new hammie questions

[bug.dragon]

my friend went to a petstore with me today and there was a little Siberian hamster that followed her around and kept jumping into her hand whenever she put her hand in (he would just freeze and glare at me if i did the same, lol) so she fell in love with him and took him home. he follows her around everywhere and ADORES her. it's so sweet
Anyway...the thing is that we don't know the 1st thing about hammies. i bought her some mazuri hamster blocks for now, but can she just give him her harland tek lab blocks that she also uses for her rat?
also, can he have some meat or will he get aggressive if he gets any? i know it's not true for rats, but i dunno about hammies
also, the store said that they can't tell if its a boy or a girl (which sounds dumb that they keep so many together not knowing the genders) so how can we tell? i hope it's not gonna surprise us with a litter anytime soon now.
also, the poor thing's ear got bitten too...it looks like its healing ok, but if it looks to be getting worse, is neosporin ok to use on it?
and he keeps getting into his silent spinner and flipping onto his back and wiggling around like crazy...it looks like he's having seizures, but i think it's more of a personality quirk...can anyone explain this behavior?
thanks a bunch!

[dream_chaser023]

hum the only thing I can answer is the gender difference.   Males have a bottom that is more triangular or square, while females are more rounded.

also, try these hamster sites :3

http://hamsterific.com/
http://hamsterland.com/
http://hamsterhideout.com/
http://hamstercentral.com/

good luck!

[LastEchoes]

I've never had any of the hamsters i've had in the past eat lab blocks...so good luck with that lol I feed all my rodents suebee's mix as it's better than store food. It has to be lightly modified for dwarf hamsters since they're prone to diabetes. You can feed meat and fresh vegies to hamsters as you do to rats, just do so in moderation. And stay away from sugary foods/treats.

[bug.dragon]

thanks...i don't suppose you have any gender difference pics or anything do you?
also, i read that these hammies are susceptible to diabetes, and the mazuri pellets he has have molasses in them...is thins something that should be changed?

[dream_chaser023]

maybe this will help?

http://allied.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/SexingDwarfHamsterGraphic-793147.jpg

[Randomrat]

Yes avoid corn, peas, carrots, fruits and store bought treats. If he doesn't show signs of diabetes (peeing and drinking a lot are signs) then he can have some of these veggies/fruits once in awhile but sometimes they are good at hiding it.

You could try the suebees mix without any fruits but dwarfs like smaller seeds & grains so here are some suggestions that could be added in to suebee's:

Grains
Armaranth
Quinoa
Millets
Buckwheats
Rye
Wheat
Oat
Barley
Brown Rice
Jacob's tears
Wild Rice
Multi Rice

Seeds
Black Sesame
White Sesame
Goldenflax seeds
Sunflower seeds
Safflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Canary seeds
Hemp seeds
Brownflax seeds

As for gender:
http://hamsterhideout.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10517

Meat as someone else mentioned is alright. Stay away from fatty meats. I like to give mine some plain chicken.

Also may I ask what cage he/she is in? Dwarfs tend to get cage aggressive in small cages.

Good luck =D

[bug.dragon]

it's similar to this cage, but the bars are spaced closer together...same size tho

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752679

she also got him a little hour with some additional levels for more room inside

[Randomrat]

That cage isn't that bad actually.

[bug.dragon]

yeah and she lets him run around in his ball and all over her and her cat every day too (don't worry, her cat has NO instincts whatsoever. He and the hammie frequently cuddle)

[Randomrat]

Hamsters stress very easily and even if the cat will do nothing the stress of being near a predetor can kill a hamster. I believe thats what happened to my hamster Patch, as everyday my cats would sleep on her cage and then she became ill and had wet tail (we believe) and eventually passed away.