Young hamsters (and old ones too!) need constant access to fresh water.
Hamsters are perhaps one of the most popular pets for a young child to have. Their small size and easy husbandry makes them ideal for the beginner pet keeper. Hamsters are nocturnal animals, so you’re likely to see your pet more asleep than awake. However, if you are able to devote some time and affection, a hamster can be a very friendly pet.
Behaviour: Although hamsters are inquisitive and playful by nature, it sometimes takes a lot of patience and coaxing to get a hamster to the point that it is willingly handled. Every hamster is different, but you can expect to be bitten at least once while trying to tame your hamster. It’s in your hamster’s nature to be afraid, after all, to him you’re a giant reaching into his home.
Husbandry: There are, of course, certain things that any hamster needs to be both healthy and happy. You’ll want to do everything that you can to ensure that your pet lives the best life possible, and to do this, you’ll have to provide the proper housing and food. For starters, all hamsters need adequate nutrition. This can best be achieved using an extruded pellet diet, supplemented with fresh timothy hay, fruits and vegetables. We recommend feeding Extruded hamster food, as mixed seed diets lack a lot of the nutrition that hamsters need, and more often than not, will only eat certain pieces in a mixed diet. Hamsters also need a nice, roomy cage with room to defecate, eat, sleep and exercise. A maximum of two hamsters per cage is recommended. You will need to provide a wheel, as well as a source of fresh drinking water. Your animal should always have access to fresh drinking water.
As for bedding, there are a few options. There are the traditional wood shavings, corn cob litters, paper, and cloth. There are pros and cons to each option, and that’s an area that you will have to work out on your own, to best decide which bedding you prefer. Whichever bedding you decide, you will have , l89to change it at least once a week and do regular freshen ups. Any waste should be disposed of, and any old fresh foods should be taken out of the cage after an hour. Do not use any abrasive or strong chemicals when cleaning your hamster’s cage, as these can cause potential health problems for your animal.
What You Should Do in the First 24 hours:
The first 24 hours are probably the most crucial in adapting your pet to its new surroundings. It is always best to take your new friend home first thing in the morning, so that your hamster has time to adjust to its new home before night time. Ask one of our staff to send a handful of shavings with your new hamster, so that your hamster will feel more comfortable having its own scent around. Gently coax your hamster into its new cage, and add the old shaving to the cage. DO NOT HANDLE YOUR HAMSTER IN THE FIRST 24 HOURS, OR YOU WILL BE BITTEN. Cover the cage with a towel or blanket, leaving one end uncovered until night time. Find out what diet the hamster is on at the best store, and be sure to have some of that food on hand. Drastically changing the diet of any animal is too stressful on them, and is one of the contributing factors to wet tail, which is basically fatal diahrrea Your hamster is very scared and confused during this time, so try not to bother it too much within the first few days, it needs time to adjust. If you do handle your hamster, it is more than probably that you will be bitten, and this may discourage you from handling your pet in the future, which is unfair to both your hamster and to you. With time, and coaxing, your pet will learn to recognize your scent and your voice, and will waddle over whenever it sees you coming. Just be patient, and you’ll soon have a pet that you enjoy spending time with
If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate for a second to call us. We’re more than happy to help you with any questions or concerns you may have, or if you suspect that your hamster is sick.
Phone -873-5190
Tips:
So, you have your hamster home, and you're now realizing what we meant by nocturnal. Well, you aren't destined to have a pet that you never see awake, it is possible to change the behaviour. Hmasters feed at night, but if you remove the food dish during the night hours, your hamster will quickly learn that it needs to stay awake during the day in order to feed.
Did you know that it's possible to litter train a hamster? It's actually quite simple if you have a co-operative hamster. All that you need in order to litter train a hamster is a corner litter and a lot of patience. Tiny roll of toilet paper and daily newspaper are optional. Since hamsters already 'go'in the corner, simpoly place the littler box in the corner with the most waste, and add any other waste into the litter box. If all goes well, your hamster will learn to associate that corner with defecation.