Hamster Review

Overall Rating

Sweet, easy to tame, minimal care

Short lifespan, nocturnal

I've owned (or been owned by) several hamsters over the years, in fact my first hamster was bought for me as a child. But I'm not going to talk about those little balls of fur (or not much anyway), instead I'm going to tell you about my new little baby, Gizmo, a 7 week old male Syrian hamster.

---Gizmo's Family---

Gizmo is a sweet little fellow, whose closest relatives include, Guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, mice and capybara, that's right he's a rodent. This means he has long, sharp, continuously growing teeth. Now I'm sure there is a lot of interesting history to Syrian hamsters, but if you really want to find out, how or why they became pets, then I suggest you go to Google and run a search. What I do know is that the pet shop that sold me Gizmo was selling two different types of hamster, the Syrian, which come outfitted in a range of different coloured coats, and the smaller dwarf Russian, who are much more conservative about what they wear, and can be vicious little things (from my personal experience).

Unlike gerbils, rabbits and guinea pigs, hamsters are nocturnal, this means they like to sleep during the day, and make as much noise as possible on their wheel at night. For me this is perfect, but it does mean that it's not that great a pet to have sleeping in your bedroom (unless you work night shifts of course). Another big difference between hamsters and their closest counterparts (gerbils) is that they don't like company. You can only keep one hamster per cage, unless you're into blood sports that is (tongue firmly in cheek), put two Syrian hamsters together and they will try to kill each other, literally, even if they are of the opposite sex. I've never attempted breeding hamsters, and don't intend to ever try, but from what I've read this can be a risky process (for the male at least), and anyway I would never suggest that anyone should attempt to breed any animal until they are experienced at keeping them (at the very least) as that would be plain irresponsible.

---Here's Gizmo---

And on to my new baby, and before I go any further let me just tell you he is absolutely the cutest little ball of fluff I've ever laid my eyes on. As he's still only a baby (in my eyes at least) he's not fully grown yet, at the moment he fits sweetly on my hand, and isn't very plump, but he will get bigger. Hamsters have a tendency to look just like me, that is well-built, they have short stubby tails, and the sweetest eyes. Although hamsters come in all different colours (but not green or pink), Gizmo is a beautiful pale cream colour. Some of his brothers and sisters were brown and white, others were black (well dark grey really) and some of his predecessors have been honey while another was albino.

Gizmo is the friendliest little mite, well to me at least, he's a real ladies man and comes to me as soon as he is called (yes he knows his name). As he's very new, he's still a little uncomfortable with the idea of being picked up, but as I've had experience with shy little boys, I know to take things slowly. That does seem to be the trick to taming hamsters, to be gentle and slowly progress to holding and cuddling them. Almost as soon as I got him home, Gizmo was interested in me, and within hours he was taking food out of my hand, this is a good sign and makes me feel that he's going to be a sociable little man. I've never owned an unfriendly hamster, although I'm sure they exist, but every single one has had it's own personality.

I had a female once, the imaginatively named Honey, who preferred men to women and would follow my husband around in her ball, then there was another that would sleep curled up in my pocket. Some don't like to be woken up and get grumpy (just like me), while others are only too happy to interact straight after breakfast, there's really no way of telling what personality your new friend will have. Saying that, you can still influence how they turn out, as with a child Gizmo's final personality will be part-nature and part nurture. Even though he's a sociable little thing now, if I don't interact with him regularly, and make sure he has plenty of stimulating things to do, then he is very likely to feel uncomfortable about being handled and then he might just bite. Oh and a word of warning, when hamsters bite, it does hurt, they have extraordinarily long teeth and are pretty stubborn about letting go.

---Gizmo's House---

There are a multitude of different housing options available for your new hamster to choose from. From the space age rotastak, with it's interconnecting tunnels and living areas (all made of plastic), to glass tanks, to wire constructions on a plastic base. I'd tried the Rotastak once, as wasn't particularly impressed as the tenant managed to chew her way out, so learning from my previous experience I decided against this option. While the glass tanks are excellent for gerbils (who just love to dig), somehow they just didn't seem right for Gizmo, so I decided on one of the wire contraptions, but which one. There were so many to choose from, ranging from one bedroom bungalows right up to three storey town houses, decisions decisions. Well in the end I went for a three storey cage, which came complete with a house, wheel and several tunnels, and I think Gizmo will just love it, even though he's a little nervous of going down the tunnels right now.

No matter which house you choose for your little Gizmo, you'll need a couple of furnishings to turn it into a home. Firstly, you'll need to carpet the place, but instead of that fabric it's best to use sawdust, I use one specially formulated for small rodents, and it's really cheap. You can use underlay (kitchen roll) if you like, but I personally have never bothered, as long as you clean regularly then you shouldn't get any nasty stains or smells. Then you'll need some bed linen, or in this case bedding material, the one I use is made up of strips of paper and exactly the same that was used in the pet shop. What else, well you'll need some crockery a food bowl, and a water bottle (a water bowl is not such a good idea) and some toys (we'll get on to these in a bit).

