Hamster as a pet. How to care for a hamster at home? Caring for hamsters: reviews, photos

Hamsters (Crcetinae) are rodents belonging to the Hamster family. This small sizes, rather densely built rodents that have short limbs, small ears and a characteristic short tail.

What to look for when purchasing

When choosing and purchasing a pet such as a hamster, it is necessary to carry out the most careful examination of the animal:

• first of all, you need to examine the eyes, which should be cheerful, healthy and shiny, not scratched and without pathological discharge;
• also need to be inspected anal hole. The fur around the hole should not be stained with secretions, as in this case it can be assumed prolonged diarrhea in an animal, which is caused not only by errors in nutrition, but also by infectious or somatic diseases;
• among other things, the coat is subject to careful examination, which must be uniform, shiny, fluffy or smooth, absolutely healthy appearance.

After an external examination of the hamster has been completed, the animal should be carefully picked up and carefully felt:

• the pet's tummy should be elastic and dense, without hollows, which does not allow protruding ribs to be clearly felt;
• with manual palpation, the places of scratching or biting are very easily determined, which are most often located in the lumbar region or near the sacrum.

Among other things, only by picking up a hamster can you first determine its character and attitude towards people. The animal should show a keen interest and not bite, scratch or escape from your hands.

This is interesting! Before you buy a hamster, you need to find out its age. The most the best option would be the acquisition of a one and a half month old animal that very quickly adapts to its new habitat.

Basic rules for keeping a hamster

For proper maintenance, the owner of such a pet only needs to follow the most basic hygiene procedures, including washing the feeder, cleaning the litter box, and updating the bedding as needed. It is important to remember that making any changes in a rodent’s cage can cause very serious stress in the animal.

This is interesting! It is not recommended to frequently change the location of the cage with a hamster, since such “moves”, as a rule, have an extremely negative impact on the psyche of the pet, and the systematic removal of a rodent outside the living space is a completely bad idea.

Housing structure, habitat

Any pet needs its own, convenient and comfortable home, and living conditions in such a house should be as close as possible to its natural habitat. Of course, the conditions of keeping a hamster in a cage imply some restrictions, but a responsible owner will always try to provide his pet with an optimal existence. When choosing a cage, it is very important to take into account the size, as well as the number of pets and their habits.

Experts have determined the smallest size of a cage suitable for keeping a hamster at home - 50x30cm, which is explained by the increased motor activity such an animal. IN natural conditions a hamster can run more than ten kilometers in a day, and a strong lack of movement or physical inactivity can negatively affect the health of the rodent, provoking the development of obesity or pathology of the cardiac and vascular system.

Particular importance is attached to the rods in the hamster's future home. They should not be positioned vertically and have too narrow or wide distances between them. For dwarf hamsters, the distance between the twigs is set within 3-5mm, and a gap of no more than 8-10mm is sufficient. A standard cage should have two or more floors, at least a quarter of a meter high and no more than 30-35 cm. To differentiate floors in mandatory special plastic shelves are used rather than lattice bases.

The most popular are metal cages with a solid bottom and rounded corners or a standard exhaust tray. The door should open upward and have a high-quality locking latch. It is very convenient to use designs with a removable ceiling part, which makes it easy to regularly clean the cage. IN last years More and more often, owners of pet hamsters are purchasing houses made of plexiglass, covered with a special lattice.

Important! Remember that for home maintenance dwarf breeds For hamsters, small cages are well suited, but for Syrians you will need to choose a fairly large dwelling with a large drum.

Besides standard wheel in the hamster cage you need to place various ladders and cubes, a walking ball, as well as safe snags and pieces of wood. A small house made of environmentally friendly plastic or properly treated wood is most often used as a shelter for the animal.

Hamster nutritional features

A significant part of the standard diet of a domestic rodent should be special food, intended for hamster nutrition. Such ready-made diets can be granulated or presented as seed-based mixtures, which allows you to fully provide your pet with the nutritional components necessary for full growth and development.

It must be remembered that, regardless of the breed, hamsters are extremely difficult to tolerate any significant changes in their diet, so it is recommended to constantly purchase the same, but well-balanced and complete food. The transition to another type of nutrition is carried out very smoothly, over several weeks. Beans, onions, potatoes, rhubarb and tomato tops, as well as chocolate and any candies, spices and pickles are strictly contraindicated for pets.

