Those Cheeky Hamsters by Robert J

Those Cheeky Hamsters By Robert J. Russell and Jim A. Stunkard

Marie T. Sebrechts Handling a hamster frequently makes these cheeky animals more gentle pets.

Hamsters often are pugna- Two species of hamsters cious animals; however, are rarely seen as pets: 1) the many of them make gentle European hamster, Cricetus pets when handled frequently. cricetus, light brown with a The hamster commonly seen black belly and white areas on as a pet is the Syrian or the face; and 2) the Chinese golden hamster, Mesocricetus hamster, Cricetulus griseus, auratus. They are a light characterized by a black dor- golden brown color. sal strip and a light brown to gray and white coat color. Hamsters are nocturnal, their gestation period is ex- Robert J. Russell is Director, Lab- oratory Animal Sciences Program, tremely short (14 days), and Program Resources Inc., Freder- they have extensive cheek ick, Md. Jim A. Stunkard is pouches to carry food and Director of the Bowie Animal move their babies from one Hospital, Bowie, Md. location to another. The ham-

Hamsters 509 Hamsters are escape artists, so get a secure, solid cage. Clean, fresh water should be available continuously. Hard- wood chips, ground corncobs and shredded paper all make good bedding materials.

\4'i.4-.l^. t^Wj-r. ^-^^..-^v 510 Rabbits and Other Small Animals ANIMAL HEALTH ster uses pigmented flank a day. Pelleted rodent feeds, organs (sebaceous glands), available commercially from located high on the thigh, for major feed suppliers, gener- territorial marking. ally are readily available and acceptable. Mixed seeds can Escape Artists be used as a treat. Clean, Hamsters are extremely adept fresh water should be avail- at escaping from their cages. able continuously. So it is extremely important Hamsters occasionally are that lids and doors have se- difñcult to breed successfully. cure latches and that cages Both hand mating and monog- are solidly constructed. amous mating systems can re- Generally, wire bar, plas- sult in fighting. tic, metal, or glass solid-bot- Cannibalism can be a se- tom shoe box cages are used, rious problem. The incidence and most have clip-on wire may be reduced by providing bar or solid metal tops. Many sufficient nesting materials, a people equip their cages with dark hiding place free from tunnels and exercise wheels; disturbance, prevention of however, exercise wheels are sudden noises, and separation often the cause of broken legs, of males from pregnant and especially when used in wire lactating females. Generally bar cages. the young should not be han- Hardwood chips, ground dled during the first week of corncobs, and shredded paper life. are acceptable as bedding ma- Hamsters frequently fight terials. Adult hamsters re- with each other. Severe bite quire a floor area of at least wounds, occasionally resulting 20 square inches with a cage in death, are often inflicted. height of 6". A female hamster To reduce fighting it is best to should have 150 square inches house animals together early of floor space. in life, at weaning rather than at several months of age. May Hibernate Environmental temperatures Diseases between 65° and 75° F gener- Hamsters generally are quite ally are acceptable. Hamsters healthy animals, and disease will hibernate at tempera- outbreaks usually are rare. tures below 48° F and also if The most important dis- the daily period of light is ease seen in hamsters has very short—less than 2 hours been given a variety of names:

Hamsters 511 Marie T. Sebrechts Keeping hamsters healthy is relatively easy as long as good sanitation and good quality food are provided.

hamster enteritis, wet tail, a red protrusion from the proliferative enteritis, ileal anus, may occur. High death hyperplasia. A specific etiol- rates often occur within 1 to 2 ogy has not been found. An days after the initial clinical as-yet-unidentified intracellu- signs. lar bacterium may play an All ages of hamsters can important role, although sev- be affected, but animals 3 to 8 eral different causes—bacte- weeks old are the most sus- ria, viruses, diet, poor sanita- ceptible. Intestinal lesions tion—may be involved. often appear as enlargements Affected animals go off or growths, hence the name feed, have rough hair coats, proliferative ileitis and ileal become debilitated, and have hyperplasia. a mild to severe watery diar- Systemic antibiotics (tet- rhea. Rectal prolapse, seen as racycline, gentamicin, tylosin,

512 Rabbits and Other Small Animals ANIMAL HEALTH

neomycin) and supportive ally fatal toxic syndrome in therapy (oral administration hamsters. Broad-spectrum an- of whole milk, buttermilk) tibiotics such as tetracycline, may be beneficial, although chloramphenicol, and sulfon- response to treatment is often amides are usually safe. poor. Good sanitation and Demodex species (hair fol- good quality food help in pre- licle mange mites) are gener- vention. ally the only external para- Both Salmonella and Ba- sites found in the hamster. cillus piliformis cause disease Microscopic examination of in hamsters. The lesions are skin scrapings will reveal the found in the liver and intes- parasites. Skin lesions are not tinal tract. seen usually. Staphylococcus can cause Parasites abscesses and joint infections. Pinworms (Syphacia obvelata) Hamster cheek pouches can and tapeworms (Hymenolepis become infected due to foreign nana) are found occasionally bodies and trauma and may in hamsters, but clinical signs ulcerate through the skin. Lo- usually do not occur with cal therapy and systemic anti- either parasite. It is important biotics are generally effective. to remember that Hymenole- Several outbreaks of the pis nana can directly infest viral disease lymphocytic cho- man. Anal tape tests and fecal riomeningitis have occurred in examinations will demon- humans and been traced di- strate the ova of pinworms, rectly to spread by hamsters. and tapeworm ova may be This virus also occurs in found on routine fecal flota- guinea pigs, mice, nonhuman tion examinations. primates, dogs, and pigs. Hamster intestines gener- The disease in humans ally contain a number of dif- varies from an absence of clin- ferent protozoan parasites- ical signs to an influenza-like such as Giardia, Spironucleus, (flu) syndrome, although en- Trichomonas—^but these para- cephalitis occasionally occurs. sites usually do not cause clin- In hamsters clinical signs gen- ical disease in hamsters. erally are absent, and specific The use of several anti- testing is required for diagno- biotics (for example, penicil- sis. A number of commercial lin, streptomycin, lincomycin, diagnostic laboratories provide and erythromycin) has been this testing service. associated with an occasion-

Hamsters 513