Hammy's Favourite Time of the Day!

FOOD TIME! 

C'mon, you should have guessed that right, all hamsters love to eat and hoard food. These critters love to hide food all over the place! But these critters are quite the picky as well. Sure, a hamster would not be that picky when it comes to fatty and sugary foods, but these foods are quite unhealthy, you wouldn't want your dwarf to get diabetes or your syrian get overweight? See how similar hamsters are, to a cat or dog? All pets need a healthy diet.  This post will be all about the healthy food mixes on the market and which are the right ones for your hamster.

It's not the colourful package or fun coloured bits in a hamster's food that makes a good diet, it's the nutrition levels. These are the guild lines and the best ones out so far:

Protein: 17-22%
Fiber: 8-10%
Fat: 4-6%

The food mix you buy should not go above or below these levels as that would cause an unbalanced staple diet. 
Now to look into the ingredients. Look for ingredients that would not be beneficial diabetes prone species* or diabetics (sugary ingredients such as molasses, apple juice, etc) as well as  if there is a good variety, there are not too many treats and the food is not missing any crucial ingredients (but simple things like sunflower seeds missing, you can just add them yourself).
**Species prone to diabetes are: Russian Campbell Dwarfs, Chinese hamsters, Hybrids, and some lines of Winter White Dwarfs.
**Just a note that companies do change ingredients in the food mixes so make sure to double check the mix's labels. 

Good for any species-Supreme Pets Food Hazel Hamster
-Supreme Pets Food Harry Hamster
-Supreme Science Selective Hamster

Good for Syrians and/ or Roborovski Dwarfs-Burgess Supahamster Hamster Harvest* [Thank you Ely Vihavainen]
-Burgess Supahamster Dwarf Hamster Harvest* [Thank you Ely Vihavainen]
-CareFRESH Complete Menu Hamster and Gerbil*
-Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Mouse, Rat and Hamster Food*
-Mazuri Hamster and Gerbil
-ratRations Syrian mix - no fruits added (Europe Only)
-ratRations Syrian mix - with Apple (Europe Only)
-ratRations Syrian mix - with Banana (Europe Only)

Only suitable if foods from the above lists are unavailable. Not recommended for hamsters with diabetes, or those prone to it.-8 in 1 Ecotrition Organic Blend Hamster and Gerbil Food
-Hamster Muesli by Pets at Home
-Premium Hamster Muesli by Pets at Home [Thank you SyrianPumpkin]
-Purina Little Wonders
-Purina Garden Recipe Hamster and Gerbil Diet
-Tesco Hamster Food Peanut and Sunflower Seed
-Versele-Laga Hamster Nature Complete [Thank you Ingrid Haugland, Ely Vihavainen]
-Vitakraft Vitasmart Hamster

Only suitable if foods from the above lists are unavailable. Not recommended for hamsters with diabetes, or those prone to it.
-8 in 1 Ecotrition Organic Blend Hamster and Gerbil Food
-Hamster Muesli by Pets at Home
-Premium Hamster Muesli by Pets at Home
-Purina Little Wonders
-Purina Garden Recipe Hamster and Gerbil Diet
-Tesco Hamster Food Peanut and Sunflower Seed
-Versele-Laga Hamster Nature Complete 
-Vitakraft Vitasmart Hamster

***Safe Hamster Mix List Taken from Hamster Hideout Forum. A big thanks to Christmas_ Hamster, please visit her blog Here: DashingHamsters

Have a wonderful week everyone, bye! :D

How to Prepare for a New Hamster

REQUIRED SUPPLIES

Here is a list of supplies you will need to have already before you get a hamster, I assure you this is all up-to-date information! Hamster forums are great places to learn the "modern" ways to keep a hamster, so you know you're treating your furry friend right. :) 
I've added some info with each supply, so make sure to read it so you don't buy an unsafe bedding or a too-small hamster wheel. I'd like to add a reminder that though a hamster living in a small cage, with a small wheel, cheap food, and cheap pine bedding may be cheaper than what I've listed as good, in the long run, your hamster will have a higher chance of getting ill which leads to a huge vet bill. As a pet owner, it's your job to give your little critter the best life has to offer. 

Don't worry if you don't have a large enough wheel or that your hamster is living in just a Crittertrail, I started out like that too. As long as you're willing to learn from your mistakes, you'll become an even better hamster owner! :D
Remember it's better to give a shelter hamster a second chance at life by giving it a home, unlike buying a hamster from a pet store which supports hamster mills. You can adopt a hamster at a shelter or off websites like Kijiji, etc.

