Cages In summer, please use a ventilated wire cage, or a half-iron, half-glue cage such as a field cage. In winter, please keep your hamster warm. A full rubber cage is better for winter.
★Do not use wire mesh on the bottom of the cage, as rats are prone to break bones and injuries
Food bowl
Most of the cages come with a food bowl. If you need to buy your own, small containers are generally available, as long as they are not easily knocked over and the edges are not too high for the hamster to climb into. Commonly used containers: glass cigarette jar, soy sauce dish, all kinds of small bowls, microwave oven box. Current price: $3-10
Drinker
Most cages come with a drinker, and it's a good idea to install one when DIYing, because hamsters need to drink. Drinkers are generally designed with a stainless steel bead on the front, so be careful to test for leaks when you buy one. Never take a bowl to hold water directly, because the hamster will wet its fur when drinking water, or swim in it, so it is easy to catch a cold and get sick. If you don't have it, feed your hamster more vegetables and fruits.
Toilet
An ordinary plastic box with cat litter is a simple toilet. Remove the clumped litter every day or change it all out, depending on your personal hygiene habits. People who love cleanliness raise cleaner hamsters.
Bathing room
Some hamsters will use cat litter to bathe in the toilet, which is unhygienic, but it is the hamster's preference, and at this point there is no longer a need for a bathing room. However, for some hamsters who love to be clean, the owner should buy a bathing room for them, and put in the bathing sand for the hamster to roll around, and play holes to its heart's content. The sand should be disinfected, or you can wash the sand yourself, put it in the microwave oven to sterilize and dry, and mix it with talcum powder to make bath sand. It's best not to use talcum powder directly because it's too irritating and can easily hurt your hamster's eyes.
Running Wheel
Most of the cages come with a running wheel, because wild hamsters run 20 kilometers a day, so the right amount of exercise is very important for hamsters, and without enough exercise, hamsters will be stressed out and fight with each other, bite the cage and other behaviors. So careful owners should give hamsters a running wheel. At the same time, because nowadays owners give hamsters very good nutrition, often make hamsters overweight, easy to make hamsters also get cardiovascular disease, so even hamsters should have a normal and healthy body. Be careful when you buy, you should choose the running wheel without seams, the hamster is not easy to be injured. Current price: $10-80.
Wood shavings
As the bedding material for the rat cage, many materials are available, but most people choose wood shavings because it is cleaner and easier to get. Be careful when using paper bedding, don't use printed paper, the ink is toxic and the hamster will be poisoned.
Teething stone/teething stick
Hamster's teeth will keep growing, so a teething stick is needed to grind off the overgrown teeth.
Hut
The hut has ceramic, wooden, grass, plastic, hamsters love it, because hamsters are animals that love to live in holes, if you have the condition, you should match a hut to your hamster. Current price: 10-45 dollars.
Hamster food
(1) Please do not look at the rat is too cute, give too much sunflower seeds or high-calorie food, the rat is easy to get fat, nutritional imbalance. Too fat rats, easy to heat stroke in summer, skin fat is too thick, easy to hair loss.
Sunflower seeds are enough for a Tuesday to four! It can be used as a reward food for training your rat.
(2) Please don't think that rats don't need to drink water! Water must be supplied and changed every two to three days.
(3) Please do not feed too much fruits and vegetables at once, as it may cause death by diarrhea. Most fruits and vegetables contain pesticides, so please wash them with water and wipe them dry before feeding.
(4) Match the snacks with the main food, increase the snacks and decrease the main food, don't give too many snacks, the fat rats will get sick easily.
(5) Please keep the feed and snacks in sealed cans, or put them in the refrigerator, and throw away any food that breed insects and ants.
Edible food:
Vegetables Green vegetables (e.g. Aoji-kai), carrots, squash (green and yellow vegetables are preferred) Seeds Sunflower seeds, peanuts, walnuts, pine nuts (don't give them too much) Fruits Apples, strawberries, cherries, bananas (may stick to the cheek pouches, so try not to give them to the rats), grapes (don't give them too much as they have a lot of sugar) Grains Chicken feed, dove feed, small bird feed, wheat and other food items. Feed for small birds, wheat, corn, millet Plants Clover, dandelion, kudzu, plantain (Please do not feed plants that may be contaminated.) Animal protein Beef, chicken, boiled egg white, cheese, milk, yogurt, worms, and small dried fish for pets.
Amount of food: It is easy to provide hamsters with more food than they need, because hamsters have the habit of storing food, and they will be very upset if there is less food. So, if you find the food bowl is always empty every time you add food it means the food is added too little, and you should also pay attention to clean up the uneaten food in time, especially the fruits and other things with moisture to prevent deterioration.
