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,

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

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