Ways to cool down your hamster in the Summer Months!

Hello everyone! 


Nibbles here, Teddy and I are both so sorry for lack of posting.
Wait till we are off for summer break though and you will see such a difference 
in posting time periods& consistency :D 


Today I am going to talk about ways to cool down your hamster in the summer months! ( Speaking of summer ;) )


While you cannot spray your hamster with water, there are many ways to do other things to make their summer months as enjoyable as yours :-)




Hamsters originated in desert areas such as Syria, but remember they lived in cool burrows deep underground.


Note- Hamsters have very few sweat glands, so helping cooling them down is essential.


Note- Hamsters do best between temperatures of 65F ( 18.33 C ) and 78F 
( 25.56 C )


Hamsters can have many illnesses due to heat, including ; heart attacks,heat stroke, and are susceptible to kidney problems brought on my heat stress.


How To Prevent Hamsters From Becoming Over Heated
 Hamsters should always be kept in rooms where there is good ventilation or air conditioning because they will get sick and they could die if they over heat. If your hamster is sleeping on his back in a different place than usual, he may be trying to cool off. Hamsters will sleep on their backs if they become too warm, trying to get rid of some of the extra body heat through their belly's.


Signs A Pet Hamster May Be Over Heated
An Over heated hamster will be hot to the touch, have an overly warm nose and feet. An over heated hamster might be panting heavily with an open mouth and be lethargic. You might also observe your hamster laying sprawled out in the open with his feet stretched out behind him. Hamsters will do this so they can try to lose some of the heat through the bottom of their feet. They also may not eat or drink much, which can lead to dehydration.


How To Keep A Hamster Cool
During the summer it's important to make sure the room you keep your hamster in cool, even if you aren't home. There are several very effective ways to make sure your hamsters are kept cool in the summer. Most importantly make sure they always have fresh, cool water available to them. Hamsters can become dehydrated very quickly. With animals that are watered via a bottle, make sure the mechanism is functioning properly so that your pet can access the water that is there.


Freeze water bottles and wrap them in small towels or cloths and place them inside the hamsters cage. Wrapping them in a cloth first will absorb the condensation from dripping inside the hamsters cage and make sure if he lays up against the frozen bottle he won't get too cold.


Place their cage on the floor in the coolest part of your home. Tile floors stay cooler longer in the summer months.


Do not keep the hamster cage near or on the window sill or near a window. First of all, hamsters like to sleep during the day and will be bothered by the light and during the summer the area right near the window is going to be warmer than other places in your home.


Don't use a glass aquarium as a cage. Glass aquariums don't allow for air circulation and the inside of a glass aquarium may stay a couple of degree's warmer inside than on the outside. 


Always try to keep the room you have your hamster in at the same temperature. Constantly changing temperatures can stress hamsters and make them more susceptible to becoming sick.




Also another thing I do is put a large mug in Nibbles cage. It is cool so that when she becomes hot she can lay in it. I usually have some raisins or some treat inside for her :-)


Also bring your hamsters outside! It gives them vitamin D from the sun which is very important for them. I usually let Nibbles go on the grass for 15-30minutes. Be aware of dandelions though as these can may your hamster feel a bit ill, but it is not deathly. Nibbles loves to eat daisy's which is fine for your hamster. 


Note- In warm conditions try not to put your hamster in his/her ball inside. It has very limited ventilation holes for breathing and can make your hamster hotter.


These are some photos I took of Nibbles when I brought her out the other day&also the mug I have in her cage :-) Enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed!


Love,

Treating a Sick Hamster!

Hey everyone!
Nibbles here(:
I'm on a roll with posts today! So much extra time. 


So today I'll be doing another post on the topic Hamster Illnesses.
Today's topic - Treating a sick hamster!


If your hamster is ill or injured, there are things you can do to treat a sick hamster. After you observe the behavior of your sick pet and note the signs and symptoms of a sick hamster, you can go about treating it for those ailments. It’s worth mentioning that the best treatment is hamster illness prevention. That being said though, no amount ofhamster care can guarantee your little pet won’t ever get sick of injuried in it’s 2-3 year lifespan.


