How to Keep a Silver Fox Hamster? Price, Size and Lifespan Explained in One Article

Silver Fox Hamster alias: Three-lined hamster, it is a type of Djungarian hamster, and also a very popular small pet. Many friends bring it home just for its beautiful appearance. Feeding it some fruits, vegetables and coarse grains in daily life is all fine. So how do you keep a Silver Fox Hamster? How much does one cost? How big can it grow?

The Silver Fox Hamster has a very gentle temperament and is very suitable for keeping at home. Although some friends say their Silver Fox Hamster is very fierce, the Silver Fox is actually a gentle hamster. It is fierce because it has not yet become familiar with its owner. After being kept for a while and getting familiar, the Silver Fox will become very gentle.

How much does a Silver Fox Hamster cost?

The price of a Silver Fox Hamster is generally not expensive. Priced according to coat color, it is about 5 to 20 yuan, and a top-quality Silver Fox is about 30 to 50 yuan each.

How do you keep a Silver Fox Hamster?

(1) Silver Fox Hamster keeping environment

The most suitable temperature for a Silver Fox Hamster is 20-28°C. Avoid places with direct sunlight or direct strong wind, but pay attention to ventilation. Do not place it too close to a TV, stereo or computer. Hamsters can hear sounds that humans cannot, so radiation and noise should be avoided. In summer, it is best not to turn on the air conditioner, because turning it off when you go out and on again when you enter the room will cause too great a temperature difference indoors, and hamsters are very sensitive to temperature and easily catch cold. In winter, do not place it outdoors, because the hamster will hibernate due to being too cold. Spread more bedding such as wood shavings, and provide the hamster with a wooden or grass hut for warmth. Or give more paper napkins so the hamster can make its own nest. The simplest method is to put the entire cage into a cardboard box or plastic box, but pay attention to ventilation.

(2) Silver Fox Hamster keeping facilities

1. Cage: In summer, please use a ventilated wire cage, or a half-wire half-plastic cage, such as an outdoor cage. In winter, please pay attention to keeping the hamster warm; an all-plastic cage is more suitable in winter.

2. Food bowl: Most cages come with a food bowl. If you need to buy one yourself, generally any small container can be used, as long as it is not easy to knock over and the edges are not too high, otherwise the hamster cannot climb in. Commonly used containers: glass ashtray, soy sauce dish, various small bowls, microwave box. The current price is 3 to 10 yuan.

3. Water dispenser: Most cages come with a water dispenser, and when DIYing it is best to install one too, because hamsters need to drink water. The general design of a water dispenser has a stainless steel ball at the front. When buying, pay attention to testing whether it leaks. Never directly use a bowl to hold water, because when the hamster drinks it will wet its fur, or it may go in to swim, and it can easily catch cold and get sick. If there really is none, feed the hamster more vegetables and fruits.

4. Toilet: An ordinary plastic box filled with cat litter is a relatively simple toilet. Take out the clumped cat litter every day or replace it all, according to personal hygiene habits. Hamsters kept by clean people are also relatively clean.

5. Bathroom: Some hamsters will use cat litter in the toilet to bathe. Although it is unhygienic, this is the hamster's preference, and at this time a bathroom is no longer needed. But some hamsters are very clean, and the owner should buy it a bathroom, put bath sand in it and let the hamster roll and dig to its heart's content. The bath sand should be disinfected. You can also wash fine sand yourself, disinfect and dry it in a microwave, and mix it with talcum powder to make bath sand. It is best not to directly use talcum powder, because it is too irritating and can easily hurt the hamster's eyes.

6. Running wheel: Most cages come with a running wheel, because wild hamsters need to run 20 km a day, so an appropriate amount of exercise is very important for hamsters. Without enough exercise, hamsters will be under too much stress and develop behaviors such as fighting each other and biting the cage. So a careful owner should give the hamster a running wheel. At the same time, because today's owners feed hamsters very good nutrition, hamsters are often made overweight, and are prone to cardiovascular disease, so even a hamster should have a normal healthy figure. When buying, pay attention: choose a running wheel without gaps, so the hamster is not easily injured. The current price is 10 to 80 yuan.

