A hamster it is!

[angie r]

We ended up buying ds a hamster. I know, I know............LOL Anyway, HER name is Reggie. Just don't tell ds that it is a girl and not a boy!! LOL She is very cute and not a stinky animal so far. She is enjoying empty paper towel tubes and stays very busy at night. She is 4 weeks old and most hamsters live 2-3 years.

[KarlaB]

Congrats on your new pet! I bet your ds is thrilled!! :)

[Ryleigh]

Congratulations on the new addition to your family. ds must be very excited.

[Leigh]

Congrats on your new pal. Hope you and your family enjoy it , especially ds.

[KathyT]

We are on our 4th hamster. Our "oldest" one lived just over 2 years, the youngest lived only 2 months, but she wasn't right from the very beginning :( . All of ours have been teddy bear hamsters.

I think they make great pets, although they are nocturnal and can get quite noisy with their wheel spinning and cage gnawing!!

Our current hamster is very sweet, falls asleep in dd's robe pocket when she takes her out of her cage in the morning.

Hope you enjoy her!

[Leigh]

How is the hamster going? Does ds like HER/him alot? LOL!!:lol:

[angie r]

The hardest part about this hamster is that s/he sleeps all day and "works" all night. The noise doesn't bother us as we don't keep her hear our bedrooms. Poor ds never gets to see her move about!! The pet store told us not to wake her as they can be nasty if you do. Should I try waking her earlier in the evening for some time with ds? He has gone back to trying to catch frogs for pets!!

[KathyT]

Dd wakes her hamster whenever she feels like it, poor thing! Once you and ds are used to picking her up and holding her, I wouldn't hesitate to gently shake her cage and wake her. Because they are nocturnal, unless you do this you will never get to handle her!

PS Make sure whoever is handling her doesn't have any food residue on your hands or you might get a little nibble, and they have sharp teeth!

[angie r]

We did wake her up tonight and put her in her "ball." I feel so bad ds wants to hold her but it is tough for me to hold her. She is still so little and quick I don't want her to get loose. Dh isn't any better at it. I think I am going to have to work on MY handling skills!

Thanks for the food residue and waking tips KathyT!!

[KathyT]

When we got our first hamster the pet store was really helpful and they said in the beginning to put a pair of mini gloves on (you know those stretchy 99 cent one-size-fits-all gloves?) because the hamster will get a better grip on your hand and you won't get nipped. That way, they can get used to you handling them. We found it to be very helpful with all four. Eventually they do get used to being held and come to enjoy it. Our current one, "Bessy" (??) climbs into your hand as soon as you put your hand into the cage.

[angie r]

Originally posted by KathyT
When we got our first hamster the pet store was really helpful and they said in the beginning to put a pair of mini gloves on (you know those stretchy 99 cent one-size-fits-all gloves?) because the hamster will get a better grip on your hand and you won't get nipped. That way, they can get used to you handling them. We found it to be very helpful with all four. Eventually they do get used to being held and come to enjoy it. Our current one, "Bessy" (??) climbs into your hand as soon as you put your hand into the cage.

Thank you so much for the great idea!!! I can handle that!!

Ds wants to feed her a carrot, is it ok? How often?

[KathyT]

Carrots are fine, but just a small sliver if she is young. Lettuce, cheerios, bits of strawberry, etc. Depends on the hamster, you will get to know what she likes.

Has he been able to hold her much yet?

[Colleen S.]

