I'm getting a hamster in two days. I heard that hamster's teeth never stop growing. What should I put inside the cage? Maybe something for him to nibble on? Any suggestions?
Answers:
I have a hamster too ! I got him about one month ago.
Usually, the food that they give you at the pet shop is really good for his teeth...I also give him carrots, and I bought him these special wood chews. You can get some at PJ's pet shop. They sell lots of things for your hamster's teeth at PJ's pet shop ! Another thing that I give him is cotton balls...He doesn't eat them, he just tears it with his teeth and claws, and uses it as a kind of nest !
A hamster lives from 2 to 3 years. It's a solitary animal, so don't get 2 hamsters, or they'll kill each other. You shouldn't give hims fruits or vegetables that are coming out of the fridge, and even so, they have to be well washed. Do NOT give your hamster: sweets, butter or fried food, chocolate, plants, and vegetables that are treated with pesticides.
Leave him at least one week to get used to his new cage before touching him. Then, put a treat in you hands and let him come to you. You should change his cage once a week, and he doesn't need to be cleaned, because he cleans himself, like a cat...He needs a lot of exercise, so I would recommend getting him a ball, or a wheel in his cage would do just fine (personally, I got both...) You should put his cage in a dark place, far from air conditioning or heating...
Well, I think that's it !
Use blocks of wood; they often sell them at the pet store. http://www.petco.com/shop/product.aspx?r...
Usually they are shaped like carrots or other vegetables and are brightly colored.
Sometimes you can give them wooden house too, like this one. http://www.petco.com/shop/petco_product_...
Some people just give them wood from their woodshop, but I wouldn't reccomend that since you have no idea if that type is toxic or has something on it. Plus, usually the chews are very cheap. Avoid plastic things in your hamsters cage. Sometimes they will chew on this too shave down their teeth which could be very harmful if they were to swallow.
You can put cardboard tubes in their cage though. I often use toliet paper rolls (once the toliet paper is gone). I usually cut it down the side just in case he/she ges stuck. If your hamster is overweight, I wouldn't reccomend it.
You can buy chew toys for you hamster. They are available at most pet store and even at places like Wal-Mart.
chew toys from pet stores
I'm not sure if they sell stuff for hamsters to chew on in stores. What i did was I got a branch from a non poisonous tree (oak,maple,fruit trees) and soaked it in warm water for 10 minutes then let it dry. My hamster always enjoyed chewing on it.
there's some white rectangular stones (they're made of some white hard material) at the pet shop that they can nibble on. Also, you can put some wood (hard wood would be better). You can also try nuts (with shells), which would also keep your little one entertained ;-)
get them chew toys, or just blocks of wood. u can get untreated wood at pet stores or even hardware stores (lowe's, home depot, ace)
Dog bones, like (Millkbone) the lamb or peanut butter flavor ones. You can find them in the bulk animal food section at the store, so you can just buy one ot two at a time, so they don't go stale.
I use dog biscuits and toys that we buy at wal-mart.
One of the best things I have found are the edible logs and huts. Along with the 17 Syrians we have, there are 11 rats and 5 gerbils. Our 11 dwarfs can't have them due the amount of honey used so we don't risk them getting diabetes. Our one female gerbil devoured a small log in about a month. We only give them to the worst chewers, they run about $4-$5 for a small log. We also use toilet paper rolls for chewing for everyone however. These are usually fine for most, but for the wire or plastic chewers, we buy the edible items.
Since this seems to be your first hamster, make sure to get Care Fresh for the litter no matter if they try to sell you the wood litters. Cedar and pine have chemicles in them that when mixed with the urine, creates a toxic fume that they breath in and can die from. Another reason not to use pine is many small animals get allergies from it and also aspen plus some other woods. Since changing to Care Fresh the sneezing, watery eyes and runny noses has nearly all stopped and this is just not with the small animals, but with my cats, dogs, and the people in my family. My one cat even grew back all his hair. We were using a pine cat litter for the cats and it was affecting all animals and humans in our home. We never knew it either until I learned about the benefits of using Care Fresh and how its processed. I am very impressed with it and will never use any thing else. It can even be used as cat litter not just for hamsters, gerbils, rats, rabbits, etc. I recommend Care Fresh to everyone with small animals on here, in person and to those who adopt our rescues from us.
Good luck!
P.S. I'd choose a male, they can't be pregnant when you get them, they don't go into heat every 4-5 days and they don't stink from being in heat. Plus males are a lot calmer for the most part once you tame one. Getting the calmest is a good start.
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