---Moving In---

So the new pad is set up, it's time to find a tenant, so where to look? Well a good place to start is your local pet shop, mine has a really good reputation and looks after it's stock really well (I should know I used to supply it gerbils). Have a look in the tanks, decide if you want a boy or a girl and then when you've fallen in love, make sure that your new friend looks healthy. Have a quick look at the tank, does it look clean and do all the hamsters look healthy? If the answer to both of these is yes, then you're probably safe buying (or as safe as you're going to be). When you've paid you're money then your hamster will probably be placed in a little box for the journey home along with a little of the bedding he/she is used to (helps them feel safe). This may seem a little cruel but it really doesn't seem to worry them much. Once your little friend is home, put him in his newly furnished apartment (add the bedding in the box to what you've already put in the cage) shut the door and leave him (or her) alone for a while.

---Dinner Time---

Hamsters aren't that keen on the idea of three square meals a day, they prefer to stuff their cheeks and then hide the food in several little stashes around their house, this means they're never too far from an energy boost. Although they do like some fresh fruit and veg, their staple diet should consist of specialised hamster or small rodent food. This is a dried food with everything they need in it, and they should be fed once a day. As I said you can always add some fresh fruit and veg, apple and carrots are favourites, but you should only add a very small amount and not while they're very young, otherwise they might get a tummy ache. As well as the dry food, you can give your hamster treats, but again these should be few and far between. As well as food, it's a good idea to supply something for them to gnaw on, such as a mineral block, this will not only help keep their teeth in good condition but also supply them with a few extra essential minerals. Don't forget to make sure there's a supply of fresh water as well, otherwise your little friend will get thirsty.

---Playtime---

Can you imagine how boring it must be to be stuck in a cage all day with nothing to do? Well think how a poor hamster must feel, nothing to do except eat and get fat unless you provide plenty of stimulation for him. There are so many different toys you can buy, the most important of which is a wheel, that will give the hamster plenty of chance to exercise. Believe me, they can spend hours on them, normally at the most annoying time of night, or during that crucial bit of Eastenders. Other toys for in the cage can include see-saws, climbing blocks or if you're a skinflint (or not) toilet roll tubes. For even more fun you can buy exercise balls, which allow the hamster to explore your home, without the worry of getting stepped on or lost. All the hamsters I've owned have loved this, and some of them have even followed their chosen favourite around the house.

---Housework---

As with any home your hamster cage will need regular cleaning. Unlike in my house, Gizmo will only need a big clean weekly, now here's a tip, don't throw all the sawdust and bedding away, save a little bit of each, to mix in with the new. This will make your hamster feel a lot more comfortable, as it will be a familiar smell, and it should help reduce the amount of scent marking, and therefore smell. In any case you should completely clean the base and sleeping area and preferably disinfect them (I use a special pet friendly spray) on a weekly basis. Try not to use bleach or washing up liquid, as they're not the safest thing for any pets. As well as the weekly routine, the food bowl and water bottle will need cleaning daily.

---Poorly Time---

I'm afraid hamsters aren't all that long living, the average lifespan is 2-3 years, they can also suffer from illness the same as any other animal. If you notice your hamster is off colour, it's pretty important to get them to the vet tout suite, as being so small their bodies can get overwhelmed very quickly. Saying this all of my hamsters have been perfectly healthy and simply died of old age.

---Cost---

Right time to look at what Gizmo is costing me :

Well Gizmo himself cost me £6.50, his cage £31, and then the sundries came to another £6. This was for enough food, sawdust and bedding to last several months. So the grand total is £43.50, which I don't think is at all bad considering how much pleasure he is going to give me.

---Final Words---

Gizmo is (for me) a perfect low maintenance pet, the fact that they sleep during the day means that I can go out for the day without feeling guilty, and then he is starting to wake up just as the day ends so I can spend some time with him. Now I have children, but I really don't think that children are able to take responsibility for any pet, but they can help with their care. They've spent the evening watching his antics, and it's been quite hard to keep them from frightening him, but they do love him and can't wait until he's tame enough for them to have a hold.

I find it very relaxing to talk to him, and it's a proven fact that owning a pet can help with milder forms of depression, I certainly feel more cheerful knowing that my new little friend is in the next room. There are still a couple of disadvantages, not least the short life-span, if I remember rightly, loosing a hamster was my first experience of death, but even this isn't so much a disadvantage as I was able to cope with it quite well. The night-time noise could also be a negative, but by keeping Gizmo in downstairs while I sleep upstairs, this is very minor. I guess it's also possible that Gizmo may affect asthmatics, but I've personally never been affected, and I am allergic to cat hair and feathers.

So am I recommending you getting one of Gizmo's cousins as a pet. Yes, but with a few stipulations. Firstly if you want a small pet that's active during the day, then a hamster is not for you, think about gerbils instead. Also do not buy a hamster and then expect a child (or younger teen) to take sole charge of it, they do need regular (if minimal) attention. And then remember that your hamster will only become tame enough to handle, if you acclimatise it with lots of care and patience, and it might not even then. Just like people, hamsters have personalities, and as such they need care and love, so the question is can you give one that love it wants so much?