# Daily hamster care



## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Can someone tell me exactly what i should be doing daily for my hamster? What needs to be done for a hamster every day?


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

fresh water and if you regulate food, then fresh food. If your hamster is litter trained (yes they do make stuff for those guys) then I would maybe look it over and make sure its not too bad daily. If he's not litter trained I would do a bedding change once every other week, with spot cleaning in between (finding their heavily used corner/bedding and cleaning it out). I would put my hamster in her ball once every couple days for exercise but she also had a wheel in her cage to run on.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Should i spot clean daily? What about checking if the wheel and water bottle works? And should i check on the chew sticks and just the general environment daily too?


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

you can spot clean daily, i did but i'm also kinda obsessive about my pets lol. as for general maintenance you'll notice when things need changing. are you getting one?


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

I would say spot clean daily, when I had mice they stank up the cage quickly and needed spot cleaning to keep the ammonia levels down especially with my girl who had poor lungs. I would also say if you are getting a hamster and haven't gotten one yet then get a 10 gal reptile tank with a snap lid or a 20gal. I am just here to tell you the habbitattrails or whatever those death traps are called are evil. Plastic is easy to chew through and escape from and a lot of rodents from gerbils, mice, to hamsters die in them every year. Why they sell them is beyond me. I personally had a hamster die in one. He chewed a hole through the plastic to escape, got his head caught, and suffocated himself. Glass tanks are also more sanitary and easier to clean. It's a simple dump and sponge down with a wet rag. Also Oxbow hamster food is the gift from the gods. Know this and know it well. Oxbow is breeder approved.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

:lol:Ive actually had a hamster since january, but ive felt like i havent been doing enough


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

awws picture?


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

Handle it daily as well, socialize your hamster and spend quality time with it to bring down biting habits which hamsters tend to have. The more time spent with a hamster the nicer they become and the happier they are to be around you. It also helps if they have to go to the vets. Playing should be a daily thing indeed. My rats are outside of their cage with me when I am in my bedroom and spend about 8 hours everyday with me. Not saying you need 8 hours with ham ham but 1 hour daily is good enough. Also treats are great too, not daily but weekly. Sunflowers and pumpkin seeds they love, try to avid peanuts since a lot of petshop stock have an allergy to them and trust me you don't want to find out the hard way that your ham ham is allergic to them it's scary.


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

+1 I'm doing the same thing with my bunny right now, except I also play with his toes, ears, and mouth just like any dog. I've also been working on getting him desensitized to being on his back (for nail clipping).


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

I have had two forms of mouse..mice who were poorly socialized when I took them from the shelter to their first week vet appointment...and Ophelia xD. Who was excited to see her vet every month for her check ups on her lungs. It may have helped my vet fed her sunflower seeds up the wazzoo since she came in so much. I miss little Ophi mouse. My vet was happy she passed in her sleep because even she was dreading the day I called her up and said next week I am bringing Ophi in to be put down. The both of us worked hard for three years to stay on top of those damaged lungs and cancer ended up being the thing to take her.


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

I had a hamster for 6 years. Her name was Cloud, she was a teddy bear hamster. my friend had bought a hamster from the store who happened to be pregnant, so I got one of the babies when they were grown and ready. She was the sweetest little thing. She loved her ball and loved roaming around the house. I worked with her all the time and the ONLY time she ever bit me was when I went to pick her up and realized she had a tumor in her belly. I took her to the vet but they said she was too old to do anything for so we just spoiled her for the next month until she passed


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Wow six years?! Good job! Maybe it was the daily spot cleaning ;-)


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

His name is Charlie :3


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

awwww, I miss my ham hams now but I started going for mice and now I have rats. Seeing how much my rats wanted to eat my mice I don't think getting a hamster would be the best idea.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Haha! So can someone make me a list of what to do daily for the best care? I am very list oriented...


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

I have 3 hamster two teddy bears and a dwarf. daily you want to.

-change water
-change food - mind you i do this every other day.
-play with them =D
-mine are litter trained so i change out the litter completely once a week but you wanna check litter daily. if not litter trained you can check the spot he pees in i would still change that spot over every day or every second. heres a video on my toilet training lol http://youtu.be/p7Sb8f5VuX0 
-change bedding weekly if not litter trained. if litter trained you can go longer like once every two weeks.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Change the spot every second? Hahahaha thank you!


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

meh not even gonna fix that mistake  lol


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

LOL. So without a litter box do you recommend daily spot cleaning? And with a litterbox at least daily checking?


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

lol ya


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Thank you


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

You know, I didn't know it was necessary to handle a Syrian hamster...I thought they were solitary animals?


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

They like to be without other hamsters. But they're actually one of the tamest hamsters ever. Just with humans, no hamsters.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

I know but I figured since they dont need other hamsters then they dont really care if a person holds them or not...


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

I guess with any and every pet it's a requirement to check their environment and make sure it's safe and comfortable every day...

Sorry for all the consecutive posts -_-


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

its alright, your just trying to do right by your little friend. For the people who don't get it just explain that this is like your dog or cat lol, I do it all the time with the bun bun


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

lvandert said:


> its alright, your just trying to do right by your little friend. For the people who don't get it just explain that this is like your dog or cat lol, I do it all the time with the bun bun


Lol thank you 

SO daily:

-Change water
-Feed
-Check on hamster itself
-Check on environment (Make sure wheel is working, water bottle is working, Nothing is flipped over, no sharp edges, chew toys intact, etc.)


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

+play with hamster, correct? yes?


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

sounds good to me


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## TheCrabbyTabby (Jul 7, 2012)

Here is what I do for my hamsters.

*Check food dish/water bottle for fullness. 

I make sure check their food dish to make sure that its not empty. If it is, l add more food, if not, I move on. I also check their water bottle to make sure its not empty. If its close to empty, or is empty, I fill it. I also make sure the bottle works and that the hamster is getting enough water from it. 

*Spot clean bathroom area

Hamsters are fastidious groomers and overall very clean animals. As such, they usually designate one corner of their cage as the "bathroom" area. I just scoop it up and toss it.

*Visual and Physical Check of Hamster's Health

I usually give my hamsters a visual check first, and if something looks off, I pick them up and look at whatever it is more closely. This proves difficult with the roborovskis so I just scoop them up in an empty peanut butter jar and do a visual check. 

*Environment Check

I make sure to check their environment to make sure its all in order. If something is looking a little too worn, soggy, smelly, and can't be cleaned or fixed, I take it out and pitch it. 

*Treats!!

I also make sure to give my hamsters a yummy treat on a daily basis. Whether it be a peanut or whatnot. This helps them to associate me with a positive reward and therefor reinforces their hand taming.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Thank you so much guys! Sorry for the millions of posts! Lol


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