The Hamster Handbook (B.E.S. Pet Handbooks)

The Wandering Hamster

Hamsters are by nature wanderers. In the wild a hamster may travel far from its burrow each night in search of food. As it travels, the hamster will shove seeds and other bits of vegetation into his capacious cheek pouches. Once back in his sleeping area, he'll use his front feet to help empty the pouches before heading out again for another food foray. The nocturnal habits of hamsters mean they are totally okay with being left alone during the day. That means, when you get home in the late afternoon or early evening, your pet is ready to wake up and enjoy your attention.

Hamster Caging -- What goes inside

Hamsters love exercise wheels. These are important to keeping any hamster busy and content. If your caging doesn't have room for an exercise wheel, rethink your caging.

A helpful hint:

Solid plastic exercise wheels squeak a lot less than metal wheels, which you'll appreciate in the wee hours of the night.

Diet

Pet hamsters are among the easiest small animals to feed. The easiest thing to do is to buy the best commercial hamster food you can find and augment on occasion with bits and pieces of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and an occasional mealworm or cricket or two. What you need to look for is a diet that will provide your hamster with 12-15 percent protein and 3-6 percent fat.

Hamster Health

With good husbandry and nutrition, hamsters are subject to few health problems and very few diseases. This is one of the many reasons they make such good pets. Disease prevention (or to be more accurate, "wellness") isn't difficult, and it isn't expensive.

A helpful hint:

Don't keep your pet in a damp enclosed area like a basement. Hamsters evolved in deserts and grassy plains, and they are adapted to low humidity levels.