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| HAMSTER CARE |
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| Maintaining your hamster Keeping a hamster is very simple. All you need to do is clean the cage at least once a week removing the wood shavings and wash the base. Every month you have to completely wash the cage including the frame, use some disinfectant that can be brought in pet shops. Change the water bottle once a day (Well I've forgotten now and then). Unchanged water can become contaminated with germs and make your hamster ill. It is normal for a hamster to eat their own faeces, they contain Vitamin B and K after going through the digestive system (Do not try this, this was designed for hamsters). Do not bath your hamster, it could get a cold, hamsters can clean themselves and will not smell if you change the bedding and wood shavings enough. But you can if you have to wash them in luke warm water. Remember this "ONE HAMSTER PER CAGE" Feeding your hamster Hamsters are very versatile in what foods they can eat, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOT FEED HAMSTERS CITRUS FRUITS, these include lemon, oranges, etc. Suitable foods are banana, apple, nuts, rice, beansprouts, pasta, chicken, egg, and hamster food. Feed your hamster a small amount of vegetable and fruit each day. Hamsters omnivores and will accept meat and plant material, but it is not wrong to bring your hamster on plant material only. Hamsters must have a water supply nearby by means of a bottle or bowl. Without water a hamster will dehydrate quickly and could die. When feeding your hamster see how much it eats out of one bowl and then feed it the amount it ate the next day. The normal amount to feed them is one tablespoon for a Syrian. Feed your hamster a small amount of veg or fruit each day. Food will get stale if left in the cage too long and will lose their vitamin content, so store hamster food in an airtight container in a dark dry place. Taming and holding your hamster When you buy a hamster it is normally not tame because the shop has no time to hold your hamster so you have to tame it yourself. It is better to tame your hamster while it is young because it is much easier. Talk to your hamster while you're taming it. It will get to know your voice. Look at your hamster straight in the face. Hamsters bite only when they are frightened. If your hamster does nip your finger, it is best to put it back in its cage and leave it alone a couple of hours so that it can calm down. To hold your hamster you should cup your hands gently around the hamster. Do not pick your hamster under the arms this can stop it breathing. I often pick my hamster by the scruff of the neck to observe it's teeth and fur condition. This method I would say is not for the novice. You should be able to tame your hamster in about three weeks if you follow the described method. Do not rush it, or you may have to start all over again. 1.First watch your hammy for a few days to find out when it is awake and active - the best time to start taming. Note its favorite foods so you can use them to overcome its fear. Now start putting food straight on the cage floor, so your hamster gets used to your hand and learns that it brings food. After a few days, leave your hand there while the hamster eats. 2.When your hamster is confident enough to eat beside your hand, put the food in the palm of your hand. It may a while before the hamster will eat from your hand without fear. When it does, you can stroke it gently with one finger along its back. Never stroke its head. 3.Next, get your hamster used to being picked up. When it is eating from your hand, cup the other hand over it, and lift it gently a little way off the ground for a few moments at a time. After a few more days, if your hammy seems happy being lifted up, you can take it right out of the cage in your cupped hands. 4.Play with it near the ground so that if you drop it or it jumps out of your hands, it doesn't have a long way to fall. Let it run from one hand to the other. Soon it will be confident enough to run along your arm. 5.You can alternatively gently hold the hamster by it's scruff to prevent falls. Taming is a long process and takes a great deal of patience. Do not rush it as it can cause you to lose your hamsters trust. Taming times vary greatly depending on the hamster. Breeding or not Should you need to breed hamsters or not, well my opinion is 'no'. We have enough hamsters on the earth. Excess of hamsters just gets put down or go to scientific laboritories for experimentation. I knew a person who went to a pet shop and heard a hamster sneezing, and as a hamster lover went to tell the shop keeper. The shop keeper the said 'that will go to the snakes', he heard this and determined not to let the hamster die brought it. Pregnant Hamsters The Gestation Period for hamsters is 16 days. On the twelfth day of the gestation period the cage should be thoroughly cleaned. Hay can be used for nesting material or dried grass can be excellent or cloth cutting availiable in pet shops. Put plenty of nesting material. Lower the water bottle and scatter plenty of food on the bedding for the mother so you don't need to disturb her. Feed a wide range of food high in protien to aid the growth of the litter. Do not handle the mother all the time she has the litter. Just add food and every four days or so and water every two days. Keep other pets like cats and dogs away. A mother who is disturbed will kill her young in her stress and panic. The New Litter Your hamster should be stress free. Hamsters should take between half an hour to 2 hours and should not be disturbed. Your hamsters first litter is likely to be eaten as a trial to learn from her mistakes. Hamsters can selectively kill babies if they have problems or cannot handle such a large litter. Hamsters have on average 6-8 babies in each litter, but can have as many as 16. The cubs are born hairless and naked and about 2.5cm long. The cubs may crawl out of the nest screaming, but leave them ; the mother will collect these after she has given birth to all her babies. If you disturb any cubs she will destroy the whole litter. When they are 7 to 10 day old they will grow hair except on the belly. The females can be identified by the dark dots on either side of the belly. At twelve days they are more independant and go to seek food. Carrot or lettuce can be scattered on the bedding. Use greens will moisture content that is fairly high. The hamster mix can also be eaten. Your hamster should be able to drink water from a shallow bowl at first. At sixteen days the soiled bedding can be cleaned. The cubs should be fully furred and their eyes open and can be removed from their mother 18 to 21 days from birth. Or can be left for another seven days with their mother. The females should be separated from the males in separate cages and then hamsters should be housed separately after 6 weeks from birth. Therefore you may need up to 16 cages for hamsters. Sexing Hamsters Hamsters can be sexed from birth, but sex them when they are weaned. To sex a hamster hold its scuff and turn it over and support it with the other hand. In females you should be able to see the anus and vagina closely together; In dwarfs the vagina and anus are very close and appear to be one opening. In males the distance of the opening of the penis and anus is further apart than in females maybe 15mm apart in syrians and less in dwarfs. If your hamster is full size roughly the testicles are easily seen. Girls have a rounded rear. TO BE CONTINUED |
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