Keeping your hamster happy and healthy
A wonderful option for a family’s first pet is a hamster. It might be simple to understand why, given their lovely personalities and relatively uncomplicated needs. It is your responsibility to provide your pet with all they require to keep them happy and healthy, regardless of whether you are new to hamster ownership or have more expertise.
Hamsters have unique needs when it comes to their health and care, despite the fact that they may be easier to care for than larger or more sophisticated household pets. To ensure that your hamster has all their need to thrive, it is important that you understand as much as you can about their health. Below are some helpful hints for taking care of your hamster to get you started.
Getting to know your hamster
Get to know your hamster’s personality and mannerisms by spending time observing him. Every hamster will have a unique personality, so you should try to understand your hamster’s and adjust your behavior to it. Some hamsters will be more reserved and reserved than others, and if this is the case, you should respect him and try not to upset him too much.
It’s important to be slow and tolerant when handling your hamster and to avoid handling him too frequently. Continue your usual schedule of spending time with him and giving him time to become acquainted to you. Start giving your hamster treats while they are sitting on your hand, and try to get them to eat them. Once your hamster is completely at ease doing that, begin gradually raising your hand just a few inches off the ground. Return to simply putting treats on your hand if your hamster becomes overly frightened.
Feeding your hamster a healthy nutritious diet
Make sure your hamster is eating enough of the correct foods to maintain his wellbeing. Despite his high level of activity and quick metabolism, your hamster still has a chance of gaining weight if you overfeed him. As the foundation of his food, you should typically give him around a tablespoon of pellets or seed mix each day.
To augment this and give your hamster’s food some variation, give him or her tiny snacks every so often. Watch how much he consumes and take away any leftover sweets.
Making sure your hamster always has access to fresh, clean water to drink is essential to maintaining his health and happiness. Make sure to fill his bottle with new water every day and check for leaks. You prevent any contamination, be sure to routinely clean the bottle and nozzle.
Creating a fascinating living space
Even though they may appear to be sleeping a lot of the time, hamsters are actually highly active at night, and they require a lot of area to run around in order to stay happy and interested. Your hamster needs as much room as you can give him in his cage. The different parts of your hamster’s cage will be used for various purposes, so giving him enough room to spread out is crucial.
Hamsters enjoy playing, thus they require stimulation and entertainment in their cage. Running on a wheel is one way to exercise, but to keep your hamster happy, you must offer more interesting stimuli. Wooden chew toys provide a pleasurable exercise and aid in maintaining his teeth. Ensure that you only use pet-safe wood.
Providing a safe and peaceful environment
Your hamster’s health and happiness are significantly influenced by where you place the cage in your home:
- Keep the cage away from extremes of hot and cold
- Keep him away from sources of light and sound
Also, it’s important to regularly clean out the cage to ensure it remains a healthy environment for your hamster. If possible, you should try to keep to a basic cleaning schedule for this. If you clean the cage too frequently or infrequently it could cause distress for your hamster.
If you want more helpful advice on looking after your hamster, including tips on food, toys, accessories and accommodation, add a comment below to let us know!
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