Archive for June 30th, 2011
General Care And Breeding Of Rabbits
June 30th, 2011
It is important to provide a range of other items apart from food and water to ensure your hamster’s well-being. Chews of various types will help to keep your hamster’s incisor teeth in trim, although short branches cut from apple trees – which have not been sprayed with chemicals – can serve the same purpose. Crusts of bread, roasted in the oven, can be a valuable addition to the diet as well.
Exercise: It is vital to keep your hamster fit. In the wild, hamsters emerge from their burrows under cover of darkness, and may travel several miles in search of food or a mate. An exercise wheel will give your pet hamster a substitute for this night-time activity. Modern closed-wheel designs are the safest option, as a hamster could slip and injure itself in an open-weave wheel. Check regularly that the wheel is firmly in position and will not collapse on the hamster. Oil the wheel from time to time; it may be noisy when in use and, if the cage is in a child’s bedroom, the wheel can disturb a sleeping child. Pregnant females seem to use a wheel most, and it may be that this helps to tone up their muscles in preparation for the birth of their pups.
Syrian hamsters especially will benefit from having an exercise wheel. A closed wheel is always a safer option and oils the wheel occasionally so that it moves freely. A wide range of other toys are now available for hamsters. Being burrowing creatures by nature, they need adequate retreats of various types in their quarters.
