Talk:Hamster/Archive 1

Claws
My dwarf hamster's claws are starting to get a bit long-- does anybody know a way to trim them or something? I'll Google it but there ought to be a section on grooming or something. Robot Chicken 22:24, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

Take little Hammy to a vet. If you want a challenge at cutting the claws, then cut only the white part, not the pink part. As long as it's pink, don't cut it! But I'd take the hamster to a vet, a vet is better at it. (Of course).61.230.72.211 11:56, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Apparently keeping a rough object in there (terra cotta pot or a rock) helps file their nails down as they play on it. --64.180.207.196 (talk) 07:58, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Hamsters As Pets
I started to extend the "hamsters as pets" section. Due to its size, it may be useful to make it into an extra article in the future. The information is partially taken from http://www.hamsterseiten.de/, a German page (hence no copied wording and no copyright trouble ;) that is worth a visit. --Markus Krötzsch 23:30, 28 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Can someone help me? I'm a new user and I found some vandalism in this section and I don't know how to remove it other than going into the edit section and deleting the information. 206.57.3.114 03:28, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Easiest way is to go to version before vandalism and re-save. This will over-write the newed, vandalized text. However, if intelligent edits have been done since the vandalism, you'll need to go in and remove the vandalism by editing—GRM 20:58, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Leprosy
Do hampsters carry leprosy? --Ed Poor

Thanks, 62. Can you tell us a bit more about tropical hamsters? --Ed Poor

I don't think hamsters are very easily infected with leprosy: otherwise researchers wouldn't have to resort to using Armadillos. I'd bet, though, that hamsters are potential carriers of bubonic plague  Malcolm Farmer

If so this will be an example of a zoonosis.

Tropical hamsters? Are there such things?61.230.72.211 11:56, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Pet Section
Hamsters as pets--OK, I think I have exhausted my knowledge. I always had some for about 15 years, but I hate to tell you how long it has been since I have *not* had any. Corrections/additions/updates would be appreciated. Elf | Talk 06:13, 23 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Hamster Toys
About plastic hamster habittrails and balls and such: I and friends used these things for years and years and never had problems with them. My hamsters never peed in the plastic tubes that I remember; they always got off the interstate and used their usual rest areas. The issues raised about sufficient airflow and about hamsters getting stuck make sense, though, so I modified the "do not use these" wording to "use with common sense and under supervision" wording. Elf | Talk 19:50, 4 May 2004 (UTC)

About peeing in the tubes... We've had this problem, but I think it's because of the arrangement of my daughter's hamster cage. "Teddy" decided to nest in the bubble look out, makes messes and then kicks them down the hatch while he's sleeping. (We've actually seen him do this. He'll carefully haul bedding up into the tower then, while he's sleeping, roll around and kick it into the tube. The one day, he managed to completely block the tube.)

Porkchop 12:23, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Breeding Age
On breeding age: I read somewhere that hamsters are able to breed in a few weeks, not 3 months. Anyone have sources to back this?

—i read some where the can stater breeding in 4 weeds yes

More Breeding Age
On breeding age: It is different from breed to breed and gender to gender. Some hamsters may be sexually mature at 28 days old but it is not a good idea to breed they until about three months. (www.ham███rific.com) (site has malware).

I tried to change a lot of this but I didn't stick. I will come back and fix it later. In the last few years some really good habitats have been put out on the market. I also added that it is a good idea to have a hamster toilet(I'm sure that sounds weird but they work great!)And also a new non- wood bedding material was recently released which is less expensived and in my opinion much better. On hamster tubes: the hamster can become to large to fit in the tubes and they can sometimes be used for a chew toy if there isn't aomething better, like a dog biscuit. That may sound weird but it works really well. Also it is very important to have a running wheel. You can have a much smaller cage if you have a wheel. I speak from experiance on most of this stuff, having taken care of two hamsters and read all the information I could find on the internet. Thanks, Lorie Nov 15, 2004.

Dwarf Hamsters
There were two entries for "Mongolian hamster" in the list (Phodopus roborovskii, "more commonly called the Roborovskii hamster", and Cricetulus curtatus). One web page, which unfortunately I forgot to bookmark, says that different sources use this name for different species. Because the list looked really confusing with the same name repeated twice, I swapped the first entry to "Roborovskii hamster, also called the Mongolian hamster".

