Monday, November 19, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Selecting a hamster
When selecting a hamster, first of all look at all the hamsters in the cage and the conditions they are kept in. They should be in good healthy condition and not be kept in overcrowded cages. The cages themselves should be clean and the hamsters should have access to food and water. The hamsters should be separated by sex with males in one cage and females in another. If buying from a pet shop and the shop staff cannot guarantee the sex of any hamster this is not a good sign and buying could mean buying a pregnant female - and problems.
The hamsters should ideally be 5-6 weeks of age - hamsters should not be sold younger than this.
Once you have found a good pet shop or breeder inspect the hamsters carefully. If one hamster appears sick the others may also be at risk of being ill so it is best to look in another cage or another shop.
Check that the hamster is bright eyed and alert when it is awake. It should be inquisitive and not too nervous. Beware of any hamster that has runny or sticky eyes, runny nose, sneezing, wet or dirty bottom, matted fur, seems lethargic or does not have a firm body. All of these things can indicate a sick hamster.
Once you have seen a healthy hamster that you like, ask if you can handle it so that you can see how tame it is. If a shop does not allow you to handle the hamster you have no opportunity to assess how suitable it is as a pet and cannot check its health properly before buying so is best avoided.
Buying a hamster
The best place always to buy a hamster is directly from a private or hobbyist breeder but this may not always be possible and therefore many hamster owners buy their first hamster from a pet shop.
The advantages of buying from a private or hobbyist breeder is that breeding has usually been carefully planned and thought through with regard to producing robust, healthy hamsters of good temperament. Many breeders will also offer some form of guarantee contracting to take the hamster back if not suitable. Unfortunately the same cannot always be said for hamsters sold in pet shops or those that have come from commercial breeding farms where hamsters are bred in mass numbers for the pet market.
Many breeders also show their hamsters and so breed towards producing a good healthy show hamster with a view to keeping one or two themselves so quality and temperament is of vital importance when planning the breeding.
Although breeders of show hamsters specialise in breeding show hamsters, there are also owners who have bred their pet hamsters. These may be the result of a planned or unplanned pregnancy but the hamsters have usually been well cared for and handled regularly and so make very suitable pets.
Buying a hamster direct from the breeders means that there is the opportunity to see the parents and know the date of birth of the hamster(s) that it is intended to purchase.
Buying a Hamster from a Rescue Home
Another option when seeking a hamster as a pet is to obtain a hamster from a rescue home. Many hamsters, both young and older hamsters, unfortunately become abandoned or homeless through no fault of their own every year.
Rescue homes usually assess the hamster's health on arrival and often carry out treatment if needed before offering for rehoming.
Unfortunately obtaining a hamster from a Rescue homes means the hamster's background or exact age are often not know.
Depending on the rescue organisation they may require the completion of a series of forms, interviews or even a home visit to assess suitability as a potential hamster owner. Their primary concern is to ensure the correct placement of the hamsters in their care with a suitable new owner.
Buying a Hamster from a Pet Shop
Most often these hamsters have come from commercial hamster farms, but some pet shops will also take surplus babies from breeders or litters from pet owners with unplanned pregnancies. There is therefore some risk as to whether these hamsters will be of good temperament or health as the parents cannot be seen and often little or no information can be given about their background or breeding.
It is no fun buying a unhealthy, weakly hamster(s) and then dealing with the problems this presents afterwards - it can cause a lot of heartache so it is essential to find a good healthy hamster(s). Should any pet shop or the health of the hamsters for sale cause concern they can be reported to an Animal Welfare organisation or local authority if the conditions warrant it.
The advantages of buying from a private or hobbyist breeder is that breeding has usually been carefully planned and thought through with regard to producing robust, healthy hamsters of good temperament. Many breeders will also offer some form of guarantee contracting to take the hamster back if not suitable. Unfortunately the same cannot always be said for hamsters sold in pet shops or those that have come from commercial breeding farms where hamsters are bred in mass numbers for the pet market.
Many breeders also show their hamsters and so breed towards producing a good healthy show hamster with a view to keeping one or two themselves so quality and temperament is of vital importance when planning the breeding.
