Caring For Hamsters
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Hamster Basics
Hamsters aren't for everyone. Let me just say that first, as a start. Hamsters should be watched with special attention when a young child is involved. Many parents choose to let their young children have hamsters becuase of their small size and small living arrangements. But, in reality, there are better pets for small children, such as guinea pigs. Hamsters can and will bite, but if socialized they can make very social and sweet pets. You must watch children with pet hamsters as they can bite, and the child can unintentially hurt the hamster.
When thinking about getting a hamster, much less any pet, always do your research first.
And remember to ask yourself:
- Who will be feeding the pet?
- Who will be cleaning the pet's enclosure?
- Who will be playing with the pet?
- Where will the pet's cage go?
- Can you afford food, bedding, treats, and possibly upgrading the enclosure?
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Hamster Temperament
Hamsters can become very sweet balls of fur, if you take your time working with them. When you get your hamster home, leave him in his cage for at LEAST 24-48 hours, longer if you can. This time alone, allows the hamster to acclimate to his new surroundings, which include his bedding, food, accessories, and layout of the cage, as well as the smells, sounds, lighting, and people outside his new cage.
After a few days have pasted, try to figure out your new pets favorite foods, whether it be sunflowers, yogurt treats, raisons, or carrots. Open the cage door, and stick your hand in with the treat in front of him. Let him smell and grab at the treat, this shows him that you're not going to hurt him, but give him something yummy instead. Do this several times in a row, a few times a day, for several days. Eventually, the hamster will realize that you're definitely not going to hurt him, and that you may not be so bad after all.
Have your hand a the cage doors with the treat on your palm, and allow him to sniff at your hand, possibly nip and ‘taste' it. The hamster will reach onto your palm to grab the treat, and he'll probably quickly run off. Eventually you'll be able to remove your hand from the cage doors with the hamster still on it.
Eventually, your hamster will see or hear you and run to the doors of his cage (if he's even awake), wanting to be let out and socialized.
Always, watch young children with hamsters. I heard many a horror story with the child will drop the hamster, throw the hamster's ball with him inside, squeeze him, or worse. Plus, you don't want your child, or anyone else's bitten by a hamster, just as much as you don't want the child to hurt the hamster.
Hamster Diet
Hamsters need the commercial hamster/gerbil diets. For the most part anyone of them will do.
Provide your hamster with fresh veggies at least once a week- dark leafy greens, carrots, potatoes, and celery can be given to your hamster.
Fruits should be fed sparingly, as they tend to have high water content, which can give the hamster diarrhea.
Treats should not consist of more than 10% of the hamsters diet. Treats can include, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, other seeds, nuts, and dried fruits. Yogurt drops can be given to your hamster, but not in excess as the bacteria in the yogurt can cause diarrhea.
Never feed your hamster chocolate, caffeine, or alcohol.
Housing Hamsters
You can house your hamster in any one of the various hamster/ gerbil habitats made by Critter-Trail, SAM, or any other company. You can even house it in an old aquarium, no small than a 10 gallon tank, though.
Bedding for a hamster can include wood shavings, as long as it is NOT pine or cedar, as they both contain oils and aromas that can cause upper respiratory concerns. Aspen wood shavings is a great bedding to use. Carefresh, Total Comfort, and Soft Sorbent, are also good beddings to use.
Make sure to clean out the tank at least once a week. That means take everything out and put new bedding in the cage.
If you are able to potty train your hamster, you can go two weeks without emptying all the bedding, as long as you empty the hamster potty at least every other day.
Keep hamster cages out of drafty areas and away from direct sunlight.
You, also, want to make sure to keep other pets away from the hamster cage. If you can purchase a stand, or find a stand in your home to put the hamster's cage away from the dogs and cats in the house. This will, also, keep the hamster away from a young child's grasp and reach, as you should remember to only let younger children play with a pet hamster if you are able to supervise.
Hamster Behaviors
Hamsters are nocturnal, which means they are active mostly at night and sleep during the day. You can acclimate your hamster to your daily routines, making him more active earlier in the evening, but it won't be an overnight change.
Hamsters have pouches in their cheeks, so don't be alarmed if you walk by your hamster's cage and notice his cheeks are abnormally large. Because hamsters are burrowing creatures in the wild, they would take large mouthfuls of food from the surface into their burrows. Having these pouches, also, help wild hamsters move substrate around. So, in captivity, your hamster will still exhibit these behaviors of taking all his food from his food bowl, cramming it all into his cheeks, and hiding it in the corner or throughout his cage. He may, also, move bedding via his pouches, moving softer bedding to make a nest in the cage.
Syrian hamsters, also known as teddy bear hamsters are NOT social with other hamsters. They prefer to live solitary lives versus lives with other hamsters. In the wild, they did not live together, so even in captivity, they kept that trait. I have experienced having some hamsters tolerate each other and some hamsters not. I had three hamsters at one time, two females and a male, and when my females became pregnant, I separated them, leaving one female with the male. The male/female pairing worked off great as they never fought and always got along, but later on, when I tried putting the two females together, the one housed with the male would bully and chase the other female around. For the most part it is NEVER a good idea to house more than one Teddy bear hamster in a cage.
But, on the other hand, dwarf Siberian hamsters are more social with each other and can live in small groups.
Hamsters chew... It's a known fact by many. They have to chew in order to keep their teeth filled down to a reasonable length in order to eat their food. Because hamster's teeth constantly grow throughout their life, you need to provide them with chew sticks. Never give your hamster sticks that you've found outside because you never know what pesticides have been sprayed. Even if you do not use pesticides, the wind can carry over pesticides from your neighbor.
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Hamster Information
- Hamsters
Find all sorts of hamster tidbits to include how to choose a hamster, hamster gifts, hamster illnesses, hamster supplies, and more. - Hamster Land
Find info on hamster cages, diet, breeding, history, diseases, names, and more. - Hamsterific
Tons of valuable hamster information! Health, diet, care, etc. - Hooked on Hamsters
Find information, pictures, and other fun stuff. - Hammy's World
Find information about the Syrian Hamster: breeding, health, diet, cages, and other hamster problems like cage biting, toxic foods, and hamster body language. - HAMSTERster
Log in and witness TONS of hamster pictures and information.
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Comments
I agree. Thanks for taking the time to get all of this together. Love the "cheeky" hammie! And I also hope people read this before they get a hamster.
Thanks guys. I hope it helps someone who's looking at getting a hamster. Especially, if it's a parent researching for their child, as we all know, most parents end up taking care of their children's pets.
This is an absolutely great post. I think this is the most information that I've seen in one post. Great Job! I like the pictures that you've provided to as it really shows off what you're talking about.
I have that cage on yhe last picture!
I actually had to buy that last cage for a 6 week ok chinchilla because he was too small for my chinchilla cages. Ha. But when I got my hamster she fit nicely in it.
I bought 2 of those cages 1 for my teddy bear hamster and 1 for my dwarf hamster. I had to buy a brand new cage for my teddy bear hamster because she chewed off the bars and kept escaping. The cage was full of weak spots! Thanks to her. I had to get a glass cage! lol But the dwarf hamster could'nt bite the bars off , luckily!
Thanks alot!I am getting a hamster today!And some of the stuff you put up there willl help me with my hamster!Love the pictures!Oh and even though I am 10 I am going to take care of it!!(My mom is afraid of it Lol!)Well thanks for the info!
Lily: Good luck with your hamster. Remember to let it sit and get adjusted for at least 1-2 days minimum. The longer the better, but not too long. Clean the cage at least once a week, and the smell will be at a minimum.
My hamster is throwing up!!! what should I do?
You should go to the vet as soon as possible. I really don't know what's wrong with him.
Every thing is okay! We took him to the vet. He said he just ate too much carrots. I'm so glad he did'nt choke, I was really scared.
my mom is thinking about letting me have one of my friends hamsters babys who is offering it to me for free and with this site i can prove to her that i can take care of a hamster all by my self with out her reminding me
You can pick up on your normal chores and help around the house more without you mom telling you to. Keep you house clean, chip in on the dishes, maybe sweep or vaccuum. If you currently have a pet, such as a dog, try feeding the dog its dinner, walking it, cleaning after its potty breaks. Take more responsibility around the house, and let you mom see that you can be responsible in taking care of a hamster.
You may, also, want to do all the research you can. Tell you mom everything you know about caring for hamster. Include- common health concerns, caging, diet, behaviors, etc.
i have two hamsters but one of them is smelling the back part and there always together is one a girl or something?
I would need more information than that to determine whether one was a girl. You can easily tell male and female hamsters appart. Males have very visible balls.
i`m ten nd i am getting a hamster. i did alot of reserch to make sure i was ready for one and i am getting mine today!!
Is a hamster right for my family? I'm ten years old, I have a sister who is 8,a mom and a dad and two dogs but they will never get even close to the hamster. The hamster would stay in my room in a fish tank with every thing he needs.He will get lots of love and I will spend lots of time with him. PS. I love your site and you have helped me learn a lot thank you.
Max, hamsters are great pets. But they take a good deal of socialization and can be very nippy at first. It's not a good idea to house them in aquariums unless you change the cage out twice a week. There is little ventalition and the urine can build up creating fumes that you don't want you hamster to breath in. Yes, it is a housing option, but it is only good if you change the litter and clean the cage twice a week.
thank you for getting back to me so soon. But with what you said I have I think I want a hedgehog not a hamster.Do you now anything on them?
You need to check the laws and regulations in your state. Some states do not allow hedgehogs as pets.
AWWWWWW! the last picture has a slide on it!! i can imagine a hamster sliding down it. it'd be so cute! i REAALY want a hamster but im alergic to dogs and cats. im losing my alergies to dogs tho =). i going try to convince my dad to get me a hamster. so im looking up the most i can about hamsters and the cost. wish me luck!
Hey my mom doesnt like cats or dogs.so she said i will look into the pricing of a hamster.do you no how much it would be around ??????
Thanks
Skate1497
The price is going to vary. The best thing to do is call around pet stores.
im baby sitting my friends hamster and i think she might be pregnat! what do i do ?
Treat the hamster as normal. Give it extra nutrients such as carrots, apples, and other veggies and fruits. Has the female been with a male? If not it could just be a fat hamster.
We got a new teddy bear hampster two weeks ago. Very friendly female. Two days ago, we woke to find babies. Mom and babies are all doing well. Mom is very protective but still seems to want to socialize with us although we are leaving her alone. While we were putting in food, she crawled out the door of her cage and started trying to pull up carpet. I assume for additional bedding. We saw a site that said cut up toilet tissue was good for extra bedding. We already use new the soft paper type bedding. We put it in there. She loves it. Was this a good idea?
You can use the toile paper. It's not going to hurt. I'm not sure what bedding you are using, but if it's carefresh or something similar, you'll probably want to remove it, as it can suffocate the babies. Definitely leave the mother alone, and separate the males at 3 weeks.
Hi Whitney05 - we are using Soft-Sorbent. The pet store recommended it. It says "Earth-friendly, colorfast bedding and litter for all small animals" IT says it is made from wood fibers that are not suitable for paper production. Rather than be discarded, the fiber is converted into a soft, highly absorbent form tht provides a great environment for small animals. It is fragrance free without pine or cedar aromatic oils. So I guess it is just a paper product. The Mom had the babies in the top round wheel of her cage. It was stinking so bad it was smelling up the house. The babies are 10 days old. We opened the cage door and Mom came out and we were giving her some food - still not touching her. My Mom opened the ball, poured the babies on a paper plate, put in some new litter, put the babies back in and when the mom hamster went back up, she was all in a tizzy but seems to have settled down just fine. I hope she doesnt kill any of them. We wore double plastic gloves when touching things and putting them back in the ball. There was 9 of them. They were all trying to run off the plate but didnt have their eyes open much. Some of them may have had them open.
You really should have left them alone, and let the mother take care of the bedding and babies. I know what you're talking about and it's really not recommended for hamster babies just born.
how do i know if my hamster is dying? or sick
UM HI WHITNEY05 you said that tedybear hamsters shoudnt be in 1 cage right but my 2 teddybear hamsters are in 1 cage. and oh yeah i need help! you said that a sign of sickness of a hamster is when he is hudling in one corner my hamster is like that (oh yeah i just got them yesterday) what should i do (second question)2 do hamsters have different eye collors for example my hamster has red eyes is that normal (third question)3 how do i know if its a female (fourth question)4 how do i know if pregnant what are the signs?????????????????? P.S PLSSSS PLSSS ANSWER I DESPRETLLY NEED THIS (and oh yeah im only 11 years old and my name is Ramon)
and what does sociallize mean to hamsters? PS PLS REPLY
I want to say that you took my words out of context, as that's a sign of wettail. Leave the hamsters alone. Put them in separate cages; you got them yesterday, so you haven't seen fighting, because you haven't given them enough time. You said on the other page that you have two males; you NEED to separate them. The fighting will come in due time. After you put them in separate cages, leave them alone for at least 2 days, as by harassing them right after changing their environment, will increase wettail risks, as it's a solely stress related illness. Hamsters generally have dark eyes, but albino hamsters will have red eyes. Male hamsters have a definite bulge, whereas females do not. Although, some male hamsters develope late. Female hamsters have less of a gap between their holes, so to speak. The signs of pregnancy basically include weight gain. You really need to separate your hamsters, since you're not 100% of whether they're truly both males; plus because you purchased them both as males, you're increasing territorial concerns, which will increase fighting and possible death of one of the hamsters. You really should have done more research before you got the hamsters. Socialize in terms of hamsters mean, that you leave them alone for the first few days after you've brought them home; then open the cage door and offer a treat; keep doing this for a while; advance to opening your plam and putting the treat on your hand and letting the hamster climb into your hand; then move to picking up the hamster. This will take weeks, which is why hamsters really aren't the best pet for younger children. They are bad biters and slow to socialize.
Please don't write in all caps, as that's the only form of yelling. Also, please do not demand answers as soon as you post the comment. I will answer all questions as soon as I see the question, and sometimes it will take me more than 2 hours to notice.
Just an update. All hamsters are doing really good. Most have their eyes open (except the little runt, as we call it). We have a fence around the cage and when we open the cage, the Mom comes out and raises up. We dont pick her up but we lean over the little fence and pet her and snuggle with her. She seems to like that. One of the babies came down the tube and was running around the cage. The mom didnt seem to mind. We pet it a little bit and the mom seen us but didnt do anything. We gave them some fresh fruit and veggies and she carried it up to the ball to the rest of the babies and then came back and got the one. Its funny to see her carry them up the tube backwards. The runt of the bunch we call curious george cause it is constantly wondering off and falling down the tube which bends a couple of times down. It runs around in the cage some and evenutally Mom comes and gets it. My Mom had like 4 or 5 hamsters when she was growing up and she said whenever we do anything to the mom hamster, the cage, the babies, or even put food in the cage, we needed to leave them alone for a while so the Mom will trust us to be in and out of the cage and it would give the Mom hamster time to settle down after us being in her space. :-)
That's good. You need to make sure to separate the male and female babies at 3 weeks old. YOu can leave the females in with mom until she shrinks up, but definitely take out the boys.
We seperated the boys from girls. We are letting the Mom in and out with the girls. We only had 2 boys, the rest were girls. We read somewhere where the Mom would get tired of the babies. I think that may be happening sometimes so we let her have her own time alone in "her" cage. She seems to like snuggling up during the day sleeping with them but early in the day and at night, they seem to get on her nerves. How do we know that she has "shrunk up"? A couple of the babies still try to nurse but Mom pushes them away and kind of bites them. They are all eating well, not sure about drinking from the water thing so we give them a little cucumbers and lettuce about every other day, plus have a little lid of water in each cage but it soon fills up with the litter.
We found a home for one of the girls and both boys already. Still looking for homes for the other girls. Thanks for listening and your input. We like your dog in your picture. We have a Shephard/Chow mix named Coco. We have had him about 8 years. He is funny. He is afraid of the hamsters. :-)
I had a hamster whose hair was really long, I cut it and accidentally made it squeak then i Realized that I had cut him (minor) but still concerned and started crying at my stupidity. While I was taking a shower my little sister dunked the hamster in a freezer filled with ice and he was soaking wet and shivering. I got pissed off but there was nothing i could do...I noticed for about a week he kept wheezing (coughing? sneezing? hiccoping?) and i wasn't sure if that was normal. His butt was very red too and he sometimes slept at night. The next morning he escaped his cage and was very hyper trying to run away with food in his cheeks. he seemed fine finally and went to sleep. I later found him dead with his mouth wide open and litter in his mouth and his eyes wide open while laying on his stomach with his arms and legs stretched as if he had been dragging his body in pain? Is there any way that he could've choked? was it the cut? the cold water? did he suffer before he died?
i am soo devastated and haven't stopped crying in 2 days
I'm sorry for your loss. I doubt that he choked, as hamsters are really good about packing their mouth. It sounds like upper respiratory infection that could have been treated. I'm not sure about the butt dragging, but that could have been attributed to wettail, which is also treatable.
hampsters are great!
hi whitney05. ive had a siberian hamster for almost a year now but her back on top of her tail has the bald area like she lost fur there and i really dont know whats going on could it be cancer because that happened to one of my friends hammies please help ... and thanks??
i'm not sure what that is. you may want to consult a vet if the hamster is altering its sleep, eating, and drinking pattern.
My hamster is too fat, what am I going to make it fit???
try a wheel.
i took my babys away from the mom at 3 weeks is that ok
Yes a little too early. You need to put them back together. Also make sure that you take out the males at 5 weeks (if i remember), and leave the females in with mom for a little longer.
Hey, I have been thinking about getting a hamster for awhile now. My cousin just got one for his birthday and the entire family absolutly loves it. I'm homeschooled and up at night alot of times and am deffinately able to care for it, clean its cage, feed it, ect. when ever it needs it. I have been reading alot about hamsters and doing alot of research. I was just wondering now what kind of hamster do you think would be best? And also I have a 10gal. tank but I was thinking that a cage would be better? Thanks for all the information about the hamsters too I think that it will really be helpful.
You basically have two typesof hamsters- syrian and dwarf (although there are different species of dwarf). Syrian hamsters are solitary and dwarfs can live in pairs. It will be up to you, both have pros and cons. Personally, i like the syrian hamsters but, I'm not a big hamster fan. Syrian is a teddy bear hamster, and no matter what they're called they are all the same. IE panda hamster, golden hamster, tortishell hamster, etc are all syrian hamsters.
Check out these cages:
http://hubpages.com/_animals/hub/Cheap-Hamster-Cag
10 gallon tanks are ok but you have to worry about ammonia building up.
please could you tel me wots up with my albino hamster as he fliping all over his cage and cant walk he is 3 years old i think he might be slowly dieing and he as no ballance thank you
You must be doing a good job with your hamster, since he's 3 years old. I'm just not sure how he's flipping all over the cage if he can't walk. I really don't know what to tell you since he can't really flip if he can't walk.. More details, and I'll try, but at 3 yrs old, you should just try to make him comfortable.
thank you for getting back to me my hamster had a stroke he was in agony for days so i put him out of his misery did i do the right thing i couldnt watch him in agony
I'm sorry to hear about that.
thanks for the advice!
I got a hamster but it died of wet tail a couple of weeks ago. i got a new 1 2day but it has started squealing already!!!! is tht normal?!?
I'm not sure what you mean by squealing. When getting a new hamster, you need to leave it alone for a few days because it can stress out the hamster and wettail can start again.
A little less than a month ago i got a hamster from my aunts friend and it started squealing a week or more after i got it.Does that mean its hurt?
When is the hamster squealing? All the time, or just some of the time?
Hi! I just got a Panda Hamster yesterday, and she's been sneezing quite often. I'm not so sure what to do! One thing is for sure, that she's not sick because she eyes are not dull, and she does not have a runny nose. I'm pretty sure she is allergic to something?
It could be respiratory infection. Keep a very watchful eye out for that because it can be fatal in some cases. I wouldn't assume she's allergic.
Alright. Well, my mom suggested that her cage ws too cold, and I moved it down to a warmer place... and that helped A LOT!
That is good. Just make sure that it doesn't get too warm, and that you keep a close eye on the signs of illness as hamsters can be pretty good at hiding the worse symptoms until its too late.
Sometimes, but i am not as much worried about that any more.What i mean by that is about a little more than a week ago my hamsters lip started lifting up so we thought well it maybe it will get better so we waited a couple of days and it looked the same.Then,today i looked at it and it has some kind of growth on the right excactly on her lip.Since this is my first hamster me,my mom,and my dad are very worried about it.Do you know what it is and how we can deal with it?
It could be a cut in his gumline, that may be infected. It could be a tumor. I'm not sure. I would consult a vet, if you can. Try to look an see in the hamsters mouth, if you can. Pull back the cheek.
well we did but it looks the same inside she squeals very loud when we did do so i think it hurts her
it could be an infected cut. I'm not sure.
well thanks a lot if i have any more problems i will ask you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the advice! By the way, your website helped a lot for me to know more facts about hamsters!
hey whitney, its so nice to know someone that knows alot about hamsters.
i have a concern by the way, i had syrian hamsters that died with there right leg so swollen and is actually black, they stinked. They were still alive for a couple of days and they already have the awful smell, and they had a wound of some sort near the swollen black leg, and they had worms coming out of the wound. My main concern is i really dont know how they got it or what was it, and im just concern for my future hamsters...
I'm not sure. He could have chewed his leg, causing the wound to decompose as it did. If you were housing the hamster solo, that's about the only thing that could have happened. If you had noticed the issue sooner, you could have pulled out the maggots, cleaned the wound, and healed it.
Hi, my hamster died yesterday while I went to the carnival -it totally ruined my day-, but I realized something. Yesterday, my hamster was running wildly every minute. Ever since I gave him food before I went to breakfast at IHOP, and 2 am went I went to bed, he was STILL running. Then I went to the carnival the next day, and when I came back to play with my hamster, he wouldn't come out of his 'house'. I got SO worried, so I nervously picked up the shlter. He was laying down with his eyes closed, and he wouldn't wake up when I picked him up. So that's when I realized that he might of had a heart attack or a stroke. Would you please tell me what went wrong? Thank you~!
~ Nami Kohodo
I'm sorry for your loss. The cause of the death more than likely depends on the age of the hamster. Typically they stop running from time to time. When you were away, he could have been taking a break. I'm not really sure what to tell you. I'm sorry.
My 8 month old hamster just died. We noticed it breathing different, So I moved it to a diff spot and that there were no dropings and he had a messed up but and by mouth area. I go tthe dri-tail but he would not drink it. I monitered the food. he barely ate. I kept changing the bedding to clean and he just kept getting weaker. I changed bedding last night as I noticed green stuff in it and by its tail with blood. I cleaned him up with plain water and put him in new bedding. Saw he was week so I took wheel out and put a little food and more fresh water in his cage. He passed this after noon with a big blood clot on his rear and blood on his paws and mouth. I cant figure if something else was wrong with him and I didn't know. Can you help me figure it out? I have 2 more adult hampsters in another room and want to make sure they dont get sick. Or what to look for.
Sounds like upper respiratory. I'm not sure about the blood, though. Typically changes in eating habits and breathing will be your key factors. Just remember hamsters generally don't show signs of illness until the end.
im going to get a hamster but i am scared of him getting fisty and bitting me wat should i do?
Just socialize it and work with it, starting slowly with no distractions.
hey im 10 and your info is helping me convince my parents to let me get a hampster i loved the pictures ive done reserch and i now a lot get back to me and wish me luck the earliest i can get one if i can is 2-3 weeks thanks you helped a lot
hey its me i wanted your opinon on this. i was wondering should i hamster sit for my friends hamster and see if its a good pet for me. i really want one luv ya thanks your web page is amazing
It's possible that is a good idea, except by moving the hamster around, y0ou're creating un-necessary stress which can cause the hamster to develope wettail
Hi. I recently got a hamster. It's a short haired hamster. My boyfriend gave her to me for my birthday. She seems to be doing fine rightnow. She eats and she plays and she grooms herself. I was just wondering though if there's anything I should watch out for?She seems happy but you say that hamsters don't show any symptoms of illness until it's too late so should I be looking out for anything?I got her about a week ago. I love her so much already and I just want her to be happy. So if you could give me any advice on anything it would be helpful. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks :D
P.S. I forgot to mention that she doesn't really seem to drink water though. Idk if she does it while I'm away or something I think I've only seen her drink water like 3 times so far and I've had her for 8 days now is that normal?If it's not then is there something I can do?
She's probably drinking while you sleep, as they are nocturnal. Just watch out for wettail, as that's the most common illness of new hamsters. Watch for any changes in behavior or diet, even slight changes.
hay just a question what actually is wet tail and my mom said yes and im not going to baby sit one my mom belives in me
Wettail is diarrhes that can be fatal. There's a link at the top with more information.
oh thanks one more question where is the best place to get a hamster
A breeder, but it's not the most common place although it is the best place. Try a pet store, but just make sure that there aren't any signs of wettail or other illnesses.
thanks i think I'm going to go to PET CO
so far i've earned 45.00 dollars over 9 weeks and one more week and then i get my hamster. now should i go to an animal shelter or a common pet store. and if there are any people you know that are really close to new hampshier please let me know and i need to know if a dawrf hamster is good i want a baby male brown darwf hampster thanks a lot your awesome
so my birthday is may 28 and i think there getting me a hamster. if they don't ill have to buy my own birthday gift. oh and do you go on petco.com. would they have hamsters darwf hampsters and thanks a lot.
How long can I leave my hamster alone ? I don't have anyone to watch him and I like to go out of town for a 2 or 3-day w/e every so often. Also - for longer trips, where can I board him ?
Thanks !
Kaldon88 if you can find a hamster at a rescue then by all means rescue.you can go to petco and purchase a hamster, but not on the website
lynn, if you make sure that he has water and enough food, he should be fine for a weekend trip.
i didnt mean buy one online i meant have you ever got a hamster from pet co.
I have not. But when working for petco, many of the hamsters had wettail, so if that's the route you go, then make sure that you do your best at choosing a healthy hamster.
okay thanks i looked up how to choose a healthy hamster
If you leave a hamster alone for a few days after bringing him home, will he eventually come out to play with you?
It's not automatic. It will take adjustment, but for the first few days the hamster should be left alone to adust. If you over stimulate too soon and too fast, you'll greatly increase risk of wet-tail.
hi whitney05 im a ten year old girl and got 2 female robo dwarf hamsters yesterday i have a small little hut and every time they get in together they start to push each other out what do i do also is it to early to pet them (will i get bitten)p.s.i have a5 year old sis who is crazy about them and wont leave them alone is that all right
My daughter cleans the hamster cage weekly and puts in fresh bedding but it still seems to develope a smell pretty quickly. Is there a particular type of bedding that can be used that will help to absorb and hide the smell?Can soap and water or some type of cleaning product be used on the cage and running wheel to help minimize the odor with out harming the hamster?
sk8tagirl if they're not bullying each other and fighting then there's nothing to worry about.
hamster granny, the cage and accessories should be cleaned weekly when the bedding is changed. If the cage isn't cleaned then just a change of bedding isn't going to make any smell go away. Also yes, a different bedding will probably change the absorbency. I prefer aspen shavings. Try soap and water, yes.
hamster granny:im not an expert but you might want to try "refreshing" the cage every morning and still clean it really good every week or at lest thats what i do and mine doesnt stink at all
thank and you sooo much i also have one other question and i cant find a website that will answer it :can i leave my hamsters alone for 2 days and 2 nights then come back and them be fine please answer my question im despret
Thanks for the advice. I am very pleased that you offer this website it is very helpful :)
sk8trgirl as long as they get along fine and are not bullying and picking on each other, they should be fine. Just provide enough food and make sure the water bottle is full.
thank you whitney05 i havent seen them pushing any more so i guess they just had to adjust or something anyway thanks again
when i scrub there cage with soap and water should i use a speical kind of soap or what
just regular, non-scented soap should be fine.
thanks
is a siberian hamster the same thing as the dwarf white winter russian hamter?
No they're not the exact same.
it's me again i've wrote to u about going on holiday and all that can u please write back on here quickly please i need to know because this is really important
It shouldn't be a problem letting someone else look after the hamster. You can't leave it alone for 2 weeks worth of time, so it's somethign to consider finding a sitter.
It can be stressful, so make sure that the sitter knows everything he needs to know, and make sure to minimize handling.
ok thank you very much for the advice , so even if the hamster is usually out twice or more a day if someone else is looking after it maybe let it out once every 3 days ? i was also thinking of getting a hamster wheel so she wouldn't have to go out so much when she stays over my mothers friends house ? i'm actually going on holiday for 3 weeks but my mam and dad are coming back a week early so they will take her back home and look after her , shes use to my parents especially my dad so i think she'll be fine with them for the week
A hamster wheel is necessary even regularly on a regular basis. You can't stimulate them at night, which is most important. Handling and stress will probably be hamster specific.
well i have a hamster ball for my hamter and thats what she's usually in but because u said to avoide handling it i was thinking of getting a hamster wheel so she wouldnt have to be handled at all , would you be able to give me some advice so i can tell the carer to avoide us much stress for the hamster as possible
Hamsters need a wheel. Even with a ball, the hamster needs a wheel within the cage. I didn't say avoid, but minimize handling. Minimize anything that will cause stress. Stick the hamster in a quiet place and keep most activities of feeding and such the same. I'd say for the first week leave the hamster be to adjust to the surroundings.
ok so when it comes back home how long shall i leave it for so it gets use to my smell and its house again?
at least a few days.
Hello it's me again i wanted to ask u a question , we had a different boy hamster at the same time as we had mine and my brothers hamster got runny poo which we then found out was called wet tail so we went down to the vets with him and the vet said that he should be fine and he gave him a jab just incase and then the next day after we cam back from school he was just sitting there breathing slower every hour and we didnt know what was happening because he was supose to have got better and about 9 o'clock he died , we were devasted because we completely didnt understand how that could happen after a visit to the vets and him telling us that he'll be fine , would u be able to tell me how he died
Wettail is fatal, and it requires dri-tail which is over-the-counter or baytril prescribed from a vet. I'm sorry that your hamster didn't make it through. Not all vets are informed about other animals than dogs and cats. If the vet that you took the hamster too was a dog and cat vet and doesn't regularly see exotic pets, to include hamsters, then he probably wasn't informed on proper procedure.
See more information about wettail here: http://hubpages.com/_furryanimals/hub/Hamsters_Wit
I have noticed a cople of hours ago that my hamster has got a wet tail and i know that it's probably wet tail illness , do i need to go to the vets or can i just treat her myself without going to see a vet? write back as soon as possible this is and emergency
Monika I already provided you the link to my page about we tail in hamsters. It will provide you all the information that you need. I provided it 6 days ago.
yes i have looked at that page and you said there that dri-tail is something good to treat it with but i've looked on pets at home which is a shop with animals on the internet and nothing come up i live i wales so i dont know if they sell something like that , i have a vets appointment today at 20 to 3 so do you think i should ask for dri-tail when im seeing him?
i've been to the vets today and she had 2 jabs and the vet said to get arrow root biscuits as well so im gonna get them later on today but how will i know when she's better and not ill no more ?
Most pet stores no matter where you live should have dri-tail or some other kind of treatment for wettail. Hopefully the vet has prescribed somethign that will work. I've never heard of arrow root biscuits.
the vet havent prescribed anything he just gave her 2 jabs and said to give her arrow root biscuits so i dont really know
I just noticed that my hamsters tail is wet again is it normal for her tail to get wet after her being treated by a vet on friday ? she's also sleeping all day and when i come up to her she doesnt want to come out at all until its very late which is something i dont understand and today she was also grinding her teeth and she hardly even moved but about an hour maybe less later she was keen to come out again . why is this?
What sort of jabs? Jabs of what if it's a shot?
No, it's not normal for the tail to be wet period. I would really try to order a wettail medicine. She does not sound like she's doing well.
One of the jabs i think was called baytril and the other one was an antibiotic but im not totally sure, i've made an appointment to the vets for tomorrow again anyway so see what he says.
I've never heard of baytril being given as a shot but a regular dosage daily for about a week or so.
yes i've been to the vets and we have to give her 0.2 ml of baytril and she said to mix it with something like ribena so it tastes nicer but she doesnt want to drink it and we have to give it to her twice a day and she havent had it yet so am i aloud to give her 0.4 ml at once if i dont give her any now or just give it to her once and then give her one in the morning next day and one in the evening ?
Hello. My daughter has a 2+ year old sweet little hamster. He has always been active and healthy. Last night, we had him out in his ball and I noticed that he wasn't running much. I opened the ball to take him out, and he limped out of the ball and across the floor. I picked him up thinking something was stuck on his foot, only to see that the leg which he was holding up, the back right leg, looked black. He doesn't seem to be in any pain. He is an "only" hamster. He lives in a big 3 story cage, with wire sides, but a plastic bottom. He doesn't climb the sides of his cage, and has always enjoyed his wheel. We are wondering what to do. We may take him to the vet tomorrow if he seems the same tonight when he wakes up. Could this be a sign of a broken leg? An infection? He is eating and drinking normally. Any advice?
Monika you need to give it to the hamster as prescribed whether it likes it or not. If you don't stick with the treatmetn properly, the hamster probably won't make it through. If she does it'll take longer than it should and wettail just isn't an illness to play with.
Marlene, the hamster is just rather old. It could be a broken leg, but a vet would need to check that out. At 2+ years old that's nearly ancient for a hamster. Personally, I wouldn't get a vet, just make the rest of the life as comfortable as possible. If you want to consult a vet that's not going to hurt, but the hamster is really old. A vet may be able to get an antibiotic or something.
ok , i've found a way to give the medicince to my hamster and she's taking it now but the thing is she still has a wet tail which i dont quite understand ?
It isn't going to cure all at once. It takes time to get the antibiotic in the body and start healing. Generally baytril takes longer than dri-tail from what I've seen. Just keep administering the medicine.
Moonmaiden says:
2 years ago
Great photos. And useful. I hope a lot of people read this before getting a hamster.