Hamster-Club.com
Hamster Club Malta received an invite from Radio RTK to be the host in a very popular pet programme. Thus, on 26th August 2009, Nadia Vella represented Hamster-Club on Radio RTK in a programme named ‘L-Annimali u l-Ambjent’ (the programme’s name means ‘The Animals and the Environment’)
Ms. Sonia Young presents this programme. This programme is in Maltese and you may read the whole translation of the programme held on 26th August 2009, (in which the topic was about hamsters), by clicking here: http://hamster-
Below you may find a small extract (translated in English) of this programme, which includes some advice and information about hamsters.
It's been a very long time that we have been looking for someone to talk to us about hamsters and lately I saw an article about you on 'il-Gens' newspaper so I got hold of you Nadia Vella from Hamster-Club Malta. We welcome you Nadia on this programme.
Those who have hamsters know that they are very cute animals and that they can be easily kept everywhere. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a hamster?
Some of the advantages of having a hamster are:
- Hamsters are cheap to buy (in Malta prices may start from as little as e2.50) and hamsters are also inexpensive to keep.
- Hamsters don’t take a lot of space
– they are very ideal for people who cannot keep large pets. - The hamster’s cage does not get that dirty if cleaning is done regularly.
A disadvantage of having a hamster is that they are nocturnal which means they wake up late in the evening (at around 7pm) or late at night.
What does one has to do if during the night a hamster starts running on the hamster's wheel and this starts to squeak?
If the hamster's wheel makes noises, one can apply some olive oil to the axle and it will not squeak any more.
I would like to make reference to 'Hamster-Club Guide Book'. It is a hamster book that every hamster owner should have! It really has great hamster information and has lots of cute hamster pictures in it! Tell me some more information about your hamster book.
'Hamster-Club Guide Book' took lots of months of research. We decided to publish a hamster book since here in Malta one does not find any hamster books in any pet shops! One can buy this hamster book from the site thehamsterbook.com and may also view the first few pages from this site too.
Are there various types of hamsters?
Yes, there are 5 types of hamsters. These are the: Syrian hamsters, Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamsters, Dwarf Campbell’s Hamsters, Roborovksi Hamsters and the Chinese Hamsters.
In Malta the most common hamster one finds in pet stores is the Syrian hamster even though we also find the Dwarf Winter White Russian hamster and the Roborovksi hamster.
The least types of hamsters one finds in Malta are the Campbell’s hamsters and Chinese hamsters.
Syrian Hamsters
The Syrian hamster is solitary and thus needs to be housed alone. This type of hamster sometimes is also called ‘Golden Hamster’. One also may find long haired hamsters, which are known as ‘Teddy Bear Hamsters’. Syrian hamsters are around 12 to 16 cm long and come in various colours.
Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamsters
These types of hamsters change their coat from white to grey and are from 7 to 10 cm long. These hamsters prefer to live in groups of the same type – it is important that if they are housed together they are introduced at an early age i.e from the age of 2 months or less.
Dwarf Campbell’s Hamsters
Dwarf Campbell’s hamsters are very similar to the Dwarf Winter White Russian hamsters but their colour is brownish and they appear a pit fatter since their coat is thicker. These hamsters also prefer to live in groups of the same age. They are around 8 to 10 cm long. Dwarf hamsters all have a dorsal stripe on their back.
Roborovski Hamsters
Roborovski hamsters are the smallest type of hamster. They are around 4 to 5.5 cm long and are very fast. They tend to be the most type of hamsters that take more time to become tame. It is very important that Robo hamsters are housed in a plastic cage or an aquarium cage since if they are housed in a wire cage, they can squeeze through the wires and escape.
Chinese Hamsters
Chinese hamsters are the least type of hamster that one finds in Malta. These hamsters have a longer tail than the other hamsters. Preferably Chinese hamsters should be housed alone i.e one per cage. Chinese hamsters are approximately 10 to 12 cm long.
We have 2 Roborovski hamsters that just had babies, it's really cute and fascinating how such cute creatures take care of their pups with such love. It is something really marvellous to see them developing and growing up.
Hamsters are very agile, but they say that when hamsters are asleep, they should never be awakened since if awakened they are more likely to get sick. Is this true?
Yes it is very true; hamsters should never be awakened when they are asleep since this may cause stress and the hamsters may live a shorter life. Hamsters usually wake up from 7pm onwards. Hamsters prefer the same routine and it is very important to leave hamsters asleep during the day and if one needs to clean the cage, this needs to be done once they are awake.
How much is it easy of difficult to breed hamsters?
It is and it is not easy to breed hamsters…actually it really depends on the type of hamster. The female hamster will accept breeding every 4 days and in the case of Syrian and Chinese hamsters, it is very important that you introduce the male and female hamster in a neutral territory and not in his nor in his cage. The best age to breed hamsters is when the hamster is 5 months old. In the case of Roborovski hamsters, normally they breed at the age of 8 months. The approximate gestation period of a hamster is from16 to 18 days, while in the case of Roborovski hamsters the gestation period is that of 30 days. Roborovski hamsters also have the least number of babies (approximately from 2 to 4 babies).
How much is it important to keep the hamster's environment clean since if not this will affect the hamster's coat like for example if one uses newspapers or wood shavings as bedding?
It is very important since a wrong bedding can affect a hamster's coat. Wood shavings can make a hamster's coat look dry and newspapers are not good since they have ink on them. It is very important to use the right bedding like 'Carefresh', toilet paper or tissue paper.
What does one have to do if his/her hamster is constipated?
If a hamster is constipated one can give the hamster more fruit and vegetables to stop constipation.
And what does one have to do if the hamster has diarrhoea?
If a hamster has diarrhoea one has to give his hamster chamomile tea 3 times daily for at least 3 days and avoid giving the hamster any fruit or vegetables. One can give the hamster some dry bread and boiled rice.
Tell us something about Hamster-Club Malta.
We decided to create a club here in Malta since there is no exposure on these cute pets and thus we thought that it would be a great idea to have a club that specialises on hamsters. After 1.5 years we decided to launch our hamster book, which will help all hamster owners with any hamster advice.
We receive approximately 600 online visits daily and respond to our emails regularly. Our mission statement is to provide the best hamster advice to all hamster owners.
Nadia Vella, obo Hamster-Club Malta also gave Ms. Sonia Young a free copy of our hamster guide book.
We would like to thank Ms. Sonia Young and all the staff at RTK Radio for such a great programme.
Thanks
Hamster-Club Malta.
http://www.hamster-
http://www.thehamsterbook.com
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
