Hamsters are Amazing Pets for Young and Old

Hamsters are cute little creatures that belong to the rodent family.  They have long front teeth that are continually growing so they must have things to gnaw on to keep their teeth worn down.

There are regular size hamsters and dwarf hamsters.  They come in different colors and some are long haired and some are short haired. They originate in warm areas where they live in burrows.  Their burrows consist of many tunnels and separate chambers.  They have chambers where the hamster will store food and sleep.  In their native areas they sleep during the day when it is hot and they come out at night when it is cool.  They have very poor eyesight but a keen sense of smell and great hearing.

Most types of hamsters have expandable cheek pouches in which they can carry food and bedding back to their burrow where they will store the food.

Only a few hamster species are kept as pets but they are the most popular small rodent kept as a pet the world over.

Syrian hamsters will not tolerate the company of another hamster once they reach 6 to 10 weeks of age when fighting starts to occur.  These fights may not be serious at first but as the hamster matures the frequency and severity of the fights will increase.  The fights usually happen at night when the hamsters are most active.  The fights are often not observed by the owner until serious injury or even death of one or both hamsters occurs.   You must make sure you keep Syrian hamsters by themselves.

Dwarf hamsters are sociable and will live happily in pairs or groups of mixed or single sexes of their own kind.  If you do not want babies keep the same sex together.  Different species of dwarf hamsters should not be kept together.

Dwarf hamsters should be introduced to each when they are young.  If you decide to get two or more dwarf hamsters to live together it is not necessary to get hamsters from the same litter.  They should be the same age, size and living in a group community when you get them.

Even when young hamsters are introduced or hamster that have been living together are moved to a new cage they may squabble and chase each other at first but squabbling often sounds worse than it really is.  It is just their way of deciding who is boss in their new home.  During this process there may be a lot of squabbling and chasing but there is usually very little physical contact.

It is best to observe but do not interfere during these squabbles.  Let them decide who is boss on their own.  If there is physical fighting or injury they will need to be separated and housed separately.   Occasionally you will find a very dominate dwarf hamster that will not accept another hamster. 

Hamsters are very popular pets for apartment living.  They are great pets for both young and old.

Article sources:

http://www.hamsteraspets.org

http://www.hamsters-as-pets.com/hamsters/234

http://www.petwebsite.com