| My Pets |
| Introduction |
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Everyday I'll feed my hamsters a basic hamster mix two times a day. Sometimes I will give them biscuits as treats. But do not give them too much can cause your hamster to become fat.
The mum had given birth 3 times and they are 4 generatian of hamsters already. Some died and some survive. Here in my pet page will stress into several thing regarding the right way to care for your hamsters.
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| What are hamsters? |
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Hamsters are mammals which belong to the redent family. They have large incisor teeth that continually grow and it is necessary for them to gnaw, to prevent their teeth from overgrowing.
Hamsters are nocturnal, sleeping during the hot days and walking in the cooler evenings. They have poor eyesight but keen sense of smell and excellent hearing. Most species of hamsters have expandable cheek pouches in which they can carry food and bedding back to their burrows. The word 'hamsters' comes from the German word 'hamstern' which means 'to hoard'.
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| Getting to know your hamster |
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The hamster's family falls in several different species which exist because of cross breeding between hamsters. Every species have a very distinctive character which tells them apart. Some are easy to tame and others are nervous. Only a few species of hamsters are known to be social. They are the Russian, Dwarf and Chinese hamsters.
Hamster sometimes do intend to get lost easily, so adult supervision is always needed when a child is playing with a hamster outside its cage. If it does get lost, sprinkle a few hamster mix next to its cage and just wait. Probably if your hamster is independent enough like mine you should probably found it sleeping soundly next to its cage.
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| Feeding your hamster |
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Most pet shops sell a hamster mix. This mix usually consists of crushed oats, barley , rodent pellets, peanuts, sunflower seeds, maize, dog biscuit and may also include ingredients such as locust bean treats, flaked peas, corn and bird seed.
Vegetables should be introduced slowly to a hamster's diet as too much can cause diarrhoea. Sweetened food should be given in small quatities as they may cause your hamster to become fat.
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| Handling your hamster |
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If your hamster is a bit nervous it is a good idea to get it used to your hand before attemting to lift it out of its cage. Try gently stroking the hamster while it is in its cage and offering it a few pieces of food from your hand. It will soon realise that it has nothing to fear. Next try placing your hand in the cage and letting the hamster investigate, and step onto your hand, whilst keeping your hand still. Once it is happy that there is nothing to fear, open the door of the cage and gently scoop the hamster up in both hands. Do not hold it too tightly or squeeze it as this may frighten it. Do not lift hamsters too high as if it jumps from your hand and falls it may injure itself. The average falling height without injury that I had seen from my hamsters are 35cm. Please do not try this on your hamsters because mine are fully trained proffesional athletic hamsters.
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| Caging ang Equipment |
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There are a variety of hamster cages available that could be purchase from pet shops. The most comman type of cage seen in pet shops has a plastic base and a rigid wire top. These cages are quite durable, relatively cheap and easy to be clean. There are also expensive cages which consist of compartments and tunnels. These cages are sometimes hard to clean. These type of cages are not advisable to fat hamsters that could probably get stuck while trying to sqeeze they way in through tunnels. For the hamster's bedding and floor covering you can use Pine and toilet paper. DO NOT use Aspen or Cedar because they contain phenols which can cause severe irritations in hamsters.
Other essentials like the wheel is an important accessories in a hamster's life. Wheels provide an excellent way for hamster to exercise because they are active animal. Some research have show that, if they do not exercise they might get paralyzed. To sum it all up, wash hamster equipment once a week. Water should be check daily and food to be given at least twice a day.
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| Hamsters Health |
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As for my experience in wet tail disease, hamsters with wet tail should be separated from the other and be given special attention. In places like where I live, veterinary treatment is hard to seek because there is not vet. A quick response by myself usually do the trick. I usually give anti-diarrhoel medication that could be bought in pet shops. The hamster should recover within a few weeks depending on how hard you pray for its survival.
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| Breeding hamsters |
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Breeding hamsters differs between species, but I'll tell you the tale on breeding Syrian Hammies. litter1
Ideally female should be given 3-4 months in which to regain condition before breeding a second litter. Below shows the time of a hamster breeding cycle:-
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I now have 7 hamsters in my care. I started raring hamsters with the help of my family over a year now. There are 3 male and 4 female Syrian Hamsters altogether. We have 4 cages and the mum and dad live separately from their young.
All pet hamsters are descended from 3 golden hamsters which were found by zoologist in Syria in 1930. There are many different species of hamsters throughout the world and most inhabits semi-desert areas where they live in burrows. These burrows consist of many tunnels and separate chambers to store food or sleep.
Hamster comes in many different shapes and sizes. The largest hamster is the Teddy Bear Hamster which is equivalent to size of a Guinea Pig. The smallest of them all are Dwarf Hamsters which tend to get 'lost' by their owners everytime they come out of their cage. So keep an eye on them.
Hamsters should be fed a basic hamster mix and this should form the main part of their diet. However, their diet may be supplemented by other foods but these should be fed as occasional treats.
Most hamsters can become tame in a very short time with gentle and regular handling. Hamsters normally only bite because they are frightened.
A hamter requires constant access to water and this is best provided by means of a water bottle available from pet shops. Water bottle should be cleaned and sterilized with hot water once a week to keep germs away.
The most comman disease among hamsters are diarrhoea and wet tail. Hamsters health could deteriorate quickly if it is ill, so it is important to seek veterinary treatment ASAP. Diarrhoea could be tackle by changing the bedding at least twice in a week. And insure that there is always a sufficient water for the hamster to drink.
Although Syrian hamsters are able to breed as young as 3-5 weeks of age, the ideal age to breed a female for the first time is 4-6 months of age. Breeding a female younger than this can stunt her growth, result in a poor litter and often leads to cannibalism of the litter.
