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How to Train Your Hamster to Do Stuff

November 21, 2013 By Sarah Yee 8 Comments

Hamster Training with Blueberry the Roborovski

The video below shows Blueberry the Roborovski hamster learning how to go up his new toy. We put sunflower seeds on the steps to make him climb on it one by one.

At first, there were sunflower seeds on the lower steps (orange and green) they were removed after he learned how to go up them.

The first few steps were easy but he had a bit of difficulty with the last two as you can see in the video below ^_^

The training was done over two days although we had already put the toy in his cage for a while for him to get used to.

Previously, we trained our winter white hamsters to go up the rainbow steps as well and they learned it much faster — almost immediately without falling off as much as Blueberry did. If you haven’t, watch this video of Oatmeal the winter white dwarf hamster going up the platform (this was her first day with the toy!).

Oatmeal the winter white using the steps to escape her bin cage

I’m not sure if the species of the dwarf hamster had anything to do with how fast they learnt how to climb the steps but our other robo dwarf hamster, Ichigo, had difficulty with it as well.

All the colorful wooden toys you see in the video are available at Hamster.sg. However, shipping is only available within Singapore at the moment.

Filed Under: Hamster Care

How Much Does a Hamster Poop in One Night?

October 6, 2013 By Sarah Yee 1 Comment

How Much Does a Hamster Poop in One Night?

In case you were curious (lol):

hamster-toilet

This is the Syrian’s ‘toilet’ which was converted from one of the dwarf hamsters’ older small cage. I changed the sand only about 12 hours ago, so the number of turds you see were all produced in one night (awkward topic, I know >.>).

Hamster ‘toilets’ are awesome

For anyone who doesn’t have a bath/toilet for your hamster, you should really consider getting or making one! Most hamsters will do their thing in the sand bath or you can train them to. It makes cleaning up much easier. And you can go longer between bedding changes if you just clean up the toilet area and spot clean the few turds that might be outside of the toilet.

You don’t have to have a huge toilet like the one in the photo. A smaller bath/toilet like this one put in the corner of the cage would work too. Alternatively, you can use Chinchilla sand in a plastic container or ceramic dish, just make sure your container it’s deep enough so the sand doesn’t get kicked out so much.

You can also make a DIY hamster bath house out of old gift boxes and popsicle sticks like the one in photo below:

diy hamster bath house

Filed Under: Hamster Care

Diabetic Hamsters and Fruit

September 13, 2013 By Sarah Yee 4 Comments

Diabetic Hamsters and Fruit

Which hamsters are prone to diabetes?

Like humans, hamsters can get diabetes. Some species of hamsters including Russian dwarf hamsters (Campbell’s, winter whites or their hybrids) and Chinese hamsters develop diabetes more easily than others. Although purebred winter white hamsters supposedly do not develop diabetes as easily, most of the hamsters labeled ‘winter white’ in pet shops are hybrids and not purebred. As such, I consider them ‘diabetes-prone’ too.

Conventional hamster wisdom (I just made up that term) says no to fruit but…

A diabetes-prone dwarf hamster biting on a piece of fruitMany hamster web sites and forums advise against giving fruit to diabetes-prone hamsters. The assumption is that fruit are naturally high in sugar and giving them to your diabetic/diabetes-prone hamster will worsen its condition. Up until recently, I have avoided giving fruit to my winter white dwarf hamsters because of this. However, other than being higher in sugar than say vegetables, fruits are healthy and packed full of vitamins and minerals.

Not all fruits are high sugar

Fruits are also not all equally high in sugar, some of them don’t really have that much sugar in them. And who decides how much sugar is too high anyway? None of the information I came across mentioned a specific amount.

Blackberries vs Bananas vs Turnips

Take blackberries for example — every 100 grams of blackberries contains just 4.9grams of sugar. Compare this to bananas which contain 12 grams of sugars. And turnips, one of the ‘safe’ foods listed on Hamster Hideout for even diabetes-prone hamsters, have 3.8grams of sugar.

Why is it that turnips are okay at 3.8grams of sugar but blackberries are not? Does the 1.1g of sugar make a difference or are blackberries incorrectly assumed to be high sugar simply because they are a fruit?

I’ve been guilty of making this assumption myself on my dwarf hamster food list (to be updated with a fruit section soon). If you look at the comments, I’ve advised against giving carrots…but 100 grams of carrots contain just 4.7 grams of sugar so that’s even lower than blackberries.

Okay, some fruits (and carrot) have less sugar, now what?

The amount of sugar in a fruit doesn’t really tell us much about whether we can give them to a diabetic hamster. All we know is that some fruits have less sugar than others and not much more sugar than turnips. Instead of looking at the amount of sugar and trying to figure out whether it’s good or bad, why not look directly at what research says about diabetes and fruits:

Fruits are good for diabetic people (so maybe they’re okay for diabetic hamsters?)

While this is for humans, the American Diabetes Association says that fruits are okay for diabetic people. Also, human studies show that eating whole fruits, especially blueberries, grapes, and apples, helps lower the risk of diabetes. You can find the news article here, and the actual research here.

