Hamsters

• If their home is small they may become stressed, as

they have too little to do. The accommodation will

need to contain a dark, draft-free sleeping area.

• You can buy a specially-made cage. The most

common types have bars on the sides and top. You can

attach toys and a wheel to these as well as shelves

for your hamster to climb on. Do not buy cages with

wire floors or wire shelves as these can hurt your

hamster’s feet.

You can also buy

modular

cages, with tunnels that

interconnect, rather like a hamster’s burrow. These

need to have adequate ventilation in the tunnels. You

can have fun adding to your hamster’s home with new

tunnels, or by changing the arrangement, giving your

pet new routes to explore.

• The bottom of the cage should be covered with at least

2 inches of bedding. This allows your hamster to dig,

and soaks up any mess.

• Suitable materials for digging, burrowing, and

bedding should be paper-based and include shredded

tissue paper or paper towels, or torn-up paper and

newspaper. Paper based bedding materials are easily

found in pet stores. Meadow hay is also excellent

bedding material.

Hamsters