Among the healthiest foods for a domestic rodent are vegetable crops such as turnips, carrots, chicory, spinach, parsley, pumpkin, endive and cauliflower.

Broccoli, green beans and asparagus, raisins, apples and pears, plums and peaches also have a positive effect on your hamster's health. To maintain teeth in good condition and supply the rodent’s body with all the necessary components, it is recommended to use special mineral blocks. Also, special drinking bowls must be installed in the cage, which are regularly filled with clean water.

Important! To quickly replenish the diet of an active pet with proteins important for the body, the white of a hard-boiled egg is periodically used as a supplement to the main food.

Hamster care and hygiene

Proper care of a pet hamster includes a number of specific rules, which are as follows:

• It is best to keep a domestic rodent alone, in a separate and optimally sized cage;
• in the room where the cage is located, normal temperature regime and sufficient silence;
• you should not put your hand into a cage with a hamster, as the rodent may perceive such a movement as a threat to its personal possessions;
• To maintain vitality, rodents must move a lot, eat a varied and very nutritious diet, and also sleep sufficient quantity time;
• It is strictly forbidden to punish the hamster, since in this case a pet will become fearful and experience extreme stress.

Animal care activities also include hamster cage hygiene. Despite all its functionality, a glass cage will require a rodent from the owner more care than a traditional metal housing. The glass cage needs regular wet cleaning, which is performed without the use of cleaning and chemicals. After washing, be sure to dry the cage well in the sun or near heating devices.

The most big problems arise when cleaning the most modern cells that have a large number of chambers connected by passages and tunnels. Smooth plastic and complex design do not allow complete replacement hygienic filler, as well as perform high-quality washing of the cage.

As a result, it accumulates inside the pipes bad smell, which negatively affects the health of your pet.

A warm fluffy ball, sparkling with beady eyes, will trustingly climb into the palm of your hand and melt the harshest heart. Hamsters have long and firmly held the third place in popularity, second only to dogs and cats. Their tiny size is their advantage, since you can keep a hamster in the most modest living conditions. At the same time, the touching creature will not embarrass the owners at all.

Golden Syrian, nimble Dzungarian, Campbell's hamsters and Roborovsky's hamsters, who love the company of their own kind, all come from the dry steppes and have a similar diet and lifestyle. Caring for them is approximately the same, only the sizes of the house, running wheel, drinking bowl and other attributes of a hamster’s life differ slightly.

Place in the house

Before you bring home a new pet, you need to create suitable living conditions for it. Hamster “mansions” will appeal to their inhabitants if they are located:

• away from drafts;
• away from direct sunlight and sources of artificial lighting (the hamster is a nocturnal creature, and this must be taken into account);
• away from noise and vibration - even pleasant music sounding from the speakers will not cause anything but stress in the rodent.

There should be no central heating radiators or other heating devices near the cage, as well as sources of dampness. Curtains, indoor flowers and anything else that can attract the attention of a rodent are moved to a safe distance in advance - because everything that the hamster can reach through the bars, he will grab with his paws, drag him closer and will definitely try it.

Cell

A story about how to properly keep a hamster would be incomplete without warning the reader about one very common mistake. Namely, about using old aquariums or, even worse, three-liter jars for these purposes.

So, a terrarium is not an option; you should forget about it once and for all. Solid walls interfere with air circulation, it becomes humid from evaporation, and is oversaturated with ammonia and carbon dioxide. But the hamster is adapted to life in the steppe breeze; a stagnant atmosphere for him is sheer torment. The already short (two to three years) life of a hamster in such glass “dungeons” is halved.

The best “apartment” for this pet is a cage. Metal, with unpainted rods - otherwise the paint will soon end up in the rodent’s stomach. Horizontal rods are preferable to vertical ones: the animal will climb on them, like on a wall bars, with great pleasure. To prevent the fluffy fidget from “leaking” out, the distance between the rods is half a centimeter or a little more. The long side of the cage should not be less than half a meter. Standard dimensions are 50 x 30 cm, which is quite enough for one individual.

Hamster Cage Options

Attention: hamsters lead a solitary lifestyle! The struggle for territory among them never stops and often leads to disastrous results. Do you want to watch a friendly furry company? You'll have to look for Roborovsky hamsters in pet stores - only they, unlike other representatives of the hamster family, live in families.

