HAMSTERS

Hamsters are lively and clean animals that like to live alone. They can take a while to become tame, so patience is essential. Hamsters are nocturnal animals so they need a quiet and peaceful environment during the day.

HAMSTER DOS

• To live on their own (some dwarf species will live as pairs).
• To be fed seeds, grains, nuts, cleaned fruits and vegetables daily and to have a constant supply of fresh drinking water. A drip-feed bottle with metal spout is ideal.
• To be given a large living space kept indoors that is out of direct sunlight and a nest box inside where they can sleep and hoard their food.
• To have sawdust on the floor with hay or soft wood chips on top as well as paper towels for their bedding.
• A plastic exercise wheel (not the open rung kind). Hamsters love to exercise.
• Toys to stimulate them, like plastic or cardboard tubes, mazes and ladders for climbing.
• To have their homes thoroughly cleaned weekly.
• A hardwood gnawing block, natural not treated wood, so they can wear down long teeth.
• To be picked up gently, with 2 hands.
• To be brushed.
• To be taken to the vet if they are sick or injured or when showing abnormal behaviour.
• To be looked after while you are away on vacation.


HAMSTER DON’TS

• Don’t let your hamster run freely around your house as he or she could get lost, injured or stepped upon.
• Don’t take your hamster out for outings like you would your dog. They are tiny animals and the experience could be very traumatizing for them.
• Don’t handle your hamster roughly and quickly. Hamster like to jump when they are scared therefore could jump right out of your hands and get injured or lost.
• Don’t take your hamster to school and pass them around to your friends like a toy. The noise, movement and unfamiliar surroundings could be extremely traumatizing. Remember how tiny they are and how big you are.
• Don’t use newspaper or cotton in their cages.
• Don’t keep more than one hamster in a cage as they will usually fight.

No matter the size of the animal you keep, it is your responsibility to give him or her what they need. If you cannot provide what a hamster needs, you should choose another animal that better suits your lifestyle.