Happy Hamsters » How to Care for Hamsters http://www.yourhappyhamster.com Happy, healthy hamsters in your home Thu, 09 Sep 2010 10:42:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 The Ultimate Guide To Dwarf Hamsters Review http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/dwarf-hamsters/the-ultimate-guide-to-dwarf-hamsters-review http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/dwarf-hamsters/the-ultimate-guide-to-dwarf-hamsters-review#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:04:59 +0000 admin http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/dwarf-hamsters/the-ultimate-guide-to-dwarf-hamsters-review

The Ultimate Guide To dwarf hamsters Review

If you own a dwarf hamster and want to know more about how to care for these furry lovable creatures, this “Ultimate Guide To Dwarf Hamsters” review may give you the tools you need to learn about dwarf hamsters and how to take care of them. In my The Ultimate Guide To Dwarf Hamsters review, you’ll get a great deal of advice about what sort of entertainment and activity devices should be included in the cage to ensure that the hamster gets the proper amount of exercise. They also need chew toys because their teeth are always growing, leading to a constant urge to gnaw on something.

Click here to read my The Ultimate Guide To Dwarf Hamsters review.

 

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]]> http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/dwarf-hamsters/the-ultimate-guide-to-dwarf-hamsters-review/feed 0 How do I find a vet for my hamster? http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-i-find-a-vet-for-my-hamster http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-i-find-a-vet-for-my-hamster#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 07:20:34 +0000 admin http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-i-find-a-vet-for-my-hamster I’m an Ohio resident in the Cincinnati-Dayton corridor, and I can’t seem to find anyone that treats rodents. Searches for ’small animal veterinarians’ only yield those vets who don’t treat livestock, of course, and I haven’t had any better luck with searches for ‘exotic animal vets’, as recommended by an article on hamster care. Any ideas would be very much appreciated.

well i’m not sure about ohio. but i live in new york and we have a vet that says he treats "cats, dogs, birds, and other exotics" so try looking for that. there might not be one near you so you might have to travel a little. look through a phone book or ask at a pet store

]]> http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-i-find-a-vet-for-my-hamster/feed 4 How can you tell if the hamster at a pet store is friendly? http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-can-you-tell-if-the-hamster-at-a-pet-store-is-friendly http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-can-you-tell-if-the-hamster-at-a-pet-store-is-friendly#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:05:43 +0000 admin http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-can-you-tell-if-the-hamster-at-a-pet-store-is-friendly I always loved hamsters. And i want to get one for my boyfriends nephew for his birthday in june. But i want to get one thats friendly, and its been awhile since i been to a pet store and looked at a hamster, so i dont know how to tell. Do i just ask someone who works there? i just want a nice one so i dont have to worry about the hamster biting him. im going to take care of the hamster too.
any suggestions?

One that’s not nervous looking is probably the friendliest, if a hamster looks stressed or if it’s first instinct is to bury itself when someone gets close it’s probably not friendly, get the one on the wheel, since he’d be more open and active there’s a good chance he’s in a good condition, therefore friendly.

