Hamsters (merged)

Mics_chick

The hamster is now in the kitchen

He came out to see what was going on too coz the washer and drier were on when I moved the cage so it was alot more noise all of a sudden but he's a curious little fella anyway

The hamster is nowhere near where any food is being prepared or even served and it has one of the solid plastic cages coz it's a dwarf hamster rather than the usual one with bars.

stumpycat

catslovelycats wrote: »

I personally wouldn't keep a pet in an area where food was being prepared, but it's no problem for the animal.

Don't do what one poster said and give it curry, PLEASE!

NB: Careful it doesn't escape. A friend looked after our hamster in their kitchen once, and the cage was left open one night, the hamster chewed its way into the back of the oven and made a next there. OUTCOME: friend had to buy new oven and 1 few days later the hamster had died. (Hard to know for sure what killed him. It may be just coincidence).

And what exactly is wrong with curry?

Amethyst_ice

stumpycat wrote: »

And what exactly is wrong with curry?

1.it is not a hamsters natural diet
2.there are too many dyes in it
3.there are certain spices used that are toxic to hamsters

seriously. if you are going to ahve a pet respect it enough to feed it proper food and not junk food.

Regards to the kitchen, make sure condensation doesnt form and make the bedding soggy. if you have him in a tank style cage then its probably not wise as it will creat excess moisture and heat. Hamsters have very sensitive noses as well so things like onions, currys etc could set off some respiratory issues.

cant you pop him in the lounge? x

HappyMJ

hmmmm..curry...hamster...kitchen. I know! Curried hamster. Oh, i'm too late japanese have sorted it already.

stumpycat

Amethyst_ice wrote: »

1.it is not a hamsters natural diet
2.there are too many dyes in it
3.there are certain spices used that are toxic to hamsters

seriously. if you are going to ahve a pet respect it enough to feed it proper food and not junk food.

1. Pet shop hamster food is not a hamster's natural diet either.
2. Definition of dye? Are you talking about turmeric, which is a powdered plant root and has many medicinal properties?
3. Which spices are toxic to hamsters? Are you talking about lab tests where large quantities are given frequently? In fact many curry spices are beneficial to animals - if you want to look up the ingredients of Poultry Spice mineral supplement:
http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/Poultry_Spice_450g.html
you'll find ginger, turmeric, fenugreek and aniseed.

Members of the allium family may be toxic to some animals ( some sources cite the contrary) so I would not feed them those. But a home made potato, cauliflower and pea curry given very occasionally as a treat will do no harm.

And your cooking might be junk, but mine isn't...

Rachels1979

Hi

I'm just after a bit of advice from any hamster experts out there! Me and my boyfriend are thinking about getting a hamster, it would probably be kept at his, only other option would be for it to be whereever I am, so if I'm at mine then it's here, then I take it to his when I'm there. I'm not sure how they would stand up to the car trips though, although it would only be a couple of times a week. I do tend to be at his more than I'm at home so it wouldn't be too much of a problem to keep it there.

Also, his flat has storage heaters, so they're on through the night and then (alledgedly!!) keep the place warm through the day. However his flat is generally pretty cold. Would this be a problem?

His bedroom doesn't have heating in so wouldn't have the extremes of temperature, but it would probably mean that it's just always cold and I don't know if it would be too cold for a hamster. Maybe selfishly too, not sure if it would keep us awake all night!

He said that when he's had hamsters in the past they have only lived for between 12 to 18 months. Could the heating be a part of this? I really want to get one but not at the risk of the little thing being harmed by anything like that.

Thanks for any advice you can give!

Rachel

HappyMJ

Always get two hamsters for company. Food and water will help it stay alive but they do only last about 3 years. You need a bit of heat but it doesn't need to be at our room temperature. 10 degrees or so will be the minimum. Get an oil filled radiator and leave it on it's lowest setting and that should be enough.

Mandy_557

HappyMJ wrote: »

Always get two hamsters for company. Food and water will help it stay alive but they do only last about 3 years. You need a bit of heat but it doesn't need to be at our room temperature. 10 degrees or so will be the minimum. Get an oil filled radiator and leave it on it's lowest setting and that should be enough.

Please read up about hamsters before you give advice, hamsters should NOT be kept together, they are not social animals with each other and do not get on. To the OP, good luck in getting yourself a hamster, they make lovely pets, but please do some research before you get any animal. Happy christmas to you.

Rachels1979

I'd be looking at getting a syrian hamster as I want one that I've got a good chance of being able to handle, aren't they supposed to be kept on their own?

I'm pretty sure that the flat is above that temperature, it's just that's it's not constant that I was concerned. I know they don't live long but I thought that 12 - 18 months was a bit too short, maybe there were other factors involved in that.

Thanks for your help

Rachels1979

Mandy_557 wrote: »

Please read up about hamsters before you give advice, hamsters should NOT be kept together, they are not social animals with each other and do not get on. To the OP, good luck in getting yourself a hamster, they make lovely pets, but please do some research before you get any animal. Happy christmas to you.

Don't worry, I'm doing loads of research! I don't want to get one if we're not going to be able to give it the perfect environment.