Reasons NOT to get a hamster?
Ok, so i'm getting ready to ask my mom for a hamster , and I need to know some reasons that my mom might use "against me" . So i need reason NOT to get a hamster, and then solutions for it, so im prepared for anything :) Here are some i thought of (please add to the solution) Mom:- They will wake me up in the night ! Solution: We can move the cage downstairs (carefully of course) and switch toys around every few nights. Also, we can get a "soundless" running wheel. That will hopefully keep him/her busy from gnawing on the cages. Mom: They will stink. (smell) Soultion: First of all, we can get a carefresh bedding. I will also take a handful of "soiled" litter out from it ever day, And every week, i will change the litter. Also, we can put febreez airfreshner in the room (will that harm the hamster?) Ok, So I think those will be the most important reasons not to get a hamster, but i need to be prepared for anything. Plus, i had hamsters when i was about 9 when i went to Russia to visit my grandparent. I was abousoly not ready for a hamster, but my grandparents spoiled me, and got me one when i asked. We used some sort of wood shavings for the litter that the hamsters seemed to enjoy and it didnt harm them, but it did stink. So, im afraid she'll say no anyway. Also, the hamster where always fighting and sqeaking in the middle of the night. And chewing the bars , plus , the running wheel was really noisy. And kept my mom awake all the time, so shes not a hamster fan.I was also not very interested in the hamsters because , as soon as i got them, i would handle them, and they began to bite. So i "ignored them" other than feeding and changing the cage every week. But now im 13 , ive done a yrs amount of research and I AM ready! Thanks in advance.
What are the pros and cons of owning a hamster?
PROS:Cute and fuzzyMildly entertaining to watch when running in the hamster wheel or stuffing food in its cheeksFairly cheap supplies (cage, food, bedding)CONS:Spends most of its time sleepingDoes not care for humans very muchNocturnal: will make noise at night when you are trying to sleepYour interaction with it will mostly involve cleaning up poopShort life span of 2–3 yearsBOTTOM LINE:Meh.
What are the pros and cons of owning a pug?
It all depends on your personality and your needs and expectations from a pet. Here are the things I consider PROS and CONS, but you may disagree with some of them. PROS:Great family dog. Friendly with children, and very happy in the presence of other people. You can easily travel with a pug on vacations (by car, not by plane).Great apartment dog. Although a pug will spend time outdoor, as well, they don't need a lot of physical activity or space (unlike huskies, for example), so they will feel just fine in small apartments or houses. Great and funny personality. The word "pugnacious" probably comes from "pug", and explains its personality best. Many people think pugs are stupid, but I think they are just obstinate and bold. They will confront dogs which are 10 times bigger without blinking, but without being aggressive, either.They can be a good therapist for people who live alone or feel sad. A pug will offer comfort, and will always be there to support you. They will cuddle next to you on the sofa, and never abandon you.CONS:Pugs shed a lot. They have double-layered coat, which means they constantly shed their fur, unlike other dog breeds, which shed only twice per year. Don't be fooled by their short hair.They don't deal very well with heat (even moderate heat). If you leave in a hot region, don't buy a pug (or make sure you keep him in the shade and walk them when the temperature is lower). Otherwise, they can even suffer a stroke.Related to above point, they can overheat from too much physical exercise, so make sure you don't push them too much. They need to be in good shape, but this doesn't mean jogging for 10 miles, but more like playing with a ball for 10-15 minutes a couple of times per day.Pugs can be very needy and clingy. Expect your pug to follow you around the house all the time, everywhere! Also expect them to lick you a lot. They will be depressed if you don't spend enough time with them. Don't get a pug if you work a lot or travel a lot, and you cannot bring it with you.Pugs are more prone to specific diseases: cataract or eye infections (because of their bulging eyes), demodex (a skin infection), ear infections, and respiratory problems. More about pug-specific diseases here: Health Issues
My hamster has her own ball but chews it...?
My hamster has a ball that I let her out in every night, along with my boy hamster in his own ball. Her problem is she chew the catches that keep her safe in the ball. She got out on Saturday and surprised me by turning up in front of me (luckily). I quickly bought her a new ball, this new ball will be her 6th ball. She is two roughly and started chewing them when she was 1. I know I won't stay lucky forever, and she will do it again. She never eats the stuff she gnaws of. But since I have one cat and will be getting another soon, I need a solution to stop her doing this. Thankyou in advance.
How should I make my hamsters stop fighting without buying a whole other tank? Is there anything I can use as a border?
If you are very fortunate—or you have dwarf hamsters—your hamsters may be merely squabbling. It is normal for one of a pair to try to establish dominance. Even hamsters who are compatible will spend plenty of (discontinuous) time chasing one another and squeaking, and often, one will climb on top of the other and not move until the other squeaks in submission. Squabbling is normal. Do not ever interfere, as you will exacerbate the situation. Make sure their cage is big enough to avoid cage aggression. Give them each their own dishes, their own water bottles, their own wheels, their own double-entrance houses, and try to avoid creating corners where one can be caught and bullied…But the ordinary (Syrian, Teddybear, golden) hamster is very territorial and does not like to share accommodation. If your hamsters are, in fact, fighting—biting, cornering, one preventing the other from eating, sleeping, or drinking—separate them completely and don’t put them together again, even outside the cage, not even for brief periods.And you will need another tank. The problem with trying to put a border into one cage or tank is that you are reducing the living space of each hamster. A Syrian hamster should have a minimum of 360 sq in of floor space. (Wild Campbell hamsters can apparently have territories of up to 3.5 sq. km.) The RSPCA minimum recommended cage size is 30″ by 16″ by 16″. (A dwarf hamster can have a smaller cage.) Hamsters in a cage of inadequate size will be less healthy and live shorter lives. Small cages cause high stress levels and behavioural problems. (Access to an exercise wheel does not compensate for a small cage.)When you bring in a second tank, try to replicate the first, and transfer some of the shavings and toys and dishes so that the displaced hamster is as little stressed as possible.
