Animals by Leanne Yau Karine Chan Prudence Cheung Sara Hui

Introduction We are going to work on HAMSTERS. I hope you are not scared of them ‘coz some people are TERRIFIED of rodents. Well, if you’re not scared, read on. We’re going to show you what are the main types of hamster and what they eat, what they love, what they hate, their characteristics…there’s plenty to read about hamsters. Enjoy!

Contents The different types of hamsters (4) Where do hamsters originate (12) Other kinds of hamster (15) What do they love? What do they hate? (16) What is safe for them? What is dangerous for them? (19) What do they eat? What don’t they eat? (21) What do they really love to play with? (23) The real characteristics of a hamster (25) Baby hamsters (27) How to take care of a hamster Oh no! Where is my hamster? Congratulations! A sneak peek at some very funny hamster videos

The different types of hamster

Black, with a grey stripe on its back Good things: This hamster is awarded second prize for the gentle-est. It is probably the second gentle-est of all hamsters, because it almost NEVER bites. If it does, it’s always only a play-bite so it doesn’t harm you much. I say it is SECOND-best because later you’ll see the best one coming up. Don’t’ skip this page! Read on. Also, if you love them very much and they know it, if one day you accidentally left the cage open, it wouldn’t escape. It wouldn’t even think of it!!! Bad things: It might look pretty ugly to some people, and usually it is because of the colour. But ugly doesn’t mean evil, doesn’t it? Up to your thoughts!

White, with a black stripe on its back Good things: This hamster is awarded top for being the best fighter and biter. Yikes! Nothing is good about it except its charming beauty. WATCH OUT. Bad things: About a million. I’m not joking. They probably bite you every single day. I had one called Daisy once and she bit me until my fingers bled. They are really really good at escaping. So if you see one, watch out and DO NOT TOUCH IT because it will bite you right away. I know because I once touched one in a pet shop. OUCH!!!

Light gold, with a faint, white stripe on its back Good things: Ah! Here we are! The best hamster! This hamster is awarded first prize for the gentle-est! Okay let’s get on with it. It is a beautiful and kind hamster. I have told you the black hamster ALMOST never bites, right? Well, this hamster NEVER ever bites, so you could see the slight difference between them. This hamster is always very chubby (well hamsters are supposed to be chubby really, but this one is REALLY chubby) not because it has a big appetite, but because it is so cute that you can’t stop feeding it! So, this hamster is very active, but it also has to sleep too so don’t bother it when it is sleeping. Bad things: I can’t think of any. Totally.

A mixture of tan, brown, black, white, and gold and other colours Good things: This hamster is awarded first for being the most active, the cutest, and third prize for the gentle-est. It’s also really small so it’s easy-peasy to fit it in your hand. It also runs around all the time. Its face is extra-cute because of the pinkish nose, the big black eyes and the pointy ears. It looks as if it is smiling all the time and it is pretty gentle. Oh, I already said that. Bad things: It runs really REALLY fast and it could run off your hand in 2 seconds flat. They escape very well.

All grey, but if you look closer it looks strangely purple Good things: I award this hamster first prize as the most prettiest color, purple. They are not really purple, but if you look at it closely with the sun shining on its fur, you can see a strange but beautiful glow of purple surrounding its body. I think all the purple-lovers out there would like to buy one. Bad things: They bite pretty strongly but not as strong as the white one. I award this one again second prize for biting.

Grey, with a white stripe on its back Good things: I award this hamster for being the most ordinary hamster (which is so boring, *yawn*) and last prize for biting. It is plain grey with nothing special about it. I give it last prize because it bites a little. Good things about it are – its fur, because some people quite like grey, its face, because of its pointy ears, and its eyes. One thing really special is their eyes. Their eyes always sparkle and glitter as if they are always happy. Bad things: Hmm…this is pretty hard. I know! They fight pretty okay. I give it – second prize for fighting. No – third prize. Okay, okay, second and third prize then.