So…does this mean I should give my diabetes-prone hamster fruit?

While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that whole fruits lower diabetes risk in hamsters, I am of the opinion that feeding the occasional fresh fruit isn’t so bad even if your hamster is diabetic.

This article was inspired by Taxonomist’s thread on questioning conventional diet recommendations

Would you give your diabetic dwarf hamster fruit?

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Filed Under: Hamster Care, Hamster Help

Hamster Treats

August 12, 2013 By Sarah Yee 17 Comments

Hamster Treats
hamster eating treats

Photo Credit: jpockele

Updated on 15 September 2014

Hamster treats can be used as a reward for your hamster when taming it or when you just want to spoil your pet. They should be given sparingly and never be used to replace a regular hamster food mix or pellet

Table of Contents

  • What treats can I give my hamster?
  • Recommended treats
  • Dog treats for hamsters?
  • What about yogurt drops?
  • More commercial treats and reviews
  • Homemade hamster treats
  • What’s your hamster’s favorite treat?

What treats can I give my hamster?

Here’s a list of fresh food that you can give to your hamster as a treat

Treats made specially for hamsters are also sold in pet stores and online. While these commercial snacks come in many fun shapes and sizes, many of them are high in sugar or contain coloring and unhealthy additives. The added sugar may also be unhealthy for your pet hamster, especially Russian dwarf hamsters and Chinese hamsters since they are prone to diabetes.

When buying a commercial treat, always read the ingredient label to check what it contains. Although treats are only given to hamsters once in a while, you still do not want something that is full of junk ingredients.


Recommended treats

F.M. Brown’s Extreme Select Seeds

hamster treatsI like this because it contains only seeds! F.M. Brown’s Extreme Select Seeds is available on Amazon and contains Pumpkin Seed, Watermelon Seed, Cantaloupe Seed, and Squash Seed. There is no sugar, artificial flavoring, or colors added to it. Since it’s only a seed mix, this treat is  suitable for all dwarf hamsters (including Chinese and Russian dwarves) as well as Syrian hamsters. You can also easily remake this by buying the seeds separately from a supermarket or grocery store.

F.M. Brown’s Extreme Fruit and Nut Small Animal Treats

fruit and nut small animal treatThis is another treat that does not contain added sugar, flavor, or coloring. However, because it has lots of sweet fruit in it, it may not be suitable for Russian or Chinese dwarf hamsters. You can give this treat to Roborovskis and Syrian hamsters though. The ingredients in the Extreme Fruit and Nut Small Animal Treats are Raisins (Golden and Dark), Pineapple, Papaya, Banana Chips, Shelled Peanuts, Whole Kernel Corn, Pumpkin Seed, Apricots, Mangos, Carrots, Almonds, Cashews, Apples, Coconut, Sweet Potatoes, Shelled Brazil Nuts, Shelled Pecans and Sulfur Dioxide. This treat is also available on Amazon.

Oxbow Simple Rewards

oxbow simple rewardsOxbow Simple Rewards is a series of treats that come in a variety of flavors. There are veggie treats, timothy hay ones, strawberry, banana, and so on. The Oxbow treats contain no artificial flavor or coloring. The fruit ones such as Banana, Papaya, or Strawberry may not be so suitable (especially if you follow the recommendations of most hamster guides) for Chinese and Russian dwarves since they are prone to diabetes, but the other flavors are okay. You can find Oxbow Simple Rewards on Amazon


whimzees alligator dog treats for hamstersDog treats for hamsters?

It might come as a surprise, but dog treats can be given to hamsters too! Whimzees alligators are a popular treat that can be given to hamsters. These are cute alligator-shaped dog chews that are made mainly from potato flour. They are also hard and can help wear down your hammy’s ever-growing teeth.


What about yogurt drops?

Yogurt drops are a very popular choice for hamster treat but these are very unhealthy. The main ingredient in most yogurt drops is sugar, and it contains little to no actual yogurt. We do not recommend yogurt drops as a suitable treat for hamsters.

Take a look at the ingredients of one of the yogurt drops available on the market:

Ingredients:
Sugar, Vegetable Oil, Whey Powder, Dried Skimmed Milk, Corn Starch, Honey, Yogurt Powder, Lecithin, Riboflavin, Vanilla.

Some of you may already know this — ingredients are listed in order of their quantity in a food product. This means that an ingredient that is listed first is present in the greatest amount in a food, and and you get less of the other stuff as you go down the list.

Looking at the above treat, sugar is the top ingredient and yogurt powder (not even real yogurt!) is near the end.

Even if it’s supposed to be given only once in a while, I still feel that yogurt drops are too unhealthy. There are much better alternatives with low or no sugar that hamsters will enjoy. Yogurt drops are just an unnecessary health hazard.


