Djungarian hamster: photos, features of care and nutrition

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Despite the abundance of exotics in pet stores, this cute animal remains the most popular inhabitant of cages. Most buyers are sure that a harmless baby will not cause trouble, will not require much effort and attention. Indeed, the Dzungarian hamster adapts well to environmental conditions. However, before you get an animal, you should find out some features of its content.

Habitat

To create a comfortable environment for a pet in the house, you need to learn a little about his life in the wild.

Djungarian hamster is an inhabitant of steppes and semi-deserts (Western and Eastern Siberia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia). He leads a secretive nocturnal lifestyle. In search of food runs up to 10 km. Protects its territory from neighbors. Resistant to temperature changes. At +10 it changes color to winter, in the cold period it hibernates. Digs burrows up to 2-3 meters deep with many exits and storerooms. For a year, this troublesome owner can collect 20 kg of supplies (grain and vegetables),dragging them in cheek pouches. And at home, instincts make the hamster race all night on the wheel and fill his house with supplies. Dzhungarik is a lowland animal. He is not aware of heights, which is why he so fearlessly climbs everywhere and falls from an unprotected edge.

Appearance

This charming acrobat fits easily in the palm of your hand. Its length is only 10 cm. The eyes are bulging, black. Ears are soft and rounded. Belly, paws and tiny tail covered with whitish fur.

Wild color is called "standard". Grey-brown fur with the obligatory dark stripe on the back and spot on the head. In pet stores there are dzhungars of artificially bred colors: "sapphire" (bluish-gray), "mandarin" (delicate peach) and "pearl" (silver). A white Djungarian hamster can be distinguished from an albino by its black eyes.

Safe Home

The owner's first task will be to make a comfortable home for the rodent. Due to its territorial habits, this cute little one will not tolerate any kindred. The gender of the Djungarian hamster does not affect this. Even individual cells should not be placed side by side within sight. This will cause a lot of stress and the desire to mark your place.

• The cage for one hamster should be single-tiered, low and wide (503030 cm), with horizontal bars. This design will avoid injury, while the animal will be able to actively move. The rods will not protect the pet from the draft, so the cage must beaway from doors, windows, heating and electrical appliances.
• Terrarium should be slightly higher and wider. An iron mesh or grate at the top will prevent the dzungar from escaping and provide ventilation. The greatest danger is high humidity and the rapid formation of mold. Under no circumstances should the glass terrarium be placed in direct sunlight.
• Space for animals should be decorated with various climbing devices: strong branches, hanging ropes, ladders, floor wheels. Unfortunately, most ready-made accessories involve attaching to the bars of the cage.
• Modern plastic constructions are very convenient, combining closed floors, sections of horizontal bars, pipes and tunnels. This combined cage creates the most comfortable conditions for exercise and minimizes the risk of injury.

An example of such a plastic cage for Djungarian hamsters in the photo.

Cage or terrarium must be washed and dried before a new inhabitant is launched there.

Comfortable environment

The selected dwelling must be equipped with additional accessories:

• Holiday shelter for sleeping and supplies. Best of all, wooden, made of coconut shell, woven from jute, hay and other natural materials. Ideal design without a bottom. The hamster will be able to dig a tunnel for supplies in the litter, and the owner will easily clean everything up. To make a nest, you can put soft napkins, shreds of hay, etc. into the cage. It is dangerous to give to animalsnewspaper, cotton wool, rags.
• The feeder should be wide, heavy and easy to clean. Ceramics are the most convenient to use.
• Plastic accessories are best avoided. The only exception is an automatic drinker, nipple or ball. The rodent will not be able to spoil the iron tip, and the plastic container is outside the cage.
• Of all the "sports equipment", the wheel for the Djungarian hamster is the most preferable. It gives the body the maximum load. The design of the wheel must be closed, without spokes, between which the animal's foot can get stuck and break. Optimum diameter 18 cm.
• Additional entertainment for the owner and his pet will be a walking ball made of transparent plastic. The hamster can safely move around the apartment, showing all his funny antics. It is important not to get distracted and not to leave the animal in the balloon for a long time, as it can become stuffy in it, despite the ventilation holes. In addition, the baby may get hungry and tired, and sleeping in an open, unfamiliar place is too stressful for him.

