How to keep a Djungarian hamster? A detailed guide to raising one for beginners

The Djungarian hamster, also known as the Djungarian dwarf hamster or the "lying-flat hamster", is the easiest of the small hamsters to keep and also the easiest to become close to. When you first get one it is very docile, but whether it bites still depends on its personality, just like dogs: not all toy poodles and bichon frises have good temperaments and never bite. Let's take a look together at how to keep a Djungarian hamster!

Djungarian hamster keeping environment

1. Food bowl: anything will do, including a clean ashtray or a small box, but mind the edges so you do not scratch the hamster.

2. Running wheel: please choose a seamless wheel; with a wheel that has seams, the hamster can easily get its feet caught while running.

3. Water bottle: a steel-ball water bottle is best, and there are also dropper types; the main consideration is that it does not leak.

4. Nest: you can make one yourself by DIYing a storage box, or you can choose a small nest sold on the market, with prices ranging from a few dozen yuan to several hundred yuan.

5. Hamster toilet and bath: place hamster sand, bathing sand and the like for the hamster to use the toilet or roll in the sand to bathe.

6. Cooling: marble, heat sinks, ice made in PET bottles, cooling mats, etc.

7. Warming: cotton, heat packs, socks.

8. Cage: in summer please use a ventilated wire cage, or a half-wire half-plastic cage such as an outdoor cage. In winter pay attention to keeping the hamster warm; an all-plastic cage is more suitable for winter. (Do not use wire mesh for the cage floor, as hamsters can easily break bones or get injured because of it.)

9. Bedding: pine wood shavings, aspen, laboratory wood shavings and many others; in winter they can keep the hamster warm and absorb water.

10. Fine cat litter: more suitable for use in summer, cool, and after absorbing water it clumps into blocks that can be scooped out.

11. Corn cob: used in summer, cool, but does not absorb water, and is a little more expensive.

12. For the wood shaving bedding part, please try not to use wood shavings that contain fragrance.

Djungarian hamster health check

1. Teeth: a hamster's front teeth grow continuously, and sometimes the teeth become too long and cause it to be unable to eat. At this point you can trim the teeth yourself; please use small-animal teeth-trimming tools, and if you do not dare to cut them, you can take it to a doctor to have the teeth trimmed.

2. Scent gland: only male hamsters have it, in the middle of the abdomen, a yellow little lump; that is the scent gland, and when a male hamster is in heat the smell there is especially strong. Sometimes the scent gland accumulates too much, so remember to regularly mix hydrogen peroxide with salt water at 1:10 and wipe it for them! If too much accumulates, please take it to a veterinary hospital for a doctor to clean.

3. Eyes: if a hamster is healthy, its eyes should be very watery, bright and glossy; if they are red, or if there is eye discharge or eye gunk, then you need to pay attention and take it to a doctor.

4. Droppings: a hamster's droppings should be somewhat hard, the size of a grain of rice, black and odorless. Sometimes they turn green, red, etc.; do not be too nervous then, just think back to whether the hamster's food contains green or red feed; if it does, green droppings are normal. If soft droppings occur, or they carry a bad smell, please take it to the vet as soon as possible.

5. Cheek pouch: sometimes you need to check whether the food in the cheek pouch has been finished; if it has not been finished, please do not feed more. If food spoils and smells bad in the cheek pouch, it can easily cause cheek pouch inflammation. Regularly check whether there is a bad smell of spoiled food in the cheek pouch, and regularly help it clear the food out of the cheek pouch; mix salt water with water at 1:3 and use a feeding syringe inserted into the cheek pouch to rinse it.

6. Coat color: a hamster's fur is usually soft and glossy. If there is hair loss, pay attention to whether it is an allergy, and take it to a doctor for a check as soon as possible.

7. Body temperature: a hamster's body temperature is generally felt by hand and is roughly a little higher than ours, but the difference is not obvious; if you clearly feel the hamster's body temperature is too high, please send it to the hospital immediately, as it is very likely a precursor to heatstroke!