Hamsters are nocturnal, tiny rodents, which are covered with different color of furs from top to bottom. Hamsters are great pets for keeping in cage and are very easy to take care of. Young hamsters can be tamed easily according to the way you want. Hamsters are loveable and easy to maintain. If you give proper care and attention, then your hamster can easily live up to five years. Here are some simple steps on how to take care of a hamster.
Things Required:
- Hamster exercise ball
- Pine shavings or paper bedding (recycled)
- Hamster food
- Hamster exercise wheel
- Disinfectant
- Fresh fruit
- Wire cage, plastic rodent cage or an aquarium with glass lid
- Small water bottle
- Fresh vegetables
Steps:
- First, you will have to look for the right hamster to buy for yourself. An ideal hamster will be the one that is four to seven weeks old and they can be tamed easily due to their young age.
- There are two kinds of hamsters i.e. the golden hamster and the dwarf or Siberian hamster. The golden hamster can be found in various colors and different fur variations. The dwarf hamsters will come only in limited colors. However, there is a major difference between the golden and dwarf hamster, the dwarf hamsters cannot be tamed. Comparatively, the golden hamsters will be gentle and reliable pets.
- Once you get your hamster home along with the supplies, then you will have to keep the cage away from the sunlight and drafts. You will have to choose a spot inside your house where you can frequently visit the hamster.
- You must cover the floor of the cage with at least two inch of bedding layer. Pine wood shavings are a good choice, because they are non-toxic and absorbent.
- Remember that you will have to keep a filled and clean bottle of water, which is attached to the cage at a certain height. However, make sure that the bottle height is reachable to the hamster, but it does not touch the bedding. If the bedding gets wet then it will start rotting and your hamster will get sick. Therefore, you must wash the bottle of water daily and refill it.
- Give plenty of chew toys to your hamster. Hamsters are very fond of cardboard tubes, which are found inside toilet paper rolls and paper towels. You can attach the hamster chew on the side of the cage.
- Prepare a box for your hamster to sleep in, make sure that you cut a two inch space for the doorway inside the closed cardboard box. Keep the box on the far corner of the cage. The hamster will then start filling the box with bedding, some chewed up pieces of cardboard, which is left from the toilet paper tube, and he will start using the box as his bedroom. The hamster will never urinate inside the box, so you can continue using it for several months and then change it.
- Start feeding the hamster with a commercially made hamster food-mix at least twice a day. Give enough vegetables and fruits to your hamster around the year. When you are about to introduce new foods to your hamster, initially you must give small portions, so that the system of his gets used to this.
- Remember that you will have to exercise your hamster as well, by putting the hamster on exercise wheel inside the cage. Allow the hamster to exercise outside the cage as well, within a special designed cage of plastic hamster ball, which is available at the hamster store. Keep the doors of your bedroom closed, take the hamster out of the cage, and allow her to run around inside the hamster ball.
- Make sure that you wash the hamster cage at least once in a week. Take out the hamster in a safe location and dip the cage inside water, which is mixed with few drops of household disinfectant. Wipe clean all the debris, dry the inside of the cage and clean the bedding as well before you place the hamster back in the cage.
- Take out all the uneaten vegetables and fruits after one or two days. If the fresh foods turn moldy then it can make your hamster sick.
- Always remember that you must never bathe your hamster, because hamsters can clean themselves. If you think that your hamster is smelling, then the odor is coming from the dirty bedding and not the hamster. In this situation, you will have to clean the cage more often.
- If you are going on a long vacation then you must take your hamster along with you or keep the hamster with your friends for a few days until you are back.
Tips and Warnings:
- Always choose a young hamster not only for the cuteness, but also for qualities like sociability. Select a hamster, which can relax in your hand, seems plump, and washes himself, alert, curious and bright-eyed. Always select only one hamster.
- Always remember that hamsters are active at night. The best time for cleaning their cage or exercising your hamster will be in the morning or evening, instead of midday when the hamsters want to rest.
- Start taming your young hamster by handling daily and giving them a reward for their calm behavior with some fruit or vegetable treats.
- If the wheel of hamster is keeping you up in the night, take the wheel out during night, and you can replace it once you wake up.
- Children three years or above can be great owners for hamsters, but they need to be supervised closely and an adult must clean and take care of the hamster and hamster cage. A mature child of ten years old can be a good care taker of a hamster.
- Always remember that you must introduce your hamster to people in gentle situations, because a scared hamster can give a painful bite.
- Once you put the hamster inside the exercise ball, you must always keep the ball away from the stairs. If the hamster falls down then it can cause serious injuries.
- While selecting a place for keeping the hamster cage, you must keep it away from the reach of other pets that can be a threat to your hamster.
- Always keep the bedding of your hamster dry and warm, because moisture can lead to serious and fatal infections in your hamster.
- Hamsters can easily catch the human cold and virus, so make sure you stay away from your hamster when you are sick.
- Always remember that hamsters are good escape artists! If your hamster has run away then you will have to lure him back with exercise wheel or food.
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