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How to Know Your Hamster Is A gIRL oR bOY ?

Hamster boy or girl, if you are wondering, and here is how to find the answer. Of course you have to make sure that your hamster is at least 3 to 4 weeks of age, else it is very hard to determine the gender, if not impossible.

Place your hamster in a plastic, see-through box, such as a small plastic aquarium.
Give your hamster a treat so that it can settle down.
Observe the stomach and genitalia from below.
The surest way is by looking at the distance between the two openings at the rear. In male, there is a significant distance between his male sexual organ and his anus. In female, the distance between her sexual opening and anus is much shorter
Refer to the illustrations on Hamsterific websiteSome more tips to tell if your hamster is a male or female
Male hamsters have testicles, although dwarf hamster is less noticeable than syrian hamster.
Female hamsters will have two rows of nipples that run parallel on either side of the belly, it is pretty obvious on short hair syrian hamster.
Male dwarf hamsters have a scent gland near the belly button.
Punctuation! Female hamster's sexual and anal organs are lined up like an exclamation point. If it is a male, you will notice two dots in a row that resemble a colon mark.Also, if you are able to flip your hamster over to observe the underside, you doesn't need a plastic tank though. This "hamster adult video" should give you a very clear picture on how to do that!

Tips For Playing With Hamster

First of all, only try to play with your hamster when he is active in the early morning or late evening. Anyone who tries to make his hamster play while he is resting in the day time is bound to encounter resistance.
Here goes some tips on playing with your hamster for yours and your pet's pleasure.
Let your hamster climb on you, sit down and let the little chubby thing climbing all over your legs. You can also let him roams from one hand to the other.
Make your hamster a maze, and guide him with your hand or finger. Have a piece of cheese or fruit at the end as reward, to show that he did a good job.
Your hamster will come to know you by your scent. If you are having trouble picking up your new hamster, you may want to rub your hands on the bedding in his cage so that you disguise your scent with the familiar smell of his bedding.
Be ready for anything and be kind. When your hamster bites you try not to throw it even if you get hurt and frightened. Put him down and blow air on him and he should let go of you.
Watch out for small gaps and holes when taking your hamsters out for play. It might be too difficult to get them out once they go in.
Be gentle when handling your hamsters, don't squeeze too hard because they have very fragile bodies.
When you want to pet your hamster go very slow because hamsters don't have very good eye sight. Steep movements will cause them tension.

Toilet Train Your Hamster!

Hamsters are creatures of habit and usually go to the toilet in the same place in their cage, normally in a corner. If you want to establish a potty corner with litter tray for your hamster to ease the cleaning, first thing you have to understand is that not all hamsters can be toilet trained.If your hamster is young you might find it takes very little time to train, however if your hamster is older then it may take several attempts as you are changing its habits. Some hamsters just don't feel like doing that and there is nothing you can do.Here goes the steps:
Get one of those hamster litter trays from the pet store.
Fill the litter tray with some bedding or hamster potty sand.
Place it in the cage, at the corner where the hamster usually pees.
Add some wet bedding and your hamster's droppings into the litter tray.
Watch your hamster go into the new toilet that you have just set up. Pervert! :P
You can easily clean the litter tray as often as you want. Just make sure to leave a small bit of wet bedding in there so that your hamster can still recognize the toilet.

How Hamster Lives in the Wild?

How Hamster Lives In The Wild ?

Hamsters belong to the rodent family. The name "hamster" is derived from the German word "hamstern" which means "to hoard". Wild hamsters live in hot areas of Central Asia. To avoid the heat of the day hamsters live in burrows and are nocturnal.Hamsters dig extensive tunnels beneath the ground, extending as far as three feet in depth.

In the cool of the evening and during the night hamsters will go out and search for food. They can travel up to 8 miles in one night. They collect food in their cheek pouches and return to their burrows and empty the cheek pouches into their food store. They are able to carry up to half their body weight in their pouches.In Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, hamsters are common and a nuisance to farmers. Hamsters have been known to hide in excess of 60 pounds of grain to store away for the winter.Now we know how useful are hamster's cheek pouches, besides making the hamster looks cute!

How To Choose A Good Hamster Wheel ?

Hamsters need exercise!