One more problem, though - both of these were listed as "tiny, now becoming popular as pets", and I couldn't tell if this was actually true in both cases or if somebody put the note beside the wrong Mongolian hamster. Web searches show that there is a fourth "Dwarf hamster" used as a pet, but it's the "Chinese dwarf hamster (Cricetulus griseus)", not Cricetulus curtatus. To make things even more confusing, the main text says:

Two other varieties of hamster are also growing in popularity as pets, the Dwarf Campbell's Russian and the Winter White Russian Hamsters (both subspecies of Phodopus sungorus). Two further species (the Chinese Hamster Cricetulus curtatus and the Roborovski Hamster Phodopus roborovskii) can be found on occasion.

So either the main text is confused, and it's Cricetulus griseus that's the Chinese Dwarf hamster, or the list is confused, and Cricetulus curtatis is not the Mongolian hamster. http://hamsterical.darn-tootin.com/aboutdh.html is my source for the Cricetulus griseus name, but it also thinks the Campbell's Russian Dwarf hamster is Phodopus campbelli, and not a subspecies of Phodopus sungorus.


 * To my knowledge, the pet species is Cricetulus griseus. Lady Tenar 15:21, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I decided the notes on popular pets shouldn't be in the taxonomic list anyway, since there are no other notes except on naming, but the main text and the list should be brought into agreement.


 * I'm fairly certain the dwarf hamsters in US pet stores are Phodopus. I'm not sure if Cricetulus is kept as a pet.  I've not seen them in the states. --Aranae 17:59, Feb 9, 2005 (UTC)

Hamsters as pets section
Because the care for dwarf hamsters is somewhat different i would prefer to move the pet care section to golden hamster. Any objections? Lady Tenar 15:21, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)


 * My interest in this article is natural history and taxonomy. That said, I think most people who come here are probably looking for information on their pets.  I think it's good to move some specific parts that pertain only to golden hamsters, but quite a bit of the pet info should stay here.  Also, I'd suggest making sure it's clear that more pet info can be found on the other sites. --Aranae 17:59, Feb 9, 2005 (UTC)


 * on a second thought, i agree with you. But then it might be better to keep it all in one place. The dwarf hamsters are interesting enough for own articles without much pet stuff. I also came here because of interest in taxonomy, although i've been a passionate dwarf hamster breeder for some time. That's why i wanted the pet gone somehow. may be there will be hamster (pet) or something similar once the main article is big enough to warrant a split.Lady Tenar 14:29, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC)


 * Hamsters shit everywhere and can be smelly. Best thing is to get a proper pet, like a cat.  The cat will love playing with the hamster, but will terminate the filthy rodent's miserable life eventually.  muddypaws
 * Do you even know anything about hamsters? Neglect to clean up after them is the cause for smell. Oh, and my cat poops MUCH more than my hamster. She's always crapping up my room, and thus, she's smelly. I'd say she's worse than my hamster. And when have you heard of a hamster that steps on the keyboard whilst you type?

In the food section, there is much mention of not feeding hamsters sweets, and there should also be something about not feeding hamsters anything containing garlic. --S

New section, hamsters in popular culture
Added Hamtaro and the Hamster Dance. I'm sure there are a lot more. Haoie 05:34, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

What about www.hamstertracker.com ? 91.125.101.109 18:31, 17 September 2007 (UTC)Sophie

Disambiguation
The disambiguation at the top of the article seems inappropriate because it is unlikely that anyone would search for or link to hamster when they want computer mouse instead, and the hamster in programming doesn't doesn't even have an article. A large number of words have different slang definitions or obscure dictionary definitions, but it isn't always necessary to disambiguate them. -- Kjkolb 00:20, 3 November 2005 (UTC)
 * I'd like to refer you to Talk:Vole in hopes that we can avoid a repeat of that here. I think our final answer seems to have generated peace.  If needed, the same thing can be done for hamster.  --Aranae 00:28, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

.

