How to Keep a Happy Hamster

Hamsters are cute, everybody know that and Hamsters make great pets for children and adults.
Cleaning your hamster's cage is essential to raising a healthy critter, and it isn't as complicated as you think.
Just follow these few simple steps.

1. Hamsters love their wheel, but use one that is solid, not the kind with wire rungs.
They love to go fast, but they sometimes trip and can fall between the rungs and hurt their leg.

2.Keep their area AS CLEAN AS POSSIBLE- change the shavings in their 'potty corner' every day, but only clean their cage once a week.
This is the most important. Hamsters get sick extremely easily and it is hard to cure.

3.Clean your hamster's cage once a week- cleaning more often will eliminate the odors a hamster releases that tells him where to relieve himself, sleep or eat.
Less often will be detrimental to the natural cleaning habits of your hamster.

4.Make sure they get plenty of play time so they can get used to you.

5.Getting to the hamsters height will ensure it wont be scared of you.
If you approach it from the top they may get scared and run away as they think you are a predator.

6.Never raise your voice around the hamster as they have very sensitive hearing and will hear you perfectly even if you whisper.

How To Choose a Healthy Hamster

When choosing a hamster, looking at a few simple things can help ensure that your new pet is a healthy one.

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10 minutes

Here's How:

1. Look at the overall body condition - a hamster should be neither fat nor skinny, with no swellings.
2. Hamsters should be bright and curious in attitude, and never lethargic. This can be a bit hard to judge in a nocturnal animal, but with attention (and perhaps some very gentle prodding) hamsters should wake up and be inquisitive about what is happening.
3. The hamster's coat should be well groomed (fluffy and smooth looking), with no bare patches. Especially check for soiling around the rear end, as this may indicate a problem with diarrhea.
4. The eyes, nose and ears should be clean and free from discharge. Check the fur around the eyes and nose for signs of wetness, staining or crusts.
5. Try to get a look at the teeth, they should not be overgrown and should be well-aligned. Also check for wet or matted fur on the chin.
6. Observe the hamster's breathing, which should be quiet and not labored, with no wheezing, clicking or gurgling noises.
7. Watch the hamster move around - it should have no signs of lameness, stiffness, or reluctance to move around.
8. Look at the hamster's surroundings. The cage should be clean, with good access to fresh food and water, and not overcrowded. Hamsters kept under good conditions will be less stressed and have less exposure to disease.
9. Observe how the hamster reacts to people -- most will be skittish at first but ideally try to pick a hamster that is relatively calm about being approached and okay with being handled.
   

Tips:

1. Try to find out the age of your hamster, and adopt one that is as young as possible (around 6 weeks old is best).
2. If any of the hamsters in the same cage (or even at the same store) seem ill, resist the temptation to adopt from there (if it is contagious your hamster may be next and there may be possible heartbreak ahead).
3. Make sure the store separates males and females. Familiarize yourself with the differences between males and females, and if the store doesn't separate them or seems unsure about the gender of the hamsters, move on to another store. It is best to avoid the possibility of surprise litters, especially in very young hamsters (they can become pregnant by about 5 weeks old but this is not a good thing).
4. If the shop will not let you handle the hamster before you buy, it is best to move on as it is definitely worth trying to handle a potential pet to assess its temperament.
5. If you find a breeder, make sure they are breeding for specific goals such as temperament and health.
   

Author:Lianne McLeod, DVM
Source:http://exoticpets.about.com/od/hamsters/ht/choosehamster.htm
Photo © Martin Harvey / Getty Images

The Main Elements About Hamster Care

If you want to take the best hamster in the shop or just see the most agile and independent, you need to look at the hamster’s eyes. The healthy hamsters have very clean eyes, beautiful shiny fur and a good and energetic disposition. If you see that the hamster is loosing the fur, it means he has a health problem. Also, lumps on the body indicate the same problem too. Healthy animals don’t have lumps.

You need to pick an energetic and fresh looking hamster. That is if you don’t want to have problems. Taking care of a sick hamster is not that easy as you may think. Nursing a hamster back to health can be problematic. You need to make an appointment with a vet and let him diagnose the pet. There are many illnesses hard to discover in a hamster and some have no treatment.

Treating the sick hamster could also drain you of energy and emotion. Hamster care also means finding the suitable companionship. Hamsters need each other. They can not live by themselves. Many vets and breeders recommend buying hamster pairs because they need to socialize. This is not all the time true with the hamsters but with dwarf hamsters is true. The male needs a female and the other way around. This is very recommended if you want to have hamster babies too. You can also place together hamsters of the same sex, if you don’t want hamster babies. But determining the hamster’s sex can be very tricky and full of surprises.

Source: http://www.dwarfhamsters.org/