Getting A Hamster
The first few hours and days after adopting or purchasing your hamster are very exciting times, but they do require a little bit of preparation. You’ll want to have your pets’ home all set up, and have plenty of food and bedding ready for them.
This article is all about getting a hamster guide, which provides help and advice on taking your first steps with your new pet, from bringing your hamster home to weaning it off its previous diet. As you move forward with your hamster ownership, you’ll need some more detailed information about what to feed your hamster and how to entertain it.
It’s not recommended that children under the age of about ten should hold hamsters unsupervised, or for any child, (even a young teenager) to be given sole care of the animal.
Which Hamster Should I Get?
There can be quite drastic differences of size, temperament, and needs between the different hamster species. Which you should purchase or adopt depends on your own situation: how comfortable are you holding smaller creatures? What type of cage do you own? Do you have any preference for gender? Who will be the primary care usually-giver and are they of an age where they can properly handle and care for the animal? You’ll need to carefully consider these questions in order to make the right decision. Below we’ve included some information that we hope will be of use.
When you’re considering buying a hamster, you need to be sure that you (or whoever you’re buying the pet on behalf of) are comfortable with handling it. Hamsters are extraordinarily agile little creatures with plenty of energy, a characteristic which can make handling them a little difficult.
It is for this reasupon that a lot of people prefer the Syrian hamster, the largest of the pet hamsters. These hamsters are usually still fast, but aren’t as quick or as jumpy as their smaller counterparts. We have sections with advice on food and feeding, health sections and toys. The parent or guardian will be given the ultimate responsibility, but this isn’t a chore! People of all ages love looking after and bonding with these characterful critters.
If you already have a cage, then this could determine what kinds of hamsters you can accommodate. For example, if it has bars, then the gap between them will determine whether or not you can have a Dwarf hamster – if the gap is too large, then small varieties such as Roborovskis will be able to squeeze out.
If you have any preference as to the gender of your hamster, you might want to research whether or not the hamster species you have your eye on have any temperament differences between males and females. For example, if you would like a female hamster, then you may need to know about issues such as smell and temperament. To learn more on differences between hamster genders, take a look at our Male or Female article.
Hamster Colors
Hamsters come in lots of different shapes and sizes, colors and hair textures. The colors and textures available depend upon the species of hamster in question – those species that have been bred in captivity for longer periods of time often have a wider variety of forms to pick from. To avoid confusion, we’ve divided up the color lists on a species-by-species basis.
Some examples of Syrian hamster colours are as follows:
- Beige
- Black
- Blonde
- Brown
- Chocolate
- Cream
- Dove
- Golden
- Grey
- Lilac
- Mink
- Sable
- Tan
- White
Winter White:
- Normal (Grey)
- Pearl
- Sapphire
Chinese Hamsters:
- Normal (Wild Type)
- Dominant Spot
Some Campbell colours:
- Black
- White
- Beige
- Fawn
- Normal
- Opal
- Argente
Whilst Syrians probably have the most color variation, there is some in the other species, too.
Roborovskis only come in their wild type, light brown color. For detailed information, please check out Hamster Varieties.
With so many options, are you considering having more than one hamster? Check out our article about Owning Multiple Hamsters for further information!