Photo: dpa
Hamsters are as sweet as they are tiny – weighing in at just 100 to 150g, some varieties just 30 to 50g. With their cheeks stuffed with food, you just want to cuddle them.
Don't.
And do not buy them as pets for children as they are really not for touching – just for observing, say veterinarians who are urging people to be more aware of these misunderstood creatures.
They are nocturnal loners, not cuddly toys.
What they love is moving around, says Saskia Rossner who has written a book about them.
Rossner is appalled by the ways people keep hamsters, from putting them in tiny cages on chests of drawers in youngsters' bedrooms, or giving them plastic hamster balls to roll around in.
To keep a hamster happy, wooden structures with several levels make sense. In the wild, hamster houses have several chambers, but at least a bedroom, pantry and toilet. Photos: dpa/Kosmos/Anna Auerbach
For sure, those were meant well by owners who thought they gave the hamster a safe way to move around the house.
"But it was pure animal cruelty," says Rossner. Those balls do not give hamsters a chance to orient themselves or retreat. Plus, they make it hard for the animal to breathe and leave them showered in their own excrement. "And if you forgot where it was and kicked it by mistake, it flew like a football through the apartment."
A hamster wheel is fine, if the material and size are right, but don't get a metal wheel with feet and lots of rungs, as these are dangerous and can quickly bruise the hamster, says Rossner.
Specialists suggest a wheel with a closed, smooth running surface – made of cork, for example. Its diameter should be about 30cm for a golden hamster and about 25cm for a dwarf hamster.
Hamsters need a running wheel to fulfill their great urge to move. A wheel with a closed, smooth running surface is recommended.
"The wheel must be large enough for him to run in without bending his spine," says Henriette Mackensen, a veterinarian from the German Animal Welfare Association. If your hamster's back is always bent, this may lead to postural problems.
Hamsters need a large, varied enclosure. “The bigger, the better, and the more comfortable the hamster feels,” says Rossner.
The German Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare recommends a minimum floor space of 0.5sq m for golden hamsters – for example, 100 by 50cm. There is really no upper limit.
"Some females are really active little rascals," she says. "They always need action and try to dig their way out to explore the big wide world."
The bigger the better: Hamsters need plenty of space and variety to let off steam.
The classic wire cages people used to buy are unsuitable for keeping hamsters in a way suited to their needs as a species. Instead, get a glass or wooden terrarium or aquarium with a lid with aviary wire to ensure good ventilation.
Hamsters also need a high layer of bedding. "At least 30cm, but actually it can't be high enough," says Mackensen. A layer of 1m in height would be ideal, with a mixture of paper and hay added to the litter so any burrows remain stable.
Don't get wood chips that are too small, too hard or too sharp, and they should not have any scent, says Rossner. Hamsters mainly use their sense of smell for orientation, so it is important that they are not placed in a perfumed enclosure.
Interestingly, hamsters have no sense of height, which is a further reason why cages with bars are unsuitable, as hamsters climb up them then get injured when they fall.
If you want your hamster to be happy, provide wooden structures with a few levels so it can store various items. In nature, hamster burrows have several chambers, but at least a bedroom, pantry and toilet. Special hamster houses are also designed accordingly.
Your animal also needs a sand bath. Fill a bowl so it can roll back and forth in there nicely, preferably with chinchilla sand, which is made from grind clay, and is available in different textures, from fine to robust. Don't get bird sand as it has too sharp edges.
Add cork tubes and branches for structure and variety.
Ceramic hiding places serve as a cool retreat for hot days.
Make sure the entrances to all these furnishings is at least 7cm in diameter as your hamster, when its cheeks are full, can become quite large.
Suitable food includes healthy mixtures with flour and oil seeds, herbs and nuts. You cannot usually find these in supermarkets, though it depends on where you live.
If you buy mixtures online, get some that contain at least 30 ingredients and include dried insects, as hamsters need a little animal protein too.
Alternatively, you can feed them dried mealworms or grasshoppers.
Also, give them regular portions of fresh food such as cucumber, courgette, celery or fennel, or homegrown sprouts.
Hamsters mainly eat seeds, herbs and nuts, but fresh food should also be a regular part of their diet.
Don't expect your hamster to become so tame it wants to be fed by hand. "In terms of its nature and behavioural needs, the hamster does not need contact with humans," says Mackensen.
Hamsters want nothing to do with people, says Rössner. "They are only there to give food and change the water – kind of like a hotel room service."
Some hamsters wait at the window in the evening to be let out for an extra run or for play time. "You can even play intelligence games or clicker training with them."
But hamsters are only for watching, say both specialists. They are wholly unsuitable for small children.
"They not only lack an understanding of boundaries and needs, but also the necessary fine motor skills."
That can be life-threatening for these tiny animals. Not to mention the fact that it gets scared to death when picked up from above, as children intuitively do.
Hamsters are better suited to teenagers or adults who like to stay up late and can watch their nocturnal friend digging and collecting food – or who are not at home during the day.
After all, hamsters need their rest, says Rossner. "If you wake them up too often during the day, behavioural disorders can result, and they can become aggressive."
But even if you do everything right when keeping a hamster, it won't live long, with a lifespan limited to about two years. That can be a curse and a blessing. "If you don't want to commit to many years, it's an option. But at the same time, you have to say goodbye after a very short period of time, of course," says Mackensen.
Both suggest always buying a pet from an animal shelter so you can at least give them a new home and a good life. – dpa/Katja Sponholz
