Hamsters

[musicmummy]

I have recently inherited Alfie, a lovely 6mth old hamster that my daughter bought when she got her flat.
Hes mine now but i dont know much about them apart from he needs fresh fruit.. Any info welcomed. K.

[twinny_15]

Just give him a hamster food mix , fresh water and cuddles
and he will be happy.

[lobbert]

i gave an orange segment to my guinea pig...it died. so i not to sure about the giving it fresh fruit?
hamster food from any pet shop will be fine.

[garner]

Ours like .... celery...carrot....apple...hazelnuts...and honey seeds treats which you can get from your pet store.Only give very small amounts as they store food and it can soon get stale..hope you have a happy time with your new pet.

[what..the?]

I have had hamsters for many years, books on hamsters are good to get, or look online for information on hamsters. I have had a look online for you and this website looks very good, and user friendly:

http://www.hamsterhideout.com/feeding.html

I feed mine 'Harry Hamster' which is a staple diet food mix, and also as treats give him apple, carrot, and milk drops / biscuits which you can buy for the petshop. Apple and carrot should be given in small quatities to stop the animal getting the 'runs' (I would give mine 1 thumbnail size chunk piece a day) and the boxed treats say 'only give 2-3 drops an day' i give one a day.

I have heard that the cheap staple food mixes (such as own supermarket make/no frills) are full of rubbish and very unhealthy for your pet. If you think your hamster is currently on a poor quality food it can be changed very slowly by adding the new food in with the old until the hamster eventually eats purely the new food. If it is not introduced slowly the hamster can become very ill.

Hope this helps

[musicmummy]

Thanks for all your replies. Alfie is so funny, hes actually following me all over the house in his ball, and if i put a nut on the top storey of his cage when cleaning it out, when he goes back in he goes and collects it or his peice of apple and brings it all the way down to the bottom and puts it in his food bowl for later. Think i have a new wee freind. cheers K.