]]> http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-can-you-tell-if-the-hamster-at-a-pet-store-is-friendly/feed 6 How do I know if my hamster is happy and how to bond more with her? http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-i-know-if-my-hamster-is-happy-and-how-to-bond-more-with-her http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-i-know-if-my-hamster-is-happy-and-how-to-bond-more-with-her#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:06:47 +0000 admin http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-i-know-if-my-hamster-is-happy-and-how-to-bond-more-with-her I have a year and a half teddy bear hamster named Fiesty. I have had Fiesty since she was a baby. In Fiesty’s life she has had three cages. One I just got her on Auguast 1st and I got her the Crittertrail 2. Fiesty LOVES her new cage. Fiesty is a very active hamster, who always escapes from her cage or her ball.She’ll chew on her cage bars until she is let free. Fiesty has always gotten into trouble. She’s escapesd around 11 times out of her cages, escaped 4 times from her new ball I bought her last month, been lost under the couch, been in the pomeranians mouth and live to tell her tell, had her other cage before the new one I just got her knocked over by the cat and the cat chased her (thats why I had to get the new cage), and just 2 days ago Fiesty escaped from her ball and the cat grabbed her and had her on her back when my mom grabbed her. My mom wouldn’t have known if Fiesty wasen’t squeaking from being terrified. I’ve heard hamsters do this when they’re scared. When I heard my mom yelling at the cat I ran into the living room and my mom handed me my poor hamster. I took her in the bathroom and saw that Fiesty must had been in the cats mouth because her back was wet from the slobber I guess. I grabbed some toilet paper and saw that my hamster was bleeding.This made me bust in tears because I love my hamster and thought that she was going to die. We didn’t have the money to take her to the vet so we just put some neosporin and peroxcide on her untill it cleared up. And now Fiesty’s spot is just a little red but she doesn’t have any scabbs or open wounds.Although her hair is a little spiky from the neosporin (evan though I have tried to take a little water and scrubb it out) but other than that she’s back to her old self.I take care of my hamster as best as I can.I give her fresh food and water each day. And every day when I go balck berry picking, ( we have a black berry bush in our backyard), I always give her the biggest one I can find.I brush Fiesty’s hair with a brush that I got her from the pet store. I clean her cage in every two weeks. I usually take Fiesy under my trampoline to let her play (with me cloesly watching and always by her side), and to eat some grass.I put Fiesty in her ball to run around in the house for about two hours each day.Always bringing her water bottle to her every thirty minutes encase she is thirsty.Then putting her in her cage to see if she has to go to the bathroom, then putting her in her ball again.I give her treats that are good for hamsters, and to make sure it’s ok I put a list of foods on the fridge that I got from a website on the internet that tells you what fopds are good and what there’re good for and what foods are bad. So if you answer this I want to know Do you think my hamsters happy? And how can I bond more with my hamster?Please help!!

I read the whole thing. It seems like you are being a great hamster mommy. I can only suggest a couple things.

1) to help cure her escaping I suggest getting extensions for her cage. It will give them more room to explore and they won’t feel so trapped. One of my hamsters, Bubba [a teddy bear too], also loved to escape. We had a critter trail 3 for him. For Christmas I got him a Crittertrail Z [i think that was it] and attatched it to the cage. Now he chews less and has not escaped since.

2) to bond with your hamster, pet it often. and hand feed it when ever you can. I recently got a new hamster, Lorelei, who had a lot of social problems when it came to being with people. (she was never held for the first 3 months of her life :( ), the day I brought her home she was hissing and showing her teeth, I was not able to hold her, and not even pet her. Since I feed Lorelei her favorite foods by hand. She still has a lot of problems but there is a HUGE improvment. I can pick her up and she doesn’t mind it for a while. Since your hamster seems like a sociable hamster this should strengthen a bond you already have. Also handle it as much as possible. You develop a lot of trust this way between you and your hamster. The day it falls asleep in your arms is when you have an unbreakable bond. I have had only one hamster do that out of my experience with 6 hamsters. Unfortunetaly she passed away on June 13th. And the day she fell asleep in my arms was in April. It will take a very long time to develop a trust like that. Just keep what you are doing and your hamster will remain happy and with these pointers your bond should grow.

I hope this helps!

]]> http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-i-know-if-my-hamster-is-happy-and-how-to-bond-more-with-her/feed 15 Hamster Care Questions? http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/hamster-care-questions http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/hamster-care-questions#comments Sat, 10 Jul 2010 04:32:53 +0000 admin http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/hamster-care-questions im getting a hamster and i wanted to know , from someone who has a hamster what i need in the cage , how much times to feed it and give it water , whats a good cage for a hamster , is it ok to have hamsters with cats and how much times i should give it treats , and if you can have 2 hamsters in 1 cage.