More commercial treats and reviews

Here are more commercial treats the hammies have tried:

TreatDescriptionFull Review?
Vitrakraft Hamster Kracker
Baked stick treat in various flavors, usually with lots of nuts and cereals. Comes with a clip to clip on cage bar/wiresComing soon
Supreme Petfood's Stickles
Baked stick treats with lots of interesting flavors, including chicken & bacon. Also comes with a hook to hang from cage barsComing soon
Hazel and Friends Crisps/Yahoos/Cookies
Cookies and other mini baked goods for hamsters in cute shapes. Mostly just made from wheat flour thoughComing soon
Dried mealworm, insects, etc
Dwarf hamsters' favorites. Creepy but nutritious. Eating too many of these makes your hammy fat. Not popular with Syrian hamstersYes, please check out my review on non-plant food that hamsters eat

Homemade hamster treats

I usually just use these hamster-safe fresh food as treats but other hamster owners have come up with their own healthy hamster treats.

Not all homemade treats are suitable for diabetes-prone hamsters so always pay attention to the ingredients used.

Hamster Cookbook

happy hamsterHappy Hamsters is a book full of treats that you can make for your Roborovski dwarf hamsters or Syrian hamsters (not all of the food are suitable for Russian or Chinese dwarves).

The table of contents shows 19 recipes including a veggie hot dog, micro burgers, tacos, pizza, and other cute food (photos included!) you can make for your hammy.


What’s your hamster’s favorite treat?

My hamsters love mealworms, sunflower seeds, and millet. What’s about yours? Leave a comment below with your hamster’s favorite treats  🙂

Filed Under: Hamster Care

Ceramic Hamster Hideouts

July 26, 2013 By Sarah Yee 3 Comments

Ceramic Hamster Hideouts

hamster houseCeramic hideouts come in many designs and are easier to clean compared to wood, cloth, cardboard(?!) or grass houses. They also last longer and are chew-proof.

Here are some great looking ceramic houses you can get. To see prices of items, click on the photos to go directly to their product page on eBay/Amazon. More hamster hideouts will be added periodically!

*Note: Most of these are suitable for dwarf hamsters only, please check the sizes before you buy!

Hamster castle

This castle is great for a medieval theme or a spooky one for Halloween 😉

hamster castle

Ceramic ‘wood’ stump

Want a natural-looking cage but prefer chew-proof hideouts? This ‘wood’ stump might work

ceramic tree stump

Mushroom hut

This pink mushroom hideout looks good in a girly or even fairy themed cages.

mushroom hut

Beehive hideout

Dwarf hamsters don’t eat honey but nobody says they can’t go in a beehive!

beehive hamster house

 

Pear hut

Pears may be too sweet for Winter Whites, Campbells, or Chinese hamsters to eat but they can still live in one

pear hut

Ceramic acorn hut

This is another hamster hideout that goes well in a nature/natural theme

acorn hut

Pumpkin house

Blueberry the Roborovski hamster likes to snuggle up in this one

pumpkin hideout

Monster house

I didn’t like the look of this one but it might go well with a spooky/monster theme

monster hideout

Which is your favorite ceramic hideout? Leave a comment below! 🙂

Filed Under: Hamster Care

Chew-proof Dwarf Hamster Bottle Stand and Hideout

July 11, 2013 By Sarah Yee Leave a Comment

Chew-proof Dwarf Hamster Bottle Stand and Hideout

Some hamsters like to chew stuff up and a lot of people find their plastic accessories don’t last long when their pet hamster keeps using them as chew toys. If you use a plastic bottle stand or a water bottle that’s placed directly in the cage, you might have to replace them often because they’re so easily damaged by your pet.

A while ago, Flaxseed the winter white hamster started chewing at her water bottle stand. We had plenty of chew toys for her but she seemed to prefer the bottle stand and bottle over her regular chew-toys. Look at the huge hole she made!

Flaxseed the winter white hamster chewed up the bottle stand

Flaxseed had to go back to her old cage because she chewed up her bottle stand. She’s now back in the DIY bin cage with her new chew-proof bottle stand!

The solution: A chew-proof ceramic bottle stand

We got her more attractive chew toys and hamster-safe dog treats, but she didn’t stop chewing on the stand. In the end, we found a ceramic bottle stand that’s not just chew-proof, but also protects the bottle from getting chewed on. There’s also space inside the stand and an entrance so the hamsters can use it as a hideout.  Below is a photo of Flaxseed and Oatmeal with their ceramic bottle stand/hideout.

ceramic chew-proof hamster bottle stand and hideout

boo_the_hamster requested photos that show the whole bottle stand, but we thought a video might be clearer. The video’s a little shaky but you can see the entire ceramic stand, the area where we put the bottle in, and the ‘hideout’. Also the stand/hideout is a good size for dwarf hamsters but probably too small for a Syrian hamster.

Where to buy a ceramic bottle stand

The above bottle stand is now available on Amazon in Yellow 😀

We got the above bottle stand from China and it’s also available on Aliexpress which is a China-based shopping site.

Amazon US sells a different (and cheaper) ceramic bottle stand for hamsters (photo below) but it doesn’t come with a hideout.
ceramic hamster bottle holder

Filed Under: Hamster Care, Hamster Help

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