Hamster care etc?

Question

My brother and i are planning on getting two campbells dwarf russian hamsters both will be females i know what to do and everything but i would like information from someone who has hamsters for example what bedding they think is best you know stuff like that i need to know these things

bedding

food

cages

treats

tunnels

hiding places

and homemade things that have worked out for you

Answer 1

Me and my sister use to have to two girls darf hamsters! for bedding don't use wood shavings!! for bedding they told us to use carefresh it removes the smell! for food we used normal hamster food. Darf hamster like to eat furit for a snack!! hopes this helps :D

Answer 2

Okay here you go -

Bedding

The best bedding for hamsters is Carefresh and aspen shavings. Besides commercial bedding, toilet paper is a good and cheap alternative for hamster bedding. Always use only unbleached, untreated and non fragrant toilet paper. Rip it up and mix it with some aspen shavings for the bedding. Do not throw the empty toilet roll tubes. Give them to your hammies who like them as toys for gnawing and tunneling.

For more ideas on commercial bedding ideas, visit the following link -

http://www.hamsterific.com/BeddingGuide....

Food

As for food, feed your hamsters a good brand commercial hamster mix available in all pet shops. These mixes contain grains, seeds and dehydrated veggies and fruits for the right nutrition. You can also occassionally give them treats but treats should constitute only 20% of the hamster's total diet in a day. Treats can include sunflower seeds, rice krispies, cheese, hard boiled egg white (good source of protein for hamsters), corn flakes (unsalted and unflavoured) etc.

For a list of treats you can feed your hamster, visit the following link -

http://www.hamsterific.com/HamsterUniver...

The thumb rule for foods is to give them natural food as far as possible and nothing with added sugar, salt, flavour or too watery stuff.

Cages -

I have had russian dwarfs for long time now and all through the years, my experience with cages has made me loyal to Habitrail barred cages. I feel barred cages are better compared to plastic or glass ones for the following reasons -

1.They allow more ventilation compared to glass cages. In glass cages, due to less ventilation, there is more buildup of smells of hamster p**p and urine which has never been a problem in wire cages.

2.They are easier to clean

3.They do not have condensation of moisture inside the cage that happens in glass cages which have not been cleaned regularly.

4. The most important thing about wire cages is that they allow better interaction with the hamster compared to glass ones. I can even feed them through the cage bars and it allows for a two way interaction between me and my hamsters.

Many people complain that their hamsters escape through the cage bars easily but that is because they dont buy cages that are designed for hamsters. A hamster specific wire cage like Habitrail or Crittertrail never has faced that problem.

I currently use a Habitrail Playground and Habitrail Safari but I also like the Crittertrail 2 & 3.

Tunnels & Toys -

You get readymade tubes and mazes which can be connected to your Habitrail and Crittertrail cages, however you can also make cheap options at home. The emply toilet roll tubes, toothpaste cartons with flaps removed, coffee cups with base cut out all make good play toys for the hamster. Your cage should include a exercise wheel and you can buy a hamster ball to exercise the hamster everyday.

Hamster love variety in their activity and the key to a active hamster is variety in her daily planning routine.

Hope I have covered all that you required. Need any more information, feel free to email me.

Have a great time with your new pets!

Answer 3

Bedding- don't use anything accept aspen wood shavings, all the other have either chemicals or fumes. Do NOT use anything cotton, your d. hammy will get tangled in it.

Cage- For my dwarf hammy I have a critter trail cage. I love it. He has never escaped. The bars are very close together. The are very colorful and you can buy expansion packs and extra tubes for them to play in. They all come with waterbottle and food dish and most come with a wheel, they have soooo many types of desings to choose from.

Food- I use forti diet, it is a mix of seeds and pellets. Don't forget gnawing logs, their teeth are constantly growing and need to file them down!

tunnels- you can use toliet paper tubes, or you can buy plastic ones that go on the outside at petsmart. I think they are made by superpet.

Hiding places- You can just buy a little slepping hut for this, or you could but expansion packs at the store, make sure they will work with you cage though. You can also buy them a ball to explore outside of their cage in.

Treats- give them fruits and veggies once every for days( no citrus like grapefruit). you can also give them 4 dry uncooked plain oat once a week.

Homemade- toliet paper tubes.

Answer 4

get carefresh bedding. fill the cage with 1-2 inches of it.

feed them nutriphase gold. 1 teaspoon for each, so a big tablespoon for both. give them a chunk of carrot or broccoli every 2 days. do not feed sweets.

i suggest this cage- http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.js...

give them nutriphase mineral chews or cherios ( regular kind) for treats.

get them a superpet igloo for a sleeping house.

for a litter bin, cut a juice cartton and cover all rough edges with tape.

Answer 5

I had two Russian Campbell's dwarf hamsters before.

Bedding- Definitely CareFresh. If it's too expensive, you can use Aspen bedding.

Food- I would suggest VitaKraft. Don't buy food that contain the ingredient ethoxyquin. It's really bad for hamsters because it can cause cancer.

Cages- I really suggest a bin cage. I made one for about $15 and it was worth it. My dwarf loved it! Bin cages provide a lot of room for hamsters without paying too much for it. They are very easy to make.

http://hamsterhideout.com/forum/index.ph...

Treats- I never really fed my dwarf hamster any treats. Just a milk bone to gnaw on and some vegetables.

Tunnels- Those are personally up to you.

Hiding Places- Again, up to you. Be careful and make sure that they are safe for hamsters. If you aren't sure, don't get it. Better safe than sorry.

Homemade things- There's a lot of things! I'll give you a link to a forum page that lists homemade toys.

http://hamsterhideout.com/forum/index.ph...