In the wild, they need to run for a few kilometers every night in search of food. Pet hamsters doesn't need to look for food this way, but they still keep running at night. Since this is hamster's habit and it also keep them happy, healthy and in shape, a good hamster wheel is a must for every pet hamster.Criteria of a Good Hamster Wheel
Solid running surface, either free standing or attached to the side of the cage. Avoid wire wheel, which might cause injuries if hamster's feet stuck in the wire bars.
Bigger is better! Get the largest hamster wheel that you can fit into the cage. Your hamster will feel uncomfortable running in a small wheel and it is bad for its spine.
A quiet hamster wheel is what you need to invest if you don't want to be waken in the middle of the night. Hamsters are nocturnal, they are active and running when you are sleeping at night. There are special hamster wheels which are quieter then the rest. However, if your hamster wheel is come together with the cage, such as the Habitrail series, you can try applying a squirt of vegetable oil to grease the squeaky wheel.Recommended Hamster Wheels ,Wodent Wheels, the only exercise wheel recommended and approved by the ASPCA.Super Pet Silent Spinner, it uses patented ball bearings for quiet operation.

Syrian Hamster

Syrian Hamster

The Syrian Hamster is sometimes referred to as the 'Golden Hamster' due to its original wild golden colouring although today there are many different colour and coat mutations. It is also sometimes referred to as the Standard or Fancy Hamster and Long Haired Syrian hamsters are sometimes referred to as 'Teddy Bear Hamsters'. In addition the Hairless Syrian Hamster is sometimes referred to as the 'Alien Hamster' and the Black Syrian Hamster is also referred to as the 'Black Bear' or 'European Black Bear' Hamster. The Syrian Hamster is the most common type of hamster kept as a pet and is approximately 6-7 inches in length with a very short tail. It has hairless feet with four toes on the front feet and five on the back feet. The Syrian Hamster has expandable cheek pouches which it uses to collect and carry food and bedding and it can carry up to half its body weight in grain in its cheek pouches The Syrian Hamster is a solitary animal and will not usually live with another past 8-10 weeks of age and so it is important that they are housed separately as serious fighting, even death can occur if more than one are kept in the same cage. The Syrian Hamster is nocturnal, usually waking during the evening. The Syrian Hamster makes a good pet and easy enough for small children to handle under supervision. The average lifespan is 2-2½ years although they can live longer and up to 3-4 years is not too unusual.

Behavior
In the wild...In the wild the Syrian Hamster lives alone and is fiercely territorial, attacking any intruders or other hamsters it may be confronted with during its travels. They live in individual burrows a distance away from any other burrow of another hamster. They are nocturnal sleeping during the day (although they may wake for short periods) and awake at dusk becoming active at night. Their sight is poor but their senses of smell and hearing are very acute. During the night the Syrian Hamster will travel collecting food, returning to its burrow several times to empty the contents. In one night the Syrian may travel up to 8 miles in this way
In Captivity

In captivity the Syrian Hamster's solitary instinct prevails and once mature it will not normally accept the company of another hamster. Although they live together as babies and are often seen caged together in pet shops or at the breeders, as the hamsters mature their solitary instinct develops. Syrian Hamsters will not, therefore, usually tolerate the company of another hamster once they reach approximately 6-10 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 increase. The fights most often take place during the night when the hamsters are most active and so often goes unobserved until serious injury or even death of one or both hamsters occurs. Therefore Syrian Hamsters should be housed separately once purchased in order to prevent injury - the golden rule is one hamster, one cage
Biology

Order Rodentia Family Cricetidae Genus Mesocricetus Specie auratus Size 15-20cm Weight 2-3 grams (birth), 180-210 grams (adult) Body temperature 97-100F Heart rate 280-500 beats per minute Respiratory rate 35-135 per minute, 74 average Toes front 4 Toes rear 5 Adult Food consumption 10-15 grams per day Adult water consumption 30 ml per day Gestation period 16 days Captive Lifespan 2-2.5 years although over 4 years has been known
Colours

The 'original' colour of the Syrian Hamster in the wild is golden brown but as Syrian Hamsters have been bred over the years a number of colour mutations have occurred. Some colours are referred to as Agouti whilst others are referred to as Self. Agouti means that the hamster has the original wild markings, that is the coat is a darker colour at the roots (undercolour) than on the top, the belly is off-white and the hamster has darker cheekflashes which extend from the bottom of the jaw up towards the ear with off-white crescents behind. Self coloured hamsters are the same colour all over (top and belly) with no cheekflashes - these usually have a white chin stripe and may also have a white spot or patch on the chest or belly. In addition to the natural agouti and self mutations that occurred over the years a variety of additional colours can be created by combining the different colour mutations together.