toilet

Question
I have trained my hamster to use a toilet but now he has grown and keeps knocking it over so goes in another corner, do you have any surgestions of how can i prevent the toilet from knocking over?

Also i think my hamster Toby is a boy but how can i be sure?

Also Toby spent 2 weeks with my friend while i was away and she managed to hold him but bit her now and then, im affraid that if i hold him that i will drop him and loose him do you have any surgestions on what i should do?

many thanks. x


Answer
Dear Sarah,
thank you for your question.
Sexing hamsters is not that hard, with older male hamsters it's really obvious since their testicles grow huge. Here are pictures of male and female hamsters:
http://www.petwebsite.com/sexing.htm

If Toby was friendly to you, he won't bite you now. I guess your friend hurt him by accident, especially if she is new to hamsters. But if you're really worried about that, put his cage on the floor or table to take him out so that there isn't a huge drop in case he should fall.

Try placing the toilet on a second storey or on a brick, that might help. Maybe Toby feels that it's taking up too much space he wants to have for digging. How big is his cage? A good-sized cage for a Syrian hamster should be at least 40x20x20 inches long, wide and high, for a dwarf the minimum is 32x20x20. Hamsters are incredibly active and love to run and dig, so they need lots of room despite their smal size.
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer