot and he's munching away on it.

I've a notice up to see if his owners will respond.
I think if I'd lost him I'd be out going from door to door asking if anyone had seen him.

gwhiz

Rancid, I think you should keep him... I reckon he was just turfed out on to the street as I have had hamsters in my house for as long as I can remember and while they are great escape artists, I have never had one go walkabout on me.
Did you give him a name? I keep called it "him" as I am just presuming he is male (probably cause they sleep 20 hours per day :rolleyes:). They are fascinating and inuisitive little creatures and are constantly fixing their beds, hoarding food... He probably has a pile of food stashed away in his little bed but I wouldn't worry cause hamsters dont overeat and drink very little water. They just take what they need and then sleep sleep sleep and run run run....

Rancid

gwhiz wrote: »

Rancid, I think you should keep him... I reckon he was just turfed out on to the street as I have had hamsters in my house for as long as I can remember and while they are great escape artists, I have never had one go walkabout on me.
Did you give him a name? I keep called it "him" as I am just presuming he is male (probably cause they sleep 20 hours per day :rolleyes:). They are fascinating and inuisitive little creatures and are constantly fixing their beds, hoarding food... He probably has a pile of food stashed away in his little bed but I wouldn't worry cause hamsters dont overeat and drink very little water. They just take what they need and then sleep sleep sleep and run run run....

I may end up keeping him if nobody claims him, I think.
No name as yet and I'm also presuming he's male.
I guess I'm ok as long as "he" isn't a pregnant female!
Whatever about keeping ONE hamster... what would I do with 1 + babies!

Shouldn't he be asleep in the daytime? He most definitely isn't asleep!

twenty8twelve

Aww he's such a cutie, and I agree you should keep him! And it sounds like he'll have a perfect home with you, as long as your cat doesn't get too upset

If you're looking for a new cage for him or something that looks less like a prison and more of an activity centre - then definitly have a look at these enclosures: http://www.habitrail.com/
They are AWESOME, not only are they fun to look at, but the hamsters love them too XD and you can keep on adding to them.

Here's a cool img of an elaborate habitrail enclosure

gwhiz

Rancid wrote: »

I may end up keeping him if nobody claims him, I think.
No name as yet and I'm also presuming he's male.
I guess I'm ok as long as "he" isn't a pregnant female!
Whatever about keeping ONE hamster... what would I do with 1 + babies!

Shouldn't he be asleep in the daytime? He most definitely isn't asleep!

Yes, he should be fast asleep at the moment.... but I would say he is just getting used to his new surroundings. The most I would get out of my hamster in the day is him poking his sleepy head out of his bed and then he just retreats back in to his nest but come 11 o'clock at night, his "day" begins and the wheel starts turning and turning.......
I would suggest you call him "LUCKY" cause if he hadn't made his way to your door, he would have been a meal for the local stray cat/dog. He is a "lucky" little critter....

Rancid

The owner showed up.

He escaped night before last from about 50 houses away from here so he survived a lot of cats and a very wet night outside.

He's back in his home now, so happy ending in the end.

And thanks everyone for all the advice!

gwhiz

Rancid wrote: »

The owner showed up.

He escaped night before last from about 50 houses away from here so he survived a lot of cats and a very wet night outside.

He's back in his home now, so happy ending in the end.

And thanks everyone for all the advice!

Ahhhhhhh......
Glad to hear that.. I think you had gotten a little attached to "Lucky"
Rancid, go down the pet shop anyway, and buy yourself a hamster...

ashlingm

gwhiz wrote: »

Ahhhh...... he looks a bit be-raggled looking !! (but very cute)
He needs some bedding... ie. you could use some cotton wool as a substitute as they burrow into the middle of it and sleep about twenty hours per day and only come alive in the middle of the night.

Please please do not give him cotton wool or any of those 'cotton wool' like substitues on the market to the hamster. I am currently studying to be a vet and have heard and come across a few horrible cases where the wool used in the nest becomes caught around their legs and essentially turns into a rope and cuts off blood supply. HORRIBLE!

Best thing would be to give hamsters an old toilet roll with a few layers of the tissue left on it. It provides hours of 'work' as they shred it, and bring it to the nest. The roll then gives them something to chew on and to hide it...not bad for something that was going to be thrown out!

Any more adivce just gimme a shout - id only be too happy to help out

ashlingm

Rancid wrote: »

The owner showed up.

He escaped night before last from about 50 houses away from here so he survived a lot of cats and a very wet night outside.

He's back in his home now, so happy ending in the end.

And thanks everyone for all the advice!

just saw this bit now....although hopefully what I wrote about above will be read anyway.

Thats great he went back to his old house...fantastic that he survived all that. pure houdini all right!

Rancid

ashlingm wrote: »

Please please do not give him cotton wool or any of those 'cotton wool' like substitues on the market to the hamster. I am currently studying to be a vet and have heard and come across a few horrible cases where the wool used in the nest becomes caught around their legs and essentially turns into a rope and cuts off blood supply. HORRIBLE!

Best thing would be to give hamsters an old toilet roll with a few layers of the tissue left on it. It provides hours of 'work' as they shred it, and bring it to the nest. The roll then gives them something to chew on and to hide it...not bad for something that was going to be thrown out!

Any more adivce just gimme a shout - id only be too happy to help out

That sounds like very good advice.
As you know the little guy is back with his family now and seems none the worse for his unexpected holiday.
I was just so impressed at how industrious he was, working on the shredded paper and building the nest and then rearranging it all over again to hide his hoard of food!

I know the dangers of bedding getting caught around legs or necks, or being sharp and causing injuries if ingested.
It's always good to highlight the dangers so people don't forget.

star-pants

Fair play Rancid, I'm sure you got fond of the little guy but at least he was lost and found, not tossed out.
You're a good soul.