You might wonder if your hamster is attracting pests, like roaches or mice or even snakes. The thing is, pests don’t come out of nowhere, they have a reason for coming to your home. So is it the hamster ?
We’ll delve into this today, and how to rid your home of said pests. Keep in mind that sometimes you might have to ask a professional for help.
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So do hamsters attract pests ?
No, hamsters do not attract pests. Hamsters do not attract mice, rats, bugs, snakes, or any other creature that might make your guts squirm.
You might think that the hamster’s scent might attract other rodents like mice or rats. This is not true. They are very different species, and will generally avoid each other.
The same goes for snakes and bugs. They will not come to you because you’ve touched your pet hamster.
Pests do show up when the hamster’s cage becomes dirty, especially with dirty old rotten food. If there are bits of old food on the floor too, then that’s more incentive.
But it is not the hamster’s fault. At all.
Why pests might show up in the first place
To understand why pests might show up in a certain area, we have to know how pests work.
You see, the vast majority of creatures regarded as pests – rodents and insects most commonly – are opportunistic feeders. They eat what they can, when they can, if they can get it.
As such, a nice crop of corn, for example, can be decimated by a brood of mice, a murder of crows, or a whole locus infestation.
But what if you’ve got no such crop ? Well, some food bags in your garage might suffice. If you live in a house and you’ve got foodstuffs stored in your garage or other places in your home, those might attract mice or roaches of not stored properly.
This doesn’t mean a stray bag of cereal will make a horde of mice come running. But a bulk of 30 boxes, left in a part of the house that has access to ares that aren’t usually well traveled – like a storage unit or garage or closet or basement – can attract them.
If they can pick up the scent of the food, and the food is unguarded, and left in an area that people don’t go through often, then pests can come.
Another possibility, if you live in an apartment building: your drawer of snacks can be very inviting. This is more difficult though, since pests don’t come barging because you’ve left an energy bar open in that drawer.
But if the building or neighborhood itself has a problem – like possibly your neighbors 2 floors down having a roach infestation – they you might too. They will choose your home over other homes because it has the most unguarded food.
Again, this has nothing to do with your hamster friend.
But, if you do not regularly clean the hamster’s cage and bits of food and droppings often end up on the floor, pests can show up. They sense where the home is most unkempt, and they go there, knowing no one will be in their way.
For example our neighbors have a pair of parakeets. They often leave them in their cage outside in the summer, to enjoy the sun and fresh air.
In that cage there’s food, and the birds outside know that. We’ve chased away sparrows trying to steal the parakeet feed more than once.
The same scenario could happen with your hamster too, if you keep him in a room where people don’t go much.
Sometimes, it could be about something else, and not food. Pests, especially mice and rats, are incredibly curious. and hardy. They will poke and prod and push and try every little corner of the plumbing and outside until they will get inside your home.
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Keeping your hamster pest-free
Alright, now we know why pests show up. Now we can figure out how to keep the home, and the hamster’s cage pest-free. Here’s a few ideas:
- Regularly clean the hamster’s cage, once per week. Make sure there is no stray food or poop outside his cage.
- Do not keep the hamster in a side room. So rooms like basement, closet, garage, storage unit, attic are not okay to keep your living, breathing hamster in.
- Regularly check the areas where the plumbing comes out of the walls. Like under sinks, bathtubs, drains, etc.
- Make sure no food has fallen behind a counter, which might attract bugs or mice
- Keep up to date with your building or neighborhood’s pests infestation, see if your area is clear
- Make sure your trash can and bags are stored properly, not left outside overnight.
For the most part, pests will show up in areas of the home where you don’t really go. So any hidden, dark corner, especially if it connects to a series of tunnels like plumbing for example.
For very old houses pests can be a serious problem, since they can infest the walls themselves, and weaken the structure of the house itself.
Consider calling a professional to deal with a large infestation
If you’ve already got an infestation, you’ll want to get rid of the creatures. While one stray mouse or bug can be dealt with easily, and entire colony is hard to get rid of.
There are certain treatments for insects, or poisons for rats, there are even humane traps. But they need to be used effectively.
If you’ve got a large infestation, you’ll want to call some professionals. This is mostly because of convenience. By this I mean you can always find the correct dosage for poisons online, or how to set up certain traps as well.
But the hassle and time spent on ridding your home of pests is best left to people who are meant to do just that.
And you can mind your day-to-day life as usual, until things have settled. Aside from knowing that you’ve got a warranty, in case anything goes wrong.
Now I have no recommendation for you, but I’m sure you will be able to look up a team of experts in your area. Do tell them that you’ve got pets, and ask if they’ve got any pet-safe treatments.
A word from Teddy
I hope you found out what you were looking for here. Us hammies may be rodents but we don’t attract pests, and we’re good guys on our own. We do love to chew though.
If you want to know more about us hamsters you can check out the related articles below, to know how to care for us and keep us happy.
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Can You Wake Up A Hamster? Read This FirstWhen I had my first hamster, I always had this question. Is it a good or a bad idea to wake up a hamster?
The answers I found online at the time were quite wrong now that I know what a hamster routine is and the fact that they are solitary animals and not social animals.
Many people, like me, want a pet hamster to be able to play with, but they quickly realize that their schedules don’t align since most hamsters are crepuscular or nocturnal.
Now the question is, do you wake up your hamster to play with it, or do you let it sleep?
Before getting to this topic, check my article about the hamster’s routine, especially if you don’t have a hamster and are thinking of getting one.
