Hamsters
There are many different kinds of hamsters, but the most common are the Syrian, Dwarf Campbell Russian, Dwarf Winter White Russian, Roborovski Dwarf, and Chinese. Each breed has its own distinctive characteristics that distinguish it from the other breeds.
Hamsters need to have plenty of space to run around. You should always make sure that the floor of the cage has a covering of at least 4cm depth of suitable bedding as hamsters love to burrow.
One very important thing that you need to remember, when you’re setting up a home for your hamster, is toys. Hamsters love to have something to keep them occupied. As well as the usual hamster wheel you need to provide a selection of other toys, such as wooden chew toys. These toys are an excellent choice as they provide a fun activity for your hamster whilst, at the same time, stopping their teeth from becoming overgrown. One very important item in a hamster’s cage is somewhere for them to hide away, like a specially made hamster house.
If your hamster was living in its natural environment it would be eating seeds and grasses, plus a few insects. Hamsters are naturally omnivorous. Your hamster will love to eat fruit and vegetables, but you should be careful not to give them too much. A small cube of fruit or vegetable, two or three times a week, is more than enough.
One of the main problems is that a hamster will often beg for food even when they are not hungry. They maintain the habits that they have in the wild, and store food in their cheek pouches to eat later. In the wild this is because hamsters search for food at night, which they then take back to their underground home. So if the food bowl is empty try looking for the food in your hamster’s house.
Rabbits
There are several options to house rabbits inside. They can live free-reign in a bunny proofed room/rooms, or they can be contained within a puppy pen, or in a large rabbit cage. If contained, their space should always be large enough so they can hop around, and they should be let out of their pen for at least a few hours everyday for exercise.
Make sure the primary location of your rabbit is not isolated from you and your family. A family room or living room is a good place.
A rabbit’s diet should mainly consist of hay. Fresh hay should be provided to rabbits at all times. Supplement your rabbit’s hay with fresh vegetables, fiber-rich pellets (in limited quantities for adult rabbits), and fresh water daily.
Handle your rabbit gently and frequently, so that it learns that you are not going to hurt it. As it becomes more comfortable, it will enjoy being held and petted.
Rabbits have a natural inclination to poop and pee in one area. Take advantage of this by setting up a medium-sized cat litter box or shallow storage bin near their food/water bowls and hay feeder.
Put a thin layer of recycled newspaper at the bottom of the litter box. Do not use clay/clumping cat litter or wood shavings, as they are not safe for rabbits. Then put hay on top of the litter. Rabbits like to eat hay and poop at the same time, so this will encourage good litter box habits.
Guineea pigs
Guinea pigs are cuddly, comical, and clever. They make wonderful pets for children and can be very social animals. The animals do better in pairs as they prefer company.
They should not use exercise wheels. Exercise wheels result in damaged backs, injured feet, and generally unhealthy Guinea pigs. Instead, provide a clear bit of floor for the Guinea pigs to just run around.
Guineea pigs neither climb nor jump very high, and so their enclosures do not need to be covered. To avoid injury to the delicate feet, the floor should be solid plastic. Most commercial cages are much too small. The piggy needs enough room to run and dig in the bedding.
Provide lots of bedding. The best and safest bedding is made of shredded paper. It will need to be changed every day, to maintain a healthy environment. Otherwise, the bedding will be soaked with urine and rotting vegetables. Do not use softwood shavings such as pine or cedar, because the oils from these woods are very unhealthy for your pet’s lungs.
Hay and grass should form the majority of your guinea pigs’ diet. Good quality, fresh, dust-free hay must always be available for your guinea pigs to eat. Hay maintains healthy digestion and helps to wear guinea pigs’ teeth down, preventing them from growing too long or misaligned and becoming painful.
Fresh vegetables will round out the diet. Vitamin C supplements are a wise precaution, because the vitamin C in the pellets loses its potency quickly. Simply sprinkle the powder over the veggies.
Gerbil
Gerbils are very social animals, living in colonies in the wild, so they do not do well as a solitary pet. Keeping a same sex pair (litter mates usually do well together) is necessary. However, if you have a single older gerbil, it can be difficult to introduce a new one as they are quite territorial but there are steps that can be taken.
