Kept dwarfs years ago and finally have the space again. Picking up a pair of Roborovskis next week.

Surprised how much the recommended cage sizes have changed since I last did this — in a good way.

Just brought home a Syrian male, about 10 weeks old. He is still hiding most of the day but comes out around 9pm.

Looking forward to learning from everyone here. Any first-week advice is welcome.

Put the dish in and she immediately rolled in it for a solid five minutes, then sat in it looking extremely pleased with herself.

Sand baths are apparently the best thing that has ever happened to her.

Six weeks of patience and daily short sessions. Tonight he just climbed on and went to sleep.

No real point to this post, I am just very happy about it.

Switched to a shallow ceramic bowl last month. He drinks noticeably more and it is much easier to see how much he is actually getting.

Only downside is he fills it with bedding within an hour.

Paper is cheap and easy to find but it does not hold tunnels at all in my experience.

Hemp seems to hold shape better. Anyone compared them side by side over a few weeks?

My hamster would eat these all day if I let him. Currently giving one small piece twice a week.

Is that reasonable, or am I overdoing the protein?

Finally finished the enclosure. Base is a modified storage bin, lid is mesh, and I added a raised platform so there is usable floor space underneath.

Total cost was about $70. Happy to answer questions about the cutting and the mesh framing.

He got a small scratch inside one cheek pouch from a sharp piece of bedding I missed.

I removed the sharp bits and cleaned the cage. What signs mean I need a vet rather than just monitoring?

Picked up my new hamster three days ago and today the droppings are soft and he is a bit hunched.

No tail wetness that I can see, and he is still eating. Is this normal settling-in or should I call the vet tomorrow morning?

My dwarf refuses pellets completely. I have tried mixing them in at about 10% and he just picks around them.

How long did it take yours to accept a new food? Any tricks?

I keep reading that 15cm is the minimum, but my Syrian just builds one giant nest in the corner and ignores the rest.

Should I still fill the whole base or is a deep corner enough? He seems happy either way but I want to do this right.