Can I put dirt in my hamster cage?
Okay so I've had my two teddy bear hamsters for almost a year now and was thinking about cheaper ways to take care of them. Bedding prices, and the smell of hamster poop are my two main problems. So I'm wondering if I could kill two birds with one stone by turning the cage into a type of outdoor environment. Place dirt in it then plenty of grass seeds. I understand seeds need watering and that won't be an issue. I just need to know if that would work? I wouldn't need to spend money in bedding and their poop would actually help fertilize the grass and hopefully not smell as bad as wet bedding? I'm a very good gardener and so it just popped into my mind. It's just an idea, but do you think it could work?
Average monthly cost to have a hamster?
When I adopted my hamster at the humane society one of the questions was "how much money do you plan to set aside in a year for the cost of this pet?" My calculations came to about $150-200 for one year. This included quality lab block (NO seed mix! it's ok as a treat, but seeds are nature's equivalent of potato chips and should NOT make up more than 10% of the total diet at most), bedding, and one vet visit plus about the cost of antibiotics in case the hamster becomes ill. I may never need quite that much, as many hamsters live their whole lives without becoming ill. But hamsters can get sick and it is important to budget for possible vet bills rather than cry about how you can't afford to treat your suffering hamster because you failed to take into account the possibility of veterinary costs. As for my specific monthly costs, a 2lb bag of Mazuri hamster blocks costs about $5-6 (and lasts several months...two months in and I'm not even half way through a bag) and a small-medium bag of carefresh recycled paper bedding costs $6-10 and lasts a month with weekly cage cleanings (you could probably buy a different paper bedding or aspen shavings for a bit less...just be sure to avoid pine or cedar shavings as these contain phenols which can cause liver failure and promote respiratory disease/distress). So I would plan on spending about $7-12 a month on food and bedding and maybe budget a little extra for toys, and of course remembering to set aside a little for unexpected vet expenses. If you do decide to get a small mammal pet, please consider visiting your local shelter and seeing what they have available. It isn't just cats and dogs that are quickly disposed of when people become bored with them, everything from mice to rabbits to birds regularly end up in shelters too. If your local shelter doesn't have any small pets available then your best bet would be to find a hobby breeder (who doesn't sell to pet stores) and purchase a pet directly from them. These breeders will be breeding for health and good temperament...both of which can be lacking in pet store animals. If you feel you must buy from a pet store, buy from a small locally owned independent store. Big box stores like Petsmart and Petco get their small animals from the equivelant of a small animal warehouse where small pets are bred in conditions that rival puppy mills and the animals are not handled from a young age.
Should I release my hamster to nature? My hamster is trying to "break jail" every night. I wonder if it is eager to be free. Will it be happier living in the wild?
If by "the wild" you mean inside your home, then by all means go ahead.He will love living under your fridge. Ours did, when he escaped. Make sure and leave out some food and water and he'll be happy as a clam. Oh, but he'll need a mate. The two of them will be happy under your fridge or they may decide to move into larger quarters behind the dishwasher when the kids arrive. They'll die eventually, probably from chewing on power cords or falling into the toilet. I don't know how ours did it, but he somehow found a way. (We found him before it was Too Late.) Some of their offspring should survive though, and continue to entertain you by climbing into your sock drawer and chewing up your socks to make a nest.In the outdoors, they will soon get cold and wet, and they won't know how to find food or evade predators, so that is not safe for them. They won't be happy at all.I think what your hamster really wants is some exercise. First, he needs a running wheel in his cage. This is an absolute necessity. Hamsters love to run and explore, that's why they love escaping. In measured wheels, they have been recorded traveling as far as four miles in one night! That doesn't mean they want to be fed to the neighborhood cats and owls in the great outdoors.We let ours out for a run every night, indoors of course. We taught them to come when we called. (They were all very tame to handle, so they were not scared of us.) I call a hamster by scratching and making scuttling sounds with my fingers on the floor. They are so curious about that noise that they always come to see if it might be another hamster. Then I just scoop them up. Sometimes they would fall asleep in certain favourite places, like my shoe cupboard. We got to know where to look for them. Don't ever feed them outside their cage (except as bait). If they can't find any food during their outings they are usually happy to find a treat back in their cage when they return.For the more skittish ones, another way to catch them is to put a small dark box on the floor. We used a tea cannister. Dark holes are irresistible to hamsters, they just can't help themselves, but must go in and take a look. Worked every time. We had full-sized hamsters, not the mini Russian ones. The mini ones are much harder to tame and catch, but I think the same techniques might work.