Preparing For Your Hamster...

There are a couple of things that you have to do to properly prepare for your brand new hamster, dwarf or otherwise. First of all, you should make sure that you have the right kind of cage. If you decide to get a wire cage, make sure that the space between the wire is no more than half a centimeter because they are very small and will squeeze right through.

A lot of people go with a 10 or 20-gallon fish tank. This gives the dwarf hamster plenty of room to play and hide. (Make sure that you have a top for the fish tank!) You have to have bedding for the little guy/girl, because dwarf hamsters like to dig/burrow. A depth of 2 inches or more is good. Make sure that the bedding is NOT from a pine tree! This type of bedding contains oils that can harm him/her. Try to stick to the recycled paper or absorbent kind of bedding. (Just read the instructions BEFORE you buy!

Cage Placement

Your dwarf hamster is nocturnal. They will try their best to get their sleep during the day. So, try not to disturb this by placing them in a quiet, cool place. (Don't place the cage near a TV or stereo!)This will help them in the adjustment of their new home AND in their taming. The less stressed they are, the better. Like I've said before. hamsters are just like people. Think about it. If I disturb your sleep, aren't you cranky? Exactly! So are hamsters.

If you have another pet, such as a dog or a cat. Try to keep them away from the cage. You hamster has enough to worry about without the added pressure of a barking dog or a cat that might want to eat him/her!

Things that you should have in the cage:

1.Exercise wheel - To help him/ her to get used to the new environment. Plus its something that they will use over and over again!

2.Chew toys - Dwarf hamsters have to constantly chew on things because if they don't their teeth will grow into the skin of their mouth's causing dental problems. Some owners have provided doggie biscuits to assist with this because the wooden chew toys sometimes splint, harming the hamster.

3.Clean Drinking Water - This is an absolute necessity! There are two ways to go about it. You can (1) get a water bowl, or (2) get a water bottle.

The water bowl is probably the easiest to do but, with this option you have to worry about the bowl being heavy enough because your dwarf hamster will crawl on it and knock it over. Then you have a flooded cage, which will lead to a whole host of other problems, and will eventually cost you more money in the long run because you have to replace all of the bedding, clean the cage out,etc.,etc.

The water bottle is your best bet because it is hung out of the way, the hamsters see it, and they drink from it. When you get a water bottle, make sure that the tip of the bottle is metal and not plastic. Plastic tips can be chewed on by the dwarf hamsters and lead to a flooded cage, or worse, the little plastic pieces can hurt the hamster.

So there you go, some things that you should have in place BEFORE you bring your dwarf hamster home. To learn even more information about your new dwarf hamster, please visit: http://dwarfhamsterguide.info. This website can answer ALL of your questions concerning these adorable little animals!