• Bedding

Two safe beddings are Aspen shaving and paper-based beddings. Some examples are Eco-bedding, BOXO, Carefresh, Megazorb, and Kaytee-Clean and Cozy.

Unsafe beddings for hamsters are pine shavings, cedar shavings, "softwood" shavings (causes respitory issues), shavings of unknown origin (can be unsafe bedding), cotton wool (tangles around hamster's limbs), corn cob (can rot, grow bacteria), and any scented bedding (harsh on hamsters' sensitive noses). 

• Cage

Cages are the most misunderstood for hamsters. Most people would go out to buy the cheapest and smallest cage so it can fit in their kid's room. Such cages are like the Crittertrails, OVOS, Habittrails, etc. These cages ARE NOT recommended because of their small space and more difficult to clean. I strongly recommend a cage 360 square inches or more, this can be measured by multiplying the length and width of the inside of your cage in inches (LxW).  If you live in the UK, there are quite a few cages that are the right size for hamsters such as Savic Hamster Heaven, the Alaska, and the Alexander. Tanks such as a 20 gallon long tank or bigger such as a 40 gallon breeder tank are gerat homes for hamsters! Make sure to have a meshed lid on top as hamsters are great escape artists! Detolf setups (Ikea Hack) and DIY custom cages are also possibilities.  It is also possible to modify a single-level rabbit or guinea pig cage by putting mesh (hardware cloth, 1/2" ) over the wide bars.  I personally recommend a bin cage for their cheap price, no DIY skills required, and are easy to clean. Here is a topic on the Hamster Hideout Forum (an awesome forum, go cheak it out!) about bin cages: Hamster Hideout Forum Bin Cage Topic  

The air around the cage should be clean.  Do not use any scented products near a hamster's cage.  This includes air fresheners of any kind, scented candles, perfumes, and harsh cleaning products (Clorox, Windex, etc.).

• Food Bowl

Buy a large ceramic food bowl for your hamster as hamsters just love to sit inside their food bowl to eat. Do not buy plastic as plastic bowls tend to tipped over and chewed, plastic isn't good for your hamster to eat! Wipe the food bowl daily and completely wash it once a week.

My past Hamster, Smokey <3

• Water Bottle

Use a water bottle that is a 4oz, 6oz, or 8oz size.  Avoid going larger than 8oz, as the metal ball inside the spout may be too heavy for the hamster to drink from. Hamsters don't drink a lot of water, so there's no need for a big water bottle. Do not use a water bowl, as hamsters easily soil the water by getting bedding in the bowl and get themselves wet. Hamsters can easily get an illness when wet, so this also brings me to another point...never ever BATHE your hamster, hamsters' clean themselves. 

• Hideout

Plastic huts and igloos are what most hamster owners use, it's perfectly safe as hamsters don't tend to chew their hideout, but if your hamster is a chewer, you can buy a wooden hideout which is nice and natural looking. Or there are edible huts and ceramic which are good as well. Hamsters tend to pee in their nests, so make sure you get a hideout that can be easily cleaned!

Edible Hut

• Wheel

Another misunderstood supply for hamsters. Wheels must be plastic or wooden with a flat running surface.  Wire and mesh wheels are harmful and hurt the hamster's feet and can cause bumble foot, plus a hamster can tear out a limb or even their claws. Painful, right?  Wheels should be appropriately-sized for the hamster, as a too-small wheel can cause back problems. A hamster's back should NOT bend in an arch. For dwarf hamsters and Chinese hamsters, the wheel should be 6" or larger (make sure to not get too big of a wheel, it can be harder for younger hamsters to run).  For Syrian hamsters, the wheel should be 8" or larger.  Recommended wheels include the Wodent Wheel (Jr. or Sr., buy ONLINE), 8.5" Comfort Wheel, 12" Silent Spinner, and 6.5" Silent Spinner (dwarf hamsters only).

Wodent Wheels

• Chew toys

Simple wooden blocks at the pet store are good enough. But a lot of hamsters would rather chew their cage bars than chew these unappealing wood blocks. I like to rub a vegetable (green pepper, cucumber, carrot etc) on the block so the veggie juices on the block make the hamster tempted to chew. Peanut butter can work as well, but don't put a big blob, only put a teeny bit and run it in very well so that there's only the scent and so the block is not wet.There are other commercial options like Snak Shaks and Cheesie Chews.  You can also use plain dog biscuits (plain Milk Bone) (no garlic or onion) or those apple branches at the pet store.

