Choosing Your Hamster
Hamsters have become very popular as pets today. They are small, odorless, gentle, clean and easy to care for. They are very suitable as pets in small living quarters such as a bird cage or a small aquarium.
Most pets require daily care and attention. Your pet hamster can be left alone for an entire weekend, if necessary, because hamsters hoard food and do not drink much.
Hamsters are very inexpensive to buy and to feed. They breed fairly easily. A hamster will live about 1000 days, almost three years. Some have been known to live even longer.
It is best that you buy your pet hamster when it is about five weeks old, after it has been weaned from its mother. If you buy one that is a year old or more, you will not have much time left to enjoy it. If you buy one that is under thirty days old, its body will be too immature for it to cope with its new surroundings.
When you buy your pet, it should weigh approximately an ounce and a half. Carefully observe its shape and general appearance for signs of good health -- soft, silky fur, bright, prominent eyes. Lumps, bumps, discoloration, loose hair, wet bottom or tail, runny nose or eyes, blood anywhere on the body and a nasty disposition are all signs that should steer you away from a hamster.
At the same time you buy a hamster, you may also purchase a manufactured hamster cage in the pet shop, or a aquarium fitted with a wire mesh screen top. DO NOT purchase a parakeet cage. Some hamsters like to climb and if they happen to fall, they may hurt themselve very badly. Wood shavings are the best materials to use for litter. DO NOT use cedar shavings. It is very harmful for small animals. Keep the cage in an area where the temperature is about 68 degrees F.