Although breeders of show hamsters specialise in breeding show hamsters, there are also owners who have bred their pet hamsters. These may be the result of a planned or unplanned pregnancy but the hamsters have usually been well cared for and handled regularly and so make very suitable pets.
Buying a hamster direct from the breeders means that there is the opportunity to see the parents and know the date of birth of the hamster(s) that it is intended to purchase.
Buying a Hamster from a Rescue Home
Another option when seeking a hamster as a pet is to obtain a hamster from a rescue home. Many hamsters, both young and older hamsters, unfortunately become abandoned or homeless through no fault of their own every year.
Rescue homes usually assess the hamster's health on arrival and often carry out treatment if needed before offering for rehoming.
Unfortunately obtaining a hamster from a Rescue homes means the hamster's background or exact age are often not know.
Depending on the rescue organisation they may require the completion of a series of forms, interviews or even a home visit to assess suitability as a potential hamster owner. Their primary concern is to ensure the correct placement of the hamsters in their care with a suitable new owner.
Buying a Hamster from a Pet Shop
Most often these hamsters have come from commercial hamster farms, but some pet shops will also take surplus babies from breeders or litters from pet owners with unplanned pregnancies. There is therefore some risk as to whether these hamsters will be of good temperament or health as the parents cannot be seen and often little or no information can be given about their background or breeding.
It is no fun buying a unhealthy, weakly hamster(s) and then dealing with the problems this presents afterwards - it can cause a lot of heartache so it is essential to find a good healthy hamster(s). Should any pet shop or the health of the hamsters for sale cause concern they can be reported to an Animal Welfare organisation or local authority if the conditions warrant it.
Caring for hamster
As with any pet, keeping a hamster requires a commitment to care for it during its life which could be 2-3 years or longer. The commitment required includes not only routine feeding, care and time spent with the hamster but also the provision of veterinary treatment if the hamster becomes ill which can be costly. Although proper care will go a long way to ensuring that any hamster remains happy and healthy there may still be times when prompt veterinary treatment is needed and once a hamster is ill it can deteriorate quickly.
Dwaf hamster
Before breeding hamsters consideration should be given as to whether the pair of hamsters that it is intended to breed are a good match to produce healthy, good natured babies and also make plans for homing the babies produced.
When considering which pair of hamsters to breed together it is important to consider their size, health and temperament as both good and bad qualities present in the parents will be passed onto the babies. It is also important to correctly identify the colours of the pair it is intended to breed together as some colours of hamster produce undesirable babies (eg eyeless hamsters) when bred together.
The average litter size for a Syrian hamster is 8 but they can have up to 26 babies although this is extremely rare. However it is not unusual for litters of 10-14 to be produced and survive.
The average litter size for Dwarf hamsters is 4-6 but they can have larger litters and the Dwarf Campbells Russian Hamsters can have up to 14 babies and litters of 8-10 are not uncommon.
It is therefore vital that consideration is given and plans made for homing the babies before making the decision to start breeding hamsters taking into account that 14-26 babies could be produced from a single mating. Many local pet shops have regular suppliers so don't rely on these to take surplus babies without speaking to them before making the decision to start breeding your hamsters.
When considering which pair of hamsters to breed together it is important to consider their size, health and temperament as both good and bad qualities present in the parents will be passed onto the babies. It is also important to correctly identify the colours of the pair it is intended to breed together as some colours of hamster produce undesirable babies (eg eyeless hamsters) when bred together.
The average litter size for a Syrian hamster is 8 but they can have up to 26 babies although this is extremely rare. However it is not unusual for litters of 10-14 to be produced and survive.
The average litter size for Dwarf hamsters is 4-6 but they can have larger litters and the Dwarf Campbells Russian Hamsters can have up to 14 babies and litters of 8-10 are not uncommon.
It is therefore vital that consideration is given and plans made for homing the babies before making the decision to start breeding hamsters taking into account that 14-26 babies could be produced from a single mating. Many local pet shops have regular suppliers so don't rely on these to take surplus babies without speaking to them before making the decision to start breeding your hamsters.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)