First of all you should decide what you want from the communication with hamsters.
If you want to have only one hamster as a pet, you can choose any hamster that you can find in special pet shops.
If you want to have a few hamsters not for breeding but just as pets, then you must know that Syrian, Jungar and Campbell hamsters are solitary animals. It is not bad to keep the only rodent in the cage, it is bad when there are several animals in one “house”. If the hamsters of mentioned kinds live together in 90-95% of cases it ends tragically, because they start to fight for territory to the death of the one animal. Besides, you should know that staying together of hamsters of different sexes even for a few hours can cause appearing of breed. The basic rule: each hamster should live in individual cage!
Exception is only for Roborovsky hamsters. Roborovsky hamsters can live together because the breeding is difficult, they need special temperature conditions. But if your Roborovsky hamsters regularly surprise you with the kids you should separate them in order not to exhaust the female’s organism by frequent births.
If you want to breed hamsters, you should still keep each hamster in a separate cage and bring them together in a neutral territory for mating. But keep in mind:
1. You may mate the hamsters of any kind when they are not younger than 4 months,
2. In advance you should better study a short course in hamsters’ genetics.
3. You must have two spare cages of sufficient size for each pregnant female in order to place there the offspring of different sex. Because already 4 week-old hamsters are able to mate and become pregnant, but they cannot give birth to viable kids.
4. Chinese hamsters are so aggressive towards each other, that pairs should live together from early childhood to accustom to living together. Grown-up female will instantly burst strange unfamiliar male if it is not the day of estrus.
So when we have made our decision as for the kinds and quantity of hamsters we prepare necessary conditions for the animals.
Minimum necessary comfort conditions should be considered as a cage or terrarium with a surface area of 30 x 50 cm so the animal has enough space to run and exercise. For dwarf hamsters (Jungar, Chinese, Campbell, Roborovsky) floor area shall not be less, since they run no less than the Syrian hamsters. In exceptional cases it can be a slightly smaller floor area due to increasing space for jogging by the floors. The rods of cage should be placed horizontally, so the hamster could climb on them.
Also a mandatory set of necessary items for the hamster includes drinker for rodents and a wheel for jogging. The drinker is demanded to be sure that the hamster is drinking water and not spill it or throws with filler. In addition, the drinker is suitable for mixing in water liquid vitamins, special additives. And if the dwarf hamsters are sick with diabetes it is easy to estimate the amount of liquid drunk by a hamster.
Free wheel is necessary to make the necessary physical activity to maintain animal health, because in the wild hamsters can run through up to 8-12 km per night.
If you have the desire and ability you may add special bowl to feed, house and toilet. It is possible to use improvised means for this purpose. You can also buy a special walking ball or yard for hamster.
Walking balls may be of different sizes: for dwarf hamsters and Syrians. But keep in mind that not all hamsters are happy running around in the balls, some of them due to peculiarities of character just sit in it. The yard for walking can be just put on the floor of the room and a hamster can be released there. However, be aware that the height of such yard must be at least 45 cm for dwarf hamsters and not less than 60-80 cm for Syrian hamsters. In any case you must be sure that the hamster is not able to get out and run away.
The main fillers for a cage are: saw dust (extruded granulated or usual), hay, pressed cellulosic filler, non-colored paper napkins, towels or toilet paper. Napkins, towels and toilet paper are also an excellent material for the nest. Cotton wool is ABSOLUTELY inappropriate filler for keeping hamsters. Even the special cotton wool with mark "for house of small rodents" can’t be used. Thin floss can bring around the legs and disrupt blood circulation, it leads to the death of paw and even the death of the animal. In addition, hamsters can eat wool and injure their bowels. The argument that “several hamsters lived in wool and nothing bad happened” cannot be considered, since the hamsters of different breeds have different sizes and temperament. Also, you must not use newspapers, they are too rigid, and the ink contains many toxic substances.
Filler for the toilet or toilet angle may also be pressed wood or cellulose filler or a special filler for hamsters’ toilet.
Another essential point in keeping hamsters is nibbling stone for the abrasion of teeth. The stones may be of mineral and chalk, of different types, shapes and colors. Special sticks or branches of fruit trees may also be used as nibbling stone.
The important moment is a place where a cage is. Draft, noise of television or radio, hot dry air from the batteries, the bright sunlight are contraindicated for hamsters, also there should not be curtains, towels, rugs available for the hamster near the cage, because they can be easily pushed into the cage and nibbled. The cage should be located beyond the reach of other pets or small children.
How often do the cleaning in a cage? If the hamster is used to toilet corner, you can clean the toilet corner once every 3-5 days and wash the whole cage and change the litter once every 2-3 weeks when the odor appears. After cleaning the cage you should put in it something of a stock or tissues that there were before so the hamster is less nervous.
How to feed your pet? You may find very large range of ready mix of dry cereal in sale. Also you can make a mixture of different cereals by yourself, but don’t give your hamster dried pasta in any case because the animal may injure cheek pouches! Also there is a variety of treats for rodents: grain sticks, herbal granules and rings, crackers, cookies and cakes for hamsters, drops, dried corn cobs, dried fruit mixture.
Fresh water should be in the cage by all means!
It is also necessary to give hamsters special vitamins from time to time. You may also find them in special pet shops. In addition, hamsters happily eat a variety of succulent food: vegetables, fruits, herbs.