All amenities

There is no place for dampness in a cage! A specially designed drinker (automatic or nipple) is placed in such a way as not to wet the litter; as a rule, it is attached to rods. The water is changed at least once a day: the hamster drinks little, getting liquid from succulent food, but the water must be fresh.

A hamster toilet is a tray with a special filler, which is changed once a week. However, if the rodent is an adult, then, alas, it will not be possible to accustom it to the tray.

Some experts recommend cleaning your hamster's fur using a special powder and a toothbrush. But there is a way provided by nature itself: sand baths will make your pet’s coat smooth and shiny. The bathing suit is filled with sand for chinchillas or regular river sand, previously calcined in the oven.

The feeder is positioned in such a way that waste products and litter fragments do not get into it. Its dimensions vary depending on the size of the eater. As a rule, a standard hamster cage is already equipped with a feeder, as well as a drinking bowl, toilet, house and even a running wheel. All this can be bought separately, or, if desired, made with your own hands.

"Interior" for a rodent

It's time to choose something that will make the cage not just a place for the hamster to stay, but his favorite home. The animal needs shelter - in the form of a pipe simulating a hole, or a house with opaque walls. If you give the pet the choice, he will without hesitation prefer a “civilized” home to an ordinary hole. The house is attached to the wall of the cage so that it is convenient to periodically disassemble it and wash it.

The motto of any hamster is movement, movement and movement again! Short legs are capable of scurrying tens of kilometers a day in search of food. How to keep a hamster at home without depriving him of his usual exercise? Will help running wheel: the rodent will always be in excellent shape, and the owners will receive a Have a good mood, watching your irrepressible pet.

Attention: the running surface of the wheel must be solid. The mesh design can lead to injury: the paws of hamsters are delicate and fragile; if they get caught in a gap while running, they break easily.

A good addition to the wheel would be various labyrinths and ladders along which the hamster will travel. And a pair of picturesque driftwood will serve not only as decoration, but also as a kind of “sharpener” for the incisors of the cage inhabitant. Grinding the incisors is vitally important for rodents; they cannot be deprived of this opportunity. The animal will probably enjoy sharpening its teeth on a mineral stone.

Pleasant little things, such as a walking ball and various toys, can be purchased later, when the pet’s character and habits become known.

What's under your feet?

The owner will make the life of his little friends very comfortable by choosing corn litter as bedding. It is considered the best, but very expensive. A budget option– cellulose or sawdust in granules. Ordinary sawdust is used in extreme cases, and only from hardwood, that is, soft.

Hay, like coarse sawdust, is fraught with danger: a hamster can prick tender feet or, even worse, gouge out an eye. It is strictly not recommended to place cotton wool or any fabric in the cage - the fibers will wrap around the animal’s fingers or wrists, blood circulation will be disrupted, and the rodent will lose a limb. Newspapers are not used, since printing ink is poisonous (besides, modern news can unsettle anyone, even a hamster).

Napkins - white, without a pattern - will serve as a temporary option. The hamster uses them to build a nest for itself. To make the task easier for your pet, the napkins are pre-cut into narrow ribbons.

What to feed a hamster

Twice a day, morning and evening, the feeder is filled with grain. This could be wheat, oats or other grains. Beginning hamster owners are recommended to buy a ready-made food mixture - there will be no need to select components, and the diet can be selected for a specific breed.

Juicy vegetables such as carrots, beets, celery will serve as a source of vitamins and moisture. It is useful to please your pet with an apple, pear, and berries, but in very small quantities. Sweets are completely harmful for Djungarian hamsters, for the reason that the species is prone to diabetes mellitus. The hamster's menu is varied with corn, arugula (Italian dandelion), and occasionally - sunflower seeds and nuts.

The “black list” includes onions, garlic, cabbage, any flour products (pasta, cookies, etc.), fat, sugar and honey. No matter how appetizing citrus fruits look, they are not intended for a hamster. The same applies to fried, salted and pickled foods, as well as smoked foods.

The hamster is a vegetarian, but occasionally he needs protein food. Twice a week, the pet is offered a thimble-sized piece of boiled chicken, alternating the meat with a hard-boiled egg and cottage cheese. For females, during feeding, the protein norm is increased several times.

