What advice would you give first time owners?

[Snowbuckets]

Hey guys!

I started a new job a month or so ago at a certain very large UK pet store that I will not name - our particular store is pretty good at cage recommendations for small animals (we're more or less all rodent fans!) but I was wondering, what hamster/small animal advice would you want first time owners (mostly young children) to know? Stuff that pet shops might tend to leave out, like more specific nutrition, exercise, or just cool hamster facts; so I can even better inform future hamster owners!

[randomthing42]

Maybe avoid hamster balls and dont clean their cage out once a week but once every 2/3 weeks.

[Sasha04]

Congratulations on your new job!
I would definitely recommend not using hamster balls because most of them are way to small and can cause a hamsters back to arch. When it archs over to course of a few weeks or months, it can cause arthritis and other back issues. It can also be a very stressful place for a ham because they have no where to hide if they get scared. One of the main reason not to give your hams balls is because they are very poorly ventilated.

For safe exercise you can put your ham in a bathtub (dry, and wipe down with a damp paper towel or baby wipe if dirty or dusty) with a hideout and you can sit in there with them, it is a great way to bond and get exercise.

Fun Facts:
Hamster are crepuscular (waking up at dusk and going to sleep at dawn)
Hamster do not have ver good eyesight and use there nose, ears, and whiskers so navigate
Syrian Hamsters have two scent glands on there flanks. You will often see them rubbing there hips on verius objects on the cage
Hamsters front paws have four toes and there back paws have five toes.

These are all very very basic things for hamster and I’m sure others on the forum will love to help with this just like I did. If you have any more questions or confers we love to always help!

I would also suggested informing owners on what bedding to use. Cedar and Pine shavings are unsafe because of the toxic fenals and acids they contain which can cause hams respiratory infections and other lungs problems. Cotton bedding is also another big “no no”. Lots of hams limbs will get caught in it and can get their limbs pulled off. There are some pretty awful stories about it. Aspen wood shavings are safe for ham aswell as paper based bedding like Kaytee Clean & Cozy, Fitch, and other popular brands in the UK.

[randomthing42]

If you popular uk pet store is the one Im thinking of then their own brand woodshavings, cages and wheels are often unsuitable for hamsters.

[CMB]

Advise them against keeping dwarf hamsters together. Once they mature they often fall out and have to be separated, due to fighting.