*not my picture

• Commercial Hamster Food

A hamster's diet should be mostly a high-quality commercial hamster food, supplemented with seeds and fresh vegetables and fruits and protein. A high-quality hamster food will have 17% - 22% protein, 4%-6% fat, and 8+% fiber.  The best foods on the US and Canada market are Hazel Hamster, Carefresh Complete Menu, Oxbow (if mixed with another food) and Mazuri.  On the UK market, Burgess Supahamster, Harry Hamster, and Supreme Science Selective are good choices.  Variety is great for hamsters, so if you can get multiple foods and mix them, that's great. Do not feed fruits or treats (yogurt drops, etc) to dwarf hamsters as they get diabetes quite easily and fruits are quite sugary.
For Campbell's dwarfs, Winter White dwarfs, and Chinese hamsters, the only US and Canada  food mixes recommended are Hazel Hamster and Oxbow.  In the UK, Harry Hamster and Supreme Science Selective are suitable.  These hamster species are diabetes-prone so need these low sugar diets make sure to pick out the corn from the food mix for these hamsters. You may add hamster-safe seeds like wheat, rye, spelt, barley, oats, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, flaxseed, and sesame seed in health food stores and grocery stores. These have good nutrition. Protein can be plain, unseasoned chicken, Milk Bones, and plain cooked chicken egg (scrambled, etc).

Hazel Hamster can be found at Petsmart

• Cleaning Supplies

I like to use a large cleaning brush to scrub Ellie's cage, a sponge to wipe unscented dish soap onto the cage and use paper towels to wash off the soap and dry the cage. Bottle brushes are great for cleaning the hamster water bottle. 
A 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water makes a effective cleaning spray.  You can also buy cage cleaning sprays in pet stores.

• Carrier 

A carrier like a Kritter Keeper or small bin (ventilated with mesh) is important for cage-cleaning time, vet visits, and general transport.  It is strongly advised to bring a plastic carrier to pick up the hamster from the shelter / rescue / pet store.  The cardboard carriers provided are very easily escaped as hamsters can easily chew through. Do not pick up your hamster if you have to go somewhere and leave the hamster in the car, do all your errands first. The travel cage should be always from direct sunlight and drafts (away from car windows) and make sure the AC is on to prevent the hamster from getting too cold or too hot. The travel cage should have bedding, a cucumber for hydration, a few toys (chew toys), some hamster food mix and a place for your hamster to hide in like a hideout. A critter trail is a great travel cage!

• Toys

Toys are a necessity. 

It's important for a hamster to have plenty of stimulation in its cage.  Extra hideouts, digging pits, tubes (toilet paper or plastic), and Puzzle Playgrounds are all good choices, although there are more options.  Sand baths are wonderful for all species, although dwarfs in particular love them.  Hamster balls are great, as long as they are used with careful supervision and for no more than 15 minutes at a time. I learnt a lesson which is to watch your hamster carefully if she has full cheeks! Ellie seems to like to take out all her food from her cheeks and she runs around, her ball rattles around and the seeds are all over the floor! It's great fun to connect a OVO cage or crittertrail to your hamster's bin cage, add-ons can be another bin cage or a store bought cage.

Thank you for reading!  I hope you find this basic guide helpful!<3 :) 

   

Ninja Hamster

Okay, so I lied... a bit. It's been a while since my last post but I promise you a post, so here it is! :) 

Ellie has this habit of jumping out of her bin cage once I open the lid. She's like a ninja hamster! I watched as she planned her escape....

*sniff* What is this??

Hmm...why is it watching me...

Does the camera make me look fat?

Perhaps this is the way to freedom...

*sniff* Whoa, that's high!

Uh, never mind. There is no way down! >:(

Oh, perhaps I can just walk on this...

No, no I can't! Help me mommy! D:

I placed the little confused hamster right back in her cage, she went behind her wheel and fell asleep....what a cutie! <3

Ta-ta for now, bye! :)

Hi There!

Hello readers! This blog will be all about my little Syrian hamster, Ellie. Ellie is a cinnamon banded (?) female hamster who I brought home in December 2012, she's around 3 months now. Here's a picture of my sweet girl:

Ellie currently lives in a bin cage, which is much larger and cheaper than the tiny, overpriced cages at petstores. I feed her Hazel Hamster and Vitacraft Vitasmart Hamster food, and occasional vegetables. Ellie absolutely loves scrambled eggs from my breakfast, she goes crazy over it! :D 

I can't wait to share my experiences with Ellie on this blog, so stay tuned for more to come! :)