Daily hamster care

[finnfinnfriend]

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

[lvandert]

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.

[finnfinnfriend]

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?

[lvandert]

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?

[LadyVictorian]

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.

[finnfinnfriend]

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

[lvandert]

awws picture?

[LadyVictorian]

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.

[lvandert]

+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).

[LadyVictorian]

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.