Posts Tagged ‘Hamster Illnesses’

In order to stay healthy, hamsters must have a daily exercise routine, just like we human beings. Health related conditions like diabetes, heart failure and obesity can be prevented through regular exercise for your hamster.

All hamsters are generally nocturnal, which means that they sleep during daytime and stay awake at night, and so they also do their physical activities at night. Dwarf Hamsters are crepuscular pets and their activities generally occur very early in the morning and evening. When they are in the wild, during the daylight hours they burrow underground to protect themselves from predators, but they usually take intervals of sleep and rest during the day, so you may see them roaming around occasionally then also.

There are several options to help your hamster obtain enough exercise.

The most common exercise gadget for a hamster is a hamster wheel. This gadget enables hamsters to run freely inside their cage. You can visit a local pet supply store and choose from a wide variety of wheels from plastic to metal, from standing wheels to attachable ones. To find the right hamster wheel you can always ask a salesperson at the pet store or get yourself a good hamster guide. Be aware that a Dwarf Hamster will run up to 5 miles a night, so be careful where you put the cage, and how noisy the wheel is, it will keep you awake if you do not take care.

Another exercise accessory that you can give to your pet is an exercise ball that has been created specifically for hamsters. They let your hamster roam around your house safely and are commonly made from transparent plastic with lots of air holes for ventilation purposes. However, you should watch out for your hamster when it roams around your house in an exercise ball, you can unintentionally step on it or even kick it and cause the hamster stress or injury. Never let your hamster play near stairs, if the ball rolls down them it may well kill your pet.

If you let your hamster roam around your room freely, he may possibly chew some parts of your carpet or swallow paint, wood or other dangerous items if you do not keep a constant eye on him. Always remember that letting a hamster play near your food counters or preparation areas is not healthy, so it is recommended that you find them their own special area, or use something like the bath lined with towels.

By playing with your hamster for at least an hour every day, you should easily fulfill their exercise needs. Take note of the active period when your pet plays on his own, and then play with him during the same time every day. When your hamster is asleep, never wake him up just to play, hamsters are bad-tempered when you wake them up and they will not want to play, so leave your pet alone if he is asleep, even if your friends want to see and play with him.

When you play with your pet, you can let it learn to crawl over your hands and other parts of your body as long as you are lying or sitting down, in this way accidents can be avoided. If you let your hamster crawl on you when you are standing up, it might fall and get hurt. Children can also play with your hamster as long as they are under the supervision of an adult, you should always keep in mind that Dwarf Hamsters are especially fast and can easily escape.

You can experience great joy by merely looking at your Dwarf Hamster as he plays around his cage, but do you know the meaning behind some of his actions? Usually pet owners misunderstand the implications of some of these actions, figuring some of them out can aid you in providing your pet with a more healthy and comfortable life. As with most humans, your hamster will usually live longer if you his reduce his stress.

So what signs should you be looking for?

When your hamster moves stealthily along the floor of his cage, then he may well be nervous about something outside his shelter. He may have seen a cat or some sort of commotion in your house that startled him.

If things deteriorate and your pet becomes even more scared, he may possibly place his ears forward and puff out his cute cheeks. If there is food in his mouth, he will empty his cheek pouches because of fright. If the situation gets this bad for him, it very often means that your hamster is no longer happy with his surroundings and he is preparing to run the first chance he gets.

Handling a hamster at this point is not safe because he becomes aggressive and he will probably bite your hand. If he is lying on his back and his teeth are visible, do not pick him up because again he is showing signs of being really terrified.

When your hamster’s teeth are chattering, this is a sure sign that he is upset or uncomfortable. He may demonstrate this trait if you place him in the cage of another hamster. This could mean big trouble, especially if you put a male Dwarf into a female’s cage, the females are dominant and they will kill the male. If you ever put 2 hamsters together for mating make sure that you never put the male in the female’s cage.

Even if you put them in a neutral cage, they may still fight, and there are some warning signs that you should be aware of when two hamsters are preparing to do so.

They use their scent glands to mark their territory, so you will see the hamsters rub their glands against the wall of the cage. If they want to mark a particular spot, they can also scratch their scent glands with their feet and march around the area that they want to claim as theirs.

So, what about signs that your little baby is happy?

You may see your hamster gnaw the bars of his cage. Do not think that he is planning for an escape! He is just trimming down his teeth. The teeth of Dwarf Hamsters are growing continually, thus they need to reduce the size of their teeth to avoid dental problems and illness. Let him chew the bars of his cage, but see to it that the bars have no sharp pieces that could injure him and make sure that they are not rusty.

When you see your hamster burrowing and searching his bedding material for stray bits of food, or you see him stretching or grooming, you can generally be satisfied that he is definitely happy.