Table of Contents
ToggleCan you wake up a hamster?Should you wake up your hamster to feed it?How to gently wake a hamster if you have toCan you change your hamster routine?Waking hamster by mistakeCan hamsters sleep in the dark?Conclusion
Can you wake up a hamster?
You should not wake up your hamster, it is stressful for it as it is for us or for any other pet.
You better think twice when you want to play with your hamster, and if this is the only reason you want to wake it up. Your hamster might be grumpy, and biting you is possible in that situation.
It is rude to wake up a human to have someone to play with but at least we are social animals, so we like spending time with others, hamsters are not.
So, when you wake up a hamster to play with, it is like waking up someone that doesn’t like you to hang out with. It might sound harsh what I’m saying here, but even if you see a small cute furball, you have to remember that they don’t like company, even yours.
There are some hamsters that look like they enjoy playing with humans, but in reality, they are just less afraid and want to explore, not play.
And this happens especially when they are active already, not when you wake them up.
Before getting discouraged, it’s important to know that they are waking up from time to time, even during the day. They don’t sleep continuously, so you might get a chance to play with them.
Should you wake up your hamster to feed it?
You should not wake up your hamster to feed it. I’ve heard and seen some people that wake up hamsters to feed them. You can imagine how bad of an idea that is.
Again, imagine someone waking you up in the middle of the night to give you food or tickle you.
I had this experience once with my mom, me and my wife were visiting my parents and we took a short nap in the middle of the day.
The funny part is that we just ate before going to sleep so we were kind of full, you know like you are when you are visiting your parents. My mother decided to wake us up after an hour to come and eat. I told her that we just ate, and I feel hungry when I’m hungry, not sleepy.
Don’t understand me wrong, I know why she woke us up. She was doing her host and mom’s job, it was the wrong moment, though.
So don’t wake your hamster up for food, they can eat when they wake up naturally.
However, if you have to wake up your hamster for whatever reason, trying to wake them up with a treat is not the worst idea.
Here is an entire article about what treats you can safely give to your hamster.
How to gently wake a hamster if you have to
There are some moments when you might have to wake up your hamster. In my case, I clean his cage on the same day when I clean the house so I have to wake him up when I’m cleaning, I can’t wait too much.
If you have a good reason to wake up your hamster, here is a good way of doing it.
Offer your pet a special treat or food item that he loves. Tap lightly on the side of his cage and talk to him while he is waking up.
You will hear rustling as he stirs, then his nose will appear as he sniffs to check out the situation. Keep the treat close by so it is easily detectable by your pet.
He will slowly come out, sleepy-eyed and ears tucked back. Your pet will move towards the treat and you can then pick him up.
I saw some articles recommending gently blowing on the hamster when you want to wake them up. I would not do that, but if you do, make sure you don’t blow in their face, they hate that.
Can you change your hamster routine?
Changing your hamster routine is stressful and unhealthy. If you love your hamster, you should not think of doing that.
Before buying or adopting a hamster, you should make sure your schedule suits their routine if you want to play with them.
Of course, as I said, you will have some moments when your hamster will be awake during the day, but there are not as many as at night.
One thing I noticed about the hamster routine is that they seem to be way more active when I leave the house for a few days. When I come back, they are still active, even during the day. But not nearly as much as evenings and nights.
It always felt to me like he was waiting for me to leave so he could throw a party, and I caught him by surprise when I came back. My guess is that hamsters feel safer when it is quieter, even during the day.
Waking hamster by mistake
If you worry that you will wake up your hamster unintentionally by making noises around their cage, it is important to know that they have good hearing, but they will notice you only if you are quite close to their cage.
All the hamsters I had slept well even when I had music going in the room, but if I made sudden noises around their cage, they would wake up.
It’s almost impossible to have a room only for the hamster cage, so this is unavoidable that you or your kids will make noises around the cage, and it might wake up the hamster every now and then. Make sure it is not too often.
All my hamsters had this habit of waking up to drink some water or for a small snack during the day, I know there are humans that do this during the night, so it’s easy to understand why. I’m saying this to clarify that you are not waking up your hamster by mistake when they are active during the day, it is just their routine.
Can hamsters sleep in the dark?
Yes, hamsters can sleep in the dark, hamsters don’t sleep like humans, they are intermittent sleepers if that is a word, so they will have short bursts of sleep.
As you might get to see your hamster active during the day, you can see a hamster sleeping during the night.
You don’t have to think too much about how is the light in the room for the hamster, just turn it off when you go to sleep and you can turn the light on when you are in the room.
Hamsters have poor eyesight, they don’t use it too much. However their eyes are quite sensitive, so make sure you don’t direct the light to their cage. Even direct sunlight might be harmful to their small sensitive eyes.
Conclusion
Before you get a hamster as a pet, it’s very important to understand their habits and routine not to be surprised.
They have a very specific routine that doesn’t suit most of our lifestyles, especially if you have a regular daytime schedule at work.
Waking a hamster up just to play with it is pretty rude and stressful for them, so you should avoid doing that as much as possible.
I hope this article helped you and your hamster will be happier and less stressed. [...]
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Why Does Your Hamster Have Diarrhea? Here Are the FactsCaring for your hamster requires you to know the different aspects of its health such as the possible illnesses and conditions it might end up suffering. Diarrhea is merely one of the several health conditions that hamsters may end up suffering. But why does your hamster have diarrhea and what are the possible causes of its diarrhea?
