While it's true that hamsters are small and generally easy to care for that doesn't mean you should take the responsibility of their care lightly. Afterall, once you have decided to get and care for a hamster as a cherished pet and companion you have decided to put your hamsters life in your hands. Your hamster will depend on you for food, shelter, medical attention (when needed) and of course lots of personal care and attention from you. This may seem like an obvious thing to you, but no pet should be considered if you don't have the time or the will to properly take care of it. Cage cleaning, feeding and daily handling are all important tasks that can't be overlooked if you are to keep your hamster happy and healthy. Once you have decided that you can and want to take on all the responsibilities of caring for a hamster as your new pet, you should make sure you are informed about exactly what that means to you, the pet owner.

Ready to get started? Well, then come on, lets explore some of the things you should know about your new pet. Check out some of our sections on HAMSTER HOMES (Cage, aquarium or... what's that? Plastic box?) PROPER HANDLING TECHNIQUES (Why you should never just pick up that snoozing hamster) hamster DIET AND NUTRITION (Your hamster just loves peanuts, but are they good for him?), and MEDICAL ISSUES (What kind of DISEASES could my hamster get and how do I treat them?)

ARMED AGAINST THE ACHOO!

Hamsters are tough, robust animals, but when they do get sick, their health can deteriorate very quickly and will require immediate attention. Preventative care is the only thing that can save a hamster in some cases, and sometimes even the best cared for hamster becomes ill. You are best equipped to protect your hamster if you are able to spot an illness and respond accordingly. We have a number of sections to help you arm yourself against the achoo! Check them out!

HAMSTERSIZE!

To be healthy a hamster needs exercise just like human beings and every other animal in nature. A hamster wheel shouldn't be considered an optional toy but rather as an absolute necessity. Your hamster's natural habitat would have him or her scampering over the Steppes of Eurasia evading predators, hunting for food, and burrowing several feet underground every day to go to sleep, so they are indeed very active creatures and that amount of natural energy needs to be released somewhere and I don't care how big your cage is it's not big enough for that natural energy to be released. The only solution is a good (preferably solid) wheel.

Want to know more? Check out this fascinating (maybe 'weird' is a better word) experiment conducted in 1999 in Linz, Austria on the SYMBIOTIC EXCHANGE OF HOARDED ENERGY. And you'll get some idea of how far a hamster's running can take it. You'll also see how humanely run experiments involving these hamsters (or any other animal for that matter) can teach us more about the world around us.