Homa hamster, red-headed barrel. This cute saying is known to many. It seems that the hamster is a creature that does not require special care. But this is not so. Keeping a hamster at home is costly.
The most expensive is the initial arrangement of the house for him. We will talk about this below. And not only about that.
Types of hamsters
Let's start by putting the emphasis. Here we will talk only about the two most popular types. These include the Syrian and Dzungarian hamsters.
Their main differences are as follows:
- The "brother" from Syria is large.
- The Syrian hamster is characterized by increased fluffiness. True-haired individuals also occur. But not so often.
- Great gamut of colors. The hamster can be monophonic, motley, speckled or striped.
- The Dzhungarik is small.
- He has a more rounded muzzle, while the “Syrian” has a sharp one.
- Dzungarian hamster in color looks like a chipmunk. Dark gray basic tone, and on the back - two thin black stripes.
The content of the "jungar"
Keeping Dzungarian hamsters at home is not particularly troublesome. We buy a cage, a feeding trough, a drinking bowl, a filler and food. Oh yes, you can still buy a house in a cage. From one list of necessary items it becomes scary? This is an optical illusion. In fact, everything is simple:
- Pet shops sell very cute, small cages. And sellers spill nightingale, claiming how comfortable the Dzungarian hamsters are in them. They lie like breathing. Dzhungari are mobile creatures. A tiny cage with a plastic wheel is a prison for them. When buying a cell, you should pay attention to the width of the bottom. The wider the better. Dzungarian hamsters, although small, are able to wind 30-40 kilometers per night. Therefore, the cage should have a wheel and all kinds of tunnels. Its optimal size is 50 × 30 × 30 cm. Let it be one-story, the number of floors to the pet does not matter. He definitely needs a wheel to spend energy.
- What kind of wheel are we so persistently talking about? It is installed in a cage, and the hamster runs with rapture in it. Very often cells sell with a wheel inside. This is a plastic something with very wide rods. The kid "dzhungarik" is impossible to run in it. The paws through the bars will fail, and the pet will be injured. Buy a metal mesh wheel. This is ideal for the Dzungarian hamster.
- House for the pet. It is advisable to take a wooden one, for hamsters - lovers try their own homes for a tooth. Plastic is snapped - to be in trouble. The tree is safer. The house is installed in the corner of the cage. You can put a few rags in it. The hamster will build a nest from them.
- Feeder. There are no special requirements. Take the simplest and cheapest.
- Drinking bowl. Buy a pendant with metal fasteners. It is more convenient than everyone else.
- Filler. An ideal option for keeping hamsters "dzhungariki" at home is a corn filler. Of course, you can buy cheaper wood. Or quite penny sawdust. Just get ready to endure the terrible smell. For sawdust stink worse than cabbage rolls from the 90s. Remember, there were such? In banks of iron, produced by friendly Bulgaria. As for the wood filler, the “jungar” kids get painful corns from it. The woody filler is very coarse and provokes calluses in these cute rodents.
- Feed. Here the requirements are the same. What for the "jungar", what for the "Syrian" the basis of nutrition is dry food for hamsters. Italian is better to take, it is expensive, but the quality is top notch. Be sure to read the composition. A good feed consists of grains, fruits, and vegetables. And in the quality Italian feed they also add pieces of seafood. Their hamsters are respected.
Care for the "Dzhungarik"
Keeping a hamster at home takes time to care for it. It would seem that there is nothing complicated about this. He fed, poured water and let him live.
Have you forgotten about cleaning the cage? Dzungarian hamsters are clean animals. Do not condemn them to life in a dirty cage. Urine begins to release harmful substances over time. They become deadly for the hamster, leading to its poisoning. Anyway, who is pleased to constantly breathe their own feces? The pet just can not say about it, but will suffer.
So, we clean the cage once a week. This is when using a corn filler. If the owners decided to use sawdust, then they change every two days.
How is cell cleaning done? We release it from the house, feeders and drinking bowls. We shake out all the garbage hidden by a thrifty pet from the house. We clear the drinker from water. Hamster for the time of cleaning the cells are transplanted into the carrier. If not, then a deep pan will do.
