|  Author | Topic: Before You Buy: Things to Consider (Read 193 times) |
Wormy
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|  | Before You Buy: Things to Consider
« Thread Started on Sept 28, 2004, 11:16pm » | |
Here are some things to consider before you take your hamster home with you, you 'ickle firsties'.
Your hamster will be very scared when it is taken from it's parents to live with you. To ease it's stress, you should have a cage, ready and equipped, waiting for your hamster right when you get home. So, you should buy the cage and cage supplies BEFORE buying the actual hamster.
Here are some things to consider when buying the cage and it's counterparts.
CAGE
-Beware rounded cages. Round cages look cool, but they seldom provide enough space and a hamster can lose orientation inside a round cage. A hamster needs four corners to it's cage and a round cgae doesn't provide any corners at all.
-Cages with wire bottoms are painful on a hamster's feet. Buy the kind with the plastic bottoms instead.
-Syrians prefer ground space to the cages with little ground space and tubes leading up to platforms. If you want a Syrian, you'll need to buy a cage with plently of ground space.
FOOD
-Beware foods full of sugary things, like cereals and molasses. (Yes, some pet feed companies put molasses inside the hamster food.) Dwarves are extremely prone to diabetes and giving them sugar is not at all recommended.
-Buy a mix filled with nutrients. If you're not sure about some of the things inside the mix, ask the pet shop employee.
-NEVER give your hamster citrus fruits, such as orange, lemon, or kiwi.
-Watery foods such as watermelon are okay to feed your hamster, but only in moderation because they can get diarrhea if they consume too much watery food.
BEDDING
-NEVER buy cedar or pine bedding. Both contain high levels of a toxin called phenols. Phenols can cause allergic reactions in hamsters such as hair loss, eye irritation, nosebleeds, and more. Your hamster could possibly die from cedar or pine bedding.
-Cotton is not at all a good bedding to use. Cotton becomes easily tangled around little hamster legs and can break your hamster's legs. If consumed, cotton is not digestable and can cause intestinal blockage.
-Aspen and CareFresh are the two best beddings to use. If at al possible, please use Aspen or CareFresh. There are other presentable beddings, too, so look around and don't be afraid to ask.
WHEEL
-A runged wheel can easily break your hamster's legs, sometimes resulting in your hamster having to be humanely put to sleep. Please buy a plastic wheel, sans the rungs.
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Aspen
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| | Re: Before You Buy: Things to Consider
« Reply #1 on Sept 29, 2004, 8:34am » | |
Very good post Wormy! Some things to add on...
Always make sure you have a good nonleaky water bottle. If there is a leak get a new water bottle asap. If the water is constantly dripping the cage will get wet and after a while mold could start growing. You should always check the water bottle to see if it is leaky before you get your hamster.
Make sure that you have toys for your hamster besides its wheel (cardboard, mugs, etc.).
And tp is also a good bedding to use. Paper towels wouldn't be such a good choice though because there could be ink on them.
~Aspen 
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Hamstergirl101
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| | Re: Before You Buy: Things to Consider
« Reply #2 on Feb 4, 2005, 9:57pm » | |
Quote: Things to buy for your hamster
~ A cage with corners
~ A water bottle tha links to the side of the cage
~ A food dish
~ Some food and bedding
~ A wheel
~ Hamster toys
~ A bowl of sand Thanks for reading
Ps. I love hamster  |
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nibblerham
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Hamster luver. Me luv my nibbler
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| | Re: Before You Buy: Things to Consider
« Reply #3 on Mar 21, 2005, 3:55pm » | |
a bowl of sand? What is the sand for like what uses?
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My name is Kristen and i care for my pets. I luv my hammy named nibbler! |
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