prolonging a hamsters lifespan!

[thelittleteacup]

hello again!

as i mentioned before doing some research on the internet about how to give hamsters the best life possible and prolong their lifespan. i have heard about hamsters living to 4 or 5 years old!

obviously this has alot to do with genes, but i am looking into factors i can change!

i will give you a quick update on what i have read so far...

using a non harmfull substrate ie carefresh
tissue bedding/changing bedding frequently
throughly cleaning cage at least once a week
spot cleaning daily
feeding veggies everyday
good base diet
feeding rolled oats
live mealworms/chicken/eggs for extra protein
using hamster vitamins
feeding alfalfa
large cage
plently of toys/swapping toys
playtime outside of cage everyday
changing water daily
do not kiss your hamster?? (bit confused with this one unless you are ill, i kiss mine all the time?)
using a wheel everyday and correct wheel size
doing through checks on the hamster once a week
trimming of teeth and nails where needed
diabetes testing for dwarfes

i think that is about it!

does anyone have comments on this!? i would be excited to know what people think, i am unsure about a lot of this its just what ive written down from reading on the interenet.

also if anyone had a hamster that is old or has lived a long time could you please say about it diet habitat and lifestyle please!

thanks guys! im sure this will be an interesting thread!

[lisab]

On a quick think. you say about changing bedding often how often are you talking about? if your cleaning out once a week then bedding is changed then, you dont have to change it an extra time inbetween. If your spot cleaning daily everything is getting removed. yes it has a good thing of being in a clean cage all the time. But i would think to much of a clean enviroment would be a bad thing as well, as they would not come in any contact with germs and be able to have an imune system against anything. I was thinking that as i always remember about children being told let them play in the mud so they get some germs if that makes sence.

Live mealworms i have always been told is a no-no.

I dont know about kissing them, I never kiss mine.

I do checks on my lots everyday as you never know what could happen in a few days. but some illnesses are not detected untill its to late. something that can be unavoidable.

I think breeding will have a lot to do with it. pet shop hams are know to be more health issue pron. where as breeders who have a code of ethics and would not breed from sick animals.

As with any animal it has a "normal" age it can live to. I dont know if a change in care and routine would help or not.

If you had a very ill ham would you keep treating it or put it to sleep?
How many hams would you start with?
would you plan to just have one and do what you have said or do you plan to have two one you would follow a routine with and the other be treated normally (would that be unfair). would you have hamsters from the same litter? I think that would be a factor to think about.

In theory it could be a very good thing to do. If it did make a difference. There of course lots of other factors that i could metion that could or could not make a difference.

On the other hand it could be very time consuming and you could end up with quite a few hams changing different things for different hams.

Hope this helps

[thelittleteacup]

opps i think i might have made this sound like an experiemnt! its not!
the list is just something ive written down that other people have mentioned they do on the interent/other hamster forums.

just wanted to know about other peoples experiences!

havent fed live mealworms, has anybody? or is this def a no, people on a diff forum, forget which one have read lots say they are to be fed directly and are good!

youve made me panic about over cleaning now! ahh, i change both their tissue in the beds daily as one eats and poos alot in there and the other has a tendency to pee in it! odd hams, i didnt think it was healthy for them to sleep in pee n poo! lol

and of course if my hamster was suffering and it wasnt fixable/fair i would have them put too sleep.

if somebody did do it as an experiment it would be very benfical to know the outcome, but also a very unethical thing to do to the poor hammy who didnt get the good size of the deal! and i have no intentions to do it.

really just wanted peoples advice who have had hamsters live well over the 3 year mark and see if there was any similarties in diet, lifestyle ect!

just curious

[anorak]

I always kiss Noodles and she always kissses me back. Sometimes she kisses me first! This could be an interesting thread!

[thelittleteacup]

aha! same with both of my hamsters! x

[Teddybearhamster420]

Im not allowed to hold my hamster to close to my face! idont knwo why but my mum and dad wont let me ive out him gently on my head though but no kisses, i blow him kisses when hes sleeping

[SnickersTheFirst]

My dwarves have live mealworms and there's no issues. Some hamsters will just pouch the worms so you have to be sure they remove the head first.

In the P@H care guides it says not to kiss your pet but then most of what they say is nonsense. I always kiss my hammies.

Also, veggies shouldn't be fed to often as it causes stomach upsets. I only feed them veggies twice a week.

[Katty_Sheldon]

Throughly cleaning cage at least once a week - I dont agree! I tend to leave 1/3-1/4 of the old bedding, and shavings, to prevent stress because of total environment change - dont forget they rely a lot on smell.
Also only VERY experienced people can trim the teeth of hamsters. Best leave it to the vet, if needed. But surely check on the teeth from time to time, to be able to notice any changes!
Also, I think all of these things are simply and actually basics, and will surely help you to be a great hamster owner, and help prevent many health issues or catch them in time - but its not like its some "magical" list... its just a normal list of what to do to take care of the hammie... thats just my opinion

[SnickersTheFirst]

I forgot to say, I kind of agree with Katty. It's more a list of how to care for your hamster properly, I don't think it's possible to make a hamster's life longer. It relies on genetic and environmental factors. One of my Syrians had to be PTS at a young age because of Cushings and I did all of those things listed. You can't prevent illness/old age from taking over IMO.

[Hamtastic]

I've seem posts indicating that people's hamsters lived to 3 years old or more, and I could tell those hamsters' cages were of suboptimal size, and the care they received was not as thorough as on this list. I'm fairly sure this list would help a hamster live to a natural old age without added stress and in a healthy environment, but for some people old age is 80 years old, and for some it's 120 (and if you read on Wikipedia about the oldest living people in record, many of them have unhealthy habits, like smoking until they were 90 years old).