Bathing question plus another

Question
Dear Sheila,
I just bought a roborovski dwarf hamster yesterday and I've been researching all over on how to care for them. So far I think I'm doing OK, but I had a question about bathing her. I know that I should obviously not bath my 22 gram hamster in water, and I saw a lot of sources saying you should get them a chinchilla sand bath. I went to my local pet store and saw the sand, but next to it I saw the "Critter Bath Powder" which seemed more for smaller rodents. It is made from 100% volcanic mountain pumice and it seemed to be safe (plus it was about half the price) so i thought I'd give it a try.

When I got home I put Dexter in the powder and she soon began to eat it. I took her out right away because I didn't know if it was safe for her to eat and I again turned to the internet. I couldn't find much on powder but found a lot of people saying "dust" baths are very dangerous for them because they inhale it and it could give them respiratory problems..and to me powder could seem to be capable of the same. So my question is: is bath power safe for my hamster or should i invest in the chinchilla sand?

Also another quick question: I know I've only had her for a day but Dexter seems to be kind of scared of me and I was wondering if there's anything I can do (or not do) in order to speed up her getting used to me handling her.

Thanks a lot!

Answer
Hi Amanda

I've not heard of the powder that you mention, but I guess it figures that if this is natural in the form of pumice then it might be seen as food.  Certainly charcoal is edible (albeit pretty disgusting).  I have only ever used the chinchilla sand as I know this to be safe.  

I know that chinchilla sand is a bit expensive but you wouldn't use a lot of it - I tend not to leave it in all the time (just as a treat) and I don't make it that deep.  Perhaps you could find a large plastic container and put Dexter's bath in there and let her run around that area for a while (supervised) - this way any dust that spills out into the plastic container can be reused, whereas if it spills out into their bedding etc. it is difficult to use this again.

In terms of getting her to feel more comfortable with you - this really is a case of  persevering with her.  They are such tiny creatures and in the wild they are preyed upon by so many creatures that you are pretty scary to her.  The best way I have found to get a hamster to settle is to talk to them a lot so that they recognise my voice.  I also hand them treats whenever I see them out and about in their cage - this way they associate me with nice things!  When I go to handle a nervous hamster I rub some of their bedding into my hands so that their scent is on me then I place a hand each side of them and quickly 'scoop' them up.  You need to dismantle the cage to do this so that you aren't trying to pick the hamster up through a doorway/tube etc.  Immediately transfer the hamster onto clothing.  A lot of hamsters get very nervous if they walk on skin, but they tend to be happy when they walk on clothing.  Robos are very fast hamsters anyway, as opposed to the much larger Syrians, but whilst you may not get Dexter to be a very placid hamster, you should find that you can at least tame her to recognise you and not worry if you go to handle her.  After a few minutes of handling her I suggest you return her to her cage - hamsters are very nosy creatures and chances are she will want to come out straight away - if so, get her out again. The more time you can spend with her in these early days the better.

I hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila