For Christmas, I am interested in getting a hamster, but I have researched them a ton and have learned that they can get many illnesses. How can I keep the hamster I will soon (hopefully) get happy and healthy? For example, should I clean its cage a certain way, feed it certain food, etc. Thanks so much! I will probably get a short haired hamster.
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i heard you have to clean it with unsented soap not too sure about the food
K this is my answer from another question if you don’t believe me then check ;P
1. When cleaning the cage, how should I do it? ——-Shall I just thoroughly clean it with water and disinfectant, or soap and water, or is there special hamster friendly sprays or products which I can use? I think they do sell hamster friendly spray products at most pet stores.
2. Should I cover the whole base of the cage with this bedding as well as the upper floors of the cage or not?——- If the upper floors of the cage have wire outsides I suggest you don’t put bedding up there, as hamsters love to burrow and they will fling the bedding EVERYWHERE. If the cage on the outside is solid, then feel free to
3. Should I put this bedding in with the little hamster house so it can make its own little nest, or should I use a different material? ——-Usually the hamster doesn’t really care about the bedding, as long as it’s soft. You can give them some shredded up toilet paper of kleenex so they can make their nest more cozy for them. I suggest you just let the hammy make it’s own nest and all. It will actually move the bedding to where it wants it to be in his/her cage.
4. Im getting confused with what bedding I should use. Which is best? ——-I suggest you DO NOT get cedar bedding. The wood shaving in cedar can infect all small animal respiratory systems. Try getting them aspen or a really nice kind I use for my pet rats is Carefresh. It comes in loads of cool colors and it’s really soft, which hamsters like.
5. On average how much does bedding cost per month if I change it once a week, for one hamster in a smallish-normal cage? ——-It depends on how much the bedding you use costs and how big of a bag you buy. You are better off getting a big bag, because usually the bigger you buy, the cheaper it is, if you know what I mean. (For example, say a bag half the size of the biggest size is $5.99 but the bag that is double that amount of bedding is $8.99, the bigger bag is better.) Sorry if you don’t understand.
6. On average how much does the ready made hamster food cost per month if i change the bowl once a day, for a syrian hamster? ——-Thinking about small animals, most aren’t very big, so obviously they have a tiny stomach. The little buggers take food from their bowl and hide it EVERYWHERE in their cages. I don’t really know where you are getting the food or anything, but do know that the higher quality the food, the better it is for the hamster, which makes it more expensive.
7. What is the reccomended gender to get a hamster, does one gender bite more than the other? ——-It really depends. Male hamsters are more laid back but they are very territorial and smell more. When they mark their territory they pee and poop A LOT.
8. When I buy one, what is reccomended to bring it home in, or will the pet shop man supply a special box of some sort? ——-Every pet shop that I have bought a small animal from puts them in a small cardboard box, just for the road until they get to their cage.
9. What are some fun but safe things I can put in the cage for it to play with, such as a cardboard toilet roll? ——-All small animals love toilet paper and paper towel rolls, running wheels, little houses to hide in, chew treats (very reccomended because their teeth will grow and grow so they need to get them down with the wooden chew blocks), yogurt drop treats, CLEAN PVC pipes to play in, and they like the little hamster ball things where you put them inside them and they can roll around the room and explore.
10. Any other important advice would be greatly appriated! ——-Try to handle them a lot so they get used to being around humans and so that they will know that humans are friends and won’t hurt them. Cup them gently in your hands when you hold them and don’t pick them up from behind, as this will scare them. They react to puckering noises. Also do know that these little guys are nocturnal, meaning they will sleep during the day and be absolutely rambunctious and crazy at night, sometimes keeping you from sleeping. But eventually you will get used to it.
Good luck with your new hammy I hope I helped you!
Whew thats the biggest answer I have ever written. xD
- Make sure you get a sturdy cage, not one of those breakable plastic cages that are $20 at Petco or Petsmart. A good cage is everything. I learned that the hard way when hamster after hamster would escape from the crummy plastic cage with the tubes on them. Those cages look fun but they’re bad. Get a nice cage (little more expensive but worth it)
- Put the cage somewhere where you can see the hamster often and remember to feed/water her.
- I change my hamster’s cage 1-2 times a week.
- If you can, avoid buying a hamster from Petsmart, Petco, Petland, or any other chain. They breed hamsters by the thousands in nasty, overcrowded warehouses and have them shipped into the stores weekly. Those hamster can be sickly and aggressive. Buy from a breeder or adopt from a shelter — or check out Craigslist.org to adopt a hamster in your area and save a life :)
- Offer your hamster a small piece of fresh fruit or veggie everyday but remove it if they don’t eat it that day so it doesnt mold :)
One thing to help keep a hamster from getting sick is to completely clean the cage once a month with a solution of one cup bleach to 1 gallon of water. This helps kill bacteria and viruses as well as better rids the cage of any residual excriments. It goes a long way to help the animal from getting sick, especially when anyone in your house is sick.