Cute but toothy

Ideally, the hamster should climb onto the palm itself. When the animal is tamed, this is what happens. But if you want to pick up an unfamiliar rodent (even a baby), then you must be extremely careful: its incisors leave serious cuts. The animal is taken from the back, carefully clasping the fingers under the front paws. It is permissible to take the animal by the scruff of the neck, carefully calculating the strength so as not to hurt it.

Children should be warned: a living creature is not a soft toy! If there are children in the family, it is not recommended to keep a hamster at home until the heirs grow up. Or you need to place the cage in a place inaccessible to fools. But already a seven-year-old child can easily and happily take care of a hamster, tinker with it, to mutual pleasure, and if he wants, he can teach the fluffy a few simple tricks.

Hamsters have become famous as the most unpretentious pets. This is not entirely true: rodents require a responsible attitude. If you find out in advance how to care for a hamster at home, this will help, and the owner will avoid disappointment and dissatisfaction due to disappointed expectations. In our age of accessible information, it is enough to use the Internet to read everything about hamsters.

Caring for hamsters at home begins with purchasing and arranging a cage with everything necessary equipment. But the organization of a hamster’s life does not end there. An animal in a confined space is completely dependent on its owner. Care must be taken to maintain a comfortable temperature in the room all year round.

It doesn’t matter what temperature hamsters live at in nature, at home it should be 20-24 C.

The cell is protected from sun rays, and in hot climates it is recommended to equip the room with air conditioning. should not stand close to the heater.

The air should be fresh and clean, without strong odors and smoke. When ventilating the room, be careful not to create drafts.

Rodents do not tolerate noise well, so do not turn on TV, music or loud household appliances near the cage.

The hamster should not be woken up during the day; it is good if there is a cage so that the pet can hide. Children should be explained how to properly care for an animal with a nocturnal lifestyle, and be prepared to endure.

How to take care of hamsters: daily care

Feeding

The hamster is fed 1-2 times a day, usually in the evening. The basis of the diet is dry food, but it is very important that the pet also receives succulent and protein foods. You should study it carefully, otherwise the animal may get indigestion or even die.

Children are often entrusted with taking care of hamsters: watching them during meals is very interesting. Small pieces can be prepared in advance.

Pet stores have a wide selection of treats for rodents, but it is better to choose ones that are not sweet, without honey and other substances harmful to the hamster. Dried roots dandelion, millet spikelets are an excellent option for.

The pet is provided with fresh drinking water. Even in a closed automatic drinker, it is recommended to change the water every day.

Keeping it clean

Many people are interested in how to care for hamsters so that the cage does not have an unpleasant odor. It is very important for the pet to be healthy and not too “fragrant”. Every day, food residues that could go bad are removed - rotting fruit or stale meat is dangerous for the owner of the pantry.

The bottom of the cage should be generously covered with filler. Sawdust was previously used, but now it is most popular. The litter not only absorbs urine, but also allows the animal to dig and make hiding places.

You need to clean up after your hamster every day, removing wet litter and replacing it with fresh litter. The animals are clean and most often relieve themselves in the same place (“”). And general cleaning with a complete replacement of the filler and washing the cage is not required so often: 3-4 times a month. Excessive zeal in this matter will lead to a nervous breakdown in the hamster.

Communication

Hamsters are far from the most sociable rodents, since in nature they live strictly alone. Keeping a hamster at home is the same, if there are several animals, then there should be several cages. Such a pet also does not strive to communicate with the owner, so you will have to spend a lot of time taming an independent rodent.

There are certain rules of communication; if they are not followed, the hamster will show fear and aggression, irritating the owner. In the first days after purchasing the animal, it is better not to disturb it at all, no matter how much you want to cuddle the fluffy little ball. It will take about a week to get used to the new home, and at the same time to the voice and smell of the owner. At this stage it is recommended Say your pet's name while feeding.

Domestic hamsters differ little in temperament from their wild counterparts; they must be patiently trained to be handled so that communication brings joy to both the owner and the pet. With hamsters, the main remedy is food reinforcement - you need to teach the baby to take a treat from the palm of your hand. Gradually the rodent will get used to the hand, then it can be pulled out of the cage. Handle the animal with care - the tiny animal can be injured if it jumps out of your hands or is held too tightly. The safest thing to do is to wrap your palms around it, forming a “house”.

