Lovely Hamsters

They're so lovey dovey. How cute!

Hamsters make excellent starter-pets for anybody having a pet for the first time. They are a perfect springboard for teaching a kid anywhere from age 7 to 47 how to care for an animal.

As any pet owner knows, caring for a pet entails tremendous commitment and dedication. Getting a hamster is not as simple as picking it out from a store, winding it up, and then leaving it on its own to entertain us for hours. You have to set aside some time each day to look after it, like it was part of the family.

Sometimes, though, your pet hamster gets unintentionally mishandled. If it could talk, these are probably the things it would tell you:

1. Don’t forget the breathing holes – when carrying your pet hamster home for the first time, remember to put it in a small, secure box with breathing holes, or use a special carrying case.
2. Leave me alone in my new cage for a few hours – even hamsters need time to adjust to new surroundings.
3. Keep my cage away from the television - hamsters find loud noise disturbing.
4. My exercise wheel has to be solid - if the wheel has rungs, a hamster’s legs could get trapped in them.
5. Don’t put my food in a plastic bowl - hamsters are notorious gnawers. They could chew on plastic, and the splinters can be dangerous.
6. Do not lift me too high - a hamster could seriously get injured if it falls from a height of 20cm or more.
7. Squeeze me not - hold a hamster firmly without squeezing it. You don’t want to crush its bones, do you?
8. Poke a finger at me at your own risk - a hamster might bite it. A pet owner with a sore thumb is not too appealing.
9. Help! My eyes are cloudy, and my bum is wet - these are common signs of illness in a hamster which should not be taken for granted. Take it to a vet as soon as you can, to avoid complications.
10. Don’t sneeze in my face, please! – hamsters can catch colds from you too. When you’ve got the sniffles, it’s best to have somebody else look after your hamster for the meantime.