Everything You Need to Know Before Getting a Hamster
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Hamsters are often referred to as "starter pets," a harmful characterization that implies that they have less worth and fewer needs than other animals and can be used as a "learning experience" for children grappling with responsibility for the first time. This mindset is an example of speciesism, the misguided conventionalities that one species is more important than another. Hamsters are just as worthy of respect as y'all, a canis familiaris, or a tiger, and they have specific needs just like the rest of us. At that place is no such thing equally a "starter pet."
If you're thinking nigh adding a hamster to your family or are already caring for one, here are some of import things to consider:
1. When You Buy a Hamster, You're Supporting Cruel Animal Mills
A routine inspection past the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that one PetSmart supplier reportedly immune severely stressed hamsters to eat i another and left the remains of the deceased animals in cages.
When you support pet stores, you're supporting places like this horrendous dealer, which supplies animals to hundreds of pet stores beyond the U.S. To learn more, visit PETA's investigation page.
Plus, breeding animals to be kept as "pets" has created a homeless-creature crisis: Millions of unwanted animals are euthanized every year for lack of adept homes. Never buy from stores, and ever adopt animals who are desperately waiting in shelters for a new life.
2. Hamsters Need Large, Secure Homes
Hamsters tin be viewed by other animals as prey and may be in danger of getting harmed or killed past other companion animals in the dwelling house if proper precautions aren't taken. To help foreclose animal companions from harming one another, it'due south imperative that hamsters have a prophylactic, spacious, and sturdy enclosure to call home.
Cages sold at pet stores are woefully inadequate to meet a hamster's unique needs. If an enclosure is likewise pocket-sized, the beast tin develop "muzzle rage," a status caused by stress that can lead to various behavioral issues, including bitter, excessive urinating, and ceaseless muzzle-bar biting that tin cause serious harm to teeth. Large hamsters should accept a minimum of 800 square inches of clear floor space, and dwarf hamsters should accept at least 640. Because very few commercially available cages meet these recommendations, we recommend building your own hamster enclosure. If you're unable to create your ain, another option is a 75-gallon (or larger) aquarium with a fitted mesh lid. Hamsters love to explore, and so a larger space will brand your hamster happier and healthier.
Make sure any barred muzzle doesn't have spaces larger than half an inch (for large hamsters) or a quarter-inch (for dwarf hamsters), as they could clasp through. Hamsters also take the power to flatten their bodies, and they tin can fit through very small holes and crevices. They are easily lost and tin can be difficult to find, often getting injured or killed while on the loose.
iii. It Can Be Difficult to Find a Veterinary for Your Hamster
A hamster is considered an "exotic animal" and must be seen past a specialized veterinary. Many people don't know this, and when their hamster becomes sick, they are not able to notice an appropriate veterinarian in their area, thereby delaying handling. When a guardian finally does find a vet who sees "exotic" animals, it'due south oftentimes very costly, which may as well prevent some people from ensuring that their hamster receives proper care.
four. Hamster Balls and Wheels Are Not All Fun and Games
While hamsters demand to be able to play and explore, the well-known hamster toys, the hamster brawl and wheel, aren't designed with the creature'southward well-beingness in mind. Both toys are often made too small, causing hamsters to arch their back unnaturally. Shopping for a bike with a diameter of at least 11 inches (8 inches for a dwarf hamster) may hateful buying something marketed for rats, but information technology will be better for a hamster's physical well-being and can provide great mental and concrete stimulation.
Unlike a hamster wheel, which provides a hamster with a safe place to exercise when the right size is used, a hamster brawl is not recommended. Hamsters are easily frightened, because they don't accept the best eyesight, and they employ their whiskers to navigate. A hamster separated from sensory data, as in one of these balls, is a disoriented animal—and what is often perceived by humans equally enjoyment is more than likely a panic response. Additionally, hamsters' legs can become caught in a ball'south air holes, leading to cleaved bones. Instead of a ball, consider a playpen or hamster-proof a room and allow your hamster to practice in information technology under your diligent supervision.
v. A Alone Hamster Is a Happy Hamster
While some animals need friends and companionship, hamsters practise not. A Syrian hamster can bail with a homo guardian, but they should non live with another hamster. They are territorial and will probable fight. Dwarf hamsters, including members of the Roborovski, Russian, and Chinese species, tin live with a companion if introduced at a young enough age, only fights can occur no matter how long they've coexisted. Instead of adopting another hamster to continue yours company, be your hamster'south friend—spend fourth dimension with them each day, cuddling and playing outside of their cage.
© iStock.com/AlexKalashnikov
half-dozen. Hamsters Need Special Bedding and Nesting Materials
There are several options for affordable and safe bedding to give your hamster the home they deserve. However, it'due south important to know what's rubber, as fifty-fifty packaging for unsafe bedding, such as pine or cedar shavings, may have a cute photo of a hamster on the label at a pet store. Cat litter, paper, and "fluff" bedding can also cause life-threatening ailments for your hamster and should exist avoided. Aspen shavings, paper bedding, and hemp are all acceptable choices and tin can even exist mixed together in a hamster's enclosure. Your beast volition also capeesh a modest container of sand to bathe in.
Bedding depth should be between 8 and 12 inches. Hamsters will naturally urinate and defecate in a specific spot, and that surface area should exist cleaned weekly. All the bedding should be replaced every six months or so, simply a handful of used bedding should be retained to help the hamster experience secure.
7. Hamsters Have a Sleeping Schedule
Hamsters are crepuscular, pregnant that they are active at dusk and dawn, spending daylight hours and night in their nest. This can exist frustrating for a guardian who wants to play with their companion during daytime hours. Waking a sleeping hamster tin be stressful for them and can prompt them to act nervously or aggressively. There are valid reasons to wake a sleeping hamster, just as at that place are reasons to wake a sleeping homo, such as to administrate medicine or modify something potentially hazardous in their environs. Only wake them with care and caution!
8. Hamsters Are Not 'Starter Pets'
Although hamsters are minor, they however entail a large delivery. They require daily care, practice, and attention, just like other fauna companions. How can you lot help hamsters? Recollect, at that place is no such thing as a "starter pet." Please also never buy an animal from a store, and tell friends and family unit not to, either.
Urge PetCo To Stop Selling Animals
Source: https://www.peta.org/living/animal-companions/pet-hamster-facts/
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