Morticia (Adopted)

Species: Syrian 

Gender: Female

Estimated Age: 2 months

Likes: Sleeping deep underground, burrowing, the twilight hour.

Dislikes: Sudden noises, grabby hands

Fosterer’s Instagram: deep.space.ham9 and Pepper's Foster Home


“Darling, I always wear black..” Like her namesake, Morticia is a beautiful little girl with a shiny black coat and big black eyes. And unlike her namesake, her large ears and white belly stripe often make her look like a palm-sized black bear!! She’s quite a timid thing who often looks very confused and will freeze when she senses a human around. Though small, she is quite strong and determined when she wants to get out of your hands. Since she often jumps from hands it is recommended to handle her close to the ground or over a soft surface.


Morticia is quite the ghost hamster, which means she usually only emerges during the night or when nobody is around. However, if you’re lucky, or your home is quiet, she will emerge during the day for a cheeky drink of water or to rummage around for food. 


She requires PLENTY of space to burrow in as that is her absolute favourite activity! The deeper the better, and the more hideouts with space to tunnel around, the happier she will be. Despite her timid personality, her fosterer believes that with enough patience and regular handling that she will grow out of her shell and learn to enjoy being touched and held. 



*Requirements:

Cage: Min. 90x50x50cm

  • Acrylic tank preferred

Wheel: Min. 27cm

Bedding: 

  • Oxbow Pure Comfort 

    • Currently using the natural brown colour as I have found in the past that the white and coloured varieties are very dusty.

    • I also find it to be a great bedding for tunnelling when slightly pressed down.

      • NOTE: it is important to manually crumble the compressed bedding when it is taken from the packaging while the hamster is NOT in the enclosure as this can create dust. Once this is done though, it will be fine for the hamster:). 

  • OPTIONAL: Timothy hay to provide texture and structure for tunnelling mixed into the paper bedding.

    • Currently using Niteangel, but Oxbow and Kaytee are also ok.

    • ALTERNATIVE: Can also use the Marukan brand of Aspen shavings.

      • Optional: Shredded tissue paper for a pop of colour! 

        • Currently using IKEA brand coloured paper napkins.

Food: 

  • Currently using Bunny Nature Hamster Dream Expert mixed with FatPouches Ultimate Hamster Seed Mix

    • I encourage you to also get a foraging mix from FatPouches such as the Foraging Seed Mix or Delight Mix! This can be sprinkled and lightly mixed into the bedding every few days. 

    • Alternative foraging choices can simply be another brand of Syrian seed mix such as Rodipet brand to provide diversity in “healthy” feed/foraging.

  • Fresh veggies, fruits and even boiled eggs! 

    • At the moment, high protein treats and snacks are encouraged as she is relatively underweight for her age as a Syrian hamster. This is likely due to genetics and is not something to be overly concerned about!

Enrichment:

  • At least 3 hideouts 

    • Can be one large nesting area/chamber hideout and 2 smaller ceramic or cardboard hideouts.

      • Trustie brand from PLC for the smaller ones is a good option.

      • A main nesting area can be made by connecting 2 hideouts with one tunnel (EG: plain tunnel with middle hole, or T shaped tunnel)

  • She LOVES to burrow so it is recommended she has at LEAST double her height of bedding to properly dig tunnels in. 

    • As she is quite small, this should be very doable and a height of AT LEAST 10cm should be given in at least half the enclosure. 

    • OPTIONAL: Non perishable treats and food hidden in bedding.

  • OPTIONAL: She currently is enjoying her “dig jar” which is a FÖRVAR jar from IKEA partially filled with coco peat and mixed with non-perishable (as in not too oily to attract ants) and dry treats and seeds, as well as some short stalks of sprays. 

    • RAJTAN from IKEA is another alternative. As long as the jar or container is slightly tilted or easy for her to get in and out of it should be fine.