Sick Hamster Treatment

The first thing you should do is separate the sick hamster from the rest of its roommates. This should only apply to dwarf hamsters because the larger Syrian breeds shouldn’t be housed together in the same hamster cage. The last thing you want is to spread any illnesses to the other healthy hamsters or have an injuried hamster get stressed out with too much activity going on in its cage.

The next thing to do would be to heat the treatment habitat to 70-85*f (21-29*c) and make sure there are no drafts. You can use a heating pad or a heat lamp. Make sure the sick hamster has a way to escape the bright light as in providing a hamster house to hide in and make sure not to over heat the habitat. This heat treatment will make the hamster more comfortable and less stressed. Stress typically leads to a lowered immune system.

While your hamster is in isolation, it’s time to clean its normal living habitat. Begin by putting on some gloves (or washing your hands thoroughly afterward) and removing all the waste. It’s not often that a human can get sick from a hamster illness but you should be careful when dealing with any animal waste since airborne particulates can potentially get into your system and make you sick (Warning: hamsters can spread rodent meningitis or fungal infections. Pregnant women should avoid contact with hamsters). Next remove and replace the bedding, food and water. Sanitize all of the surfaces by using a diluted soapy water mixture or a 10% bleach solution. (1/4 cup of bleach to 2 1/4 cups water); rinse these surfaces well. residual bleach vapors can be toxic to anyone especially a small pet in an enclosed space.

Finally, you might need to get hamster veterinarian care if the sickness or injury won’t get better with your treatment efforts. Getting the appropriate medication in a timely manner is important so seek out a vet sooner than later.

That's all on this post!

Hope you enjoyed! 

Nibbles ♥

Sources - http://www.howtotakecareofahamster.net

Preventing Hamster Illnesses!

Hi again!
Nibbles here(:


Today I'll be doing Part 2 to a series of posts on the topic Hamster Sicknesses.
Today's topic - Preventing hamster illnesses!


 A good way to combat hamster illnesses is to prevent it from happening in the first place. With just a bit of preventative care, it can help you keep your hamster healthy for much less than it would cost if your hamster actually gets sick. Here are a few hamster carerecommendation that will go a long way in the health of your hamsters and hopefully save you a trip to the vet.

Healthy Diet to Prevent Illnesses

A well rounded diet will encourage strong bones and a healthy immune. If your hamster community tends to have a shorter lifespan than what should be expected and it’s not due to any visible illnesses, try changing the hamster food. Your hamsters can be suffering from a vitamin deficiency.

Prevent Hamster Dehydration

Water is another vital part of keeping a healthy hamster. This is especially the case for females that are nursing and young baby hamsters. If these newborns don’t get enough water, their growth can become stunted and won’t be as healthy when they mature. You can provide young hamsters with food that has a high concentration of water like pieces of fruit. It’s also important to make sure the hamster water bottle is within their reach.

A Comfy Habitat Reduces Illness

• Avoid choosing a hamster cage location that would cause any cold drafts from windows or air-conditioning units. If a hamster get the chills, it can lead to a weaker immune system.
• Keep the humidity and dampness to a minimum inside your hamster’s cage. In the wild, hamsters live in low humidity locations.
• Provide plenty of hiding places for your hamsters to hide in. This will reduce stress and increase their comfort level. A happy hamster is a healthy hamster.
• Make sure the toys you provide are hamster friendly. It’s important to know if a hamster chews and swallows bits of its toys that it won’t get ill from it.
• Provide plenty of space for your hamsters to spread out to avoid physical confrontations that can lead to open wounds or hamster abscesses that don’t heal.
• It’s important to place plenty of exercise options inside your hamster’s habitat. If your hamster is in shape and not bored it will decrease the risk of odd hamster behaviors.
• Setup your hamster habitat in a way that will keep your hamsters from falling, getting stuck or being cut by any of their hamster accessories.

Sanitation:

Wash all of the hamster bowls,dishes, plates or anything else that you place food inside of or on top of, at least once a week. 

