Hamster Babies

One can’t just take his eyes off hamster pups, as these tiny cute little animals will sure have your care. Baby hamsters are born without any hair and closely devoted to their mother. However you may have the desire to hold them, bare in mind that there's nothing you can do within two weeks period after delivery.

Important : Don't touch the babies! Your act might hurt the babies and change its scent therefore confuses the mother. She'll think that they're not hers, abandon them and worst she might even eat the babies. Don't cleaning up the cage within this period to avoid any stress to the mother. As none of the babies had opened their eyes yet, it's advisable to place them at the bottom of the cage.

You can hold them after the two weeks ‘important’ period but only for a brief period as not to disturb or stress the mom or babies. You can also clean up the cage and place fresh beddings in most of it. Remove just the soiled parts in the nest area and put a good portion of the old bedding in it. After it's cleaned up you can put the babies followed by the mother back in the nest .

They should figure out how the bottle works, once the babies eyes are opened (which should happen on the 11-12 days, but some take less/more). Put it lower and in an area where they often go, in order for them to reach it easily. You can give them pieces of cucumbers to prevent dehydration if they haven’t figured out how to use the bottle and you are worried about them not drinking enough. To avoid them from falling in and drown or catch a cold, don't put water in a bowl.

At three weeks, you can isolated the babies if you detect any fighting among them but if they seem young, less developed and not quite independent enough to leave mom just yet, let them stay together until they are four weeks old. They can be placed in new homes and play in new environment when they reach five weeks old, self-sufficient and have a healthy enhancement.

Well-liked Hamster Breeds

The Campbell's hamsters are more popular than the winter white in many countries, while the reverse holds for some countries in Europe. A Syrian or Golden Hamster, Mesocricetusauratus are more popular in Europe. Even there're some differences in feeding and housing needs, the care of all pet hamsters is basicly similar. As the hamster's usually considered a cute animal, it's often humanized when found in popular culture.

More information on the different hamster breeds

• Syrian : You can find them in almost every pet store because it's one of the most common of the hamster breeds. They're usually blonde with white bellies. They're a very affectionate pet.
• Teddy Bear : They're very affectionate and one of the better types of hamster to have. They come in long or short hair.
• Russian Dwarf : They're little and sweet. Most of them have a black stripe down their backs.
• Phodopus Sungorious : These are the smallest breed of hamster known today. These small hairy footed hamsters have an enormous personality.
• Angora : They're sweet and very hairy. Deep down under all of that hair are great pets. Angora might not be the best hamster for you if you don't want a really hairy hamster.
• Cinnamon :They're the favorite and most popular hamster color. They're very sweet and have great personalities. They're great pets.

Did you know that the eyes' color depend on the color ?

• Albino : Pink-eyed
• Blonde : Black-eyed, Red-eyed
• Carmel, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Cream : Black-eyed, Ruby-eyed, Red-eyed
• Fawn : Ruby-eyed
• Honey : Amber
• Ivory : Black-eyed
• White : Balck-eyed

You can find many different colors of hamsters. Each breed of hamster can be a different color. It can be brown, black or other colors. That's called a mutation.

Keep Your Hamster Happy

To keep your hamster happy is very easy just give them some toys and games. Clear plastic hamster balls are obtainable, into which the hamster's placed and then, by its own action, explores an entire house or yard. Hamsters enjoy wooden pipes that somewhat mimic the burrows that they might have in the wild and allow their owners to enjoy their activities. Most commercial exercise wheels marketed for hamsters have rungs which are not appropriate for hamsters due to the fact that a hamster could get injured in one. Many authorities recommend solid plastic wheels as these eliminate the risk of injury.

Here some other tips to keep your hamster happy :

1. Hamsters love to get treats of certain types of fresh fruits and vegetables, like cucumber, strawberries, and blueberries. After giving them a while to enjoy it, be sure to check their food supply and take away any scraps so they don't go bad and get them sick.
   
2. Try blowing into his face if he's naughty.
   
3. Clean your hamster's cage at least once a week. This will eliminate odor and over-ripe food.
   
4. Get a travel cage to use while you're cleaning the cage.

Warning: Hamsters get sick extermely easily and it's hard to cure. What you need to do just keep their area as clean as possible so they can always happy!

