Just natural hamster behavior or
is he crazy?
Hamsters, in their
wide
variety, are one of the most popular pet not only in America, but in
the whole Western world. In fact, there's a big chance that you had a
hamster as your first pet. And there are good reasons for that. First
and most important, they are very fun to play with . They eat
tiny portions of food (the average is a dessert spoon a day), are
inexpensive and very accessible, in almost all local pet shops. The
downside of having a hamster is their short life span- two and a half
years and even four if you take really good care of him.
In the
wild, the
hamster's behavior is similar to what he does in our homes, except that
in the wild he has a way bigger house. Mainly, there are 5 things a
hamster does in the wild and most surely do in his comfy cage.
* Syrian
hamsters are
solitary
* The
hamster is
crepuscular
* The
hamster chews his way
* Hamsters
are big stashers
* Hamsters
are their own
personal groomers
 Syrian
hamsters
are
solitary.
©annia316
 You
should never
put a Syrian hamster in a cage with another hamster because they will
most likely fight to death. Remember the Golden
Rule:
one Syrian hamster-one
cage.
They don't
ask
for a hamster companionship, they don't need
it and most important, they should never get a hamster as a roommate.
They prefer you! Just think at this: in the wild, the mother hamster
drives her babies away from home at the age of three or four weeks.
Even if it sounds cruel the little ones survive.
The
hamster
is crepuscular.
©pyza*
 Do
you want to play
with your hamster and all he does is sleeping? So what do you do? Let
him sleep a bit more, hoping he will wake up soon and you could play
around with him. But he doesn't. He sleeps and sleeps... and sleeps.
And when you
get to bet he wakes up and runs up and down in his
cage and even plays with his wheel helping you sleep
well and tight. Don't be worried that your hamster might be lunatic!
The
hamster is just
crepuscular : they are active during twilight: at dawn and at dusk .
Thinking at the high temperatures in the Middle East,
everyone should be crepuscular.
So, if you
want to
play with your hamster during the day when he is supposed to get some
sleep, try to wake him up gently and if he is in the mood for playing,
play with him for a couple of minutes or as long as he is willing
to. But don't overdo it. Just think... If I woke you up at 3 am because
I wanted to play with you, wouldn't you be pissed of? The hamster has
the same feeling.
I advise
you to try to accustom your hamster with 3-4 hours of sleep and then to
wake up for a snack and some
play and so on. All you have to do is be near him when this happens.
Tips:
 Even
in the wild, the hamster doesn't sleep all day long. That is just a
figure of speech. He sleeps a couple of hours and then wakes up to eat
something and look for predators too.
At a temperature
below 10° C
(50-60° F) your hamster will hibernate. So, be very careful with
the
heater.
The hamster chews
his way (he does a lot of chewing ).
©pyza*
 Hamsters
must chew.
Like all rodents, they are gifted with nice chiseled front incisors
which grow permanently. You need to provide him with things to chew so
he can shorten his teeth.And is fun to watch, too.
You can
give him a
small twig or you could put small pieces of food directly in the cage.
You will really enjoy looking at him while he chews whatever he finds
in his way.
Hamsters are big
stashers.
©pyza*
 They
have the natural
behavior to store, burry and even move food or bedding. Just like Chip
& Dale, your hamster will store food that will be more than enough
to help him survive even the roughest times.
In
the wild, hamsters
spend hours in burrowing, stashing, digging and moving his food,
bedding or his chewing toys. That is why you should be very careful
with his diet. By giving him sweets you put him in danger because they
could cause his pouches to get stuck.because they have weak eyesight,
hamsters use their whiskers to detect the environment and their high
sense of smell tell them what belongs to them or what place they belong
to.
Hamsters
are their
own personal groomer.
© Jannes Pockele
A
hamster that is
constantly washing and scratching himself doesn't mean that is sick or
with parasites. that is a sign that the hamster is clean and healthy,
too. They are by nature odor free and this might be one of the reasons
your parents bought you a hamster as a pet. But they manifest the
passion for cleaning not only towards them but towards their home too.
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