Your hamster could have diarrhea due to a different number of factors namely wet tail, influenza, salmonella, and dietary changes. Among all of the reasons for hamster diarrhea, the wet tail is one of the most dangerous causes of a hamster’s diarrhea as it requires immediate treatment and attention from a veterinarian.
Hamsters are just like any other animal in the sense that they can be quite prone to a lot of different illnesses such as diarrhea. And in most cases, the causes of their diarrhea tends to be similar to the cause of diarrhea in most other animals. That is why you have to know how to properly care for your hamster so that you can prevent any kind of potentially dangerous disease or health condition stemming from diarrhea from developing.
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ToggleHow do you know if your hamster has diarrhea?Why does your hamster have diarrhea?Can hamsters die from diarrhea?How to treat hamster diarrhea?
How do you know if your hamster has diarrhea?
Diarrhea has always been one of the most common health conditions suffered by humans and different animals. This is when the stool becomes wet due to a lot of different conditions but diarrhea is often caused by problems in the bowel movement as a result of viral infections or any other similar causes. Of course, hamsters also suffer from diarrhea just like most other animals do.
When we are talking about hamster diarrhea, one of the most common ways for you to know that your hamster has diarrhea is when its tail is wet. The reason for its wet tail is, of course, due to the fact that its stool is also wet. Hence, that’s why diarrhea in hamsters is often called the wet tail, which isn’t always the generic term of hamster diarrhea but is actually an operative term for a more serious kind of hamster diarrhea.
You can also inspect the hamster’s stool to detect whether or not it is suffering from diarrhea. Hamsters with diarrhea will have stools that are light in color, can be soft, and does not necessarily have to be watery and wet. It is usually in the more severe cases when the feces of a hamster will become very watery and wet.
Loss of appetite can also be a good indication of hamster diarrhea but not all hamsters suffering from diarrhea will appear sick. It is only when the cause of diarrhea is a virus that you will notice your hamster looking sick, lethargic, and very tired. Hamsters that are suffering from diarrhea will eventually lose a lot of weight and may even become anorexic.
Why does your hamster have diarrhea?
Now that you noticed that your hamster is showing some of the more common signs and symptoms of diarrhea, it is now time for you to know what could have possibly caused your hamster’s diarrhea. So, why does your hamster have diarrhea?
Well, there are plenty of different reasons why your hamster has diarrhea, and those different reasons can vary from simple causes to more serious illnesses that can possibly become too dangerous for your hamster.
There will be cases where the hamster’s diarrhea is caused by changes in its diet because of how it is not used to eating a different type of food after spending most of its life eating the same meals over and over again. In most cases, when you feed your hamster with fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of water, it’s stool will naturally become watery as well. This includes fruits and veggies such as tomato, cucumber, and orange. Even though fruits and vegetables are generally healthy for your hamster, it is best to control the amount you feed to your little pocket friend.
Two other possible causes of diarrhea in your hamster are diseases and infections. The common flu and salmonella are quite common diseases and infections that your hamster can possibly suffer from.
It is quite easy for hamsters to contract the flu from humans, which can possibly lead to not only diarrhea but also to sneezing and a runny and watery nose. Weight loss, lethargy, and loss of appetite may also become possible symptoms of flu other than diarrhea.
Meanwhile, salmonella might not be very common in hamsters as they rarely infect them. However, if ever they do indeed get infected by salmonella, expect the hamster to suffer from diarrhea on top of lethargy, loss of appetite, and even vomiting.
The most serious cause of diarrhea in hamsters is the common condition called the wet tail. Stress is the biggest culprit for wet tail in hamsters due to how some of the younger hamsters may end up suffering from a lot of stress as a result of the constant movement and adjustments they have to undergo on a regular basis especially when they move from pet store to pet store and eventually to your home.
Due to the stress, the gut flora or the Campylobacter bacteria tends to overpopulate and will eventually develop into diarrhea. Wet tail is extremely contagious in hamsters and can easily spread from one hamster to another. That’s why, when you are choosing a pet hamster that’s also kept with other hamsters in a large cage, always choose the one that is most active so that the chances of it suffering from wet tail are slim.
Can hamsters die from diarrhea?
Normally, diarrhea caused by simple reasons such as dietary changes or the flu probably isn’t fatal unless the hamster is left untreated or uncared for during the time when it is suffering from diarrhea.
However, a wet tail is actually a very serious condition that requires immediate attention and treatment from a veterinarian. The reason is that hamsters can easily decline in health when they are suffering from wet tail due to a combination of a lot of different factors but mainly because it won’t be eating a lot and it’s going to end up suffering from dehydration due to diarrhea.
So yes, diarrhea in hamsters can be fatal especially when you don’t treat your hamster right away. While some forms of diarrhea are not as serious as the others and may end up subsiding over time, other causes of diarrhea such as wet tail should always be taken seriously enough that you need to get your little pal to the vet as quickly as possible.
How to treat hamster diarrhea?
Treatment for common diarrhea can vary depending on the cause of diarrhea. When your hamster is suffering from diarrhea as a result of a change in its diet, simply reverting back to its old diet while managing the symptoms such as providing enough water for your hamster may be able to help treat diarrhea.
For diarrhea caused by flu, managing the symptoms of flu while making sure that your hamster is drinking enough water may be able to help alleviate the illness. But if the symptoms get worse, that should prompt you to take the hamster to a vet.
In the case of the wet tail, immediate veterinary attention, and treatment is the only way for you to treat the hamster’s diarrhea. The vet will know what to do to help treat your hamster’s wet tail but the usual treatment involves using antibiotics that will kill and eliminate the bacteria that is causing diarrhea. Vets will also use a syringe or a dropper to feed your hamster, especially whenever it isn’t eating its food or drinking water at all.
