Taking care of hamsters requires carefulness, patience and love. It should start from four aspects: their living environment, dietary nutrition, daily care and interactive training. Create a clean, safe and comfortable environment for hamsters, show them meticulous care and let them live happily.
I. Create a beautiful home for hamsters.
First of all, choose a large enough cage for the hamster so that it has enough space to move. Generally speaking, the length of the cage should be at least 4-5 times the length of the hamster's body, and the width and height should also allow the hamster to stand, turn and move comfortably.
Secondly, choose a cage made of strong and non-toxic materials, such as wire cages or acrylic cages.
Thirdly, lay bedding in the cage. Choose unscented and untreated wood shavings and lay a thickness of about 3-5 centimeters in the cage. This allows hamsters to dig and make holes to satisfy their nature.
Fourthly, place small nests such as plastic huts, ceramic huts or self-made cloth nests in appropriate places in the cage to give hamsters a safe resting place.
Finally, provide a hamster with a running wheel of an appropriate size and place some toys such as tunnels, ladders and swings in the cage to increase the hamster's activity fun and let them exercise to maintain good health.
II. Understand and master the knowledge about feeding hamsters.
Provide special hamster food for little hamsters to ensure a balanced diet. Hamster food should contain grains, seeds, dried vegetables, dried fruits and other ingredients to meet various nutritional needs of hamsters. You can feed some fresh vegetables and fruits in moderation as supplementary food for hamsters. Vegetables suitable for hamsters are carrots, broccoli, cucumbers, etc., and fruits are apples, bananas, strawberries, etc. But pay attention to controlling the feeding amount and feed no more than three times a week to avoid diarrhea caused by too much moisture.
On the basis of providing enough staple food, you can occasionally feed hamsters some special snacks and calcium-rich foods, such as mealworms, dried small fish, cheese granules, eggshell powder, cuttlebone, etc. as rewards or nutritional supplements. Feed 1-2 times a week.
Hamsters have a small appetite and food is easy to deteriorate. Deteriorated food affects the health of hamsters. So check the hamster's food every day and clean up deteriorated or uneaten food in time to keep the food fresh. Provide clean drinking water for hamsters. You can use a special hamster water bottle to ensure the freshness and cleanliness of the water. Change the water in the water bottle every day and clean the water bottle regularly to prevent the growth of bacteria.
III. Do a good job in daily care of hamsters.
Clean the hamster cage at least once a week, including changing the bedding, cleaning the food bowl, water bottle and toys. When cleaning the cage, you can use mild pet cleaner or soapy water to clean it, then rinse it with clean water. After drying, put it back for the hamster.
Hamsters cannot take a bath with water because their fur is relatively dense and they are prone to catch a cold and develop skin diseases. You can use special hamster bathing sand and let the hamster roll in the sand for cleaning. Generally, give hamsters a bath 2-3 times a week for 10-15 minutes each time.
Observe the hamster's behavior, appetite, feces and other conditions every day, and find situations such as loss of appetite, listlessness, diarrhea and hair loss in time and take corresponding measures or consult a pet doctor.
IV. Strengthen interaction and training with hamsters.
After the hamster is familiar with your smell, you can gently touch its back or head with your hand to let it gradually get used to your contact. But pay attention to being gentle in movements to avoid scaring the hamster. Spend some time playing with the hamster every day. You can tease it with toys and let it move on your hand or on the ground.
You can try to train hamsters in some simple ways, such as calling names and getting on hands. Be patient when training and use a gentle voice and reward methods. For example, every time you call the hamster's name, give it a small snack as a reward to gradually let it remember its own name.