7. Wood shavings: As cage bedding, many materials can be chosen, but most people choose wood shavings, because it is relatively clean and easy to obtain. When using paper bedding, pay attention: do not use printed paper, because the ink is toxic and the hamster will be poisoned.

8. Chew stone/chew stick: A hamster's teeth keep growing, so a chew stick is needed to wear down overly long teeth.

9. Hut: Huts come in ceramic, wooden, grass and plastic types, and hamsters like them all, because hamsters are animals that love to dig burrows and live in them. If conditions allow, a small hut should be provided for the hamster. The current price is 10 to 45 yuan.

What food does a Silver Fox Hamster eat?

1. Edible foods

① Qingjiang vegetable, carrot, pumpkin (green and yellow vegetables are best), sunflower seeds, peanuts, walnuts, pine nuts (do not give too many, 2 per week is best), apples, strawberries, cherries, bananas, grapes (because they contain a lot of sugar, please do not give too many), chicken feed, pigeon feed, bird feed, wheat, corn, millet, etc.

② Plants: clover, dandelion, kudzu, plantain

③ Animal protein: beef, chicken, boiled egg white, yogurt, mealworms, pet dried small fish, goat milk

2. Harmful foods

① Fruits: almonds, plums, loquat, peaches, honey peaches, apple seeds (can cause heart paralysis, gastrointestinal disorders, difficulty breathing)

② Vegetables: onions, scallion leaves (will destroy blood components), garlic, ginger, Chinese chives, celery (too irritating), leaves and stems of tomato and potato

③ Plants: narcissus, tulip, morning glory, rhododendron, orchid, acorus, hyacinth, ferns, cyclamen, hydrangea, balloon flower, fern types, iris

④ Others: human snacks, biscuits, chocolate, coffee (these two foods can cause heart paralysis), alcohol, milk

3. Supplement series

① Mealworms: protein is very high, a sacred supplement among supplements. Please do not feed too many in a day.

② Dried small fish: contains calcium and animal protein. Older hamsters can have it ground into powder to eat.

③ Nutritional paste: available on the market, in two flavors, deep-sea fish oil and cherry.

④ Nutritional water: sold on the market, priced at 100 to 150.

⑤ Glucose water: glucose can be bought at a pharmacy. Mix with boiled water at 1:10 and feed. It can increase appetite.

⑥ Artificial baby puree: available in supermarkets. Feed about 0.5cc at a time. Please store in the refrigerator.

⑦ Small animal milk replacer: most stores selling hamster supplies have it. Mix 1 packet with 10cc of water. Hamsters drink little, so please adjust the amount yourself, and it must be finished immediately.

Note: Silver Fox Hamsters are forbidden from being fed human food. Too high salt content and too heavy seasoning will increase the burden on the hamster's body. Please store feed and snacks in sealed jars, and they can be placed in the refrigerator. Discard food that breeds insects or ants. Do not feed too much of the fruit and vegetable portion at one time, as it easily causes diarrhea and death. Most fruits and vegetables contain pesticides. Please wash them with clean water, wipe them dry, and then feed.

How big can a Silver Fox Hamster grow?

Under normal circumstances, the Silver Fox Hamster is not large in size. After adulthood it is about 8 to 11 cm long, and its weight is even lighter, only about 30 to 45 grams. It is a very small hamster. Most Silver Fox Hamsters still carry more wild genes. These hamsters have relatively obvious black stripes on their backs. If they are crossbred with a Purple Hamster, this pattern is not obvious. How big a Silver Fox Hamster can grow has little to do with whether it is wild, because its genes determine the petite size of this animal, so an adult Silver Fox Hamster will not be too big either.

How long is the lifespan of a Silver Fox Hamster?

The lifespan of a Silver Fox Hamster is very short, about two years on average. A four-month-old hamster is already an adult. Under normal circumstances, male hamsters live longer than female hamsters, and female hamsters that have not given birth live longer than those that have. There are also many aspects that affect the lifespan of a Silver Fox Hamster, mainly improper keeping by the owner, causing them to die of illness. This accounts for a very large proportion of hamster keeping. Most first-time keepers think that buying a small hamster is not worth much money, and are relatively careless when keeping it, causing the hamster's lifespan to be too short.