• Handling and Restraint


• Housing


• Hygiene


• Food and Water


• Breeding Considerations


• Disease Susceptibility


• Recognizing Disease in Hamsters

Many hamsters develop untrustworthy personalities and begin to bite because they have been handled roughly or suddenly disturbed or awakened. Hamsters whose personalities are not well known must always be approached cautiously. A glove or small towel can be used to pick up these hamsters, or the animals can be encouraged to crawl into a small container, which is then removed from their enclosure. Unknown hamsters and those known to bite can also be picked up and restrained by grasping a large amount of skin behind the head. As much skin as possible should be grasped because their skin is so very loose. In fact, hamsters can literally turn nearly all the way around within their skins and bite a handler if this caution is not heeded!
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The enclosure must be built so the hamsters cannot escape. This is an especially important consideration because hamsters are proficient "escape artists." In fact, once free of their enclosure, they are very difficult to find and rarely return to it. A hamster free to roam the house is a real liability because it will chew and gnaw on electrical and telephone cords, and household furnishings.

The enclosure must also be free of sharp edges and other potential hazards. It must be roomy enough to allow normal activities and breeding, if the latter is desired. One reference recommends at least 20 square inches of floor area per hamster, and a cage height of at least 6 inches.

Hamsters seem to do best when housed in enclosures with solid floors, relatively deep bedding, and abundant nesting material. The enclosure should be easy to clean, well lighted, and adequately ventilated (see Vital Statistics for preferred temperature and relative humidity ranges). Bedding must be clean, nontoxic, absorbent, relatively dust-free and easy to replace. Shredded paper, wood shavings, and processed corn cob are preferred bedding materials. Cotton or shredded tissue paper (Kleenex) is suitable nesting material.

Hamsters are primarily nocturnal (night-active), though they may exhibit relatively short periods of activity throughout the day. During their active period, hamsters eat and exercise. Hamsters seem to especially enjoy exercise wheels and other activities. The plastic enclosures equipped with horizontal and vertical tubes/tunnels mentioned above are highly recommended for this reason. Hamsters seem to really enjoy running through them. They also enjoy tin cans opened at both ends and boxes with multiple openings through which they can crawl.

Pet hamsters are usually housed singly. Sexually mature females must not be housed together because of their inevitable aggressiveness toward each other. Breeding females are larger than males and tend to be aggressive toward them. For this reason, males must be removed from the enclosure after breeding has been completed.
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Pet stores sell prepared hamster diets available in boxes or bags. They contain large quantities of seeds and items rich in oils. Consequently, if improperly stored, they become rancid and lose their nutritive value. Further, these oil-rich items promote obesity. These types of foods can be offered as a supplement to the commercial rat or mouse diets mentioned above.

All food should be provided in heavy ceramic crocks that resists tipping. The sides of the crocks should be high enough to keep bedding and fecal material out of the food, or the crocks should be elevated slightly above the bedding.

Water is most easily available and kept free from contamination be providing it in one or more water bottles equipped with "sipper" tubes. Make certain the ends of the tubes are positioned low enough to allow all residents within the enclosure (especially juvenile hamsters over 1 week old) easy access to them. Also make certain that very young hamsters are strong enough to obtain water from these sipper tubes.
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Male golden hamsters should be first bred when they are 14 weeks old. Females should be first bred when they are 10 weeks old. As the time of copulation approaches, thin, stringy, cobweb-like mucus exits the female's vulva. The female is then placed into the male's cage about one hour before dark. The pair must then be carefully observed for mating activity and/or fighting. Females can be very aggressive to males in this situation and can harm them. The male should be removed at once if there is fighting. Because fighting is so likely, aggressive males are best hand-mated. In these situations, they are better able to defend themselves and "hold their ground." The male should be removed after mating.

Pregnancy last only 15½-16 days. Before delivery, the female becomes restless and usually discharges a small amount of blood from her vulva. Litters usually range from 5 to 10 pups. The pups are born hairless, with ears and eyes closed. They do, however, have their front teeth (the incisors) at birth.

Female hamsters with young must be provided with abundant nesting and bedding materials, and plenty of food and water. They must not be disturbed in any way. The young should not be touched or handled until they are at least 7 days old, the nest should not be disturbed, and the cage should not be cleaned during this period. Failure to heed these cautions (especially with females nursing their first litters) most often results in cannibalism of the young.

Observant owners may note an interesting maternal rearing activity, especially if the female with young is excited or disturbed. She will stuff pups into her cheek pouches and deposit them into the nest a short time later when she believes the danger has passed. Occasionally, pups suffocate as a result, especially during lengthy periods of disturbance.

Young hamsters usually begin eating solid food at 7-10 days of age but are usually weaned at about 3 weeks of age. Solid, pelleted food must be soaked to soften it and be placed on or near floor level of the enclosure for easy access by the weanlings. As mentioned above, sipper tubes must be positioned low enough so that the smallest pups can reach them. Some pups will not be strong enough to extract water from sipper tubes, so owners must be vigilant for this potential problem and provide an alternative water source for them.
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Sick hamsters often become irritable and frequently bite. They are usually reluctant to move about and walk stiffly when forced to do so. Their eyes often look dull and sunken, and frequently have a discharge. Sick hamsters often stop eating or greatly reduce intake of food. Consequently, weight loss is a common sign (not necessarily an easy one to recognize) of illness in hamsters. Fluid losses from diarrhea also may cause marked weight loss. Sudden intestinal disease (with accompanying diarrhea) is the most common illness of hamsters, especially among those being weaned or recently weaned. If the serious accompanying dehydration is not recognized immediately and corrected with appropriate fluid therapy at the direction of a veterinarian, death is probable.
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