Clean Your Hamster's Cage

It's important to clean your hamster's cage at least once a week. When you clean the cage, you should leave some of the old bedding or nesting material so when the hamster's come back to the cage it recognises it's "home". You have to replacing the soiled bedding where needed. Carefresh and Megazorb are both examples of safe bedding. Hamster bedding materials made of fluffy cotton cloth are very dangerous, as they can tangle around the hamster's neck and limbs as well as pose a choking hazard.

Tips on Hamster Breeding

Hamster breeding can sometimes be confusing for a hamster owner. Luckily, there are only a few basic things you need to know before you start hamster breeding. It's best to breed female hamsters that are older than 4 months of age. Otherwise, the hamster may destroy its own litter.
Also, don't touch the hamster babies. Otherwise your sent may get on them, and the mother hamster may not recognize it as her own baby. It's usually a good idea to only breed hamsters of the same breed, unless you're breeding your hamsters for pets or for food. When you're breeding your hamsters, make sure that you don't breed brother and sister hamsters. The other mixtures, such as father-daughter, mother-son, are usually fine. Before hamsters breeding, make sure that your hamsters are healthy. If they are not, an illness could spread to from one hamster to another, and any descendants they have.

Hamster Breeding for pet shows.

Hamster breeding for pet shows is the most common motive people breed their hamsters. To produce the best hamster for a pet show, breed hamsters that are pedigreed. Be aware that a hamster isn't considered pedigreed if it has mixed blood in its background within the last four generations.
Also, don't breed a hamster that has any type of flaw at all, even if it's a slight one. If you breed two hamsters of a dissimilar color, be conscious that it might produce hamsters that have a color not known by the judges of the pet show. If you breed your hamsters in the right way, you will have hamsters that are healthy, lovely, and may just win first prize at the pet shows.

The Life Of Your Hamster

Hamsters typically live no more than two to four years in captivity, less than that in the wild. Because of their short life expectancy, hamsters mature quickly and can begin reproducing at a young age (two months). Left to their own devices, hamsters will produce several litters a year with several babies in each liter. Male and female hamsters are therefore usually kept in separate enclosures to prevent the addition of unwanted of spring. When seen from above, a sexualy mature female hamsterhas a trim tail line; a male's tail line bulges on both sides. Please note that this small description is in no way exhaustive, and can't be in an encyclopedia. Anyone seriously considering a hamster as pet should look for information elsewhere too, there are numerous websites and books available. In the next section, some of those resources have been included for you.

Feeding Your Hamster

Pet stores can provide basic food for hamsters that provides their nutritional needs, but they also enjoy fresh vegetablesand fruits, bird seed, and even living insects, which make up an important part of their natural diet. However, not any nutrition is suitable for hamsters and some food, such as sweets made for humans or poisonous plants like the leaves of the tomato, may be most dangerous for the hamster's health. Like with most other animals (and humans), it is not true that hamsters can decide which food is good for them and they will usually eat anything that is offered.

Hamsters should also always have fresh water available. Appropriate drinking devices can be found in stores. Being small animals that are adapted to the life in arid environments, hamsters can also ingest all necessary liquid via suficient amounts of watery vegetables, such as cucumber, without any negative effects. However, providing water is usualy more convenient and can be an easy way to add medication or vitamins to the hamsters diet. Both water and vegetables must be fresh and have to be exchanged frequently, usualy once a day. Water must not be given in open jars, since it is likely to be poluted and because wetness is generaly very unhealthy for hamsters (that clean themselves very carefuly without the need of additional water).

In detail, the solid food components can be divided into three categories: dry, fresh, and animal food. Dry food makes up the bulk of a hamster's diet. Besides the standard rodentfood sold in local area pet stores, most other kinds of seeds, kernels, and nuts can be given. Care should be taken to limitthe amount of fat contained within the diet. Especialy sunflower seeds, nuts, almonds, and sesame are mostnutritive and are to be considered as a treat rather than asbasic food. All kinds of grain, rice, noodles (dry), dry peasand lentils on the other hand can be provided less restrictively: about 120 g for a medium hamster and, depending on size, about half the amount for a dwarf hamster is sufficient. Bread and similar bakery products contain many ingredients (e.g. yeast) that can trouble the hamster's digestion system. They should be given in small amounts for gnawing or be replaced by special wafers as found in pet stores. All dry food should be appropriate in size. Especialy small hamsters often cannot cope well with large seeds, even if they are sold under the label "hamster food". Bird food like millet is a noteworthy alternative for small hamsters.

