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Hamster
Hamsters are one of the most popular pets in the world, and are definitely the most popular pet from the rodent family. Hamsters make great pets for people of all ages because of their cleanliness and cuteness, and hamsters are also relatively inexpensive and easy to take care of. A hamster usually makes an ideal pet for children and helps teach responsibility. The average lifespan of a hamster is approximately 1-3 years, and for this reason some people claim that caring for a hamster is a good way for a child to eventually learn to cope with loss.
There are many different kinds of hamsters, but the one most commonly kept as a pet is the cute Syrian hamster breed. Syrian hamsters are the largest kind of hamster, and they can be found in a lot of pretty different colors, in long-haired or short-haired variety. The long-haired Syrian hamster is sometimes called a Teddy Bear hamster. A full-grown Syrian hamster usually grows to about four to six inches long. An important thing to know about Syrian hamsters is that you should never keep more than one per cage, because if two Syrian hamsters are forced to share the same space, they will probably fight and can seriously hurt each other. The next most popular hamsters are Dwarf hamsters, which only grow to three to four inches in length, hence the name Dwarf hamsters. These cute little guys can be kept together with other Dwarf hamsters and they will usually get along just fine.
Pet hamsters are playful and cute. Plus, they don't need a lot of space. But of course, they're small and you have to handle them very gently. Also many don't live long. Hamsters and mice, for example, live for only 1 1/2 to 2 years. Compare that to cats and small dogs, which may live for as long as 15 years.
What they need: hamsters need a cage, some bedding, food, and water. And they may also need a paper towel tube or a piece of folded cardboard to hide in and a running wheel to play on. You should check their food and water every day and change their cage bedding once a week.
The larger Syrian hamsters come in lots of different colors. They don't get along well with other hamsters, so you need to keep just one in a cage. Female dwarf hamsters do get along well together, so you can get more than one. Hamsters may bite you until they get used to you.
Hamsters do not require bathing as they clean themselves and to bath a hamster removes the natural oils from the coat and there is a risk the hamster will catch a chill. Hamsters do appreciate having a dish of sand to roll in though and this helps to remove the greasiness from the coat - in the wild they live in deserts so this is natural for them.
The cage should be cleaned weekly by removing the hamster from the cage and throwing away all old wood shavings and food. Any fresh food that may have been stored by the hamster should be removed after a couple of days to avoid it rotting. The hamster will appreciate it if some of its old bedding is placed in the clean cage along with some fresh bedding.
When cleaning the cage it is recommended that the hamster be checked over for any signs of illness. This is an ideal time to check that the droppings in the cage look normal: soft droppings could indicate diarrhoea, lack of droppings could indicate constipation.
Hamster breeding for pet shows is the most common reason people breed their hamsters. To produce the best hamster for a pet show, breed hamsters that are pedigreed. Be aware that a hamster is not considered pedigreed if it has mixed blood in its background within the last four generations.Also, do not breed a hamster that has any type of defect at all, even if it is a minor one. If you breed two hamsters of a different color, be aware that it might produce hamsters that have a color not recognized by the judges of the pet show. If you breed your hamsters in the correct way, you will have hamsters that are healthy, beautiful, and may just win first prize at the pet shows.