Djungarian hamster: how long does it live at home, living conditions, care and nutrition

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

The Djungarian hamster is an extremely attractive, cute rodent, which is happily kept at home by the most numerous animal lovers. What conditions are required for such a pet? What do these creatures feed on? How long do Djungarian hamsters live? How do they reproduce? What are they sick with? I would like to talk about all this in our publication.

General information

Djungarian hamsters are rodents that can grow up to 10 centimeters in length. Their fur is short and smooth. As a rule, hamsters have a grayish-brown color. However, in the off-season, their fur can lighten or darken.

These creatures have a good disposition and almost instantly get used to the hands of the owner. Such pets never refuse contact with a person. Hamsters are extremely playful, which children love.

Djungarians do not belong to the category of social animals. Representatives of the species are real loners. To be okto exist in captivity, they do not need company, like rats and other rodents. Such hamsters prefer to completely control the subject territory. And if necessary, they are ready to zealously defend their own home.

How long does a Djungarian hamster live

In natural habitats, representatives of the species rarely live to a ripe old age. After all, they have to face numerous dangers every day. These miniature creatures are prey to a wide range of predators. They are hunted not only by carnivorous mammals, but also by some birds. In addition, miniature animals have to withstand harsh climatic conditions, suffer from lack of food and disease. All this, of course, affects how long the Djungarian hamster lives in nature. The difficulties of survival lead to the fact that rodents die at the age of 1.5-2 years.

In captivity, these creatures do not suffer from a shortage of food and do not run the risk of being in the mouth of a predator. Thanks to this, the answer to the question - how long does the Djungarian hamster live at home - can please their owners, as some rodents are able to remain he althy and energetic up to the age of more than 4 years.

How to choose a house for a hamster

Since Djungarian hamsters are rodents, it is absolutely not recommended to put them in a cage. After all, rods made of plastic or wood will soon be gnawed and completely damaged. Will not save and the use of cells withmetal partitions, which will also be seriously affected by the powerful jaws and strong teeth of the hamster.

As a pet house, you should use a capacious glass aquarium. It is best if the container has a length of about 70-100 centimeters and has a height of at least 40 centimeters. Choosing an aquarium of smaller dimensions is not worth it. Since the hamster will suffer from a lack of free space and insufficient circulation of fresh air.

The bottom of the rodent dwelling should be lined with an impressive layer of sawdust. It is desirable that such a pillow has a thickness of about 3-4 centimeters. Alternatively, you can use special hamster pellets made from recycled, pressed wood.

Features of care

Now let's discuss how to care for a Djungarian hamster. Everything is pretty simple. First of all, you need to regularly clean your pet's home. Clean his house should be at least 2 times a week. In places where the bedding has become wet, you need to use a new filler. Once a month, it is recommended to transplant the hamster into another container, carrying out a comprehensive cleaning of the home. It is important not only to throw away the old filler, but also to treat the walls of the container with a disinfectant. This approach to cleaning will avoid the spread of pathogenic bacteria and the development of infectious diseases in the animal.

There are other rules on how to care for a Djungarian hamster:

• The animal house should be located awayfrom windows, heating appliances and household appliances, in particular, a computer and a TV. Loud noises, drafts and an abundance of light - all this will cause nervous stress in the pet, which can be fatal for him.
• Do not hesitate to bathe Djungarian hamsters. It is not worth resorting to such procedures. After all, the rodent independently performs the hygiene of its own body. To do this, the hamster licks itself with its tongue and uses its paws to comb out wool.
• When keeping Djungarian hamsters, it is important to create conditions that will allow them to splash out the abundance of accumulated energy. For this reason, it is recommended to install a special running wheel with transverse bars in the rodent house.
• Among other things, the hamster will need a shelter where he can hide when he senses danger. It would not be superfluous to install a special feeder and drinker in the pet's home.

Food

And what to feed Djungarian hamsters? These rodents should eat twice a day. Moreover, feeding should be carried out at approximately the same time. In the morning, the pet is recommended to offer juicy food. Toward evening, give dry food and all kinds of treats. The basis of the daily diet of jungars is:

1. Special dry food available at pet stores.
2. Cooked and fresh low starch vegetables.
3. Fruits, berries.
4. Cereals and cereals.
5. Nuts, seeds.
6. Crackers.

When deciding what to feed Djungarian hamsters, do not forgetas a treat, offer them fresh leaves of fruit trees, as well as boiled egg whites. Several times a week, pets should be given cottage cheese, low-fat kefir or yogurt, boiled fish and chicken fillet.

If we talk about pregnant females, they are periodically fed with baby formula without the addition of s alt and sugar. And in case of indigestion, it is important to include glutinous boiled rice and a small amount of vegetable oil in the hamster's diet.

How to determine the sex of a Djungarian hamster

As a rule, it is not difficult to distinguish a female from a male in Dzungaria. If, however, difficulties are felt when such a need arises, it is worth paying attention to a few points.

So, in order to determine the sex of the Djungarian hamster, it should be noted that the gonads of males look more textured, as they are noticeably lowered in the scrotum. In addition, in males, the urethra and anus are located quite remotely from each other. In females, the opposite is true. These holes are in close proximity.

Reproduction

For mating and successful reproduction of Djungarian hamsters, you will need a female about four months old and a three-month-old male. For breeding purposes, they need to be transplanted for some time into a separate container, protecting them from relatives.

Pregnancy in Dzhungaria takes about 20 days. After the specified time, from 4 to 12cubs. Hamsters are born blind and helpless. For the next month, they are under the care of their mother, regularly drinking milk.

There are a number of other important points in the breeding of Djungarian hamsters. So, shortly before giving birth, it is necessary to place the female in a pre-cleaned, disinfected cage. And after the birth of babies, they should not be picked up or touched. Having smelled extraneous odors from the cubs, the female can reject the offspring. In such situations, cases of cannibalism are often noted.

Diseases

The danger for these pets lies in the high probability of accidental injury. The fact is that dzhungars are extremely energetic, mobile animals. During the endless running around, they can fall, get bruised and injure limbs. To help your pet in such situations, you need to take him to the veterinarian.

A common disease of Djungarian hamsters is the defeat of the body by viral infections. In such situations, the animal becomes lethargic, inactive. The pet has difficulty breathing, he often sneezes. Unfortunately, there are no drugs for hamsters that will get rid of a viral disease. The only thing that the owner of the rodent can do in this case is to provide the pet with an abundance of fresh drink, as well as saturate its daily diet with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Among the diseases of Djungarian hamsters, it is also worth noting conjunctivitis. Therapy in such a situation should be carried out with lightly s alted water, which is usedfor washing the eyes of a pet.

Often, hamsters begin to abruptly refuse the food offered by the owner. The cause may be damage to the teeth. The owner should check if the animal's incisors have broken off. Sometimes this behavior is caused by the excessive length of the teeth, which interfere with the grinding of food. The procedure for cutting or cutting incisors is not recommended to be performed independently. It is better to entrust the operation to an experienced veterinarian.

In closing

As you can see from the above, keeping Djungarian hamsters is quite simple. This requires only the choice of suitable housing, providing the pet with fresh drink and food, and regular cleaning of the cage. By paying attention to the important points noted in our publication, you can give the animal a happy life and continue to enjoy the cute creature for many years.