Wet tail is extremely serious to the point that it can even kill your hamster in a matter of hours when the signs of this illness become apparent. That’s why it is important that you take your hamster straight to the vet when it is showing symptoms of wet tail. Do not try to delay the illness on your own at home because the only way for you to get your hamster treated and cared for is through the professional expertise of a vet.
Always keep it in your head that there are no natural home remedies that you can use to treat wet tail, and such an illness will not go away on its own when you allow the hamster to recover naturally. Even a special diet will not help treat wet tail. Again, the only way for you to have your hamster’s wet tail treated is to take it to the vet. [...]
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Where Hamsters Come From – Origin Story Of Your Furry FriendIf you’ve ever wondered where your hamster comes from, know that I asked myself the same question. Turns out hamsters have a short history of being pets, and some really wild and rugged ancestors.
It’s a whole story, really. And there’s more than just one hamster type. Today there’s 5 types of hamster available for purchase, and they’re all a bit different.
But let’s start with the basics: where do they come from, where do they go ? (Cotton-eyed Joe)
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ToggleSo where do hamsters come from ?About the Syrian hamsterAbout the Roborovski DwarfAbout the Campbell DwarfAbout the Siberian/Winter white DwarfAbout the Chinese DwarfThere is a wild European hamster no one has ever tamedHow the wild hamster came to be your cuddly petPet hamsters vs wild hamsters – is there a difference ?Is a hamster a good pet for your home ?A word from Teddy
So where do hamsters come from ?
Hamsters, as a whole, have several ‘roots’ but they all stem from the same general region. Reaching from southern Turkey, Syria, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, parts of China, hamsters are mostly Asian in descent.
At least the ones that we’ve been able to domesticate somewhat, and keep as pets. Each hamster type has a different story, but they have a common thread. That of being noticed in the wild by one scientist or explorer, and brought back to the Western world as pets.
The modern hamster, aside from variations in coat patterns, is very much the same as the wild hamsters discovered about a century ago.
Next, we’ll cover the roots of each hamster type, and how they came to be our pets, including how to care for them given their ancestry.
About the Syrian hamster
Originally from southern Turkey and Syria, the Syrian hamster is the largest of the pet hamsters (up to 7 inches/18 cm). They come from a very hot and dry place on this planet.
They’re the most diverse-looking hamsters out there. They can be all in one color, spotted, ringed, with a dominant spot, golden, or ashen, or pretty much any color combination you can imagine.
The most common is the Golden variation – also the one found in the wild – with orange on the back, and white on the belly, with a bit of grey on his ears. My Teddy is like that.
The Syrian was first sighted in 1839, but didn’t become a pet until the past few decades. You see what happened was that all the way back in 1930 a zoologist named Israel Aharoni was able to find a mother hamster, with a litter of 11 babies.
They were found in Syria, and brought to Jerusalem for study. Not all of the litter survived, since the mother sensed danger and started eating the babies. Unfortunately that happens, and the zoologist wasn’t aware, no one had known hamsters before.
A few of the babies survived, and were raised in the laboratory in Jerusalem. Some escaped, and became the wild hamsters of Israel.
In 1931 a few of them were transported to Britain, and from the on raised and passed on to various laboratories for studies, and to breeders as well.
Today’s modern Syrian hammies are descended from that one mother found in Syria, since none have ever been successfully captured and bred since. So my Teddy – Golden Syrian male – is probably related to your Syrian hammy, like very very distant cousins.
About the Roborovski Dwarf
The Roborovski hammy, or the Robo Dwarf, was first sighted and noted by Lt. Vsevolod Roborovski, a russian expeditioner.
These hammies are much, much smaller than the Syrian, and they’re actually the tiniest of all hamsters. They grow up to 2 inches/ 5 cm and that’s it.
Robos live in parts of Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China. The regions of those countries that the hamster lives in are particularly dry and sandy, with very little vegetation and water, so this hammy has learned to be great at surviving on very little water.
The Robo was brought in the common household only around 1960 when they were imported into the London Zoo, in the U.K.
Given their small size Roborovski hammies have become very popular as pets, and they’re among the hamster types that can live in a pair. Even if they’re the smallest and hardest pet to literally hold onto, Robos win with their cuteness.
Their fur markings are more limited than the Syrian hamsters, but they live the longest – up to 4 years being the record.
About the Campbell Dwarf
The first ever Campbell Dwarf was found and collected in 1902 in Mongolia by Charles William Campbell (hence the name).
The territory these hamsters live in is somewhere between southern Russia, northern China, Mongolia, and a part of Kazakhstan. Most hamsters, aside from the Syrian and European hamster, come from that area, actually.
Of all the hamster species, the Campbell Dwarf is the most social. They’ve been found living with other hamster types in order to share tunnels, protection, and food.
They also come close to human settlements to find warmth, shelter, and food. For example they can be sometimes found in mongolian yurts in the winter months.
It’s unclear how these furry creatures came to the Western world since there are no definite records. Still, I’d imagine it happened like with the rest of the hammies that can be purchased now..
About the Siberian/Winter white Dwarf
The most confusing hamster type out there, it’s usually confused with the Campbell Dwarf.
