Looking After Hamsters
A Quick Guide To Looking After Hamsters
There's a subtle difference between caring for hamsters and looking after hamsters. In caring for hamsters, they're usually your own, and you've been learning from day one, and even before, how best to care for the little fellows. Looking after hamsters on the other hand, implies the hamsters belong to someone else, and you're babysitting.
Perhaps a friend, relative, or neighbor has gone on vacation and needed someone to look after their pet hamsters. Since you have trouble saying 'No", you got the job. Or it may be a longer term deal. School is out, the science or biology class needs someone to look out for the school's hamsters over the summer months, and your kids have come home, all excited, with guess what?
Fortunately, looking after hamsters can be fun and rewarding. They’re awfully cute, and if you handle them right, cuddly, if you don't, they can nip. They're quite intelligent and can be very entertaining. Of course the last thing you want to have happen is to return a dead hamster or two to your neighbor or to the school, so at first the thought of looking after hamsters can leave you with a good deal of apprehension. Fear not! Here are a few simple guidelines designed to help you see things through.
Food - What food to give a hamster? Fortunately, these guys like a variety of food. You can always purchase commercial hamster food, which may give you some peace of mind, but the hamster will thank you, if it can, for a little extra variety. Aside from red meat, citrus fruit, or acidic fruits or vegetables, which they should not have, most fruits and vegetables are very good for them. They can also eat dairy products and small bits of chicken or fish. Cooked peas, corn, cabbage, and potatoes make good hamster food, as well as pumpkin and most squashes. Lettuce and celery are good as well, and you don't need to cook those items. If you have a hamster guest over the holidays, you can even give it a bit of turkey. Go easy on the dressing though.
Keep Things Clean And Dry - Now that you know how to feed your new furry friend, its living conditions need to be addressed. Cleanliness is the key here. No matter whether the hamster is in a cage, a box, or a screened-in playpen, keep it clean and keep things dry. Filth and excessive moisture are great sources of infection and disease, and these little "pocket" animals can sometimes go very quickly if they catch something bad for them.
Gnawing Is Important - Also very important, give them something to gnaw on. The hamster's teeth grow continuously, and they need something to gnaw on to keep their teeth at a proper length. Letting a hamster's teeth grow too long can be fatal. Hard shelled nuts, or baby's teething biscuits, will usually do the trick here. A combination gnawing "bone" and toy is a paper towel or toilet paper roll. One of those can keep a hamster busy until you have another empty one to give it.
Exercise - As far as exercise is concerned, you can let them run about, but not unattended. They'll disappear on you or go places that may not be good for them. Get one of those plastic exercise balls. They're about 9" to 12" in diameter and you can place the hamster in and let them take off (they will). You can shut them up in there as the balls are well ventilated. Just let them run all over the place. Be careful not to let them run in the hot sun though, as if they get should stuck the heat build-up could quickly cause them harm.
Finally, pay them some attention. Don't ignore them. Hamsters are quite sociable and like attention, in fact could easily become depressed if ignored. Pay a bit of attention to them at first, and soon you'll be wanting to pay a lot more, and find looking after hamsters isn't so bad after all.