Grooming and toys

Question
Hi

  Im a 1st time owner and i bought a teddy bear hamster and it was ok and all for the first few days but around the 4th day i picked it up and it had poo all over it. i though nothing of it until i realized he had been like that for 6 days. do i need to groom him? the people at the pet store didnt mention anything like that and i dont see any sign of sickness hes drinking and eating. and also he seems reallly bored is there any kinds of toys i can make for him?

  Thanks for your time
            Richard

Answer
Teddy bear hamsters are a pet store name for a long haired syrian. Since they have long hair, you can give them a hand with grooming by brushing out their fur every so often with a soft toothbrush. All hamsters are very clean animals, and don't usually tolerate mussy fur unless they are elderly or ill. If your hamster has poo in it's fur this is a very bad sign, and could be early signs of the disease wet tail. I would take your hamster to a vet asap if your hamsters bottom becomes very wet, poo encrusted, or if there is poo in your hamsters fur.

You can use cardboard rolls from paper towels as long as there is no glue used on the roll. It's hard to make hamster toys out of anything besides cardboard really. The sky is the limit if you have a piece with no glue or inks on it.