Once you arrive home, place the hamster immediately in the prepared cage and leave it to settle. It will take the hamster a few days to get used to all the new smells and sounds of its new home and will find this time a little stressful. Therefore although you may be tempted to get your hamster out and play with it, try to resist for the first few days so that it can first of all get used to its new surroundings and feel comfortable. This will help to keep its stress to a minimum. Stress, particularly in young hamsters, can lead to Wet Tail
It may take your hamster a few days before it feels comfortable with its new cage and surroundings. It is not unusual for a new hamster to run around frantically, move its nesting area several times and then spend a lot of time sleeping after all the exertion. After a few days though the hamster will settle into more of a routine and will generally seem more settled. This is the time when you can start to introduce your hamster to handling.
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