Feeding hamsters can use 50 cm square to raise tropical fish with a sink, above the wire mesh made of cover (easy to swelter in summer, to be noted). When using a wire cage, the hamster grabs the wire and climbs upwards, and there is a danger of falling, so it is best if the cage is not very high, and to remove the wire from the bottom of the cage and use it. Line the bottom of the cage with straw, hay or sawdust. The feeding bowl can be made of pottery, preferably heavier. Some twigs can be provided for gnawing to prevent the teeth from growing too long. Nest boxes can be made of wood or paper, etc. Bird nest boxes can be utilized in addition to those that come with the cage. Line the nest box with hay, sawdust, rags, etc. The sink will not scrape your feet, but it tends to accumulate moisture, so be careful to keep it dry. Also, the sink is deep enough to put in plenty of straw, hay, and other cage substrate that will allow the hamster to dive in, put in dirt, and then lay hay on top. Create a very natural environment where hamsters can dig holes for nests.
Drinking water can be done with a water feeder, mounted at a height where it is easy to drink, and add water to a vessel-type pitcher. In the summer, you can let your hamster play with water, but don't make the cage too wet. Hamsters have the habit of defecating in a fixed place. Put a potty in the place where it often defecates and put urine or feces in it to make the potty smell bad, so it will use it as a toilet. If you don't use the toilet, don't force it, just pay attention to clean the cage frequently.
Hamsters are omnivores, so you can give them yellow-green vegetables such as pumpkin, light-colored vegetables such as cabbage and lettuce, potatoes, beans, fruits, weeds, seeds, etc. There are also special food for hamsters. There are also hamster-specific feeding grains. However, it is important to pay attention to feeding some vegetables and fruits when the feeding diet is the mainstay. As a source of protein, you can feed it boiled eggs, cooked dried fish, boiled chicken and cheese, tofu, etc. You can also feed some dog food, cat food, etc.
Hamsters have the habit of storing food in their gills. Be careful to change the water diligently. Wash the food bowl and water feeder every day and replace them with fresh food and water. Replace the nesting material as well. Check the nest box and leave some food such as fruit or solid feed for the hamster where it accumulates food. Change the cage bottom dressing once a week and clean and sterilize the cage 1-2 times a month.
The temperature inside the sink is easy to rise in the hot summer, and in summer, it is best to move to the cage to feed. Keep the cage in a well-ventilated place and be careful not to let direct sunlight. When it's hot, hamsters don't like to eat solid rations, and should be fed water-rich foods such as vegetables. Store food in the fall, and don't forget to check the nesting box frequently to prevent the hamster from going into hibernation due to low temperature. When placing it in a heated room, take care that the temperature difference between day and night is not too great. You can put a plastic bag over the cage or put the cage into a paper-shell box to keep warm.
Hamster Emotions
Hamsters are less likely to communicate with their owners than dogs and cats. However, it is possible to understand the emotions of hamsters if you observe them carefully every day. And hamsters can also express their emotions, so watch these actions and messages carefully to understand the hamster's emotions.
Tidying up
When a hamster tidies up its body hair, it is in a relaxed state. Otherwise, it is a state where the hamster's own scent disappears after being petted by the owner, and it wants to apply the scent to its body again. Hamsters love their own flavor.
Turning over
When the owner's hand reaches inside the cage, the hamster will turn over. This is due to the state of being startled or feeling annoyed when the hand comes in. The hamster has almost no weapon against the enemy, so it will roll over and resist with all four legs. At this time, just go over slowly and reassure the hamster. Especially when the hamster is sleeping, don't scare the hamster.
Rolling up in a circle
At first glance, you can tell that this is the hamster's sleeping position, so keep your voice down. However, it will also roll up when it is not in good health, so pay more attention to it. When the weather is cold, it will also be rolled up, this time is to keep warm.
Cage biting
When a hamster gnaws on the wire of the cage, it may be that the hamster is trying to escape, and some hamsters will also rub the hairs on the top of their nose between the wires, making the top of their nose bald. This behavior is what allows the hamster to grind its teeth and control the length of its teeth.
Droopy ears
The easiest thing to see to understand a hamster's mood is its ears. If the ears are drooping, it must be when they are feeling nasty or scary, and they are also drooping when they have just woken up from a nap.
Stiffness
A hamster that turns on a wheel and then suddenly stops is trying to use the wheel to move farther away, and stops and stays still to make sure it's getting somewhere.
Standing up and shaking
Standing up is to understand the situation in the distance, feeling to observe the surrounding, paying attention to the sound, and also standing up when reacting to the sound of the feed bag.
Lying on the ground
When coming out of the cage, the body is located together, lying on the ground and sniffing around. This is a case of being nervous about a new place and wanting to sniff around. Don't make a lot of noise at this time.
Hiding in narrow places Hamsters were originally wild animals that lived in narrow tunnels. When playing indoors, the hamster will always look for narrow and dark places in order to rest assured, if the hamster runs to the corner of the room you should pay attention.