The Siberian hammy’s name is always a mix, ranging from:
Siberian (given the region it lives in)
to Winter White since its fur changes to white in the winter
to Russian since it inhabits parts of Russia
and finally Djungarian for another region of China this hamster lives in
plus the added “Dwarf”, to make it all even more confusing
Now that being said, this particular hamster lives in parts of Russia, Siberia, China, and Mongolia. The appearance is a lot like the Campbell Dwarf, but with a few key differences.
The Siberian Dwarf is small, with a white belly, and a browny color on its back, a dark stripe going down the back, and a dark spot on its crown. In the winter the fur goes almost completely white.
The Campbell hamster has the same look, but grey on its belly, and has a much thinner stripe down the back, with no dark fur on the crown. They can interbreed only by male Siberian and female Campbell , but the result is a sterile litter.
Naming and discovery happened in 1773 by Peter Simon Pallas, who first described it as a mouse, and later renamed it Mouse Songarus.
The Siberian hammy was brought to Germany (and the West in general) only in 1968, all the way from western Siberia to the Max Planck institute in Germany.
About the Chinese Dwarf
This hamster was also discovered by the same zoologist as the Siberian Dwarf, Peter Simon Pallas, and recorded in 1773.
There is some serious confusion between the Chinese hamster, and the Striped Chinese hamster. They seem to be the same species, but it’s honestly hard to make sense of the conflicting info. Some say they’re the same, some say they’re each other subspecies, some say they’re completely different.
What’s definite though is that they both have a longer tail than other domestic hamsters, and look mostly the same. As in mostly brown with a few darker hairs, and a very thin dark stripe going down the back.
These hammies are larger than a Dwarf, but smaller than a Syrian. As in, the reach up to 4 inches/ 10 cm, yet they’re classified as Dwarf types, given that they’re still smaller than the Syrian.
Chinese hamsters are also very territorial, and can’t be housed together. They and the Syrian hamster will fight to the death, even if introduced to their own siblings as babies.
The region these hamsters live in ranges from Mongolia, China, Korea, Western Siberia, Southern Russia.
There is a wild European hamster no one has ever tamed
Alright, after all these hamster types that you can find in most pet shops, there is another one. A much larger, completely impossible to tame hamster.
The European hamster, or black-bellied hamster, can grow to double the size of a Syrian hammy. So that puts an adult European to about 8-14 inches/20-35 cm !
Their fur is usually brown, with a black belly, chest, and neck and a few white markings on the neck and paws.
Its territory ranges from Belgium and Eastern Europe, all the way to Western Russia. Aside from this, not much is known about this hamster when it comes to who named it and why it’s not suitable as a pet.
I’m guessing its large size makes it harder to keep in check, and thus wouldn’t be a good pet. That’s just my guess though.
How the wild hamster came to be your cuddly pet
Now that you know where your hammy came from, now let’s see which kind of hamster you have. You can find a simple, clear guide to hamster breeds here, so you know which hamster type you have.
And here you’ll find the main differences between the Syrian hammy, and the Dwarf type hammies out there. There’s quite a few differences.
Okay, now you know which hammy you have. But how did it become your pet ? Actually, why did hamsters in general become pets ?
Well, as you’ve read most of the hamster types were imported to either Britain or Germany for study. Back in the day zoologists and explorers did intense research and expeditions to find out everything you now read in your zoology and biology textbook.
They did more than just that, but that’s the part where the hamsters come in. So hamsters became both laboratory animals, and zoo expositions as well.
Once scientists and professors started getting valuable info about the hamsters and they became widely known, they started to become gifts. For a dignitary or diplomat, hamsters were given as pets, and were exported into toe U.S. as well in the late 1900’s.
So the hamster has a history of curiosity in the wild, to laboratory animal, to zoo animal, and finally as a pet. They became very popular as pets in 1930-40, and only grown in popularity since.
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Pet hamsters vs wild hamsters – is there a difference ?
When it comes to temperament, the modern hamster isn’t all that different from the wild hamster. Given the fact that the selective breeding process has been going on for less than a century, your hammy at home isn’t decidedly tame or domesticated.
Unlike dogs for example, who’ve been bred for thousands of years, and became domestic and tame and loving pets, hamsters have a very short history of being pets.
And there is also the difference between rodents and canines, which makes rodents harder to teach.
That being said, if you were to release your Syrian hammy in your back yard, it would have a low chance or survival, depending on where you live.
If you’re in a warm, sandy, dry place, it would be a lot like his home and he’d scamper away to dig a burrow.
If you’re like us in a cooler, more humid place, with all 4 seasons, your Syrian hammy would perish as soon as autumn kicked in.
It’s not necessarily the cold that gets to them, but the humidity that goes through their fur and makes them sick very fast.
When it comes to markings though, the modern hamster has many more variations than the wild one. Aside from that though, your pet hammy is mostly the same as his wild cousin.
Is a hamster a good pet for your home ?
A hamster is a great pet to have, but he comes with his own challenges. Hamsters are very sensitive to temperature, light, sounds, and smells.
They don’t do well in crowded, loud homes, and react very badly under stress. They also get stressed very easily, to there’s that too.
The ideal home for a hamster is a quiet, calm home, with not many adults, children, or pets running around the house, and of an even temperature.
For this reason, and the fact that they’re mostly nocturnal and sleep during the day, hamsters are deceptive pets. They look cute and sound easy to take care of, but need constant handling in order to remain tame.
A lot of patience and calmness in needed to take care of a hamster, and quite a bit of attention to detail too. Like the cage size, the spacing between bars, the kinds of food he gets, and so on.
Hamsters are still wild animals, and rodents at that. So they’re excellent escape artists, and will often gnaw on everything they can.
