Hamsters and humans (Part VIII)

Hamsters and humans

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Hamsters and humans (Part VIII)

·                     Hamsters and humans

·                     Hamsters as children’s pets

·                     Human Allergies to Hamster Dander

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The main predators of grey hamsters are mink and stoats. Other hamsters are killed by foxes, birds of prey, domestic dogs and cats. Common hamsters have sometimes been trapped by man for their fur and are considered to be a pest because they dig up root vegetables and eat other crops. Dogs were used to hunt the hamsters, following them by sight. The species is thought to be in no danger of extinction, even though its numbers have been reduced over the years through modern farming methods.(7)

Until 1930, it was assumed that the golden hamster was extinct as a species. Then, in 1930, near the ancient town of Aleppo in Syria, a Jewish archaeologist by the name of Aaron Abrahams, came across a nest containing a small rodent with twelve babies that he could not identify. He carefully placed the family into a container and had them taken to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. There they were identified as golden hamsters and, under laboratory conditions, encouraged to

Breeding Considerations (Part VII)

Breeding Considerations

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Breeding Considerations (Part VII)

·                     UPDATE: Simple Breeding Terminologies

·                     Sexing adult hamsters

·                     Sexing hamsters through:

1.                  anogenital distance and;

2.                  posterior features

The Estrous (Breeding) Cycle

·                     Lordosis

·                     UPDATE: What Mothers should eat

·                     UPDATE: What should be removed from the cage

·                     Young hamsters

·                     Baby Syrians Timeline

·                     Sexing pups

·                     UPDATE: Types of Hamster Breeding

o                  In-breeding

o                  Line-breeding

o                  Out-crossing

o                  Out-breeding

·                     UPDATE: Common Breeding Misconceptions

·                     SPECIAL: What to do if your Hamster pups were abandoned

o                  If the little ones are 12 to 14 days old

o                  In the event the pups are 10 days or less

o                  Pups 8 days and younger

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(NOTE: THIS BLOG AND ITS OWNER DO NOT ENCOURAGE IRRESPONSIBLE AND UNETHICAL BREEDING OF HAMSTERS (AND PERHAPS ALL ANIMALS)

SIMPLE BREEDING TERMINOLOGIES:

(by HH's Plushie) (22)

• PUPS are baby hamsters.
• A group of hamster pups is called a LITTER.
• WEANING is when baby animals are put onto solid food. You may see the mom refusing to feed her pups, this is normal during weaning and you need not intervene.
• GESTATION is how long the mother is pregnant: from the time the egg(s) are fertilized to the time of the birth. (For example, in humans this is normally 9 months.)
• CULLING is another term for when a mother animal kills her offspring. In the case of hamsters, this is often due to mom feeling threatened and/or thinking that she cannot raise the pups (e.g. in a large litter she may cull some so the litter is easier to manage). Often, if a hamster culls her pup she will also eat it.

Sexing adult hamsters

The sex of adult hamsters is easy to determine. Males have very large, prominent testicles. In fact, owners unaccustomed to seeing them are often astonished at these anatomic peculiarities. (1)

Sexual identification in hamsters is similar to other rodents, the anogenital distance in the male is greater than in the female.(13)

In adult hamsters, the male has a pronounced posterior bulge due to the testes in the scrotum. The adult female has a more blunt posterior.(13)

Sexing hamsters through anogenital distance and posterior features (13) 

What you'll need for breeding (4)

The Estrous (Breeding) Cycle

The image above shows the regular four day estrous cycle of female hamsters. The rising and falling curve above

the baseline on the graph indicates the period of receptivity to the male, or behavioral estrus. The blue column in day 2 marks the occurrence of a white, stringy, odorous

Hamster Health Check (Part VI)

Hamster Health Check

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Hamster Health Check (Part VI)

·                     Health Care

·                     UPDATE: Hamster Vital Signs

o                  Hamster Hematology 

·                     The weekly health check

1.                  General

1.                  Hamster Skeleton

2.                  Mouth and nose

3.                  Eyes

4.                  Cheeks

5.                  Fur

6.                  Nails

·                     *Grooming

·                     SPECIAL: Hamster Anatomy

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Health care

With proper care and diet, hamsters tend to be healthy animals. The most common health problem is called “wet tail” and appears as foul smelling diarrhea. It is usually related to the stress of moving to a new home or a sudden change in diet. Preventative medication is available and can also be used to treat it should it occur. It is best to pick up a small amount of food the hamster has been used to and mix it with any new food being introduced. Do not offer your hamster fresh veggies or fruit for about a week and then do so gradually and in small amounts. (6)

CHECK FOR YOUR NORMAL HAMSTER VITAL SIGNS (23):

Adult body weight: 95 - 150g (female); 85 - 130g (male)

Life span: 1.5 - 2 years

Respiratory rate: 35 - 135 breaths/minute

Heart rate: 250 - 500 beats/minute

Normal average rectal temperature: 102ºF

Hamster Hematology (24):

RBC 7,500,000/mm

WBC 7,600/mm

Segmented Neutrophils 21.9%

Non-segmented Neutrophils 8.0%

Lymphocytes 73.5%

Monocytes 2.5%

Eosinophils 1.1%

Basophils 1.1%

The weekly health check

Get into the habit of examining your pet carefully every week. It’s a good idea to weigh him too. Make this a regular thing and you’ll bond better with your pets. And you’ll catch any problems early – your Syrian hamster is nocturnal, so health issues might not be so easy to spot. (3)

General

Check that your Syrian hamster’s behaviour is normal – active and playful in the evening. Gauge how they walk, looking for limping, or signs of pain. A sick pet will be irritable and may bite more frequently. (3)

Hamster Skeleton (25)

Mouth and nose

The nose should be clean and dry – sneezing and runny nose are signs of cold or fl u. Check to ensure that your

pet’s teeth haven’t grown too long. See whether they’re misaligned or