HEALTH AND HAPPINESS

Your hamster's health and happiness depends on you. You are ultimately responsible for every aspect of your hamster's well-being. Here are ten important do's and don'ts in no particular order for keeping you hamster healthy. And a healthy hamster is a happy hamster:

First order of business: Never, EVER house two hamsters together in the same cage. When hamsters are young, they don't mind being with other hamsters. That's why when you go into the pet store, all the hamsters are sleeping peacefully with each other. But as they get older, they grow more territorial. Hamsters are not people, so don't empathize with them as if they were. They do not get lonely. Hamsters were originally Middle-Eastern desert animals. Because of limited resources in the desert, hamsters staunchly defend their territory. When two hamsters are put together in the same cage, they will fight to the death. The only company a hamster wants or needs is your company, not that of another hamster's.

Remember, housing two hamsters together is animal cruelty! If you want to keep two hamsters, buy two separate cages! If you can't afford a second cage, then don't get a second hamster.

Never wake up your hamster! If you want to play with your hamster, wait till she get up by herself in the evening. Hamsters are naturally nocturnal. They go by their own schedule, not by yours. Think about it: How would you like it if somebody woke you up at 3:00 a.m. to take you out to play? I don't think you'd like it very much. So don't do it to your hamster. Waking your hamster up in the middle of the day is frustrating and stressful for your hamster. It will ultimately shorten her lifespan and make her more prone to illness. Be nice and respectful to your hamster. Only take her out when she herself feels like it, not when you feel like it.
Give your hamster fresh food and water and daily. Make sure you don't give your hamster too many sunflower seeds or nuts, as these are very fattening, and therefore too many of them aren't healthy for your hammy. Water is also absolutely essential.Don't put water in a dish, as hamsters tend to kick litter into it. Buy one of those water bottles that are hung on the side of the cage. These waterbottles contain a little stainless steel ball inside the tube. The hamster just licks the ball, and out comes the water! As for food, you need to buy a bag of food from the pet stores made specifically for hamsters. This should be the staple food for your hamster. But you could also supplement it with rice, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, and hard-boiled eggs. Also, be sure to give your hamster fresh food and vegetables daily! Hamsters love it, and it's very good for them.
Toys! Put some toys in you hamster's cage. Hamsters love to play and sniff at their toys every night. You can buy really nice, durable hamster toys at the pet store. Or you might have some toys at home that you can put in the hamster's cage. Make sure, though, that it's resistant to the hamster's chewing.
You will also need to provide something in the cage for the hamster to put their teeth on. Hamsters have eternally growing incisors at the front of their mouth. The hamster needs to wear these teeth down on a daily basis. You can buy wood fruit/vegetable-flavored hamster chews in the pet store. Another option is to give you hamster dog biscuits. Hamsters like the taste, and they are excellent when it comes to wearing the teeth down.
Make sure your hamster has the largest cage you can possibly find in the store. My hamster has one of those three-story wire cages. This is ample space, plus my hamster can climb on the wires and get some extra exercise that way. Hamsters like a lot of space, and they need plenty of room to excercise. Also, get one of those wheels to put in the hamster's cage. Make sure it's a big one, so that the hamster doesn't grow too large for it when he becomes an adult. Also, if the cage doesn't already have one, make sure you get one of those little plastic houses. The hamster needs some place to sleep which is small, cozy, quiet, clean, and secure.
Clean your hamster's cage on a regular basis! You have to make sure you clean everything: the hamster's sleeping house, food dish, toys, water bottle, the entire cage itself, etc. I'll go more in depth with the actual cleaning in the "Cleaning and Grooming" section.
When your hamster gets sick, or if there's anything unusual, such as hair loss in a relatively young hamster, take the furry friend to a vet. A very common problem with hamster is skin parasites, namely mites. Mites live dormant on the hamster's skin, until something happens that "activates" them, so to speak, and then they start causing problems for the hamster. If your hamster has mites, you will notice bald spots in the hamster's flanks, thighs, back legs, tail, and lower back areas. The bald spots may also be itchy or irritating. Every hamster I ever had got mites, which is why I wanted to specially mention it. The vet will give you a liquid medicine to spray directly onto the hamster. The mites will be dead within two weeks, and the fur will start growing back.

Also, if you're sick, have somebody feed, water, and care for you hamster. Otherwise, you might get your hamster sick as well, and it could be expensive to treat!
By all means, feel free to take your hamster out of his cage every evening, as soon as he's up, alert, and ready to go! Hamsters are inquisitive, curious little critters, and they love exploring the world outside their cage. If your hamster wants to play but you're busy, you could put the little guy in one of those roll-about hamster balls. But don't leave your hamster in the ball for more than 15 minutes!

It is always better to let your hamster run free than to just expect him to get all the exercise from the roll-about ball. When the hamster is running around in your house, use your common sense standards of caution. Keep an eye on your hamster all the time, don't let him get into tiny spaces where he could hide as long as he wants and drive you crazy, make sure he doesn't stick things in his mouth that he shouldn't, let everyone else know where the hamster is so that nobody steps on him, keep other animals out, and don't let him escape to the great outdoors.
If you own other pets, be extremely cautious that they never get near the hamster. Even when Fluffy is safe within his cage, seeing a big, scary animal will frighten him and distress him. In fact, if you own a dog or a cat, you probably shouldn't get a hamster at all, unless you can make absolutely, 100% sure that the animals have no access to the hamster. Dogs and cats are natural enemies of small animals, and they would gladly eat your hamster.

ALWAYS REMEMBER:
HAVE FUN, AND MAKE SURE YOUR HAMSTER HAS FUN, TOO!