That being said, having a hamster as a pet can be rewarding on its own. It’s just very different from having a puppy or a kitten. You can find out more about what having a hamster is like.
And if you want to know how to choose a good hamster for you, check out this guide on the health and personality traits to look out for in your pet hamster.
A word from Teddy
I hope you liked reading about us hammies, and how we came to be your pets. I know it can be a bit confusing, but we’ve had a wild ride all the way to your home.
If you want to know more about us hamsters, you can read the related articles below, for steps on how to care for us and so on. [...]
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Does a hamster fart ? Does the fart smell bad ? Fun factsDid your ever hear your hamster fart ? Did you ever wonder if he does ? I never did, until someone asked us if Teddy can pass gas and I honestly had no idea at first.
So I went around, looking for answers and marveling at the fact that no one really answered this with a clear yes or no. Well, here I am to solve this haunting mystery.
Table of Contents
ToggleSo do hamsters fart ?The little evidence I could find that hamsters can pass gasDoes a hamster’s fart smell ?Hamsters can’t burp, thoughAbout the hamster’s digestive systemA word from Teddy
So do hamsters fart ?
Yes. Yes they do. Hamsters fart. They’ve rarely been heard by anyone to actually pass gas, but after some research, I’ve concluded that they do.
If you want a veterinarian’s opinion on the matter, you should check out this article. Lewis (author) is a vet who majors in exotic animals, and hamsters happen to fall into that category.
The little evidence I could find that hamsters can pass gas
If you got here then you probably googled whether hamsters fart or not. And I think you’ve seen the amount and quality of results Google can offer.
Mostly I’ve found forums where no one was very decided on the matter, and some videos on Youtube of people scaring hamsters and adding fake fart sounds.
Aside from Lewis’ blog (linked a few rows above), there’s no other clear evidence I’ve found that hammies can pass gas. There are some foods that might cause gas, like broccoli, or cauliflower, and you can try with those to see if your hamster ends up breaking wind.
But honestly hamsters are so tiny you might not even hear it.
I have no idea where this search came from, and how it got to be. But it shows us that we’ve still got a long way to go before we can say we truly know hamsters.
Here’s the real question though:
If your hamster farted, but you weren’t there to hear him… did he really fart ?
Does a hamster’s fart smell ?
Well, again, there isn’t much evidence pointing yes or no. But I will give my two cents here.
Farts smell because they’re the product of bacteria from the stomach breaking down the food particles. As such, they release methane gas. Which, on its own does not smell, but it’s always combined with carbon dioxide and sulphur.
However when it comes to hamsters, their farts are so… small, I’d say, that I think you’d have a hard time registering it.
Unless you’ve fed the hamster something with a high protein content, like chicken, boiled egg white, and maybe even a peanut. Then maybe you can smell them faintly.
If you want a more detailed and coherent list of safe and unsafe foods for your hamster – check out this article right here.
It’s the protein that breaks down in the gut that gives farts the terrible smell.
So to sum it up:
A hamster’s fart can smell, but it’s so small that you probably won’t be able to smell it.
(If you like this article so far, you can pin it to your Pinterest board by clicking the image below. The article continues after the image.)
Hamsters can’t burp, though
The way a hamster’s stomach is made makes it impossible for them to burp.
You see, a hamster’s stomach is split into two sections. That split makes it physically impossible for the hamster to release gas upwards.
As far as I know, rodents in general have no gag reflex. They also can’t vomit, since their stomach are a bit different than ours.
This also means that for most rodents, a poison or food that produces a significant amount of gastro-intestinal gas can possibly be lethal.
Mostly because while most mammals can fart, burping is also a mechanism to release trapped gas. So if they can’t burp to release the gas, they will have less chance of survival.
About the hamster’s digestive system
In that their stomach can process almost the same kinds of foods as us humans.
They’re alright with meat, but only some kinds.
Hamsters can eat cheese and a couple of other dairy products, but with much more caution than us.
Hammies can even eat fruits, although some should be avoided. And they can also eat some kinds of vegetables as well.
However their stomach is a bit different than ours. It’s structured into 2 different parts, that do different things. The first stomach, or the first part of the stomach, is meant as a primary digestion. But it can’t get all of the nutrients out, in one go.
So, there came the need for the second part of the stomach. Which, in itself can extract more nutrients, and also produce them – like some certain vitamins.
But those vitamins, while very important and crucial to your hammy’s health, can only be ingested in the first part of the stomach.
This is how your hamster ends up eating its poo sometimes, since it needs those nutrients.
A word from Teddy
I hope you found what you were looking for here. I know us hammies look like the cuddliest, fluffiest creatures. But we do fart sometimes. It’s just that we’re shy and we’d rather you didn’t know about it.
If you want to know more of our secrets, like why we sometimes get scared of you, or why we need to run so much, check out the articles below. [...]
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Do Hamsters Get Cold ? Keep Your Hamster Warm And HappyA hamster is a very sensitive creature, and temperatures can affect his as well as us humans. Let’s see if a hamster can get too cold, and if he can even get the sniffles too.
Table of Contents
ToggleSo do hamsters get cold ?How to tell if your hamster’s too coldDangers of keeping your hamster in a room that’s too coldHow to tell if your hammy has a coldTreating and caring for a hammy with a coldA word from Teddy
So do hamsters get cold ?
Yes, hamsters can and do get cold. This happens when the room you keep the hamster in falls far below 20 C/68 F, for a long period of time. Even a few hours is too much for the hamster.