Hay, although also belonging to the dry food category, can be provided in large amounts at any time. It does not contain not able amounts of fat, stil is liked by most hamsters, supports the hamster's digestion system, serves as a hiding place, and is often used for nest building. In addition it is cheap and can even be produced in your own garden easily.

Fresh food is also an important part of the hamster's diet. Asmentioned above, cucumber is a good supplement of water. Fresh grass, carrot, al kinds of letuce, leaves and evenbranches' of (non-poisonous) plants are also no problem in general. However, no conifer wood must be fed since resin is poisonous for hamsters. In smaller amounts, grown hamsters also appreciate apple, pear, sweet paprika, tomato (only red parts), banana, mango, strawberry, and even small pieces of orange. Too much sweet fruits on the other hand are not healthy. All kinds of cabbage should be avoided, since they may cause flatulence, which is quite dangerous for the hamster's sensitive digestion system.

Very young hamsters (6-8 Weeks) should eat only carrots and small grains. Even water can damage their digestion system and be a deadly danger. Ill hamsters are also preferably provided with a more conservative diet. If accepted, herbs can also help to strengthen the hamster's health, though they cannot replace a veterinarian in case of a disease. Daisies (the flowers, not the stems or leaves) and dandelions are like wise appreciated. Plants used for hamster foods should never be placed near open windows because hamsters are more sensitive to chemical polutions, due to their small body weight.

Finaly animal food is a major component of some hamsters' natural food. As pets, a large part of this can be replaced by dry food. Still, hamsters need some animal proteins for their health. While some people like to provide living insects from pet stores to their hamsters, others will prefer to give them dry dog biscuits. Some hamsters are known to accept yoghurt (natural, without sweet ingredients) or soft cheese (low fat, not too salty), and in any case egg noodles are usualy taken gratefuly. If (dry or soft) dog or cat food is given, then the fat content has to be checked carefuly. Furthermore, it must not contain molasses, which would harm the hamster.

In addition, a special salt stone (available in pet stores) belongs in every hamster cage. Although this huge amount of mineral salt is hardly used up by generations of hamsters, it is necessary for their life. Vitamin additives for rodents are not required and usualy fresh vegetables are to be preferred. If the hamster is diseased or il-nourished, vitamins or medications may be needed.

It might be noted that many hamsters tend to carry awayfood from their food source (by carrying it in their cheek pouches) and hoard it away in a cache hidden somewhere inside their container. These caches, when combined with hamster urine or a leaky water source and poor airflow, can grow mold or start to rot, creating a hazardous environment for the hamster. To keep this from happening, clean hamster cages frequently. It is because of this behavior that hamsters got their name. The German word for hoard is "hamstern."

There are also many foods that a hamster should never eat. This includes all kinds of human sweets, such as chocolateor candy, which are unhealthy and even dangerous. Furthermore, poisonous plants (also check indoor plants ifthe hamster is taken outside its housing) constitute aconsiderable danger. Other than this, mainly the various unhealthy and chemicaly treated products usualy consumed by humans can cause problems.

Campbels dwarf hamsters are especialy sensitive to Diabetes Melitus, and other dwarf hamster species may be somewhat sensitive too. Diabetes Mellitus in hamsters is often caused by intake of simple sugar. Therefore it isessential to avoid hamster food and snacks containing molasses, honey, sugar, fruit sugar or other sweet stuf. Intake of sweet fruit should be limited to smal snacks. Even with golden hamsters it may be useful to folow these guideline in order to avoid overweight and digestion disturbances.