This process can include the hamster water bottles as well, however you must be certain not to leave behind any detergent residue on the inside of the bottle.  However, at the very least, you should rinse your water bottles with a mild solution of warm water. Put the cap on, hold your finger over the nozzle opening and shake vigorously. This will help to dislodge any stubborn algae that may be clinging to the inside surface. It will also help clean the inside surface of the nozzle. Rinse thoroughly in warm water, forcing the rinse water through both ends of the nozzle.

FOOD PREPARATION:

It's important to remember that kitchen counter or stove top surfaces can easily become contaminated from cooking spills or exposure to meats or veggies that may carry harmful bacteria. Or, quite simply from typical spills that weren't properly removed from the surface. Therefore, you'll want to remain vigilant in your determination to protect the health of your defenseless little pet by making certain that you always provide a clean, germ-free surface for preparing treats, snacks or meals.

FOOD STORAGE:

Store your hamster's food products in clean, dry and sealed containers, especially when purchasing in bulk. . Fortunately, there's now an abundance of practically any size and quality of storage container that anyone could possibly imagine. Additionally, while it's really important to keep dry products, such as grains and seeds, away from high humidity and dampness, it's also essential to store the containers in an area away from direct sunlight and in an area where the temperature is moderate to cool. These precautions will help prevent the growth of dangerous molds and other microbes, as well as, extending the shelf life seeds, nuts or grains before becoming rancid. Many of the commercial hamster pellets come in plastic bags with zip lock closure seals, therefore freshness is not typically a concern with those products. However, when a larger volume is purchased, I'll transfer a week's supply into a sealed container for daily feeding. This makes it unnecessary to continuously open the larger bag, day after day, exposing the contents to more and more freshness stealing air and humidity.

That's all this post!

Hope you enjoyed.

Nibbles♥

Sources - http://www.howtotakecareofahamster.net

http://waltek.hubpages.com/hub/Prevention-Can-Help-You-Avoid-Most-Hamster-Illnesses

Injured or Sick Hamster - Signs and Symptoms.

Hey everyone!
Nibbles post(:
My owner has been quite sick lately with the flu  - which means more time to post :D 
So I've decided to do something to do with sick hamsters. Which brings me to the conclusion of injured or sick hamster- signs and symptoms topic!


You never know - that one thing you think is weird about your hamster could turn out to be something wrong. So be careful! 




If you are concerned that one of your pet hamsters might be sick, you probably already have a good feeling something might be wrong. By closely observing your hamster’s behavior and physical appearance, you can determine if you have a sick hamster on your hands. Once you determine there is a problem, you can go about treating a sick hamster. Treatments can include things you can do yourself or if your hamsters are sick to the point the need special medication, you will need to go to the vet. Of course you can help avoid having to do this by learning how to prevent hamster illnesses.

Signs and Symptoms of a Sick Hamster

Change in Your Hamster’s Behavior: Good hamster care involves observing your hamster often to see how it acts on a good day. Understand what a typical day is for your little pets. Watch the wake up routine; does the hamster in question stretch and yawn like it usually does? Is your hamster eating and drinking the usual amount per day? Has the interaction it has among other hamsters roommates changed in any way? If you answered yes to any of these, it’s possible your little guy or gal is under the weather, injured or sick.

Interaction Between You and Your Hamster: Next observe how your hamsters interact with you. When you open the cage door are your hamsters responsive? A normal reaction would be for it to perk its ears up and look towards your direction. A sick hamster might be completely out of it and not have any reaction when you open the cage. It might also cower or get nippy as it might feel vulnerable when it is sick or injured. Of course if your hamster is new, it might be a bit shy until it gets familiar with being handled.

Coat and Fur: A healthy hamster with a satin coat should have sleek coat or fur. It it looks dull or wet, it might be a sign that your hamster is sick. If a hamster coat that is normally rex now has a ruffled and dried out coat appearance, it can also be a sign of hamster illnesses

.Eyes: Healthy hamster eyes are bright and alert without redness. There should be no discharge or crusty parts; the should not be dull or sunken in appearance. Some hamster breeds have reddish eyes to begin with so it’s important to observe what the eyes of this hamster normally look like.