White with black polka-dots Good things: This hamster is awarded second prize for the cutest. Its head is slack black, but its body and its tail is full of black and white patches, lines, and polka-dots! It is also awarded third for being the most active. It loves to play anytime but don’t play with it for the whole day like 24 hours (although that is not possible). Bad things: To some people they might think like, “Eww! What kind of silly-looking hamster is this? Is it a mix-breed? It surely looks stupid.’’ I tell you something, it is NOT a mix-breed because mix-breeding with hamsters are impossible. If you put a white hamster and a black hamster together, their babies will not be grey, they would only be black OR white. T his kind of hamster has a very funny Chinese name – I’ll do my best to pronounce it, “Huk Bak Wun Sek,’’ or in other words, “Black White Marble Rock.’’.

Where did hamsters originate

Desert Of course, not all of the hamsters originate in the desert, but some do, otherwise I wouldn’t be talking about it. Hamsters don’t really think water is an extreme necessity in their lives but they still have to drink, don’t they? They drink from little rivers or oasis’ (if they could find one.). You might be thinking, “Oh, so how to hamsters bathe themselves? I think they would drown in the oasis or river, being so small like that.’’ I’ll give you an answer, and it is pretty interesting: hamsters do not need water to bathe! They use sand in the desert and they roll about in it, coating themselves full of sand. Daft, isn’t it? No. Then the dirt and the sand mix together and the hamster starts to fell itchy so it scratches itself all over and BINGO! Its body is spick-and-span.

Rainforest Since you read about hamsters in the desert, you might think, “Hey, if it rains a lot in the forest, what do the hamsters do?’’ Simple. They boost themselves up a tree and start to climb on those jagged bits that stick out. Okay, what do they use to boost? They use stuff like leaves, dirt, pebbles, etc. etc. Like the desert hamsters, they can’t bathe in water. What do they do? They are a bit smarter. They know they need a cleaning so they spit into their paws and rub the spit on their bodies. Yuck! But now I realized that all the other desert hamsters are doing that too. Maybe it’s because of evolution. How about drinking? Oh dear, have you ever thought of dewdrops? All hamsters are nocturnal so when the dewdrops form in the morning on the leaves they choose a suitable leaf and lap up the water there, like a dog. Understood? I hope so.

Other kinds of hamster All the main types of hamster I’ve been talking about – you know, the ones in the last few pages – they are called ‘dwarf hamsters’. There are three types of hamster. The normal hamster, the teddy-bear hamster (I’m not kidding about its name), and the dwarf hamster. The ones I am talking about now are dwarf hamsters. I tell you something – I do not recommend you to buy a teddy-bear hamster. Teddy-bear hamsters are very frustrating and you have to cut their nails once a week and you need to pay $500 to clip them. Normal hamsters need cuttings too. Dwarf hamsters always scratch on stuff so they are easier to manage. Anyway, this is only a tip, so read on.

What do they love? What do they hate?

Playing Hamsters need company when they feel like it. And when they feel like it, they start biting the bars of its cage. If you ignore it, it is impossible because believe it or not, a hamster biting the bars is deafening. Well not really deafening but enough to disturb your thoughts when you are doing your schoolwork, work, or phone calls or those kind of stuff. They also love crawling into tunnels and running on an exercise wheel. Another tip: exercise wheels are VERY important so make sure you buy one. If there are any dog lovers that really want a hamster, please tell them that you cannot train a hamster, and OF COURSE hamsters do not sit or roll over like dogs too. BUT… please do not kiss a hamster unless you want to face death. That is because hamsters are born with germs. You know, since they have got so much fur so they get mites. So this is a safety tip: do not kiss your hamster.

Other animals I tell you something, and this is a very interesting fact: hamsters get along better with dogs than any other kind of animal. Nobody knows why, but dogs don’t fight with a hamster and the hamster doesn’t freak out in front of a large dog (well to the hamster of course it seems like a large dog.). But – everybody knows this and I would rather not say it but I’ll say it anyway – do not put a cat with a hamster. The cat might think: “Oh! What a cute little toy! Let me see how it works,’’ and the hamster would be killed immediately. Although mice, rats, hamsters, and guinea pigs are from the same family, rodents, do not put them together, because even though they are relatives, they bite and scratch and do the most terrifying things. Although I think that brothers and sisters should love each other dearly, it doesn’t seem like that to the rodents, I think.

What is safe for them? What is dangerous for them?

Safe and dangerous As all the grownups say, play safe, I think you should ‘play safe’ with your hamsters too. Firstly, and most importantly, if you want to hold your hamster, hold it gently with your palm open. Do not squeeze it or threaten it. And if it makes a noise that sounds like ‘zzzzzzzzzzzzz! Jump away quickly. Then don’t disturb it for about ten minutes or so and then open the cage again. If it still makes the buzzing noise, try again the next day. The buzzing sound means, “Clear off! I want to be left in peace for a while please!’’. This is an angry hamster here. Also, every time you put your hamster back in its cage, remember to check every single lock on the cage to see if it is fastened tight. Believe it or not, hamsters are pretty strong so like I said before, play safe. Once I absentmindedly left my cage open and one hamster escaped but (oh dear) the other got an injured foot because its foot got stuck on the lock (how sad is that!). But news of all news, we found the lost hamster, which is a relief.

What do they eat? What don’t they eat?

Eat the right food This is a very general rule, DO NOT GIVE YOUR PETS SWEETS OR CHOCOLATE. Dogs and hamsters do have some stuff in common. They love fruits and vegetables, and they cannot eat chocolate, otherwise they would die. One thing that is NOT in common is: dogs can eat as many fruit as they want but hamsters would have diarrhea or some kind of stomach problem if they eat too much. But hamsters know when to stop so it’s okay. By the way, hamsters would be happy to have some dairy products EXCEPT butter or those fatty things (I’m not so sure about yoghurt. Maybe I’ll try one day.). I know because once my hamster had 7 babies (the world record is 18 really) and when the babies started to open their eyes they can’t eat proper food and the mother gives them less milk because I think the milk might have gone out of stock (hahaha). So I got some mozzarella or cheddar cheese and fed them. They got on okay with it until they grew up and started to eat proper food so because we can’t have all of them so we sent the lot to the pet shop. But really the best kind of hamster food is: hamster food! Oh, come on, could you take a joke? If you have bought your hamster you could take a look round the shop and look at the hamster food. Look for a kind of seed mix with bits of popcorn and sunflower seed. Then you would know what is good for your hamster.

What do they really love to play with?

Toys Hmm…this is a bit difficult. Hamsters don’t really have toys or that sort of thing. Well actually they do – if you gave them a MEGA-lump of cotton they would start working away and at first it looks pretty clean but then bedding starts to stick to it and then the white cotton becomes tabby-colored cotton. But to the hamster it is fun and it is for a good cause: if the hamster needs to sleep, it won’t get cold. It would just climb in and get warm. Also they love tunnels. Oh did I say that already? Never mind. Ah, yes. Remember the exercise wheel I told you about? That is an sort of ‘exercise toy’. It makes the hamster feel jumpy and the wheel keeps it healthy and strong. Something else: if the exercise wheel gets squeaky or gets stuck all the time, remember to oil it a bit, and the squeakiness would stop.

The real characteristics of a hamster

Hamsters have feelings too, you know I think this is rather a daft title, “feelings’’. Every living thing has feelings anyway. Oh come on get on with it!!! Well, firstly, hamsters are nocturnal. I suppose all of you know that. Oh, so you didn’t? You do now. When a hamster is angry or frustrated, it would make a “zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!’’ noise and it is a warning and it also might bite you. When it is happy it would show it is happy in its own way. But I am sure the hamster would find a way to show that it is happy. Every hamster is different, right? It would be pretty boring if they weren’t! If you go to a pet shop like ‘Pets’ Central’ or stuff like that and you find a whole bunch of hamsters (there’s one Pets’ Central near Tin Hau Temple Road if you’d like to know) in a large glass case you could tell which one wants you as its owner. Choose your favorite color (please don’t pick white – I beg you!) and slide your hand under its tummy. If it lets you it would stay still and the really friendly type might even crawl onto your hand! (I did once and I bought the hamster straight-away without hesitating.) But if it doesn’t let you it would make the buzzing sound (the white ones always do) or get off your hand and don’t go chasing the hamster round the block because I am sure it would turn back and open its jaws and run to your finger and SNAP – “OWWWWW!!!!’’ You would know what would happen if you try, but I just don’t recommend you to do that because it is a very painful business. Alright I’ll tell you – it will bite really hard and sink its sharp teeth into your flesh. I tried that before and I had a bandage. See, I warned you so if one day your finger is wrapped in plaster don’t blame me.

Baby hamsters

What should you do if your hamster is pregnant If you think your hamster is pregnant, you have to look out for some things: Firstly, your hamster pees and poos, right? If it is pregnant one day the bum part of the hamster would get wet. Not the kind of pee wet, but a very yucky, jelly-ish feeling. And sometimes it would get diarrhoea. When THAT happens, that hamster would give birth right on that day or the day after. Also, you could hold the hamster firmly, but don’t squeeze it, and turn it over. If its lower body (its tummy) is bulgy and more fatter that the higher part of the body, it is pregnant. Don’t get fooled if your hamster is really fat on the whole body and you think it is pregnant. Other things are: when your hamster has shown these signs of being pregnant, you MUST put a piece of cloth over the cage so the hamster would have privacy. Hamsters like darkness. Tee hee!

What should you do when your hamster really gives birth First rule: DO NOT TOUCH THE BABIES. The mother might think you are hurting them and it would protect them by putting the babies in her mouth. It is rather a daft idea because then, the babies face painful death. Second rule: You must separate the father from the mother and the children. The father doesn’t know what do to and it will just plain mess up everything! Third rule: Don’t disturb the hamsters until the babies have grown fur and opened their eyes. You would know because the hamster doesn’t mind if you peek inside the cloth now and then. If you see that the hamsters have grown fur and all of them have opened their eyes, give them something which is always coming first to rodents: cheese. The babies can’t eat proper food yet so you could cut some Cheesestiks (it’s a kind of cheese stick brand at the supermarket) or some plain cheddar and chop them up into small pieces. I’m saying you chop the cheese, not the babies okay? Fifth rule: soon you would have to send the hamsters away when they are half the size of the mother, because when they are that age they would mate again. And again. And again. AND AGAIN. And soon you would have a few hundred babies and you don’t know what you could do with them. Awh…cutie babies! Grown hamsters

How to take care of a hamster

Cage You need to buy a suitable cage big enough for your hamster to have a small cotton bed here, and a little house there, and a wheel in the corner, and most importantly, a food bowl and a water bottle. Mind I said water BOTTLE, because if you put a water dish, it would climb in and catch a cold and die or go to the toilet it there. Yeuch.

Food bowl If you put a light bowl inside, the hamster would just tip it over and make a huge mess for you to clean up. You must put a heavy plastic or ceramic bowl inside and it would do fine. Don’t put metal ones, because the hamsters tend to lick the bowl and the bowl would start to rust and get germs.

How to clean your hamster’s cage When your hamster comes to its new home in its new cage and a new owner, put a sheet of newspaper at the bottom of the cage. Then spread some bedding on top. Oh yeah, the bedding. The bedding is best if it is some straw or cat litter is the best, or you could ask the pet shop keeper at your pet shop and he or she would tell you what to do.

Oh no! Where is my hamster?

A clever trick You could get a bucket of a foot tall, and put a lot of bedding in it and some food. Then put a wooden board on it, one side on the floor, one side on the bucket. Then sprinkle some hamster food on the wooden board and leave it there for the night. If you have any cats or dogs or those stuff, keep them in your room or lock them up. The hamster would find the bucket, go up the wooden board, eat the food, and drop into the bucket. But it doesn’t know you have led it into a trap! Because once it has gone in, it can’t get out! Good trick eh?

Congratulations! Now you have finished reading this project, you can hop off your chair and rush to the pet shop to buy yourself a new hamster. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW PET! Good bye to everyone!

A sneak peek at some very funny hamster videos

Hamster videos Go to: www.youtube.com And search for these videos: The original hamster piano and pop corn My silly hamster part 1 My silly hamster part 2 My silly hamster part 3 12 turns in a wheel!!! My poor hamster… Flipping Hamster Drunk hamsters Funny hamsters Baby hamster eating broccoli Enjoy…and laugh!