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Hamster
Keeping Hamsters as Pets
Micky, the friendly little hamster
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Type |
Warm blooded mammal in the
rodent family. Nocturnal, up at night, sleeps during the day. There are many
types of hamsters, but only a few types are kept as pets. The hamster is the
most popular of the smaller rodents kept as a pet in many countries today.
Unlike the mouse, a hamster is virtually tailless. The most popular variety of
hamster, kept as pets and used in laboratories, are the golden (Syrian)
hamsters. They come in cinnamon, cream and white. Goldens also come in the long
haired variety called "teddy bear" hamsters. |
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Temperament |
Hamsters make good beginner
pets, as they are fairly easy to care for. They often have docile temperaments
and have relatively clean habits. Hamsters are friendly and when handled often,
they become quite tame. They are delightful to watch as they go about their daily
housekeeping, food storing and exercise on their wheel. Some will show
acknowledgement of their owners eagerly looking for treats when approached. A hamster who
has not been handled enough while young may not be as friendly and may not wish
to be held and may even bite. Where as a Hamster who has been handled frequently
from a very young age usually remain docile and rarely bite. Those with docile
temperaments and a history of not biting can simply be picked up by using one or
both hands, and then held in both hands or in one hand holding it against the
body. Be sure to pick a hamster with a good temperament. If you suddenly grab or
startle the hamster, it may bite, and the bite may drawl blood. Hamsters should
be gently handled, scooping them up and cradling them in the palms of your
hands. The more a hamster is gently handled the tamer it will become. Many
hamsters develop untrustworthy personalities and begin to bite because they have
been handled roughly or suddenly disturbed or awakened. Caution should be used
when approaching a hamster who's personality is unknown. You can wear gloves or
gently wrap them in a small towel to pick them up. You can also encourage them
into a Tupperware container to remove them from their cage. Hamsters who are
known to bite and those with unknown personalities can also be picked up by the
skin on the back of their neck. Hamsters have very loose skin, so be sure to get
a lot of skin using your thumb, middle and index fingers, because a hamster can
turn all the way around and bite the persons hand. Black Bear and Golden
Hamsters are the easiest to tame. Hamster temperaments vary from breed to breed
and depending on where you buy your hamster. In a lot of cases the hamsters in
the pet stores are mass produced without any thought to temperament or health.
For this reason you may want to consider looking into a hamster breeder or
digging deep as to find out the origins of the pet store hamster. The hamster is
nocturnal, meaning they are up at night and sleep during the day so keep in mind
they may make noise at night with their gnawing and rustling around their cage.
Hamsters have large incisor teeth that continually grow. They need to gnaw on
things to wear down the teeth to prevent them from overgrowing. They have very
poor eyesight but a keen sense of smell and excellent hearing. The Syrian (or
Golden) Hamster, cannot be kept with other hamsters after 8–10 weeks of age.
They may viciously fight resulting in either serious injury or death. Especially
two adult female hamsters. Breeding females are larger than males and
tend to be aggressive toward them. However the Russian Dwarf Hamster can
sometimes be kept with other hamsters. Hamsters are not as demanding of
attention as a rabbit, guinea pig, or rat. If the hamster is a child's pet, the
child should be taught how to properly handle and care for the hamster. Hamsters
should not be allowed to roam free around your house as there are lots of tiny
places they can get into and you may have a hard time getting the little guy
back again. They also like to chew, so if your hamster is lost for a period of
time, it may chew your carpet or furniture. They can also get stepped on and if
you have a cat or a dog, a loose hamster can be in great danger. Hamsters cannot
see very well and they are not as sure footed and steady on their feet as some
other animals. They can very easily fall off of furniture or tables and can
really get hurt. Hamster balls are available in pet stores and should only be
used with adult supervision. |
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Size |
An adult hamster weighs roughly
90 - 150 gm. They are small about 3-5 inches (mouse like) and can
fit in the palm of your hand. |
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Housing |
There is a wide variety of cages
and housing used for hamsters. Common caging used are 10-gallon tanks,
Habitrails, stainless steel, and wire cages (some having multiple levels, with a
plastic cat litter pan bottom for easy cleaning). Habitrail are fun for the
hamsters. You can attach plastic see through tubes and tunnels making a great
home for the hamster to roam. However keep in mind the more attachments you use
the more you will have to clean. Cages should at least be 20 square inches of
floor area per hamster, and a cage height of at least 6 inches. Since hamsters
like to sleep during the day and are up all night you may want to keep the
hamster cage in a livingroom or den rather than a bedroom so the night time
noise is not bothersome. A wood or plastic house should be provided for the
hamster to burrow in. The cage should have solid floors and relatively deep
bedding. Plenty of nesting material should always be provided. Toilet
paper and paper towel tubes are great things to put into the cage for them to
chew on and make their nest. Small cardboard boxes are also great. Common
beddings used are toilet paper, shredded paper, processed corn cob, CareFRESH™,
Sani-chips®, Gentle Touch™ and wood chips. Cotton or shredded tissue paper
(Kleenex) is suitable nesting material. Some use cedar or pine chips, however it
is said that neither of these should be used as they contain oils called phenols
that can slowly cause liver and kidney failure. Some also say you should avoid
any cotton or fiber type beddings sold as nesting material. The fibers do not
break down in the hamster’s system and can get caught in their pouches or ingest
them while eating. Be sure your hamsters cage is escape free. Hamsters are great
escape artists! Once free, you may have a very hard time getting them back. They
will chew on your wires, furniture, etc..... Hamsters rarely return to their
cages on their own. |
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Clean-up |
Hamsters should have their cage
cleaned weekly. Un-cleaned cages can get quite smelly. Bedding should be kept
clean. |
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Grooming |
Hamsters do not require
grooming, they take care of their own grooming needs. |
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Feeding |
Hamsters can be fed hamster
mix, found at the pet store or grocery store, lab blocks, sometimes called
rodent diet or rodent chow, fruits (introducing slowly to avoid diarrhea),
Cheerios and bread can be given as a treat as can dog biskets. Water
should always be provided using a hanging bottle (found in pet stores). Bowls
and dishes should not be used for water as the hamster will just spill and walk
in them getting themselves and the inside of their cage wet. Hamsters have
enormous expandable cheekpouches, which they use to carry food and bedding back to their
burrow. They will hide a pile of food under the bedding and it it later at their
own leisure. |
| Exercise |
Hamsters should have an
exercise wheel in their cage. Give a hamster an exercise
wheel and it will take care of its own exercise needs. Hamsters can also be put
into a hamster ball which you can put on your floor and the hamster will run
around the house inside the ball. Providing long habit trails (plastic tubes
which the hamster can run through) will give the hamster plenty of room to roam
around. They enjoy tin cans opened at both ends (make sure there are NO sharp
edges) and boxes with multiple openings through which they can crawl.
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Life Expectancy |
About 3 years |
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Health Problems |
Hardy requiring few visits to
the vet. "Teddy bear" hamsters and other genetic varieties tend to be much more
susceptible to disease and sensitive to antibiotics and other drugs than the
short haired golden hamster. When hamsters are under stress they can get
diarrhea, which is called "wet bottom". Wet bottom is diarrhea, which looks
almost like pee, shortly after they contract this they usually die. |
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Gestation |
Hamsters are solitary animals
and only come together for mating. Golden hamsters have to be separated after
mating, otherwise the female may kill the male. The gestation period of the
common hamster is 19-20 days and is 15 days for the Golden. They will have 4-12
babies at a time. A mother hamster is very maternal, and, if danger threatens,
she will carry her babies away, either by putting them into her cheek pouches or
laying them across the toothless area of her jaws. By the time they are two
weeks old their eyes are open and they have a thick coat of fur. Mother hamsters
wean their babies at about 3-4 weeks of age and the babies should be separated
from the mother shortly after that. A female hamster is capable of having 2-3
litters a year. |
| Origin |
Hamsters originated in the
Middle East and southeastern Europe. The word 'rodent' is derived
from the latin word 'rodere' which means 'to gnaw' and the word 'hamster' comes
from the German word 'hamstern' which means 'to hoard' or 'to store', referring
to the hamsters tendency to collect food in its pouches. |
Hamster Calendars!
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