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| Before buying a hamster, it's important to have the right equipment. You will need to buy many things beforehand, as well as future purchases to replenish various items such as wood shavings and food. Below is a list of necessities your hamster will need. Click for a short write-up on the specifics of each. |
| Equipment Feeding The Cage Handling An Interesting Life Finding a Lost Hamster Health Dealing with Hamster Loss |
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| Cage Since this is one of the most important item and requires a lot of thought and opinion, a eparate subsection has been created for it. The Cage Water Bottle In the wild, hamsters get all the water they need to survive from the food they eat. However, pet hamsters eat a diet of mainly dry food, and thus need water available to them AT ALL TIMES! To ensure this, a water bottle should be bought. Water bottles come in many different sizes and styles. Small water bottles are recommended, as they force you to check them daily, and to refill them with fresh water often. With larger bottles, there is less risk of your hamster running out of water, but if they are not checked often enough, they may stop working without you knowing. Also, the hamster will not be getting fresh water as often as with a smaller water bottle. The water bottle shoud be attached so that the spout is at shoulder-height to the hamster. Make sure the spout is in a place that your hamster can get to EASILY and that it's not touching anything that will break the vaccuum and cause it to leak. Try to check and refill the water bottle every day to make sure it's working; if a hamster goes for more than a day without water, it may become dehydrated! Dry Food/Staple Diet A separate page has also been created for this aspect of hamster care. This page also contains information on when and how much to feed your hamster, as well as what sorts of fresh food you can feed it and how much. Feeding Food Bowl The food bowl should be heavy-weight so that it does not slide around in the cage. Size of the food bowl does not matter, although it should not be excessively small or big. The materials should be non-toxic and all labels should be removed. Strictly speaking, hamsters do not need a food bowl; in fact, it is far more interesting if you hide your hamster's food around the cage (in the shavings, in tubes, behind objects), creating a game for your hamster. (more info) Wood Shavings A fact that some hamster owners overlook is that the scent given off of cedar shavings can irritate your hamster's sensitive nose, and therefore should not be bought. Pine shavings or aspen are ideal. Shavings should be fairly large, so that your hamster does not inhale them. When storing the wood shavings, they should be kept in a sealed container or bag to prevent spills which may result in foreign objects getting into the shavings. Bedding Material Hamsters love to make their homes as cozy and comfortable as possible. Although bedding is not entirely necessary, it will be appreciated by your hamster. Bedding can be bought at a pet store or made at home. When buying from a pet store, cottonwool-like bedding, or any style of fluffy bedding SHOULD BE AVOIDED! These have been known to be extremely dangerous, as they clog the digestive system when swallowed, and may wrap around tiny limbs and cut off circulation. Organic bedding is best, such as hay, and can be purchased at most pet stores. However, it is also possible to save money and even obtain a type of bedding your hamster would prefer by making it yourself. Drying a handful of fine grass is a perfect, free example of organic bedding. Hamsters also enjoy snuggling into strips of soft facial tissue or paper towels. Each strip should be about 1 cm wide, or you can let your hamster tear it up the way it likes it by giving it the entire sheet. Hamster House/Sleeping Box Like humans, hamsters need a special place to sleep. Hamster houses (also referred to as sleeping or nesting boxes) can be bought at any pet store. It should be big enough for your hamster and a handful of shavings to fit snugly. It should not be too small or too big, or your hamster may not decide to use it. The entrance should be big enough for your hamster to pass, but small enough to make the house feel enclosed and sheltered (no bigger than 7 cm / 2.5 in). All materials should be non-toxic and all labels removed. Hamster houses can be homemade as well, using wood or an empty cardboard box. Empty coconut shells have always been a favourite with hamsters; these can be bought or handmade. This way you can create a custom home for your hamster. For complete instructions on how to make various hamster houses, visit the homemade toys section. Homemade Toys Wheel Hamsters can run several kilometres in one night. They are unable to do this in their cage without the help of a hamster wheel. Different sizes and styles of wheels can be bought, but medium-large to the largest is preferable as a Syrian hamster will grow out of a small wheel within weeks (a small-medium sized wheel is great for dwraf hamsters). Try to buy a wheel advertised as "silent", for your sake as well as the hamster's; squeaky wheels can be loud and irritating. You should avoid spoked wheels because your hamster's paws will get caught between the spokes while it's running (if you do have a spoked hamster wheel, instructions on how to make a wheel covering are in the Homemade Toys section). My personal favourite hamster wheel is the plastic (non-spoked) Habitrail Safari wheel (seen left); it's durable, large, silent and does not collect solid waste or shavings. It attaches securely to the cage side, so it can be placed at various heights; it also comes with a suction cup so it can attach to the wall of an aquarium. I would highly recommend this wheel to any hamster owner. Gnawing Log This is to make sure that your hamster's teeth don't grow too long, as hamster's teeth grow constantly throughout their entire life. Any small section of a thick branch (or a large section of a thin branch) will do. Generally, hamsters prefer branches from fruit trees, but any branch will do the job with these exceptions: cedar - scent will irritate your hamster's nose evergreen - the sap is a hazard Toilet Tray Toilet trays can be bought or made easily using an old square tin lid. It should be filled with special litter, or cat litter. A toilet tray is not absolutely necessary; without it, your hamster will simply choose a corner of the cage. Salt Lick A salt lick is essential for your hamster. Because it's food is not high in salt, a hamster will need a salt lick to suffice the normal level of salt in its body. Even though you may not see your hamster using it, it's always good to have one there just in case. (to top of page) |
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