Being social creatures, gerbils can become quite tame. They generally have a pretty agreeable temperament and are generally only inclined to bite if feeling threatened which is how they became popular as pets to begin with. Hand taming a gerbil is usually quite easy and treats definitely help to speed the process.
Gerbils also need a nest box to feel secure. Gerbils will hide out in their nest box and use it for sleeping. A sturdy wood or ceramic nest box is preferable to plastic since the plastic will quickly be destroyed by chewing. The wood will likely get chewed as well but tends to last a little longer. Clay flower pots are another possible choice to use as a gerbil nest box.
In addition to offering a nest box, provide lots of materials for climbing and enrichment, such as thick pieces of wood, stable rocks, ladders, ramps and platforms. Toys that are safe for chewing should always be available. Wood toys or simple blocks of wood, branches, hay, wood and rope parrot toys, and small cardboard boxes are all good choices for chewing.
To make sure your pet gerbil is healthy supply him with the most nutritious foods available. Foods include commercial mixes, fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and, of course, water. A varied diet will be enjoyed by your pet, but be sure to introduce new foods gradually.
Chinchillas
Chinchillas originated in the Andes Mountains of South America where they inhabit crevices in the rocks. Chinchillas come in a variety of colours. The most common color is silvery gray, but they also come in white, beige, ebony and sapphire colour.
With gentle handling from a young age, most chinchillas will become quite tame and bond closely with their owners, although sometimes they do not like to be held or cuddled. They are very active and playful. Chinchillas can be kept singly, and usually will do fine as same-sex pairs especially if they are litter mates or introduced at a young age.
Chinchilla cages must be large, and multi-level cages with platforms, ramps, and perches are ideal. Along with regular access to a dust bath, chinchillas need a variety of toys to keep them busy and active, especially items for chewing to keep the incisor teeth in good condition.
Provide a bedroom or a space where they can snuggle up – a nesting box full of hay or other cosy bedding material will help them feel secure.
Position their cage away from direct sunlight, radiators or draughts. Chinchillas don’t like high temperatures and can suffer from heat stroke which can be very serious if not treated quickly.
Chinchillas are herbivores and, in their native South America, they eat grasses, low-growing green plants and chew the bark off trees. Chinchillas need a diet high in fibre and protein but low in moisture and fat. High fat foods will give them liver disease and greens which are too lush will cause colic or make them bloated. A diet lacking in fibre causes poor gut movement, allows their teeth to become overgrown and can even lead to fur chewing. They also need a high vitamin C diet.
Mice and rats
Rats and mice are cuddly, friendly and intelligent pets. They are reasonably easy to keep healthy, making then an ideal pet for young families.
They are highly motivated to build nests to help them regulate their body temperature and are sensitive to light and noise. They are very quick to move and need to be handled carefully to avoid injuring them.
Rats and mice need to explore. Within the cage, give your little guys boxes and tubes to crawl in and parrot-ladders to climb. In fact, the parrot section of your local pet-store probably has a wide assortment of fun toys and puzzles for your rats. Ferret toys are also good.
Some rats and mice enjoy an exercise wheel and some don’t. If you decide to buy one for your pet, be sure it is a large one. Most of them are too small for rats. If he needs to bend his back at all, it is too small. If it is made of wire, it is unsafe because feet and tails will get caught in the gaps. There are a few solid-plastic wheels suitable for rats.
Your pet mice or rats need to have fresh, clean water available all the time. The usual sipper bottles sold for rodents are perfect.
As a rodent, your rats have incisor teeth that grow continuously. These little guys need to have something to chew on, to wear the teeth down. Chew-toys designed for parrots are good for this. So are dog-biscuits which are designed to clean the dog’s teeth.
For the actual meals for your rats and mice add pieces of fresh fruit, raw or cooked vegetables, bits of left-over meat, breakfast cereal, yogurt, and bits of cheese. If it is a healthy snack for you, it’s probably a healthy snack for your rat and mouse.