Dax (Adopted)

Species: Dwarf Hybrid 

Gender: Male

Est. DOB: October 2023

Likes: Millet, Eating his Whimzees in the bath, Snoozing under his wheel

Dislikes: Mealworms, When a hand is not a treat, Being disturbed

Fosterer’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deep.space.ham9/ 

Profile: 

Named after a spotted alien character who is never afraid to give you a piece of her mind, you will always know where you stand with Dax. If he isn’t happy with you, he will give you a chomp, if he is interested in you, he will stand on his little hind legs and stare at you, and if he doesn’t want anything to do with you, he will simply not appear. 


But don’t get it twisted! For a Singaporean hamster with an all too familiar tragic origin story (dumped in a food container at a lobby/void deck), he has a delightful temperament. Sure, he’s not a cuddly sweetie baby boy, but he’s also not a terrified scaredy cat. So his fosterer has been more than happy to just hold him and observe his fatty orb shaped self scurry around on the couch, in his cage, under his wheel, literally anywhere. He’s just such a pretty speckled boy! Sentient onigiri with furikake. 


As Dax is overweight, he is not very good at cleaning his scent gland, so his future adopter will have to monitor his belly area at least once a week to make sure it does not build up to uncomfortable levels. He’s not a fan of it and will chomp you, but it’s almost like he has given up half way while chomping and never pierces the skin. His fosterer just yells at him and boops his snoot until he lets go. Luckily! The cleaning doesn’t take long if done regularly, and hopefully in time he will learn to hate it less. 


Dax will likely not be the best companion for children as he has a tendency to chomp when irritated, but as with all things, as long as there is an adult present to keep an eye on things and read his body language, his fosterer is confident he will be your friend till the end. 


Requirements:

Cage: Min. 90x50x50cm - As per HSS guidelines

Wheel: Min. 21cm - As per HSS guidelines.

Bedding: 

I am currently using a mixture of the following:

  • 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, or to place inside hideouts as extra texture.

    • 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.

    • He also has a bit of Niteangel brand dry moss in a few of his hideouts for texture. :)



Food: 

Currently using a mixture of FatPouches Standard Hamster Seed Mix and Bunny Dream Expert Dwarf Hamster. 

  • 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 HSS approved seed mix such as Rodipet brand to provide diversity in “healthy” feed/foraging.

  • Of the fresh veggies I’ve given Dax, he just isn’t into them. He seems to enjoy berries though!  But who doesn’t… 

  • He LOVES his XXS Whimzee treats!! 

  • And he super enjoys foraging for his own food via sprays around his cage. 

    • Millet and Flax so far are his favourites. 

    • He also enjoyed a dried Sunflower head I gave him once.

      • NOTE: He is overweight so PLEASE give treats sparingly, or at least healthier treats! As hamsters age, they lose weight very quickly, so while it may not be necessary to put him on any diet, we don’t want his weight to become a problem and hinder his movements as a happy ham.

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 - DIY them with cardboard toilet tubes!)


  • It is recommended he has enough bedding to properly dig around in. Please refer to the HSS website for further advice.

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


  • OPTIONAL: A dig jar or box 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. 

    • The FÖRVAR jar from IKEA is a good choice for this kind of enrichment activity!

    • RAJTAN from IKEA is another alternative. 

    • As long as the jar or container is slightly tilted or easy for him to get in and out of it should be fine.