Hamster essentials
This section will contain information of everything you need to have before owning an hamster
Chews
Hamster teeth are continually growing and if they don't wear them done on chewing them the teeth will over grow and dig into their checks causing an illness of abscesses.
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Its important to give your hamster chews to chew on. You can make out home chews or buy them from your local pet shop
Hamsters in the wild would run miles a night, but in captivity that isn't possible, therefore, to allow you hamster to get exercise you need to provide with a wheel. Also, the correct sized wheel as, if the wheel is too small they can get an arched back which can lead to medical complications.
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The correct size wheels are:
For a robo hamster i recommend 14cm
For a russian hamster i recommend 17cm
For a Chinese hamster i recommend 17 cm to 20 cm
For Syrian hamster i recommend 20cm to 27cm
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However the bigger the better and this are minimum requirements your hamster may still need bigger as some hamsters are bigger then average so if they back arches then please upgrade their wheel.
Hamster wheels
Everyday you will need to bring your hamster out for playtime this doesn't mean putting your hamster in a ball. This mean setting up a play area for them weather it is play pen, free roaming or setting up your bath tube. This allows your hamster to get exercise and play to get enrichment. It similar to when us humans go out to meet with friends and so forth. This stimulation we have is the same for hamsters.
Playtime
Nesting materials
Its important your hamster to have a form of nesting materials to create borrows and their nest area. Therefore, you will need:
- Base substrate such as aspen
- Nesting material- such as carefresh
- Hay to support their borrows
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As well as they need 6 inches of substrate and DO NOT use sawdust or straw in their cage.