Angie...
You're getting some very good advice here on this board.
About 2 years and 4 months ago 2 hamsters were given to us by the Pet store that was going out of business across the street from our house. The owner came over one day with a huge aquarium...inside were 2 young male hamsters. My children were estatic!!
My daughter named hers Jigglypuff and my son named his Diglet (both names come from Pokemon!) These little hamsters have been such a joy to our family...I wish they could live forever. We've grown very attatched to them but at this point we realize we're living on borrowed time as far as their life expectancy goes.
They both had shots when we got them...I don't know if this has made the difference with them living so long but we figure they are both almost 3 years old...(they were app. 6-7 months when we got them.)
I would not suggest babying them. Pick them up often and give them lots of love. The more you handle them the better. My son doesn't handle his as often as my daughter and you can tell the difference. Although his is more entertaining to watch in his cage he isn't as comfortable with human contact. My daughters hamster on the other hand is an angel...He is held often!!! lol
(this is getting sooo long sorry!) Hamsters can catch colds from humans. So avoid handling them if you are ill.
Oh! Also...when we first got the hamsters they shared a cage. We had no idea that if you keep two males together that they would attempt to kill one another....We are so fortunate that we were present when this occured or the outcome would have been much worse. Diglet has a little chunk bitten from his ear. What drama!
We immediately went to Pet Smart and bought 60.00 worth of hamster home.
Enjoy your pet and I hope he/she sticks around a long time!
PS. Vitamins in their water is a must.
My friends son gave their hamster a nacho dorito and the poor thing died...I could tell you a hundred other things..enjoy.

[angie r]

One of the reasons I liked the hamster was that they were "loners" and we would only have to have one!

The poor little things catch colds? I haven't heard anything about shots??? Vitamins? My sil put something in the first bottle of water for wet tail but didn't say anything about vitamins. Do they not get it in the forti-food??

[Amy]

I had 42 hamsters at one time!! I supposedly had two "males", but had a litter. I seperated them after, but its so hard to tell their sex at a young age, so two more inbreed with each other etc... LOL.

Pick them up anytime. My last 4 female hamster I had were all teddy bear hamsters and all of them died of wet tail. It was horrible because they didn't have medicine for it back in those days. Hope yours last without this!

hey once he moves on from hamsters, ferrets is the next level! I wouldn't marry dh until he loved my ferret-Tiki, eventhough Tiki didn't like men and bit him hard on the toe. LOL But he did Love that one and bought three more after he died! :)

[Jeff]

what type of hamster is it?

[Colleen S.]

The reason we give vitamins is because the book told us to! Ha!
But after time the little guys got picky about what food they eat and they bypass some of those grains that are in the hamster mix. Guess it's sort of a back-up just incase they miss something in their diet...Better safe than sorry!
Ours love pockets...infact they like to nuzzle and burrow in there...They are fun.
What kind of cage did you get?

[RCT]

yes congradulations on your new pet....I used to be afraid of hampters as a kid...but always like thier little trails you can buy....hope your family enjoys him/her.....:biggrin: and another plus you don't have to walk it or house break it...LOL

[angie r]

Jeff - I don't know what kind of hamster it is? It is brown and cost $4.99 so I imagine it is not anything "fancy." Can you guess why ds named him Reggie??

Colleen - We bought an aquarium. We wanted to get one of those plastic tube things but the pet store said that they can chew right through them?

[Jeff]

Originally posted by angie r
Jeff - I don't know what kind of hamster it is? It is brown and cost $4.99 so I imagine it is not anything "fancy." Can you guess why ds named him Reggie??

Colleen - We bought an aquarium. We wanted to get one of those plastic tube things but the pet store said that they can chew right through them?

hmmh...is her favorite toy a basketball? I was just curious on the breed. Some breeds are higher strung than others and don't make good pets. Also some breeds are fatally allergic to red cedar bedding.

They can chew through plastic pretty quickly and it sounds horrible and LOUD as they do it. Plastic tubes are a nightmare to clean too.

If you notice a pattern to where reggie is voiding her bladder, you can place a small square or rectangular container with kitty litter (i'd say without all the odor reducing chemicals) in that spot and that will greatly reduce the number of times her home needs cleaned.

[angie r]

Originally posted by Jeff



If you notice a pattern to where reggie is voiding her bladder, you can place a small square or rectangular container with kitty litter (i'd say without all the odor reducing chemicals) in that spot and that will greatly reduce the number of times her home needs cleaned.

ah, yes, Reggie loves basketball!

Great tip! She does do all her business in one corner. I never thought I'd buy kitty litter!

[RCT]

Jeff did you say High Strung.....shammmmmmm on you....LOL....

[Jeff]

Originally posted by RCT
Jeff did you say High Strung.....shammmmmmm on you....LOL....

I didn't know high-strung was hyphenated. I wonder how many other things I mispell...