When buying:
1. It is best to use the same breed of hamster, because different varieties of hamsters are easy to fight.
2. As they are nocturnal animals, they sleep for 12-14 hours a day, and only move and eat in the evening, so it is best to buy them in the evening or at night, so that you can see the active side of the hamster.
3. Generally speaking, a healthy hamster is characterized by sound limbs, eyes, normal ears without secretions, average and soft fur, and dry, hard, granular feces.
4. Hamsters are also afraid of strangers, and when they first come home, they seem to be more sensitive, and need two or three days to get used to it before they can have "close contact" with you.
Hamsters are nocturnal animals that like to sleep during the day and come out at night, so don't wake them up when they are sleeping! Four-week-old hamsters are adults. Unlike rats, they have a short tail, or even no tail at all. The most interesting thing about hamsters is that they know how to hide their food in the sides of their gills and spit it out only when they are in a safe place.
Medical attention
(1) As long as the rat has any physical discomfort, please do not panic, do not rush to the doctor, try to shorten the time to send the rat to the doctor.
VIII. Precautions to be taken when the mother rat is in labor:
(1) During the period of pregnancy, remember to separate the cage from the male rat. Male rats sometimes eat the baby rats; the main thing is that the male rats may still be in heat at this time, and if you don't separate the cages, you will cause the female rats that are still in the nursing period to get pregnant again, which will affect the female rats' physical condition and even life expectancy. The female rats still have the ability to store sperm, and there is a possibility that one litter will be followed by a second litter. Therefore, it is very important to separate the male rats from the cage in time.
(2) Please help mother rats to have a good body tonic, the production is very hurtful, you can use flaxseed, nutrient cream, nutrient water, dried fish, breadworms, etc., so that the mother rats can increase the nutrition.
(3) Please try not to change the objects and materials in the mother's cage between the full moon. It is easy to scare the moms and cause them not to breastfeed their babies or recycle (eat the mice), so please don't touch the mice until they are full term!
(4) When the mice are one month old, they can leave their mother after their fur grows and their eyes are opened and they are weaned!
(5) It is best to wait until the mice are a month old before feeding them breadworms, which have a shell.
At this time, the baby's digestive system is not yet complete, please do not feed breadworms, as it is easy to get indigestion. Mothers will feed their babies on their own, so please do not feed the babies on your own.
(6) During the pregnancy, please remember to pick up the roller, sometimes the mother will neglect to breastfeed for the sake of playing with the roller.
Self-inspection
(1) Teeth: The incisors of mice and rats are constantly growing, and sometimes the teeth are too long, which can prevent them from eating. At this time, you can cut your own teeth, please use small animal teeth cutting tools, if you are afraid to cut, you can take it to the doctor to cut the teeth.
(2) scent gland: male rats only have, in the middle of the abdomen, there is a yellow grain of something, that is the scent gland, male rats in heat, the smell here will be particularly heavy. Sometimes the scent glands may be too much, so remember to use hydrogen peroxide mixed with saline at a rate of 1:10 to help them wipe it off! If you have too many, please take them to the veterinary hospital and ask the doctor to clean them.
(3) Eyes: If the rat is healthy, its eyes should be very shiny and glossy, but if they are red, oily, or have eye droppings, then it is time to pay attention and bring them to the doctor.
(4) Poop: The rat's poop should be a little hard, the size of a grain of rice, black and odorless. Sometimes it will turn green, red, etc. Don't be too nervous, please think back to the rats' feed, whether there is green or red feed, if so, the green color of the stool is normal. If there is any green or red color in the rat's diet, it is normal for the stools to be green. If the stools are soft or have a bad smell, please send the rat to the doctor.
(5) Buccal sacs: Sometimes it is necessary to pay attention to the buccal sacs to see if the food has been eaten, and if it has not been eaten, please do not give the food again. If the food in the buccal sacs is rotten and smelly, it can easily lead to buccal sac infection. Regularly monitor the buccal sacs to see if there is any odor of rotten food, and regularly help him to remove the food from the buccal sacs. Use saline to mix with water in a 1:3 ratio, and use a feeding syringe to insert it into the buccal sacs to rinse out the food.
(6) Hair color: Rat's hair is usually soft and shiny. If there is hair loss, please note if it is an allergy and bring it to the doctor for examination as soon as possible.
(7) Body temperature: The body temperature of a rat is usually slightly higher than ours by touch, but it is not obvious. If you obviously feel that your rat's body temperature is too high, please send it to the hospital immediately, as it is very likely to be heatstroke
The cost of keeping ss for the rest of your life
Basic equipment:
Cage: A cage with a lot of space (at least as big as a small organizing box), and a cage that is not too big as a small organizing box. It's best not to buy a domestic one, it's cheap but unsafe.
The rat's feet can easily get stuck and cause fractures or break out of the cage. And the paint is not safe for rats (rats will chew the cage).