Nose: The nose of a hamster should be dry and not runny. A runny nose can be a sign of a cold or some other virus.

Tail: A wet hamster tail is not a good sign. This is wetness can either be fecal matter or urine. If you notice your sick hamster not moving away from where it just did it’s business, this is a strong indicator that there is a real health issue going on.

Okay so that's some symptoms...

Look out for Nibbles next post - How to prevent hamster illnesses!

Nibbles ♥

Sources - 

http://www.howtotakecareofahamster.net

Getting a hamster? :-)

Hey guys! (:


Nibbles here. I was looking for some posts to do as we have been asking for posts more often!
Its great to here from you guys and I want to make a special shout-out to InkBlots & Hannah! 
We love both your blogs and we will link them below :) 


Today I'm going to be talking about things to take into consideration when purchasing a hamster. 

1.  Hamsters are small and require little space for their cages/vivariums - but, they need attention and time out of their cages every day. You also have to keep in mind a space where it isn't too noisy (no loud blasting music) and where the hamster won't disturb you at night when you are sleeping.

      2.  Hamsters are affordable to purchase and keep - but, this is relative. The first time purchases make up quite a bill and you must be prepared to purchase items for your pet at regular intervals (new water bottle, wheel, food...etc) for the rest of its life. However, no matter what, they are one of the most inexpensive pets to keep. Pieces of fresh vegetable that is not used for cooking can also be given and this will supplement food you buy. In a nutshell, don't make the mistake of concentrating on getting a hamster at a good price and neglecting all the other needs. This is usually what happens with new pet owners.

     3.   Hamsters are favorites with children - but they can bite and their bites can draw blood. Each hamster is different and some may never bite especially if they are tamed by you. There are some hamsters that do have a tendency to bite especially if they are not handled by the pet shop owners. Are you willing to keep a hamster that is possibly mean and unsociable if the pet store hasn't handled the hamsters regularly? This means a hamster that you cannot interact with. Others may not want to take the hamster in either.

   4.  Hamsters hardly get sick - but if they do, are you willing to take them to the vet? Most of the time, very sick hamsters have little chance of survival. The vet bill is also often much higher than the price of the hamster.

 5.  Hamsters do not turn your house upside down - but they occasionally turn their cage inside out! You may have to replace items regularly (like waterbottles if it chews on it) and perhaps sweep around its cage everyday, where they've kicked out shavings. This might not appeal to extremely tidy pple who like to see their house spick and span at all times. 

6.  Hamsters are crepuscular or nocturnal. Basically, they're awake and active in the dark. Are you willing to play with them when the sun goes down? They get grumpy if they're woken up from their afternoon beauty sleep and may be more apt to bite if disturbed. If you are usually free in the day, you might want to consider a more diurnal animal. However, if you are relatively free in the evenings, this arrangement should suit you fine.

 7. Syrian hamsters are solitary - one to a cage at all times (except when they are very young)! Although there have been cases of syrians living well together, it is not advisable to take the risk, especially if you are a new hamster owner. Obtaining another set of accessories and a new cage would be the best option. Or, if that is not possible, finding a good home for the second hamster  is in order. It is important to note that Russian Dwarf Hamsters can be kept together, but this has to be done at a young age (usually no later than 2 months). Are you willing to get ten cages, water bottles, wheels, etc. if you have ten hamsters or willing to buy another cage if the Russian Dwarfs Start fighting?

8.  Hamsters can be left alone, if necessary for long periods (holidays- I mean one or two days) and when you're not at home during the day - but they're escape artists and are hard to find if they've decided upon a cosy hiding place, but it may be a better option to have a friend or relative look after it while you are gone just so if the hamster gets out, drains the water bottle, etc., there isn't a problem. On the whole, it is much easier to find a pet sitter for a hamster than for a dog or cat and usually this doesn't cost at all, since it's usually a friend or relative who's been left with the job. However, do brief your sitter about your hamsters habits and needs. I've heard of a case where the sitter put the visiting hamster with her own and they fought to death!