This is because the ideal temperature to keep your hammy is between 20-23 C/68-75 F, with no drafts or direct sunlight.
If your hamster lives in a room that consistently falls below the those temperatures, he might just get cold. A hamster left in a cold room for too long can develop several health problems.
But let’s see some signs that our hamster is too cold.
How to tell if your hamster’s too cold
One way to tell if your hammy is cold is if he draws lots of his bedding towards his hideout. Hamsters will do this naturally, even if they have lots of nesting material in their hideout.
But a hamster that feels his habitat is too cold will pile up the bedding like it’s nobody’s business.
When this happens with my Teddy he scrapes and moves all of the bedding to the side where his hideout is. Regardless of how many squares of toilet paper, cardboard, or paper towels I give him.
Another sign is if you friend becomes lethargic, and even loses his appetite. He might be trying to conserve body heat and energy by sleeping much more, and so you might see him less often.
In extreme cases of cold, your hamster might actually shiver and shake ! If this happens take your hamster to a warm room immediately.
Dangers of keeping your hamster in a room that’s too cold
One of the main dangers is what people call hibernation. Hamster can hibernate, yes, but they only need to do so on the wild. Wild hamsters get many warnings from the weather that the cold season is coming, and have time to prepare and survive.
A pet hamster put in a very cold room has no time or warnings. He will have to act quick, and fall into a sort of slumber that not only can’t keep him alive for long, but will dehydrate him as well.
In extreme cases, that slumber is actually hypothermic shock, and can be fatal. You need to check this article on how to save your hamster from such a situation, and how to make sure it does not happen.
Another problem that can come up is that the hamster can in fact catch a cold. Like us humans, and most mammals, hamsters can catch colds. They will sneeze and have runny noses and feel like they need to sleep for much longer.
How to tell if your hammy has a cold
Does your buddy have a cold ? There’s a few ways you can tell. You should look for:
Runny or wet nose. Hamster noses run, like ours do, but they do no have the luxury of tissues
Sneezing
Possibly sticky eyes, or discharge from the eyes
Matted, ruffled fur
Low energy, loss of appetite
Sleeping for much longer
Thirstier than usual
Hot to the touch when you pick him up
If a few or all of these are checked you can be pretty sure your hamster’s got a cold. You will need to get your little friend to a veterinarian, who will prescribe a treatment.
It could be a round of antibiotics, or something else. Depending on how severe the cold is, and what your vet thinks is best for the hamster.
(If you like this article so far, you can pin it to your Pinterest board by clicking the image below. The article continues after the image.)
Treating and caring for a hammy with a cold
If your hamster friend’s got a cold, do not worry, Hamsters usually survive a cold, but they need help.
The treatment you will get from the vet will work. But do remember that colds go away on their own in about a week, whether treated or not. You can only alleviate the symptoms.
To help your hamster go through this cold easier, you can change his bedding once, and then leave him alone to build a new, warm nest.
Give the hammy a lot of nesting material. More than you think he needs. He will use all of it and build himself a big, tangly mess to keep himself warm and hide away in for a few days.
Keep the hamster’s room in the temp range mentioned above. That’s 20-23 C/68-75 F. Do no go over that range, since a room too warm will make the hamster too warm and make it difficult for him to breathe.
Make sure the room is well ventilated, but not drafty. In that respect, you can also make sure that his cage is not near a window or door, or on an external wall.
Finally, make sure to separate the sick hamster from his mates if you’ve got several hamsters. You might even have to take the sick hammy to another room.
If all goes well your friend should be fine in about a week, and able to return to normal.
A word from Teddy
I hope you found what you were looking for here. I know us hammies look so cute and fluffy, but we can get cold too. And if we catch a cold it’s not easy on our noses either. At least you have nose drops.
If you want to know more about us hamsters you can check out the articles below. You’ll find more info on how to care for us properly, and keep us happy. [...]
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Why Do Hamsters Pee In Their Wheel? 4 Main ReasonsHamsters peeing in their wheel is annoying for the owners since you have to clean the wheel more often, but is this a real problem for your hamster, or is it just a mild inconvenience for you?
Hamsters do pee in their wheel, not all of them do this, but I have a hamster that has been doing this for quite a while. It stopped lately, so this behavior can change.
The other two hamsters I had haven’t done this at all so I don’t know how often this happens, but I saw some people complaining about this little problem.
In this article, I want to discuss all the reasons for this weird behavior, what you can do, and when and how to clean its wheel in this situation.
Table of Contents
ToggleWhy Do Hamsters Pee On Their Wheel?1. Marking their territory2. Fear3. Preferred spot4. Busy runningWhat about hamsters’ poop in their wheel?Can you stop your hamster from peeing in his wheel?Do hamsters use the sand bath as litter?How to clean a hamster wheel?What wheel to buy for a hamster that is peeing in the wheel?Conclusion
Why Do Hamsters Pee On Their Wheel?
Here are the main five reasons why your hamster is peeing in the wheel:
1. Marking their territory
This reason is the most frequent one, hamsters tend to mark their territory using their scent, they have a scent gland that is used for this, but they also can pee to mark the territory as a dog will do.
You can see the glands on a Syrian hamster on their sides, which is a small spot(usually hairless) I know this because I was afraid that my hamster had a problem the first time I saw this.
Dwarf hamsters have their scent gland on their belly, so it’s not as visible.
So if you are not seeing your hamster actually peeing on its wheel, it might only be the secretion from its scent gland, which is yellowish and greasy.
