Caring for you hamster is very important. Here are a few things that you need to do routinely to keep your pet happy and healthy.

Food should be given to your pet everyday. Refer to the Food section for further help.

Fresh water should be put in your hamsters water bottle everyday.(No Water Bowls! Hamsters can drown in them!)

Clean the hamster cage about once a week, or depending on your good judgement. Refer to the Homes section for more help on this subject.

Grooming your hamster is not needed because they groom themselves. This is unless you have a long haired Syrian male, in which case you can use a small tooth brush. Washing your hamster is bad because it removes your hamsters natural fur oils which it needs.

Look for signs of illness when observing your pet and deal with them accordingly.

The way you handle your pet is equally important to routine care. There are certain ways to handling your hamster to not annoy or stress it. Follow these easy guidelines:

Let your hamster get used to your hand before trying to pick it up. Pet it softly (Never on the head) while it's being offered food. Soon it will learn that there is no need to fear your hand.

Try keeping your hand still in the cage and it will wander around and step onto your hand.

When the hamster is comfortable with your hand around, you can try scooping up your hamster. Be gentle and do not squeeze it. This will frighten your hamster!

If your hamster is not comfortable will your hand, wait a while, and try again later.

Don't lift your hamster too high so that if you accidentally drop them, or if they jump, they won't fall too much and get injured.

Let your hamster walk around for a while, and if they are comfortable, let them walk from hand to hand. If they want to jump, put them back in the cage.

Be gentle and patient with your hamster. It takes time for them to be tamed.

If your hamster bites or nips, this is a sign that they are frightened. Either try again later, or use gloves. Once the hamster has gotten used to your handling, and your confidence in handling your hamster has raised, you can remove the gloves.

Young children should be supervised when handling hamsters.