Meet Our Hamster Charles...

Meet Our Hamster Charles...
I'm just 4 weeks old!!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

The Start Of Our Journey With Teddy Bear Hamsters...

Meet Charles!!!

He joined our family in June and belongs to my daughter Vanessa. For many years our daughter has asked for a teddy bear hamster and I have always said "maybe when you are older" or something to that effect, the main reason being I didn't want to have to be responsible for any more pets (we already have 2 dogs and 4 cats and that keeps me busy enough!)

My "maybe when you are older" answer began to crumble a bit when 2 of Vanessa's friends each got a hamster. Then on a visit to a pet store one day we decided to "just LOOK" at hamsters, but that was the beginning of my downfall, they were so darn CUTE!

So the next step was to do some research and find out as much as I could about teddy bear hamsters. If we were going to have one I wanted to make sure that we knew how to take care of him or her to the best of our ability. So we read books and did much research as we possibly could on the internet to find out all the information we needed to make this new little critter a happy and healthy one.

There was one condition to us getting our newest member of our family and that was that Vanessa was the one to look after it and I am delighted to say that she has upheld her side of the bargain and is doing a fantastic job - she is the one who is the sole care-taker of Charles!

The reason I created this blog is to help Vanessa and her friends (and anyone else who has just started out on a new journey with teddy bear hamsters!) to provide the best environment and care for their new pet hamsters.

Also anything at all that I find that is fun and cute and has ANYTHING to do with teddy bear hamsters, will appear on this blog, so please bookmark us and check back often!

17 comments:

Eric Soderstrom said...

Hi! I may be at the beginning of a Teddy Bear Hamster journey, as well. Your story sounds just like mine - my daughter (almost 8) keeps begging and I keep putting her off...but they really are the cutest things. Can I ask you how old your daughter, Vanessa, is? One of our conditions (just like you)is that our daughter is the sole care-giver for our new family member. She is on-board with that, but I was curious how old Vanessa is since it's going so well for you. Thanks for the info and all the great tips!

Anonymous said...

I love teddy bear hamsters too and have 2 @ home!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for making this site! It's helping a lot.

Anonymous said...

This web site is awesome. I was worried but thanks to this website my teddy bear hamster is okay!!!

Anonymous said...

This website is awesome!! I was worried about my teddy bear hamster but im not anymore!!

Anonymous said...

This website is great!! I was worried about getting a teddy bear hamster for my birthday.Thanks to this web site bear is so happp, he is even spoiled.He is so healthy!
He is the perfect teddy bear hamster and I LOVE him!!

Anonymous said...

I have 2 Teddy Bear Hamsters, Jesse & Jamie. Jamie gets along with everyone & Jesse will bite you if she doesn't like you. But here's the thing, Jesse SPRAYS like a cat! STINKS worse than a Skunk!oh.. We've tried bath's, Sand Bathing houses....nothing works. She's just a STINKY girl. None the less, we love her all the same. After the death of my Gerbil, Amber, I wanted to get another set of Teddy Bear Hamsters. They have banned selling Teddy Bears in 4 States now. I called a Petco in Denver,(there was a woman that dropped off a litter of 9 Teddy Bear Hamsters.) Only 5 survived...SO There I was Flying down I-25 in my PJ's & picked out 'Jack & Jill'. I have them together in one cage,(they are 4 wks & 2 days old now) but just after an hour Jill kicked Jack's A**! He was bleeding on his leg a little bit but after fighting over a territorial corner, Jill was licking his wound in minutes. How do you suggest I begin to breed them & when should I change their diet?

Beth said...

Hamsters become sexually mature at 8 to 9 weeks old and ideally, after this time you should keep your male and female hamsters in 2 separate cages. The reason for this being that females are ready to mate only every fifth or sixth day and on the other days they will aggressively repel the male by biting. When you want to try to mate them put the female into the male's cage, not the other way around, and be ready with gloves on to separate them if there is an attack. If she attacks the male, then keep them in their separate cages and try again the next night, usually between 8 and 11 pm is the best. Regarding their diet, it's important to make sure that the female hamster has plenty of protein when she is pregnant, to ensure that she does not eat her young. Some protein to feed your hamster could include a small piece of lean beef once or twice a week, and a teaspoonful of cottage cheese or yogurt regularly.

Anonymous said...

This site has helped a lot!! I'm trying to get enough info and ur site provided it all! I'm getting one this coming weekened and im so excited she's gonna be a teddy bear hamster and im gonna name her Angel!

Anonymous said...

that was great!i am nine years old and why i am on here is because my bestest hamster, Mochie is a teddy bear hamster. we had him for half a year. but the sad thing is that he was older than we thought and last week on friday morning he died. i am planning on getting a new mochie but it broke mine and everybody elses hearts. if your favorite beloved hamster that was your first one and that you loved died, you would know how i feel. my name is carly.

Anonymous said...

Hi I love your site.Your hammy charles looks exactly like mine and his name is Henry.My other hamster named carlos got out of his cage few days ago and I haven't found him yet.I feel terrible coz I love him dearly.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I just got a Teddy Bear Hamster for my 8 year old boy. His first pet (Humphrey). What is your advice for picking the Hamster up without him biting. We are having trouble bonding because he hisses and quickly turns to bite when we attempt to handle him. Is this typical?

Beth said...

Don't try and handle it for about a week, then slowly get it used to your hand and it's scent. Quietly hold your hand up to the cage and talk to it and wait for it until it sniffs you curiously. Offer it a little treat between thumb and forefinger (our hamster's favourite is a small piece of apple). Don't let it go right away, keep holding onto it, then it will nibble on the food between your fingers.

While it's eating, you can carefully and gently stroke it along it's side with your free hand. Don't reach unexpectedly from behind or above it's body - this frightens a hamster that is not yet entirely tame. It's best to try this in the evening, when it starts to become lively. Don't wake it up to touch it. Even when it first wakes up, still leave it alone for a while to wake up slowly and to go to the bathroom etc. in peace.

If you do this daily, at the same time each day, the faster your hamster will gain trust in you.

Anonymous said...

I love this website! I've had two hamster but the first one died of cancer but my new one is doig great. This website is so helpful!

Anonymous said...

hello i want to get a teddybear hamster too but there is sad story behind my hamster a nights ago my robo hamster died a was really sad i cried i went to the pet store and i was looking at robo hamsters because i wanted to get a new robo hamster but then i looked behind myself and saw the teddybear hamsters i thought they were so cute i was only looking so i didn't get one after i looked at the teddy bear hamsters i looked at the cages i saw a really big one and i thought that would be a good cage for it i thought it would be a nice space for it too when i was bout to leave the pet store i saw some more hamsters they were 3 weeks old then i left i kinda know about dwrf and robo hamsters but i didn't know about teddy bear hamsters though so i looked for some websites to go on then i saw this one it was perfect i loved it this website provided me with enough info so i can get a teddy bear hamster now i am planning to get a hamster next week i am happy about the next time i need a new hamster or need some tips with hamster care i will come back to this website at the first few words that i read i book marked it i love your website and by the way my name is ashleigh i am just a little kid righting this stuff i hope other people can see my comment so they know how great your website is.

Anonymous said...

omg thx so much cuz yestrday i bought a teddy bear hamster and we found out it got wet tail desease so we went out 2 get the treatment an came bak he already died :( and so we called the pet store and they said theyll replace it 4 free so i needed 2 no how 2 pik a healthier 1 out!!!! so thx SOOOOOOOOO much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

felicia said...

I just bought a male teddy bear hamster at Petco, and at the store he seemed friendly as can be, but...he hisses, lol, and bit me once, but with my fiance he has stopped hissing, and has never bit him, this was supposed to be my bday present, and even though he bit me, I really don't want to take him back, I am quite attached already, his name is Ziggy, and he's white and black and adorable, I think I startled him when he bit me as well, is there anything I can do to let him more comfortable? He has a nice cage, food, a new treat stick..lol, chew toys and a ball(which he doesnt roll in)...
email me at aperfectdenial8@aol.com if you have any tips...thanks