Exercise For Your Hamster

Like all pets, hamsters need exercise and entertainment to maintain their physical and mental health. An exercise wheel allows hamsters to run full speed to their hearts' content, but is not as mentaly stimulating as more elaborate enclosures including additional toys such as plastic or wooden tubes that somewhat mimic the burrows that they might have in the wild and allow their owners to enjoy their activities. Most commercial exercise wheels marketed for hamsters have rungs which are not suitable for hamsters due to the fact that a hamster could get injured in one.

Clear plastic hamster balls or cars are available, into which the hamster is placed and then, by its own action, explores an entire house or yard. Use these toys only under supervision and use common sense. Unsupervised hamsters in these toys can become trapped against furniture and panic or they can rol down stairs, injuring themselves. Do not leave them in these toys for extended periods, especialy on warm days, and make sure to remove them frequently and allow them access to water or fresh fruits or vegetables. Toys should always invite the hamster to explore and use them at its own will, without forcing or violence.

If they are handled frequently, hamsters enjoy being out oftheir enclosures and having the opportunity to explore. However, they must be kept away from holes in the wall or in large pieces of furniture, because they will seek out the dark and burrow-like confines of those areas and it can be dificult or impossible to convince them to come out again.

Hamsters And Gnawing (Biting) Tendencies

Despite their cuddly appearance, hamsters have long, thin, sharp teeth that can pierce a finger that is mistaken for acarrot or for a predator.

When they are accustomed to being handled and are not startled, however, they are not inclined to bite and can beplaced in the custody of responsible school-age children.

Like many rodents, their teeth grow continuously and they must have appropriate things to chew on to relieve their instinctive gnawing and to help keep the teeth at a healthy length.

They wil gnaw on whatever is available, so they must bekept in enclosures that they cannot chew through. When thehamster is kept in or near a bedroom, their nocturnal nature combined with their gnawing habit can become distracting.

Housing For Your New Hamster

Hamsters can be kept both in cages and in terrariums, both of which are available in any local area pet stores.Cages are easier to carry, their bars can be used for climbing, and they usualy include a convenient front door.

On the other hand, glass boxes keep hamsters from throwing liter out of their cages, provide a beter view into the hamster's home, and create a quieter and more sheltered interior. In general, terrariums are more appropriate for dwarf hamsters, which are more sensitive toa disquieting environment and which would otherwise need very narrow-grid bars to keep them from slipping through.

Middle-sized hamsters, such as the Golden Hamster, especialy enjoy climbing the cage walls (the cage should have horizontal and vertical bars) and are more open to the outside world, which is why cages might be the better choice for this kind of hamsters.

Despite the hamster's small size, appropriate housings should always have a floor space of at least 40 cm by 60 cm(16 by 24 inches) and be at least 40 cm (24 inches) in height. Glass boxes must not be higher than their width to allow for a sufficient air circulation. Although smaler in size, dwarf hamsters should have bigger housings than their larger relatives, at least 80 cm by 40 cm (2 feet by 4 feet). The reason for this is that the dwarfs are very active, running and digging a lot, but they often cannot be taken outside their houses for long, because they are not comfortable there and, due to their smaler size, are more endangered when leaving their domicile. Usualy hamsters with a bigger and more interesting home wil live longer and provide more visual entertainment.

In addition to buying the common housings sold in stores, you can also build customized dwelings. In this case, useonly materials that are not dangerous to the animals. Plywood and wood from conifers is not suitable, because hamsters gnaw at their houses and both glue and resin are poisonous for them. Using standard water-soluble white wood glue to join pieces of solid wood, such as birch or beech wood, creates a safe environment for the hamster, although you must check frequently to ensure that thehamster is not gnawing through the wood. You can also equip a purchased cage with several intermediate levels, connected using stairs. Using wire grid for these platforms instead of solid wood causes serious injuries and is therefore not recommended.

The narrow and smooth plastic toy housings that can befound in some stores are usualy not appropriate as the sole habitat for hamsters. The tight tubes are often densely closed, preventing sufficient air circulation, and the plastic surfaces, while easily cleanable, cannot absorb the hamster's urine like natural materials. The result is a dampand uncomfortable climate that is a perfect habitat for germsand fungi. In addition, synthetic materials are unhealthy when used for gnawing, making plastic tubes, "spacestations", and houses an improper and unnatural (thoughoften expensive) permanent home for hamsters. Reserve these habitats for supervised play and activity.

The perfect place for the hamster's home is a wel-lit room of constant, moderate temperature (18 to 26°C, 64 to 80°F), in a place without strong solar irradiation that could cause dangerous heating. Especialy when wire cages are used, itis also important to avoid air draft. Though they cannot seevery far, hamsters become more relaxed and curious when positioned somewhat above the ground (at least 65 cm (2feet)), from where they can perceive their surroundings.

Cover the inside of the hamster's residence, including alintermediate levels, with a sufficiently thick layer of woodenlitter for rodents, available in pet stores. Although alternative materials may work as wel, most of these bear additional threats. Cat litter is dangerous, because gnawing and eatingthe chunks is deadly.

Hamsters are nest builders and a steady supply of fresh strips of tissue or newspaper (with soy-based ink) alows them to build a secure and comfortable spot in a corner oftheir enclosure or in their hiding house. Hay, from shops oreven fresh from the garden, is also a valuable building material for cozy hamster nests, which, as an additional bonus, is also perfectly edible.

A sand bath can provide a hamster with entertainment and helps them groom. In the desert (their natural habitat), hamsters will roll around in the sand, which cleans their coatand prevents it from getting too oily. Dwarf hamsters inparticularly enjoy this activity. Be sure to use a dish that wilnot tip over. Heavy ceramic and metal dishes are preferred.You can fill the dish with fine sand or chinchila dust.

Regular cleaning of a hamster's home is crucial for the hamster's health. The home must be cleaned at least once a week by replacing the soiled bedding where necessary. Hamsters are fairly neat in their bathroom habits; if their enclosure is regularly cleaned, they choose one small location in which to urinate and defecate, making the cleaning simple. Small hamsters may require slightly less-frequent cleaning (perhaps once every two weeks), and may have many (usualy hidden) places used as toilets.

Another important component of a hamster's home is a hiding place where the animal can rest during the day. Notal commercialy available houses are adequate. The houses should be of sufficient size and be closed on at least two sides. The same building materials are appropriate for theseas for the larger cages, although even a smal cardboard box will work (and which will have to be regularly replaced). Some houses add features such as a removable roof that helps to take away colected food (especialy perishable items).

Hamsters are solitary animals and prefer to be alone most of the time. While sometimes two or more animals can live peacefuly within one home, there can be bloody fights. Intheir natural habitat, there is substantialy more empty space so that each hamster can have its own large territory. If more than one hamster is to live in a cage, then the cage must be larger (at least 40cm x 40cm per hamster) and there must be separate hiding houses for each animal. In any case, evenafter a long period of peaceful coexistence or even mating, there can be violent biting. In this situation, the hamsters should be separated immediately. Note also that, if a male and female hamster live together without fighting, then they will usualy reproduce rapidly, there by causing more space problems.

Considering A Hamster As A Pet

The hamster kept as pet most often is the Golden Hamster, also caled Syrian Hamster. So-caled Teddybear or BlackBear hamsters are also breeds of golden hamsters.

But also four species of smaler hamsters are popular pets, often called dwarf hamsters. These are Roborovski hamster, (Phodopus roborovski) often caled Roborovski, the chinese striped hamster (Cricetulus griseus) and the two subspecies of Phodopus sungorus, the winter white russian dwarf hamster (Phodopus sungorus sungorus) and Campbel's dwarf hamster (Phodopus sungorus campeli).

The care of the dwarf hamsters is similar to that of the golden hamster, but there are differences in feeding and housing needs and temperament. Winter whites and Campel's are fairly popular, in the US the campels more sothan the whinter whites, while it's other way round in Europe.

Roborovski and Chinese striped Hamsters are some whatmore difficult to breed and keep, they are usualy only available from breeders, and therefore limited to serious rodentia fans.

Roborovski are especialy not suitable for children.

Hamsters are nocturnal by nature, making them less than ideal as pets for people who are normaly awake during the day.

However, many people prefer them to rats, given rats'unsavory reputation (undeserved as pets). Unlike rats, they are not particularly good at learning tricks but can be entertaining to watch. They are also much smaler than guinea pigs, although equaly as furry and appealing, so are more appropriate for homes with limited space.