I know this very well, Pippi once got a piece of skin off his leg because I opened the door.
The day before yesterday, my sister was chewing on her own cage, and when she was chewing on it, she caught her own leg, and moaned softly for a while,
but still she couldn't pull her leg out, and finally I tried to get it out.
If you buy an imported cage, a used one is usually between 50-100. Brand new ones range from 100-300.
Or some rat friends DIY organizer is also good, the whole set down within 100 can be done, of course, except for the beauty.
The rat toilet: rats will be scheduled to go to the toilet (rats are very like clean little animals, but not every good behavior Oh)
Use their habit, clean up time will be much more convenient. Otherwise, you'll get their pee all over the place,
and the cage will be full of smell in a day or two.
You can buy some plastic products for rat sand, or buy a customized rat toilet for rats.
This can cost anywhere from a few dollars to a few tens of dollars!
Kettle and food bowl: a dozen dollars or so can be taken care of. (Imported cages usually come with a water bottle and food bowl.)
Rollers: basically come with the cage.
If you're a DIY rat, you'll need to buy your own, or make one yourself. Remember to buy a seamless one,
Never buy the kind with a seam in the middle, the rat will run very fast.
Once the legs are stuck inside, it is easy to break them.
The roller is generally divided into non-silent and silent two kinds, the price of this thing is also from 5 yuan to dozens of dollars ranging.
Hut: rats are nocturnal animals, so they like to sleep during the day,
so we need to prepare a hiding place for them as a sleeping place,
from a small cardboard box to the mouse customized for rats and rats can be a beautiful mouse house,
(some imported cages with a two-storey building, can be used as a place to sleep and place). Prices range from a few dollars to tens of dollars.
Basic supplies:
Feed: Imported feed a packet of about 30-60 yuan, you can eat for a long time.
Some of them are labeled to remove the effect of urine odor. It is not very recommended to use pigeon or feed store own mixed grains, nutrition does not meet the requirements of rats.
Don't think they can eat and absorb anything like house mice, the hygiene is not very good, there will be rice worms or other moths
(easy to have mold or yellow wheat toxin), but if you really don't have the financial ability to buy too expensive imported feeds,
this is the choice of necessity!
And strongly avoid giving rats human snacks.
Matting: Poplar is better but more expensive. A package will cost nearly 50 dollars.
Pine a lot of people use, from 20-40 yuan have, try to pick the amount of dust is small
(that is, you change the wood shavings will not be snotty kind), other kinds of paper, corn burgundy, wood shavings sand and so on.
Bathing sand: WILD-308 A pack is about $65 to $90. It can be used for about half a year and can be recycled.
It should be replaced when there is an odor, and if it is wet with urine just after the new one is replaced, you can take out the wet place separately.
Some people will use cat litter instead of bath sand, I do not agree with this practice, cat litter used as mouse toilet sand effect is not bad.
But for rats and mice, the particles are too big to get rid of the bacteria on the body.
(Remember, don't bathe rats in water, they are afraid of water. (After washing may die).
Drinking water: Always use plain water, and if you have the conditions, it is best to feed pure water (female rats should be fed with fresh milk during lactation).
Teeth grinding supplies: there are special teeth grinding wood and teeth grinding mineral salt, but the rats may not like it,
Teeth grinding snacks will be more popular. Prices range from $10 to $60.
Don't use things like no-rinse crackers, popsicle sticks, or anything else!
(For those of you who keep them in organizers, make sure you have these.
If it's a cage, the rat will chew on the cage to sharpen its teeth, but it's a bit noisy.)
Should the rat take a bath?
A bath! This is a good starting point, but rats can't enjoy bathing as much as humans can.
Because they are so small, bathing would take up too much energy for them and risk causing a cold.
Rats usually clean their own fur and keep their bodies clean, so there's no need for us as owners to grab them for a bath.
However, it is possible to gently wipe the area around the mouse's buttocks with a towel dampened with warm water.
In addition, you can also prepare a soft brush to groom your rat from time to time, on the one hand, it is a good way to get close to your rat,
On the other hand, you can also check the condition of your rat's skin and limbs, especially for long-haired golden rats, which should be groomed frequently.
When grooming, you can use a toothbrush with small teeth like the ones used by children to brush their teeth as a brush.
Comb it slowly in the direction of hair growth, about once every two to three weeks for short-haired rats and once a week for long-haired ones.
There are also cleaning products available on the market for rats, such as dry cleaning powder and foam cleaner,
which you can also use to make your rat feel more energetic after washing, and to cover its body odor,
but be careful not to get it in the eyes or other organs of the rat's face.
They will roll around in the sand to get the dirt out of their fur, which will also satisfy their natural tendency to dig.
So basically, if you do the above, you don't have to worry about cleaning your rat's fur
.