This might happen, especially if you clean their wheel too often, since it will lose the odor they use to mark their territory. We will discuss later how often you should clean a hamster’s wheel in this situation.
2. Fear
Hamsters are prey animals in the wild, and they are easily scared, so they will have these instincts even if they are pets.
They can pee when they are scared, and when they are running, they might suddenly be scared for no reason. Or when they run too fast, and go head over heels in their wheel, that might be a moment when they release urine.
It might also be a sound or a movement they feel around them while they are running.
3. Preferred spot
All my hamsters had a preferred spot where they would pee, those might be 2 or 3 spots, but they don’t pee randomly all over the cage.
If your hamster decides that the wheel is the perfect spot, you can’t change that too easily since it appears that they don’t have a very good reason for choosing the spots other than the fact that they feel comfortable there.
I had a hamster that used a plastic tunnel as a preferred pee spot, I had to remove that tunnel in the time since the tunnel was going outside the cage, and his pee got on the furniture multiple times.
From a safety point of view, the tunnel wasn’t the safest if you think about it since it was outside his cage, but I guess the closed space made him feel safe and comfortable there.
4. Busy running
Hamsters are not as aware as humans of what they are doing, they don’t consider the wheel as a treadmill used for cardio exercises. They are running to get somewhere else, but surprise, surprise, they are not getting too far away.
When you think about this, peeing in the wheel is for your hamster, like a quick stop to pee at a gas station for you when you are on a road trip.
So, it is not like peeing on the treadmill when exercising.
What about hamsters’ poop in their wheel?
Hamster pooping in their wheel is more common than hamsters peeing in their wheel.
Hamsters don’t have a preferred spot for pooping as they have for peeing, so they can randomly poop all over the cage, including their wheel.
It might also be the fact that they are scared or frightened, as many other animals, hamsters tend to poop when they are scared, so this might be the same as we talked about above about peeing when they are scared. The difference is that a hamster poops more often when scared rather than peeing. So you should not worry too much about hamster poop that you find in the wheel.
They might also spit it there, yes you heard me right. I have an entire article about why hamsters eat their own poop, and in that article, I touched a bit on why hamster spit (fling) their poop outside the cage, but it can also be inside the cage or in their wheel.
Can you stop your hamster from peeing in his wheel?
You can try a few things to make your hamster stop peeing in their wheel. But they are just that, things that you can try, no one can guarantee success since hamsters have different personalities and behaviors.
The first thing you can do is to remove the wheel for a few days, this might be a bit difficult for your hamster since it will get your hamster agitated without a place to exercise, but it will force it to find another place to pee.
Then you can place the clean wheel back and hope for the best.
Also, you can attempt to potty train a hamster. Keep in mind that the videos and articles you can find suggest that this is easy, but it can be quite difficult if you have a stubborn hamster. I will not get into all the details here, but check out this article to make sure you follow the right steps when potty training your hamster.
Do hamsters use the sand bath as litter?
A sand bath is not the same thing as a litter box, hamsters use sand baths for cleaning themselves, while a litter box should be used for the hamster to pee and poop in.
So you should not add sand in the litter box but rather bedding and other materials that will absorb the pee.
However, as with other animals, they might not think as you do and use their sand baths as litter and not for cleaning themselves, which can be annoying, but it is what it is, and you can’t change that easily.
Here is an article I wrote about proper grooming and the importance of sand baths for hamsters.
How to clean a hamster wheel?
In order to clean a hamster wheel, you have to get it out of the cage and clean it thoroughly with hot water and a bit of soap, just a bit, don’t use much soap since the hamsters are very sensitive to strong smells.
Also, make sure you rinse and dry the wheel very well before putting it back into the hamster cage.
A hamster wheel can be cleaned when you clean the entire cage or even less often than that if the hamster is not peeing in the wheel.
But if your hamster is peeing in the wheel or you find a greasy yellow secretion from its scent glands all over the wheel, you might have to clean it more often.
Even in this case it is important to not clean the wheel way too often, so let’s say once a month is enough, because if you clean it once a week or so, you only encourage your hamster to mark it back when you add the clean wheel to the cage again.
I know it can be weird to leave the wheel as it is in the cage but this is the better option, otherwise, you will stress your hamster more than necessary, and the end result will be the same.
What wheel to buy for a hamster that is peeing in the wheel?
You might be tempted to buy a metal wheel, but is usually not the best idea, especially if it’s a metal wheel with a lot of space between bars it can be dangerous for your hamster.
I had a metal wheel, but it almost had no space between the bars and the bars were in very small x shapes, so not straight bars, which is a bit safer for the hamster.
But I’ve also changed that wheel with a plastic one that is much safer and bigger. I’ve had the metal one since the first cage I had for my hamster wasn’t tall enough for the big plastic wheel I have now.
Here is a good plastic wheel you can find one amazon:
An important thing when you buy a wheel is to be silent and this one has silent in the name but also, people that bought it are pretty happy with what they’ve got. Unfortunately, it is not available in my country, so I couldn’t get it, but I saw many people recommending this wheel on forums and in communities after they bought it.
Conclusion
So marking territory, fear, preferred spot, and busy running are the main four reasons a hamster can pee in the wheel. When we talk about poo in the wheel, being scared is the main reason, but it is also the fact that they don’t care where they poo.
I hope this article helped you know what to do when your hamster is peeing in the wheel and also realize that it might not be such a big problem.
You can try the tips I give you above to make your hamster stop peeing in the wheel, but they are not guaranteed to work. [...]
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