Pleasing 4 Pets

Hamsters are mammals belonging to the rodent family. They typically possess large incisor teeth that grow continually making it necessary for them to habitually gnaw in order to avoid overgrowing of the teeth.

Traditionally hamsters are nocturnal creatures, and will sleep during the day, waking only during the evening. You may be able to persuade your hamster to wake at an earlier time by offering him food earlier. After a short time your hamster will realise his feeding time. However you should always ensure that he has fresh water available in a position where he is able to reach it comfortably.

Most pet stores offer a variety of dried food mixes expressly intended for your hamster. These usually consist of rodent pellets, crushed oats, peanuts, maize, barley and sunflower seeds, with some of the more superior mixes providing a wider range with the addition of dried fruit or vegetables. If you decide to treat your hamster to some fresh fruit of vegetables you should limit the amount that you offer him, and bear in mind that he will likely attempt to store it, and it will decay and rot over time. You should also be aware that hamsters are unable to tolerate certain fresh produce, such as kidney beans, raw potato or rhubarb, and tomato or rhubarb leaves.

Hamsters traditionally have very weak eyesight but have a sharp sense of smell and exceptional hearing. The majority of hamster species can be identified by their expandable cheek pouches which they use to collect food and bedding to transport around, most commonly to a private part of the cage and where they will frequently hoard food.

Typically the common hamster will not require any form of grooming other that perhaps an occasional brush with a very soft toothbrush to help remove debris from their coats. They do not require bathing, as they are fully able to clean themselves, although many hamsters might welcome a shallow dish of sand in their cages that they can roll in to remove any excess greasiness from the skin.