Has anyone read Hamster Care books by Dr Anne McBride?

[racinghamster]

I only bought two hamster books, those being Hamsterloepdia and a book on Dwarf hamsters, which is rather outdated, but does give some interesting insight into dwarf hamster behaviours and body language. You can tell the images in the books were taken sometime ago and yes, they do show cages that would make you cringe!

Hamsteroepadia is probably the better book out there though as it`s a far more detailed analogy into hamster health, behaviour and various other things, so worth a read. I kept hold of mine but I rarely look at it now. The internet being the all knowing, all seeing universe that it is now for finding things out is much more up to date, although I would caution anything you do read online as much of it isn`t factual and only based around someone`s own assumptions. x

[Amys_Mum]

I have that one, it's the book sold in P@H. As Harvey is (sort of) my daughter's pet, I bought the book so she could read the basics. It is written simply, so IMO, good for a child and a new pet owner. My daughter is only 7, she wouldn't be able to come onto a forum, but she could read the book and I supplemented the knowledge coming on here when we ran into problems.

I used to fully clean my old hamster's cages every week, had never heard of a potty or a sand bath, nor feeding vegetables regularly. The book covers all this, as well as basic healthcare I.e. watching out for wet tail, looking after teeth and nails.

It's not comprehensive, and whilst saying cages and wheels need to be big, stops short of any recommended sizes. I don't think there's anything in there that's at odds with advice on here, just that it's a start point. Surely it's better she's reading something than nothing at all?

I don't know if you've ever had a baby, but I'd liken it to someone recommending you read "what to do when you're expecting" vs a more comprehensive medical title that is harder to read. When you have zero knowledge, you'll go for the easy to digest version. When you're feeling more confident, you might also buy the other book or instead sign up to babycentre forum to get weekly updates and opinions from others.

Incidentally, I was surprised to see the NHC saying minimum floor space for a syrian is 1000cm2 and 19cm high - the ferplast Laura that Harvey outgrew within a month is bigger than that!

[velma]

That's a good way of putting it Amys_mum. Hamsterlopedia is a lot more in depth & you'll get more up to date & specific information online in forums, but the Anne McBride books give a good starting point when you don't know anything without overwhelming the reader with information. It'll be interesting to go back & reread them with fresh eyes after being on the forum for a while but (if it's the same books) it definitely gave me a starting point. Even having previously owned hamsters, I'd had a gap & it was surprising what I'd forgotten.