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Keeping Hamsters as Pets: The 5 Most Popular Hamster Breeds

We show you the five most popular hamster breeds with their special features and give you tips on care and keeping.

Hamsters are one of the most common pets today. With their black beady eyes, they are just too cute. In addition, hamsters are considered to be easy to care for and are particularly popular in households with children. But the truth is: Hardly anyone can really meet the species-specific needs of a hamster.

Read here what you need to consider before making a purchase and which hamster breeds are among the most popular.

The truth about hamster husbandry

Despite its small size, the hamster is a demanding pet. Only those who know and accept their demands can keep a hamster in a species-appropriate manner. The following points must be observed for all hamster species.

Hamsters are nocturnal

Hamsters are nocturnal animals and need plenty of rest and sleep during the day. If they are disturbed, they can become quite grumpy and even take a bite out of the unpleasant disturbance!

Hamsters are not stuffed animals

Hamsters can easily do without human contact. Anyone who approaches them quickly and hectically makes them very nervous. Not exactly the perfect companions for small, boisterous children who want to play and cuddle their hamsters when they come home from kindergarten and school in broad daylight. When they then go to bed, the hamster really gets going.

Hamsters need lots of exercises

Hamsters are very lively fellows. They need a lot of exercises and run, dig and dig as much as they can. A large, varied cage or a terrarium with several floors and deep bedding is, therefore, a must for keeping the tiny creature!

But even a large cage alone is not enough. The hamster should also be given a well-secured, risk-free free run so that it can meet its strong need to run.

Hamsters live dangerously

Nothing is safe from the free-roaming hamster. Better keep wooden furniture and electric cables safe. On the other hand, the lively hamster is so small that even small cracks and low heights can become a life-threatening danger for him. Only if you secure everything can the hamster enjoy its free run.

Hamsters are loners

Many a keeper has the idea of putting a fellow hamster in the cage. Well-intentioned, but wrongly acted: Because hamsters are absolute loners. Putting them together with other conspecifics or even with other animal species is not a good idea at all! Because they react aggressively and can even hurt each other.

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