Hamster toilet

There are two things every owner should know about the Djungarian hamster.

First of all, a he althy animal smells absolutely nothing. This is one of the protective properties of the animal, located at the very bottom of the food pyramid. The notorious "rodent smell" acquires their urine, if you do not clean the cage for two or three days. No wonder, this happens in any toilet.

Secondly, so that the cell does not please its"aroma" of all households, you should use for your own benefit an interesting habit of jungars. Hamsters are so clean that they do not dirty their entire territory, but choose a corner far from the house, where they relieve their little need. It is enough to put a small tray there (you can buy a special toilet in the pet store) and clean it every day.

House cleaning

To keep your pet clean and not upset him with the regular destruction of the nest and pantry, you should alternate partial cleaning with general cleaning. The daily duties of the owner include cleaning the toilet and removing leftover succulent food. A thorough cleaning is carried out as needed and without the use of caustic, odorous detergents. It is better to process the pallet and accessories with laundry soap (odorless!), And disinfect with a solution of vinegar. At this time, the inhabitant of the cage is placed in a safe container, carrying, walking ball. After cleaning, all items should be returned to their place and even a pinch of old shavings should be left in the house and in the toilet.

The filler is poured into the cage in a thick layer so that the rodent can rummage there freely. Experienced breeders recommend using straw or shavings. There is too much fine dust in sawdust, which is harmful to both pets and their owners. Granular litter is too heavy to create tunnels and burrows.

Useful menu

What do Djungarian hamsters eat? The basis of the diet is cereals (millet, barley, oats, sorghum) and seeds (canary,pumpkin). There are ready-made mixtures specifically for jungars. Juicy food is needed daily - carrots, corn, zucchini, pumpkin, cucumbers, apples, lettuce, dandelion. A small amount of protein (chicken, eggs, cottage cheese) is given every one to two weeks.

You can buy grain treats on sticks in pet stores or offer spikelets of millet to the animal. Eating will become interesting entertainment.

Requires special stones for grinding teeth. For a wild rodent, continuously growing incisors are a defense mechanism, but for a domestic rodent, this is quite a big problem.

The drinking bowl is filled daily with fresh water.

Rodents are strictly prohibited:

• sweet and sour fruits,
• citrus,
• cabbage,
• garlic,
• bow,
• fat-rich nuts,
• human delicacies (flour, s alty, smoked).

Improper nutrition very quickly causes irreversible consequences in a small body.

Girl or boy

Determining the sex of a rodent when buying is important if breeding is planned or, conversely, there is a fear of buying a pregnant female inopportunely. And also in order to find a suitable name.

If the animal has reached the age of one and a half months, sexual characteristics can be determined visually. When examining the abdomen, the distance between the anus and the genitals is estimated. In a Djungarian hamster boy, this distance will be about 1 cm. A convex gland is clearly visible above the genitals. In a Djungarian hamster girl, the indicated distance is much smaller, the gland is not expressed and, possibly, two rows are visible.nipples (if the female has already brought and fed offspring).

Communication and training

You'll have to be friends with a hamster on his terms.

Dzhungarik is nocturnal, so cleaning and feeding should be done in the evening, when the animal is awake. During the day, he will be irritated and even aggressive.

The rodent does not tolerate intrusion into its territory, so it is rather reckless to pull it out of the cage or from the house with your hands. It is better to lure a treat into your palm.

At the time of feeding, the animal most easily makes contact, this is the best time to play and communicate with the pet. However, it is important not to get carried away and not overfeed with treats from your hands. The daily food intake is very limited.

For walking and training a hamster can be equipped with a playground. For example, in a wide box with high sides, you can install a floor wheel, build a labyrinth of transparent plastic pipes, and so on.

Using a rewarding treat, you can teach the animal a couple of simple tricks. Unfortunately, the Dzungars do not have a good memory. If you stop classes for a few days, the pet will forget everything. Taming will have to start over.

It's okay if the tricks don't work. Even just watching this troublesome baby will bring a lot of pleasure.

Domestic Djungarian hamster lives only two or three years. It is much more than free. If you understand the nature of the rodent well and follow the rules of care, you can make his short life very happy.