Hamster Essentials
- Jay Hammy
- Dec 25, 2020
- 4 min read
I have waited until Christmas to do this blog, as many would probably be getting an hamster for Christmas and it is very important to understand everything your hamster needs,
Hamster cage
Yes, this would be an obvious one, but you cannot just buy any cage for your hamster. You need a cage that has 620 square inches of floor space. Which is a cage that has a base of 80cm by 50cm, but the bigger the cage is always better.
Recommended cages:
-Ferplast Large Plastic Cage 99 x 51,5 x h 36 cm
- Pawhunt wooden cages
- Bin cage
- Little friend Grosvence rat and hamster cage
- Ikea Detolf
- Ferplast hamsters, mice and rodents cage KARAT 100
- Savic Hamster heaven
- Savic sky metro
- Ferplast criceti 15
With dwarf hamster i recommend bin cage, detolf, pawhunt and ferplast large plastic cage. The reason for this is the other cages have bar spacing which dwarf hamster can fit through.
Bedding/ substrate
This you would also think is an obvious one but there are so many who do not know the correct substrates and bedding to use for their hamsters.
For hamster you first need to understand that the substrate need to be at least 6 inches deep in the cage to allow your little hammy to borrower.
There are many different types of substrate you can use which is:
- Care fresh (must not be the scented one)
- Aspen
- Coconut fibre
- Timothy hay
- Meadow hay
- Hemp substrate
Before buying any substrate please do your research to make sure it is safe.
With the different substrate, i use aspen as the main substrate with hay on top as, hay can to used for borrowing and to make a great nest. Then i will have a deep bow with coconut fibre as, it nature and creates a dig area for them (you do not have to use a bowl). Coconut fibre recreate mud in a safe way for your hammy. They will get muddy.
Sand
This next essential many may not know of is sand. Sand is away for your hamster to clean their coat. But before buying sand you need to make sure you buy safe sand, you can use reptile sand (this must not contain calcium), Beaphar sand or children play sand (please bake before use)
Play pen
This great for their hamster to get out of their cage for some enrichment as well as, is a great way to bond with you. This is a great option if you cannot free roam in a hamster safe room. But in my personal opinion Syrian hamsters do not do well in pens they prefer to run around on the floor supervised.
There many different types of play pens:
- Using your bath tube with a towel.
- Wire pen
- Hamster safe room
- A large cardboard box
- Pop-up playpen
- DIY Plastic Exercise Modular Enclosure
Ideally their pen should be bigger then their cage
Hamster wheels
Hamster wheels are important enrichment for your hamsters as in the wild they would run 5 miles a night so, need to burn off their energy and a great way to do that is a hamster wheel. But you cannot just buy your hamster any wheels.
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
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 toys
This for many hamsters is a surprise but hamster need so many toys. They need so much enrichment so, you will need loads of toys that you can switch out of their play pen and cage.
My hamster have many different types of toys from wooden to plastic to tunnels. The different types is very important to allow different enrichments excitements as well as, you will learn your hamsters favourite.
Treats
This is 100% an essential but for me it personally is as, it a great way to bond with your hamster
and to help with the taming process. There are many different types of treats but please always do your research before giving your hamster treats. Natural treats are the best and healthiest.
Water sources and water bottle cleaning brush
This is an obvious essential, but when having an hamster you as the owner needs to decide whether you want to use a water bottle or water bowl. But, the essential part of this is having a cleaning brush your water bottle as water bottles if you choose to use them with grow bacteria so, it is important to clean them.
Hamster cleaning
It is very important clean your hamsters cage but you cannot just use hot water you need need to use disinfect. There are many different types to choose from:
- 50% water and 50% vinegar home made solution
- Dettol
- Hamster basic disinfect you can buy from the pet shop.
Chewy toys
Food
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