We remove the dirty filler from the bottom of the cell. Wash the bottom thoroughly in the shower. The first time we rinse the leftovers. On the second we soap and wash every corner. You can use powder, laundry soap. And finally, pour over boiling water. Dry the bottom with a towel.
Disinfect the drinker and the house in the same way.
How many times to feed the Dzungarian hamster
The pet is fed twice a day. The basis of nutrition is feed. Additionally give vegetables, fruits, seafood, meat, cottage cheese and kefir.
- Allowed vegetables are carrots, lettuce, zucchini, some potatoes, dill, parsley.
- Fruits - apples, pears, plums, apricots, peaches. In general, any seasonal fruit, with the exception of grapes, banana, mango, and fig.
- Lean meat, beef. Boiled, without salt and spices.
- Fat-free cottage cheese - once a week a teaspoon. Kefir is given in a drinker once a week.
- Seafood: boiled shrimp, squid, mussels.
- Chicken or quail eggs. A small bite twice a week.
These are the requirements for the care and maintenance of a hamster at home.
Syrian Hamster Content
This comrade is larger than the "jungar". And he needs a big cell. The minimum cage size for a Syrian hamster is 60 × 40 × 40 cm. And it is imperative that there is a second floor. "Syrians" are not as mobile as their Dzungar "brothers". Tunnels are not particularly interested. Here is a good wheel and a house is another matter. And pets love to live on one floor, eat and defecate on another.
The requirements for the wheel and the house are the same as for the "jungar". Just consider the size of the Syrian hamster. When buying a house, take with a wide entrance. If the passage is very narrow, the pet may get stuck in it.
All other requirements for keeping a Syrian hamster at home are the same as for keeping a jungle.
Is it possible to keep two hamsters?
Oh, that question. Our compatriots love to keep two hamsters. Motivating this by the fact that the two of them are more fun.
In the wild, hamsters live in a flock of need. It’s easier to defend against enemies. But these animals themselves are not social. They have no need for a society of their own kind. It’s clear that it costs a potential buyer to come to a pet store, sellers are right there. They will tell you how good and friendly hamsters live in pairs. And you can immediately buy a three. And put them in the smallest, cheapest box. They feel comfortable there, they used to live in three-liter banks.
When you hear the last argument, it is tempting to say: if a person is locked in the room where the toilet is located, will he be comfortable there? Let him sleep here, eat, do his own thing. It is unlikely that a person can survive in such conditions. Also, the little animal, only the hamster has nowhere to go.
In general, keeping a hamster at home does not provide for a neighbor next to it. In exceptional cases, two Syrian females can be kept. But you need to take them from one litter. Two males will tear to death. And the male and female will delight their owner with offspring about five to six times a year.
Well, the Syrian hamsters sorted out. But can two “jungars” be kept? In no case! These cute little ones are principled owners. And the appearance of a stranger on their territory will be perceived as a challenge. This is a signal for battle, the enemy must be destroyed. It is scary to look at the consequences of such destruction. From the victim remain "horns and legs."
Life span
With proper maintenance of hamsters and decent care, pets can live quite a long time. Dzhungari live an average of 2.5-3 years. Under excellent conditions of detention will reach 3.5 years.
Syrian hamsters have shorter life spans. The limit, even with perfect maintenance, is three years.
Owner reviews
What are the reviews about keeping hamsters at home? We won’t bother, but honestly: different. Some people who happened to get to know this rodent closely are delighted with it. And others say that they will never get it again, they don’t advise others either.
Let's look at both categories of reviews.
Positive
Positive feedback on the contents of the hamster read:
- Hilarious creature.
- Funny rodents, do not let you get bored.
- Syrian hamsters are easily tamed.
- Both species are stocky.
- Affectionate and sociable.
- They like to walk around the room.
- They sit calmly on their arms or on their shoulders.
Negative
What do negative reviews about the contents of the hamster at home tell us? People are mostly unhappy with Jungar babies:
- Vicious.
- They bite very painfully.
- It is almost impossible to tame.
- Absolutely not suitable for children.
- Squeaky disgusting at night.
- Noisy, impossible to sleep. Run around the cage all night.
Conclusion
The requirements for keeping hamsters are not so high. It is enough to acquire a cage once - this is the biggest waste. For food and filler, if you take the most expensive of them, it will take about 600 rubles a month.