There may be searches for Richard Hammond using the Keyword Hamster. 172.206.108.47 18:58, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Species and subspecies
There seems to be some misuse of the term "subspecies" in the article when it is actually referring to distinct species. Either that or it's confusingly written. 69.208.242.205 20:14, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

Why a mistake?
"The best known species is the Syrian Hamster, also known as the Golden Hamster, Mesocricetus auratus, which is commonly kept as a pet. It is also sometimes mistakenly called a "Teddy Bear" hamster."

Why is it a mistake to call them Teddy Bear hamsters? -- Writtenonsand 18:34, 25 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Because they are not bears at all Cuzandor 23:51, 8 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Brilliant, Sherlock. --202.156.6.54 14:13, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

It's MOSTLY a mistake because it sets up a mind-set that Hamsters are nothing more than mere toys. That said however, used sparingly the term can be both helpful and pertinent, as a properly bred Syrian Hamster, should actually bear a slight resemblance to Theodore Roosevelt! --24.63.65.6 17:29, 21 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Actually - the above comment is incorrect. They are mistakenly called Teddy Bear hamsters, because there is a seperate type of hamster called a Teddy Bear hamster, which is not a Golden Hamster.  They are different breeds, and sometimes people refer to the Syrian/Golden as Teddy Bear, when in reality the Teddy Bear hamster is different... it has longer hair for one. This is a Teddy Bear Hamster:  http://www.hammyworld.de/images/hp_ara3.jpg  And this is a Syrian/Golden Hamster: http://kathyskritters.com/tales/faq/images/king.jpg   GambitMG


 * Teddy Bear is just a term for a longhaired Syrian ("Fancy" is used for shorthairs). Golden refers to a yellow colored Syrian of either coat type, as well as Syrians in general. The pictures Gambit link to look like a Golden Teddy Bear and a Cinnamon Banded Fancy, but both are Golden (Syrian) hamsters in the general sense. --64.180.207.196 (talk) 07:16, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Rewrite
I think this article needs to be completely rewritten, for really only one VERY big reason: the article reads like a "How to take care of a hamster" guide, almost invariably. The best example of how this is the fact that the imperative is used at the reader very often (commands) e.g. "they should not...." "do not....". It's not that the information given is a problem, just that the tone and phrasing practically throughout, is inappropriate. For this reason, I think it should be completely rewritten (but using the information from the current version). - Рэд  хот  11:36, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

I could give it a try, if you guys want. I'm not an expert or anything but I have been breeding Syrian Hamsters for nearly a year now, and currently have 5 adults and 4 juveniles, 2 of which I am selling to a local pet shoppe as soon as they reach 6 weeks old. In addition, I also have a pair of female, albino Russian Campbell's Dwarf Hamsters I have been considering breeding, too. Furthermore, I managed to take 4 rolls of film of my last litter in its various stages, unfortunately these are somewhat melancholy as the mother had trouble nursing this time and lost over two thirds of her babies. However, tonight I successfully bred one of her daughters from her first litter and fully intend to also breed the other female I kept, so more and better pictures may be forthcoming. Moreover, I would be willing to obtain a User Name beforehand as well, if it would make you guys more comfortable. So, does anyone think I should start? --24.63.65.6 09:07, 3 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Well someone has to, so if you want to, sure. I'm very busy at the moment, so can't. But it doesn't take much skill. Like I said, its just the tone and phrasing. It just needs to be rewritten using the same information, but in a way that is more enyclopædia friendly. - Рэд  хот  17:27, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

Consider it DONE! By Wednesday (Work Ran Long), everything will be brand new!!!! --24.63.65.6 00:46, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

Hay
The page says that hay is good bedding because it can also be used as food. Later, it says that hamsters should not be given hay as it can ruin their cheek pouches.

Gazoogleheimer 01:36, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

I've edited the page, so it now says that it "can also be a valuble building material, although they should not eat it". Hopes this makes it less confusing.

Deku-Scrub 09:59, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

Not really. How exactly, do you propose to stop them? It reminds me of a piece of advice I once heard about the best way to keep Dwarf Hamsters from mating, "Make them sleep in opposite corners!" Question is, of course, "HOW?" --24.63.65.6 09:11, 3 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Isn't it obvious? print the article and give it to the hamster to read. Once it's digested the information the paper will make good bedding too! Richerman (talk) 00:48, 30 November 2007 (UTC)