Hey, I have a hamster so I think I can help you.
1.) The cage you pick needs to be big enough for the hamster to run around in. Hamsters need a lot of exercise so make sure the cage is pick enough. The Critter Trail cages are great and not too expensive.
2.) In the cage, I would definetely put in a running wheel. Hamsters need exercise and they love the wheel! If you are planning to keep your hamster in a spot that might affect others with the noise, I would get a silent wheel. Most cages, however, come with a wheel. I would also put in some other toys (tubes to crawl through, chew toys, hamster hut, ect.) You will also need a water dispenser for it and a food bowl.
3.) How many times do you feed it and how much? Well, Don’t feed it too much. If you do, it will get lazy. For my hamster, I feed it one spoonful (regular table spoon) of food every night before I go to bed. THis works great because hamsters are nocturnal which means they sleep during the day and are awake at night, so it eats when it needs the food but it stores some food to which is the perfect amount to get through the day. Water? Well, I just fill up the water bottle completely full when I clean the cage. It usually lasts more than a week and in the water dispensers the water doesn’t get bad.
4.) I also have a cat. My cat enjoys watching my hamster play and doesn’t bother it when I have it in the runabout ball (also something you should consider getting). Sometimes my hamster does get out of his cage but my cat has never bothered it so much that it would eat it. He just follows it and sniffs it but I don’t recommend letting them play together ;) …I think it is perfectly okay to have a cat and a hamster.
5.) Treats. use treats as rewards. Use them when your hamster lets you hold it or when it doesnt poop in its runabout ball or something. Don’t spoil it.
6.) Two hamsters in a cage isn’t the best idea. Boy + girl= baby hamster girl+girl=fight boy+ boy= fight…..not all the time for the fighting part. I have heard of people doing more than one hamster in a cage but I have not tried it. I have heard that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It is up to you. I would talk to someone in the pet store about it.

Some more suggestions:
Clean the cage once a week. I put newspaper on the bottom of the cage so I don’t have to scrub out the cage every time I clean it. Be patient with your new hamster, It may take a while to get it tame. BIG SUGGESTION: Do NOT let the pet store sell you an old hamster. They are wild and crazy because that haven’t been tamed. They won’t let you tame them either. Make sure your hamster is young. This will help you out a lot.

I hope this helps!! =) good luck with your new hamster..

]]> http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/hamster-care-questions/feed 5 Where can I find an adoption agency that has hamsters, and is in Massachusetts? http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/where-can-i-find-an-adoption-agency-that-has-hamsters-and-is-in-massachusetts http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/where-can-i-find-an-adoption-agency-that-has-hamsters-and-is-in-massachusetts#comments Sun, 16 May 2010 03:00:46 +0000 admin http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/where-can-i-find-an-adoption-agency-that-has-hamsters-and-is-in-massachusetts I’ve been wanting to get a hamster for a long time. I know what to buy and how to take care of the hamster, it’s just that I want to adopt a hamster. Also, is it good to get two hamsters of the same gender?

Here is a shelter in massachusetts that has hamsters!

http://www.mspca.org/adoption/adoptable-animals/

Adoption is the BEST!!!

YOU GO GIRL!

]]> http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/where-can-i-find-an-adoption-agency-that-has-hamsters-and-is-in-massachusetts/feed 3 How do u take care of hamsters? http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-u-take-care-of-hamsters http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-u-take-care-of-hamsters#comments Tue, 11 May 2010 06:22:55 +0000 admin http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-u-take-care-of-hamsters thanks!

Hi, they the easiest pet to look after. They are ideal if you work during the day as thats when they sleep. Mine wakes up around 5pm and is active for hours.. First of all you need a good sturdy cage which isnt too small. If you are buying a syrian hamster (the best type for a first time owner) Then a plastic base and wire top cage is perfect. Hamsters love to climb and will play on the bars. I would steer clear of the rotastak type ones as syrian hamsters may get stuck in the tubes, they are a pain to clean out and hamsters like to have corners in a cage where they can go to the loo and store food.
Cover the base of the cage with woodshavings which are specially for hamsters. Provide them with a house and some shredded paper inside. Put them a wheel in the cage (you may want a silent one so you aren’t driven mad by the noise) give them a few extra toys which you can buy in most pet shops. A water bottle, food bowl, mineral stone and some wooden things which it can gnaw on are essentials. Other than the initial costs of the cage/toys etc they are fairly cheap to keep. Make sure that the cage is cleaned out and disinfected at least once a week. You can spot clean the cage on a daily basis. Make sure they always have fresh water and food available. They need fresh fruit/veg on a daily basis, but too much can make them ill. This is just some of the basics.. You can buy books all about hamsters in pet shops or go to your local library. They are lovely and really frendly once they get to know you. I recommend male syrian’s as they are really friendly. Females can be a bit temperamental! I have had 12 of these hamsters.. (not intended though as my second hamster, Penny surprised us with 9 babies, 6 days after bringing her home!)

Good luck.. hope this helped! :)

]]> http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/how-do-u-take-care-of-hamsters/feed 4 Are dwarf hamsters easy to take care of? http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/are-dwarf-hamsters-easy-to-take-care-of http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/are-dwarf-hamsters-easy-to-take-care-of#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 02:48:41 +0000 admin http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/are-dwarf-hamsters-easy-to-take-care-of I want a dwarf hamster now also and I just want to know if they are easy to take of.

They aren’t harder or easier than any other rodent. They don’t take up much space. They are reeeeaaally cute. More than one in one cage may not work too well – i had 3 and now they all have to live in separate cages – probably cos they were greedy tho! They just need regular food and water and exercise. I have a smaller exercise ball for mine and they can spend ages whizzing round the floor. Mine also spend all night on their wheels so take that into consideration if you want to keep them in your room. Soooooooo cute tho!

Ok now i’m waffling. P.S. my dad thinks our gerbil is the best ever cos he’s so sociable and comes out when we’re around but he has a much bigger cage.

P.P.S make sure you get a tank or a cage with narrow bars not just cos they could get out but cos they’re little legs might get damaged.

]]> http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/are-dwarf-hamsters-easy-to-take-care-of/feed 5 Am I fit to take care of 2 Dwarf Hamsters? http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/am-i-fit-to-take-care-of-2-dwarf-hamsters http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/am-i-fit-to-take-care-of-2-dwarf-hamsters#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:27:47 +0000 admin http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/am-i-fit-to-take-care-of-2-dwarf-hamsters I wanted to get 2 mice, but now I think I’d rather get dwarf hamsters. Is a 10-gallon tank (from when my turtle was a baby) big enough, or should I just get one? Also, any tips?

Thanks so much!

i used my old turtles tank as well until i got another cage
i have two female dwarf hamsters that live in different cages because they were from different groups
the tank should do the job..this should be ideal for two but if you feel that it isn’t you should get 1.
dwarf hamsters are very small and don’t take up much room anyway.

*Tips*
clean the cage/tank every week because you don’t want it to smell.
give them clean water everyday.
when you get them leave it a day or two so they ge used to their new home and surroundings.
if they start fighting it should be ok..but if they fight consistently you need to separate them.
make sure the tank has a wheel for them to run because hamsters can run up to 3 miles every night.
a water bottle would be better than a bowl because the bowl could get tipped or get stuff in it.
put tubes or empty toilet roll tubes in it for them to run about

hope i helped
good luck and if you have any other questions email me (:
marica_cfc@yahoo.co.uk

]]> http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/am-i-fit-to-take-care-of-2-dwarf-hamsters/feed 13 What small pet is best for a teenager and easy to take care of? http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/what-small-pet-is-best-for-a-teenager-and-easy-to-take-care-of http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/what-small-pet-is-best-for-a-teenager-and-easy-to-take-care-of#comments Sat, 24 Apr 2010 22:30:34 +0000 admin http://www.yourhappyhamster.com/how-to-care-for-hamsters/what-small-pet-is-best-for-a-teenager-and-easy-to-take-care-of I really want a small pet right now. So i am going to get one for my birthday maybe. Im wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what to get. I am thinking about a hamster or mouse.

What is best?:
-hamster
-mouse
-guinea pig
-turtle
-chinchilla
-ferret

Also, i have had like 5 hamsters when i was little [not at same time] so I know how to care for them.

I would pick a mouse but i dont know.

Can anyone tell me some pros and cons of having one of these devious creatures?

Chinchillas are not great pets for kids or teens, since they (the people) will lose interest before the animal has completed it’s life cycle. And chins are nothing like dogs or cats, so leaving them with the folks, or finding a new home is not always an option.

I would say a hamster, gerbil, mouse or rat. Cheaper investment, less time involved and shorter life span.

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