Another thing to help is to partially cover open areas of the cage with a thin blanket or towel when it gets cold. Don’t completely cover the cage, but enough so that it stays warm. This helps keep their immune system running well.
I just got a hamster too, and I’ve read a ton of stuff about
how to take care of hamsters. First, you have to choose which hamster you want.
There are syrian hamsters, which are normal sized, and dwarf hamster which are really small. If this is your first time taking care of a hamster, I think you should get a syrian because they are more slow and easier to take care of. Dwarf hamsters are really wild and crazy, and a lot of them bite.
Picking out your hamster:
When you pick out your hamster, make sure the hamsters don’t have watery
eyes or scruffy fur. If the pet store does not let you hold the
hamsters, then that’s a bad sign. Also, don’t get a hamster
with a wet bottom, because it probably has a disease called
Wet Tail.
Cages:
I have a fish aquarium/tank for my syrian hamster, and it works fine,
but you can’t use the fish tank cover, or else it won’t get enough air.
If you are planning to use a tank, then you should buy a wire-mesh
top at the pet store. Wired cages also work well too, but if you are getting
a dwarf hamster, which is really tiny, it could squeeze itself out of the
spaces in between the bars and escape. A syrian hamster is bigger, so it
will work better for one. And remember, clean your hamsters cage every 2 weeks!
Bedding:
When you buy bedding, NEVER buy pine or cedar bedding because it’s extremely bad for the hamster’s respiratory system. Also, never use the cotton bedding, because the hamster can eat it, and choke on it. The best bedding is aspen, which most hamster owners use. I use Living World Aspen Bedding, which works really well, but doesn’t soak up all the odours. The best brand of bedding is Carefresh, which is really soft, has odour-control, but it is really expensive!! Just buy a normal woodchip bedding for your hamster. It’s not toxic or anything, so it’s okay if you hamster accidently eats it.
Food:
The best food for hamsters are the hamster and gerbil formula, which has a lot of nutrients and fibres. It comes with dried corn, sunflower seeds, and many more. Only feed your hamster a handful of food a day in a food bowl. Don’t feed it too much or it will become really fat. Also, you can buy treats like yogurt drops for it to eat, but don’t feed it too many, because they are also really fattening. You should also buy a water bottle. Don’t use a water bowl because the bedding can get into it, or the hamster can crawl into it and get all wet.
Exercise:
The hamsters needs up to 20-40 mins of exercise everyday , so a running wheel is definitely a neccessity. My hamster always loves running in his wheel. The best wheel is the silent spinner, because it has no bars, and it”s not loud and it doesn’t squeak that much when you hamster runs in it. Don’t buy the metal wheels with bars, because your hamster’s legs or arms can break from getting caught in between the gaps. You can also buy a hamster ball that it can run in around the house. Some hamsters don’t really like it, like mine, because whenever I put it in the ball, it pees in it because it gets scared. :P
Bathing:
All hamsters keep themselves really clean by licking their body, so you don’t really need anything to help clean itself. If you really want to, you can buy chinchilla sand, which works for hamsters, and all you have to do is put the sand in a bowl and let your hamster roll around in it. NEVER use water to wash your hamster because hamsters can’t swim, and it will die.
Accessories:
Inside your cage, you can buy your hamster a mini house/igloo for it to sleep in, or you can make your own out of a tissue box. Your hamster’s teeth will grow really long, really quickly, so you should buy wooden chew toys for it to chew on, so they have file their teeth down. I’ve trained my hamster to pee in a specific corner, and I added a potty litter so it will pee there and the potty litter will reduce the odours.
That’s pretty much all you need to know about hamsters! You can research online for a list of foods you can or can’t feed your hamster. I hope I helped!!
;]
Well I bought my hamster a huge cage, with many different sections conncted by tubes, it’s the closest thing to their naturaly habbitat, it has to be spacey and big. Im not the best person to ask food wise but make sure u buy your hamster a variety of foods that they need for their diet. Treats are good aswell, but dont replace them with ur hamsters main food. I clean my hamster’s cage out daily, using certain cleaner sprays specifically for hamsters from the pet shop. I replace my hamster’s water bottle everyday and clean it out aswell. Remember to use spray’s from the pet shop that is SPECIFICALLY for hamsters when cleaning da cage.
Good luck buying ur hamster, they’re great!