Contraindicated:

• wake up the animal;
• take from above, from the back (association with a predator attack);
• do sudden movements(even if bitten you need to remain calm).

Caring for your hamster should include: daily communication. If you do not pick up your pet for a long time, a “rollback” will occur and you will have to start over. Contact should occur when the animal is active (in the evening).

Ensuring activity

Despite the need for movement and variety, you can only let your pet out for a walk around the apartment. Otherwise, the hamster at home is exposed to mortal danger– can get stuck, crushed/pinched by a door, fall, fall into a pan, eat poisonous plant, chew through an electrical wire.

Furry pets depend on the quality care they receive. The size of the cage with properly selected filler, diet, organization of washing and drinking bowls - all these factors contribute good health rodents We must not forget about the attention that pets require.

Live rodent in natural conditions habitat is very mobile, because it must regularly obtain food for itself. Pets of this species can run several kilometers per short term. Keeping hamsters at home is based on providing sufficient space for movement. The cage should be large-sized (for example, 50x30 cm), and the number of floors does not matter, and also made of durable materials (not wood). Its area and accessories are important: labyrinths, a wheel (necessarily of a large diameter), a ball.

How to care for pets? The cage needs to be cleaned, because any filler emits an odor, which results from the ability to absorb moisture. When caring for hamsters, remember that toys must be washed. It is important to carefully care for hamsters, for example, to correctly select the material that is used to cover the bottom of the home. Existing materials:

• paper (napkins, newspapers, etc.);
• fibrous material (fabric, cotton wool);
• corn filler;
• wood shavings and granules (pressed and simple sawdust);
• cellulose filler.

House for a hamster

The cage for furry rodents is large, which complicates the task of finding a place to install it in the house/apartment. If you are solving the problem of how to care for a hamster, you need to take into account the requirements for its location. It is recommended to avoid places near radiators, because the minimum permissible distance from heat sources is 2 m. There should be no windows/doors or other draft sources nearby (fans, indoor air conditioners). This means that the corridor, kitchen and balcony are not suitable for this task. Such restrictions are due to the susceptibility of hamsters to diseases.

In addition to accessories, you also need to take care of where the drinking bowl and food bowl will be located and how they will be attached. The air in the room should be at an acceptable temperature; hamsters like warmth, but not heat (22-28 degrees). It is necessary to protect your pet from stress, which significantly shortens the life of small animals. This means that the children's room is not suitable for installing a cage. You should take care of your hamster's house and wash it once every two months. It will be correct to use baby soap because of minimum quantity or complete absence of flavorings. All rodent toys should be washed.

When considering how to care for a hamster, you need to know that cleaning the litter should be done at least once every 3 days. However, this period can be extended if non-hygroscopic materials that do not absorb moisture are used. Closest to this group are corn and granulated wood fillers. The paper gets wet quickly, which immediately causes a smell. Ordinary sawdust has slightly better properties.

What do hamsters eat

In their natural environment, small animals of this species feed on plant and animal foods. The basis of the hamsters' diet is seeds of cereals and legumes. At the end of winter, rodents feed on green herbs. Closer to summer, the diet changes, seeds and berries are added to it. During the same period - tubers. Animals can eat insects and even carrion. If an individual belongs to a large species, it hunts small animals.

What to feed a hamster at home

Can be included in the diet special compounds. Popular foods are from the manufacturers Homka, Rodent, Zverushki, Little One, Prestige, Vitapol, Benelux, Fiory. Select granular, grain mixtures. In addition to dry food, you need to give your hamsters wet food. It can be fruits, vegetables, low-fat or skim cheese, chicken meat (breast), boiled egg. Wet food is given at varying frequencies and in specific quantities. How to care for your food bowl? It should be washed every day and kept in perfect condition at all times, so that the lack of food does not stress the animal.

When considering how to care for a hamster, you need to know that it is recommended to periodically let your pet chew on branches to maintain normal level Calcium in the body is added by chalk/mineral stone. Pumpkin seeds, nuts, sunflower seeds and herbs (clover, lettuce, dandelions) - all this should be included in the rodent's diet. You should not give sweets, fatty or salty foods. Spices should be excluded, as well as citrus fruits. Stone fruits (apricot, cherry) are also not suitable.

Food for hamsters of different breeds

The Dzhungarik is not picky; the usual diet described above is quite suitable for him. The main food is grain cereal crops. Lack of special preferences simplifies care Djungarian hamsters. Dwarf pets consume portions equal in volume to individuals of large species, which is due to their accelerated metabolism. Be sure to add carrots, apples, crackers white bread and herbs (the same as for dzhungarika and other species).

The Siberian hamster should receive fruits in moderate quantities, the basis of the diet: seeds, nuts, grains, vegetables. Representatives of the Syrian species eat feed as well as vegetables. Fruits should be in moderation. Syrian hamsters are picky when choosing food. It is recommended to pay attention to the brand of compounds that the rodent prefers.

Caring for a hamster and its offspring

The female's pregnancy lasts 16-18 days; in Djungarians this period increases to a month. Closer to birth, you need to provide your pet with complete rest and not pick him up. A pregnant female hamster should receive increased amount nutrients: calcium, protein. Fruits, eggs, cottage cheese, cheese, and sprouted wheat are added to the diet. The basis of nutrition is cereals.

Before you implement the “I want a hamster”, you should weigh all the pros and cons. It is important to make sure that your household members are not allergic to fur, animal saliva, or hygiene products, determine the location where the cage will be placed, and agree with someone who will care for the animal in the event of your departure or illness. Also, you should not give a hamster to people without their consent. Get ready for the fact that if you buy a hamster for a child, you still cannot avoid participating in the care of the animal.

The advantages of hamsters over other pets are that they:

Take up little space;

They eat little and are unpretentious in food;

They are easy to care for;

They don't need to be walked;

They are inexpensive;

Easy to reproduce;

They do not create noise in the apartment.

Do not leave countless tufts of hair on furniture and clothes.

Flaws:

Without supervision, outside the cage they can “test their teeth” at anything that interests them;

In winter they hibernate - during this period they should not be disturbed;

They can show aggression when picked up;

Because of small size they are difficult to find if they escaped from the cage and hid;

If the cage is not cleaned regularly, a specific smell appears.

The life expectancy of a hamster depends on the conditions of detention. On average they live 2 years.

Best age hamster to purchase - 1.5-2 months (during this period they are easier to tame).

Hamsters: care at home. How to choose a healthy hamster?

The criteria for a hamster's health are its appearance and behavior. A healthy animal has:

Shiny fur without bald spots - bald spots can be caused by stress, subcutaneous mites, fungal diseases;

Clear clear eyes without any discharge;

Clean anal opening without signs of diarrhea;

Calm, even breathing;

Clean nose without plaque or discharge.

It is better to observe the hamster's behavior in the late afternoon. During the day, these animals usually sleep. In the evening, healthy hamsters become more active, feed, and begin to run and climb around their territory.

Hamsters: care at home. Which hamster cage to choose: slatted or dune? Cage equipment

In pet stores, the range of cages for hamsters is quite wide. They are divided into 2 types: lattice or plastic.

Regular ethmoid cells purchased for Syrian (golden) hamsters. The bars in such cages should be positioned horizontally. This will allow the animal to climb the walls. The grid pitch depends on the type of hamster that will live in this cage: for a golden one - up to 1 cm, for smaller species - 0.5 cm. This will not allow the animal to stick its head between the bars and get stuck. The optimal cage parameters for large hamsters are: length - 0.5-0.6 m, width 0.4 m, height 0.3-0.4 m.

Cages, or rather containers with plastic walls (dunes), are convenient for keeping dwarf species hamsters (Dzungarian, Campbell, Roborovsky) - they are not prone to vertical climbing. The minimum dimensions of such a cage are 0.5x0.3x0.25-0.3 m.

Dune for small species of hamsters

Cage equipment

For a comfortable stay small pet his home must be properly equipped.

The choice of bedding will determine the health of the animal and the amount of time spent cleaning the cage. It is not recommended to use newspapers as bedding - printing ink is harmful to the hamster. In addition, newsprint does not absorb moisture and retain odor.

If you use clean paper or cotton wool, then again it remains topical issue with smell. In addition, when an animal wraps itself in cotton fibers, it can overtighten and damage its paws.

Compressed sawdust, wood shavings or hay are in second place in popularity. However, hamsters are allergic to pellets from coniferous species trees.

The most the best option The bedding is corn filler (chopped cobs with a small amount of grain residue). It is small, light, comfortable for a hamster to run on, and the smell lasts for up to 10 days. Its disadvantage is its higher price compared to other types of bedding.

There should be 2 feeders in the cage: one for hard grain food, the other for soft food (vegetables, fruits, herbs).

So that the animal does not abandon drinking water in the cage with filler and do not spill it, it is better to use an automatic drinker. The water should be changed daily.

To maintain shape, a hamster needs to move a lot. Therefore, it is necessary to put a wheel in the cage. It is better to choose it solid, with transverse protrusions, so that the hamster does not slip and damage its paws. To provide a variety of “sports activities” for your pet, you will need labyrinths, slides, and stairs.

Equipped cage for hamsters

Hamsters lead night image For life and for daytime rest, they need a safe place - a mink. As such, a house is placed in the cage, which can be easily opened for washing. Some hamsters build their own nest by raking bedding into the corner of the cage.

Hamsters: care at home. Feeding, hamster diet

The main food for hamsters is grain. You can buy ready-made grain mixtures in pet stores. From succulent feed furry pets feed carrots, apples, cucumbers, corn, beets, durum pears, green beans, pumpkin seeds, zucchini, pumpkin. You can pamper them with some types of berries: raspberries, strawberries. As for protein foods, animals are rarely given boiled lean fish and chicken, shrimp, cottage cheese, boiled egg, purchased at a pet store for food insects (bloodworms, mealworms, grasshoppers and earthworms).

Important! Hamsters should not be given onions, garlic, white cabbage, citrus fruits, sugar, salt, cheese, fried and spicy food from the table, almonds, exotic fruits, mushrooms.

Hamsters are fed in the morning and evening. To determine how much food your pet needs, at first leave enough food so that it lasts until next day. After a short observation of your hamster's appetite, you can easily determine daily norm.

To wear down their ever-growing incisors, hamsters need to chew on something hard. It is good to use tree branches (except conifers) or mineral stone purchased at a pet store for this.

Hamsters: care at home. Reproduction of hamsters

Hamsters reproduce quickly and easily. For this process to be successful at home, you must adhere to certain rules. A female is allowed to mate for the first time at the age of 3 to 6 months. Males are suitable as breeders already at 2-3 months of life. The selected animals should not be immediately placed together in one cage - first you need to make sure that the female is in heat (she often licks the undertail area of ​​the body). Otherwise, the female, who is not ready to mate, may start a fight with the “gentleman”.

Potential parents need preliminary acquaintance. Place their cages side by side: if the animals sniff each other peacefully and show interest, then you can put them in the same cage or box (in the event of a sudden fight, the animals can be quickly separated). After mating, the hamsters are placed back in their “homes”. The pregnant female is provided good nutrition: greens, small amounts of cottage cheese, boiled eggs, vegetables and fruits, sprouted millet and wheat are added to the grain feed.

Gestation of the cubs lasts 16-20 days. On the eve of the expected birth, check the availability of fresh water in the drinking bowl, otherwise the thirsty hamster may eat the offspring.

Hamsters are born blind, deaf, hairless

During the period of feeding the cubs (2-3 weeks), try not to disturb the family. Replace dirty bedding carefully, without touching the nest itself, place pieces of paper napkins in the cage - the female will “clean up” the nest herself.

After a month, the grown-up young hamsters become independent, they are placed in separate cell.

Hamsters: care at home. How to tame a hamster?

To accustom your hamster to your hands, you need to act gradually. Hamsters see poorly, so they rely on hearing and smell. You should not forcefully grab the hamster - it will get scared and bite. Talk to the animal every evening so that it remembers your voice. Offer your pet a treat in the palm of your hand.

To tame your hamster, treat him to something tasty.

After a while, when the hamster becomes bolder and begins to climb into an open hand for food, you can try to pet it. Gradually, the pet will get used to touching and allow itself to be controlled. However, remember that even a tame animal can bite if it gets scared. So before you pick him up, get his attention. Do not disturb a sleeping hamster.

Important! Hamsters are territorial animals, so they need to be kept one at a time. Otherwise, fights between animals cannot be avoided. The male is placed with the female only for the duration of mating. This rule does not apply to Roborovsky's hamsters - these animals are social, they are housed in pairs.