follow up question: sick ham-ham

Question
Hi, thanks for the help.... I'm really glad to say that my pet, Hammy is alright now... the bald spot is gone. Just a follow up question... He's gotten kinda big now and he doesn't fit well inside his hamster wheel and ball...  i mostly see him sleeping, even at night. I dunno if he's just bored since i already removed his wheel. How else can i make sure that he gets enough exercise? and Are there homemade toys that i can make for him? Also, his nails are kinda long and a bit sharp... How can i trim it without hurting him? He squirms a lot when i attempted to trim them. Would letting him crawl on sandpaper do the trick?  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Jan

I'm glad to hear that your hamster is improving.

Regarding his wheel - in the wild hamsters can run for up to 5 miles in a night in search for food and it is therefore vital that they are given the opportunity to burn off this energy.  Without access to a wheel or other similar device they can gain weight, develop cage paralysis or generally get bored.

There are numerous wheels for sale - some are called 'silent spinners' and these come in various sizes and you might find that the middle sized one is fine for your hamster.  It would definitely be worth investigating the various types of wheels for sale and try and find one that is suitable for him.  Obviously if it is too large/heavy he won't be able to run in it.  Regarding his exercise ball - have you tried him in a larger ball (the one designed for Syrian hamsters?)  If not it might be worth doing this and seeing if he can push it.

How big is his cage?  Is there a lot of space to include various tubes for him to run through to set up a course?  If not do you have a second container/box that you could turn into a supervised play area so that each evening you put him in that for an hour or two so that he has a different environment to play in?  

Making toys is quite difficult in that if you use wood it must not have been treated - shouldn't be pine/cypress/cedar and also some of the fruit trees - cherry in particular should be avoided.  I did make mine some tubes out of clay when I was doing a ceramic night school class once, but apart from this I tend not to bother.  Cardboard tubes are fun for them, as are empty cardboard egg boxes.  There are edible houses 'snack shaks' that you can buy and these are good because they can play in them or eat them!  It really is a case of experimenting with different things.  Does he have a dust bath?  If not it might be worth treating him to this now and again - if you get a low level dish and buy a packet of 'chinchilla dust' and put a little of that in it he will roll around and clean himself.  It is a bit wasteful, but now and again as a treat is good.

Regarding trimming his nails I'm afraid there is no easy way.  Have you tried wrapping him in a towel and getting someone to handle him?  If you scruff him do be careful you don't hold him so tightly you injure his eyes.  When cutting the nails be careful not to cut them too short or they will bleed.

I hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila