Well.... many said best do not spray... but what you can do is buy sandpaper, and sand paper all the rust out. Then dun use spray paint... get hold of non-toxic paint and paint back the cage....

If I remembered correctly, you did not mention you got RCs, only Robos.... if you got proof, please show the link of the original stated. We can check if it is edited also.

All types of hamsters you gotta seperate.... why? Coz the male will automatically mate back with the female after birth and 20 days later give birth another litter.... I mean, for the sake of the hamster's health, you do not want to over breed and stress the female's life rite? Is like someone making you pregnant every 9 months without rest.... sure headache loh hahahah....

Anyway, Kembara, Congrats with the litter! I'm quite happy to hear that... anyway, I also no place for her new litter so kinda good timing lah... but make sure kalau you wanna give people or sell, do tell me about it. Also, how many babies are there?

The WW I gave Kembara is a good mom... she won't cannibalize unless the pup is sick or dying... anyway, quite safe to handle her as she got very good temprement lah. This would be passed on to her kids.... well, I can see that with the older litter I am having now heheheh....

Pregnancies.... you can tell if the hamster looks fat lah... from side view you can easily spot a buldge but then it would normally show around the 2nd week of pregnancy.... the female will just go larger and larger... shape a bit like pear.... sleep and eat more and one day will "pop" her pups after 20 days of pregnancy... also, if unsure bout the hamster's temperment.... never EVER touch the pups or the mom. Very VERY dangerous loh.... especially Syrians... other hamsters also must jaga jaga unless the female is very very tame and human friendly lah. It is still best never touch the pups until they open their eyes....

Every rodent animal... as a responsible and ethical keeper... you have to seperate the males.... Gerbils sometimes ok lah since sometimes they won't mate and sometimes they do but then what is the use of letting an animal produce on and on and on? So it is the same with whatever hamsters.... mice... rats.... always seperate the male.

Never ever think animals have human feelings.... as humans, we got a large brain that can understand emotion and desire... but an animal can't... breeding is not for "feel good" or "want parenthood"... No loh.... animals breed out of intinct to populate. So never mix human feelings into animals.... as it doesn't apply at all. We may think very cute to see them have family, yah lah, I know that feeling but if never plan ah.... it's kinda cruel for the mom to go on and on to breed. Me not against breeding coz I also do breed myself but just plan loh.... plan your litters carefully.

Cat litter can be used but not for them to "sand bath". More for their toilet area.... if you do not have a proper toilet for your hamster then you do not need to put cat litter. Yes, cat litter can be harmful if ingested so this is why we only use it in the toilet area.

Any shop that sells aquarium fishes got sell mealworms.... But dun go say "mealworms" lah coz some shop owners dunno what it is called in english.... in cantonese it is called mien pau chung(sorry, my spelling salah).... direct translation is bread worms...

Robos now cheap lah.... Go petaling street or pudu... maybe you can find Rm18 to Rm15 for a robo... but still... not that worth it to me since not handle friendly... I prefer winter whites or Syrians.

Wah, started crawling already? Hehehe.... good to hear all doing well. Show pics yah...

You should have gotten another male when you bought him. Now ah, if you intro another male, sure fight coz of it being a stranger and also for territory. not a good idea to give your robo a gf... animals are not humans... we have gf and bf for companionship but animals find mates to breed.... we know how to do family planning and have safe sex but do animals know how to do? So better you just have your male only.... do not regret later....

Never give raw potato to hamsters... raw potato can be dangerous to animals....

Hmmm... looks like many people getting into hamsters already I see...

Mini hamster is another term for dwarf. Petshop people do not have any clue, they only think that the names are "interesting" and "cool" to attract buyers. No good information on them.

Dwarf hamsters:
Winter whites
Russian Campbells
Roborovski
Chinese Dwarf
Hybrids

WW generally are rounder, their body built is more bullet shape. They only come in 3 colours. Pearl, Agouti and Sapphire. They have 1 dark dorsal stripe on their backs and only the agouti and sapphire got prominant side arches.

RC are slightly bigger than WW, face is more doggy looking. They come in various colours. Breeding them can be tricky coz of recessive genes and so on. Can cause defects if do not breed properly. They have a dorsal stripe and their side arches are a softer shade, not as prominant as WW.

Robos are hyper hamsters. They are the smallest species and are way hyperactive. They need special small cage bars and wheels if in a cage. These hamsters breed fast is they are a bonded or fertile pair. Only come in their golden fawn colour but got another which is called white faced.

Chinese hamsters havea mousy look. Body a bit longish and have a longer tail. Their colours are agouti and dominant spot. They are nice to have since easier to hold and they got strong grips.

Syrians... the original Syrian colour is called Golden.... so a Golden hamster is the original Syrian.... Syrians these days have been bred for such a long time that there are many colours and hair types. So just remember, big hamsters are in deed syrians....

Dien,
Your information is very wrong. Puddings are not Winter Whites. They are HYBRIDS.

Come to Hybrids... now these are the cross of RC and WW. Please do not try to do this at home. The hybrids can carry defects or certain mutations can be dangerous. Puddings, Yellow Blues, Mottleds are hybrid winter whites and some people have done selective breeding to produce them. Yes, they look nice but this in dangerous for it shows we may lose the pure winter whites to hybrids.... not good at all if everyone wants to mixbreed RC and WW to produce new colour. If anyone were to breed hybrids, never outcross to pure WW or RC strain, just stick to breeding pudding with pudding or yellow blue to yellow blues.



Hahaha... you cannot wait for picture meh? Let me tame it first... it is not tame so cannot sit quietly for picture yet.... very naughty female loh hahahah.... Now I like Syrian coz fat fat and nice to hold and sayang.

This post has been edited by crazymouse_yyh: Jan 30 2007, 03:59 PM

I prefer long hair coz can see the teddy bear look... but short hair got nice short velvety fur... so both are actually very nice to have. The short hair the feels nicer than the fur on WW or RC... very velvety hahahah...

Please keep offtopic matters thru PM.

This post has been edited by crazymouse_yyh: Jan 30 2007, 04:37 PM

Yes, they do eat boiled egg white but you see, egg white is full of protein while egg yolk is fatty but nutritious. Your hamster should eat everything. What you can do is make scrambled egg. Beat the eggs and fry in non-stick pan with no oil, or beat the egg and put in microwave for 30 seconds.

Winter coat... why you want it to change? The changing of winter coat really depends on your hamster. We cannot estimate when it will change. If your hamster feels there is a need to change then it would change.

Hmm... then probably your hamster got no taste for egg hahahah... I suggest you try steam or boiled chicken breast or fish. My hamsters enjoy fish and chicken. Also you can get sample dog food from petshops and feed them as treats. It gives good protein and minerals.

A hamster cannot change coat in just 3 days.... it takes them 1 month to 2 months. It really depends on the hamster actually. If you give it a dark hide house that is wooden or glass, and keep the tank with no bright sunlight plus in a cool place such as air cond room, sure will change to winter coat.

As said before, it depends on the hamster. Your living room got bright sun light? Even in shadow, and the right environment, a hamster can change winter coat. Not all will change... I see females change more often than males.

1 week, how can he know who you are in just 1 week? It really takes time lah. Petshop hamsters are naturally afraid of hands when entering their cage coz always shocking with grabbings and pinchings... so most petshop hamsters develop phobia.

6 weeks old is really young... so he is at the jumpy stage, easily gets scared and figety. So just keep on handling him. The jumpiness will wear off when older. He also won't be so scared of your hand if you let it see it as a food provider. Hand feed him often.

Hahah, that time most of the hamsters long hair mah...

Delikate is not a very good brand... You should try other brands that are more nutritious. I personally find Harry Hamster, Prestige, Habitrail Classic and LM for hamsters better quality. You got 1 or a pair, is good price lah... I have 20 hamsters, imagine how much I spend on them... I can easily tell you the food bill for my hamsters each month is roughly RM50. For my gerbils another RM50, so means RM100 each month....

Do give carrots and cabbage as treats.... carrots can cause Vitamin A intoxication is too much and can cause diabeties.... Also Cabbage is full of water and sugars... can cause cirit birit if consume too much. I only give carrots twice a week and cabbage once a week. Please try give some apples, pear, jambu, water cress, sawi, spinach, long beans and broccoli. Remember, hamsters are meant to eat more seeds than fresh food, so too much fruits and vegie can cause it to have indigestion problem and diarheaa... careful yah.

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Added on January 30, 2007, 9:59 pmDo not simply scare hamster.... turning winter coat is not about being scared... is about feeling warm and safe in a dark hide.

Also, oats... please DO NOT GIVE instant or quick cooking oats... can cause impaction and stomach problems.
Get ROLLED OATS.... not very expensive since RM2.50 to RM4 for 500g

This post has been edited by crazymouse_yyh: Jan 30 2007, 09:59 PM

Hahah... free samples normally dog biscuit lah... not the meat kind.

Aiyah, not sifu lah.... just alot of research, friends and experience hahaha....

You wanna trim the hair? No need lah... I never trim and so far never get dirty. But if your Jumpy really is dirty then cut loh.... it doesn't make any difference.

My new hammie ah.. hahha... ok lah, her colour is not as good as it should be but can see is unique heheheh.

People keep thinking pellets are nutritous so that is why people buy delikate... but delikate's pellets are loaded with colouring and corn... I made a mistake... There is Habirtail Staple diet and Living World Classic... now Habitrail is found almost at every large petshop. Also it is better in quality than delikate, RM7.90 for 1kg something.... RM13 for 2.5kg I think....

All hamsters would eat grains, maybe he never try them before. Sluis has got a funny herbal smell... most hamsters do not take. All my gerbils, rats, mice and hamsters that I bought as adults love Prestige... all my babies also eat Prestige, it is one of the best in our market now. LM is a brand... called LM farms, you can find this brand at all Petswonderland petshops, the price is like RM15 for 1kg but the quality is ok.... Prestige is RM17 for 800g... Harry Hamster is RM17 for 1kg but recently no more stock at Pet Safari.

You see, you have spoiled your hamsters. Do you know kuaci is like cheese burger to hamsters? The more they eat, the fatter they become and can shorten their life? So since it is junkfood, feed in moderation. They already know you will give them kuaci so that is why they are not eating the rest. Delikate has too much alfalfa pellets and hamsters do not really eat these pellets. Also the coloured pellets are not tasty at all. So that is why they only eat the kuaci.... if you buy Prestige, got dried fruit, saftflower seed, pumpkin seed, sun flower seed, peanut, oats, a few types of pellets, millet grain... and so on... so much more nutriants for them.

Vegies and fruits should be fed in moderation. It is good to give a teaspoon of fresh foods once a day.... it has to be 1 fruit and 1 vege... a small teaspoon a day would do. Avoid watermelon, cucumber and chinese cabbage... got too much water so can cause diarheaa....

Yah, you can get free sample of dogfood or catfood. If you can't get it... then buy those 1kg packets... I would suggest Royal Canin Fit 32(I think), RM10.50 for 500g... is good and healthy for them to consume since got good protein, minerals, calcium and lots more. Kitten and Puppy food is also good. If you plan to use supermarket brand(not recommanded but if you got no choice) then buy Friskies kitten food.... do not get whiskas or pedigree or alpo. Why choose catfood? Coz dog taste bud is not very sensitive, cat taste bud is sensitive to quality so normally the ingredients used are better quality in commercial foods. I still suggest Royal Canin.

A solid house would be better. Aroma burner is not that expensive, Rm5 only... or you can buy those small wooden animal houses or coconut.... but warn you, coconut easy to become smelly.

2 small slices is good enough for 1 day.

15 days too young to seperate lah.... Only seperate when they reach 30 days old. Coz the mother can teach some skills or habits to the babies. Seperate the males from the females when they reach 30 days old.

Hmmm... that is the first time I heard of that, but that is not an accurate way to tell the gender. You have to see the genitals. Close together means females and a gap between the genitals is a male. Females tend to have nipples while makes have a scent gland at the belly. The male's testicals would be visible when it is around 1 month old.

Look at these pics:



And look at this website : http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/sexing_hamsters.htm

It is a long haired Syrian.

That is a Russian Campbell.... Agouti coloured.

Hmmm... This doesn't look like Russian Campbell to me from colour and face... can get a clearer pic of the top body and font face? It could be a Winter white... different Species leh if it is WW.

Aiyoh, Not WW lah.... they are Russian Campbells.... Winter whites no RED EYES! Even if Hybrid, they will not show red eyes unless hybrid interbreed with another hybrid.

Jaspery's hamsters are not Winter whites... aiyoh, I can tell the difference coz I breed winter whites and russian campbells. I would not give information if I do not know hamsters.

You cannot judge the face alone. You have to see the body, colouration, side details and face details.

Also, if you take red eyed hamster pics without flash, the eyes appear dark coloured. There is a difference between pinkish eyes and reddish eyes. Reds are also known as ruby eyed.

Please view the 1st page to know the hamster species. There are no RED EYED winter whites. Go check lah, winter whites are only in Sapphire, Agouti and Pearl and all these are black eyes... ONLY russian campbells and Syrians have red eyes.