9.  Hamsters can be quite hardy and generally adapt well but, - they can be hurt easily if they are dropped accidentally at standing height and you definitely can't play rough with a hamster! Neither can you play with them for long periods.

10.  You can be quite attached to your pet - but, they live at most 3 years (some live longer but they are exceptions). Do you need a pet who'll be able to spend more time with you? 

So that's it from me guys! I hope everyone is well and please comment below and tell us how your hammy's are all doing! 

Nibbles♥ xxx


Shout out to InkBlots & Hannah!
InkBlots - http://inkythehamstermommy.blogspot.com/
Hannah - http://hannah-animal-tales.blogspot.com/




Sources - http://www.angelfire.com/my/hamstertales/hamsters_you.htm

Reccomended Cages :-)

Hey everyone! Nibbles here ( Or as you can call me :O ) 


Today I'm going to be talking about some of the cages that '' Teddy '' and I recommend. 
First off I'm going to start off by saying my three recommended brands of cages and accessories are : 

• Habitrail.
• Rotastak
• Crittertrail

So what I have for my hamster Nibbles is the Habitrail Ovo Suite. 

I really like this cage because of the space and entertainment it provides for my hamster. 

As you can see above it has the main room at the bottom which contains a wheel that joins onto the 

stairs leading up to the food bowl. And underneath the food bowl is a hidey hut in which your hamster 

can nest. Also the food station and wheel can be taken out.

Then on your left you see the green small area which can be used for anything really e.g. Toilet ; Food storage ; Sand bathing area etc.. Then on the top you see the blue Travel compartment which you detach from the cage so you can use to take it travelling or used when cleaning the cage.  Also on the left you see the blue water bottle. Its a vacuum seal bottle and to vacuum seal it you must shake three times and wait till it stops dripping or it won't stop. 

http://www.habitrail.com/

Rotastak

Rotastak and Habitrail are more the of the same thing. Cages and accessories for hamsters.

Teddy has the Rotastak Tunnel of Fun cage.

As you can see there are three levels to this cage. The main area at the bottom is the biggest space for toys and the small bottle of water. This is also where you get to each floor. Coming out of the bottom cage is the biggest tunnel with a yellow ball for sitting or resting in. This is a wonderful feature to the cage as its act almost like a window so your pet can see. This brings us to the second largest area in this cage. This space has bit of barring over the plastic dome. I think this would be a good area for treats and the food bowl. Then there is the sleeping hut. You can add this just above the bottom floor as shown or make a third floor by adding it over the second floor. Just like every other hiding space its perfect for nesting in. Fill this with bedding and its the perfect place for your hamster to relax.

http://www.myrotastak.co.uk/

CritterTrail - 

Crittertrail is also just like Habitrail and Rotastak. My younger brother also owns a Syrain hamster and he has the CritterTrail Z.

You can see in the picture above that this cage is fun and spaceful. It also consists of three compartments. 

The main bottom floor is spacious and has the corner for the small food bowl , a corner with a small window which you can not see in the photo and a corner in which the water bottle hangs from. Here on this floor I would put the toys and treats owned my your furry little friend. There are two tubes leading to other areas in the cage. The first tunnel I will talk about is the tunnel on the right hand side. This leads up to the green hamster ball that your  hamster can run about in. What I really like about this is that you can detach the hamster ball , secure it with the escape proof door and let your hamster run about on the floor. Now the tunnel on the left leads you to the sleeping area. As I said with the Rotastak cage fill it with bedding and its a cosy place for your hamster to nest. What I like about this is that it opens easily and shuts easily. If you do buy this cage please note not to fill the sleeping area up with too much bedding as the door can open if too full. 

http://www.superpetusa.com

What I love about all of these cages and brands is that all the products are colourful and fun and something you would like to add too and have fun with :-) Highly recommended :D

♥Nibbles xxx