White Hamster

White hamster, also known as guinea pig, mainly distributed in the Andes Mountains in South America. White hamster is a type of hamster that likes dry and cool environments. White hamsters are nocturnal and do not like direct sunlight. White hamsters are

Scientific Name

: White Hamster

Kingdom:

Animal Kingdom

　Phylum:

Chordata

Subphylum:

Vertebrata

The English name for the chinchilla is Chinchilla, which is transliterated as qinqila. It belongs to the rodent suborder Hystricomorpha, mammalian class and belongs to the family of American chinchillas. Because it bears a striking resemblance to the cartoon chinchilla in the film "TOTORO" created by Hayao Miyazaki, it was later renamed "chinchilla" by Hong Kong people.

Its original habitat is in the Andes Mountains in South America. Due to its highly valuable fur, it has been extensively hunted and the wild chinchilla became extinct in the mid-20th century. In 1922, an American named M.F. Chapman brought 11 chinchillas, 8 males and 3 females, back to California, USA, and gradually started large-scale artificial breeding. Currently, there are approximately 400,000 chinchillas being raised worldwide, with the most number of chinchillas being raised in countries such as the United States, Canada, Argentina, Germany, and the Netherlands (around 40 degrees north and south latitude, where the climate is most suitable for their growth).

It is recommended to raise white hamsters for those who love small pets. There are certain dietary taboos when raising white hamsters, especially human food, which should not be given to white hamsters casually. In the wild, white hamsters mainly feed on herbaceous plants, cacti, hay, and seeds.

1. Overgrown incisors - Like beavers, the incisors grow too long due to a lack of frequent grinding on softwood blocks, pumice stones, etc., affecting chewing and leading to appetite loss, weakness, and even starvation. It is necessary to promptly cut off the overgrown part with bone scissors or pruning shears, and wipe the swollen lips clean with an antiseptic solution for 3 consecutive days.

2. Throat obstruction - Eating large chunks of feed or other foreign objects can cause difficulty swallowing, and hamsters have a hard time spitting out the food they swallow into their mouth, making it prone to throat obstruction. After a small piece of food is obstructed, the hamster exhibits restlessness, often makes swallowing movements with stretched necks, and coughs. The main symptoms are increased or difficult breathing, often quickly progressing to suffocation, congested eyes, inability to stand on all fours, and death. Therefore, do not give hamsters hard or shell-containing feeds such as pine seeds and large beans at random. For mild obstructions, immediately drip plant oil to lubricate the esophagus, allowing the food to swallow into the stomach. Severe obstructions often die from suffocation before measures can be taken.

3. Cardia gastritis - Inflammation of the surface layer of gastric mucosa, mainly caused by excessive proportion of grain feed in the feed, lack of coarse fiber; feeding indigestible food; sudden change of feed variety; excessive feeding of delicious feed causing overeating; or gastric distension and other cardia caused gastritis. Accidental ingestion of sediment, unclean water, or contaminated feed with rotten pesticide can also cause cardiac cards. This disease often occurs acutely, with sudden onset, depression, unbearable pain, decreased appetite, or refusal to eat. Chronic manifestations include decreased appetite, moderate constipation, gradual emaciation, weight loss, salivation, wetness of lower lip and corners of mouth, and tangled fur. Acute gastric cardiac should be suspended from feeding for 1 to 2 days, replace the granular feed with soft feed, add fresh tender green feed, use grape fresh milk as a drink, and take 2-3 milliliters of aluminum hydroxide gel orally. Chronic treatment mainly includes improving feeding management and drug treatment, with little effect.

4. Constipation - Constipation is mainly caused by improper feeding resulting in weakened gastrointestinal motility, malnutrition of intestinal muscles, unquiet feeding environment, and disturbances of the nervous system, which can cause irregular gastrointestinal motility and constipation. When hamsters are constipated, mild cases have no obvious symptoms, only slight changes in the shape of fecal pellets, no air holes in fecal pellets, and darker color. In severe cases, defecation is significantly reduced or stopped, fecal pellets are very small and dry and hard. Sick hamsters stop eating and drinking, squat in one place, reluctant to move, and show a humped back and painful appearance, with depression, closed eyes. Long-term constipation leads to gradual emaciation, obvious weight loss. In addition to adjusting the ingredients, the following medications can be used for treatment: 2% liquid paraffin or soft soap water, oral administration or rectal irrigation, 5-15 milliliters each time; 10%-15% hot vegetable oil and water mixture, oral administration or enema, 5-15 milliliters each time; rectal injection with enema can also promote defecation.

5. Intestinal obstruction - Constipation can aggravate intestinal obstruction. Some hamsters have trichophagia, which forms hairballs in the digestive tract due to their eating of hair. In addition, the feed contains a high content of coarse fibers, or a large amount of antibiotics are used to treat diseases, resulting in a decrease in the ability of intestinal microorganisms to digest coarse fibers, which can also cause constipation and secondary intestinal obstruction. Therefore, it is preferable to use narrow-spectrum antibiotics or sulfa drugs for inflammation. The initial symptom of intestinal obstruction disease is constipation, and acute symptoms of intestinal obstruction occur rarely, so it manifests as all symptoms of constipation. Diseased hamsters quickly dehydrate, with sunken eyeballs. The abdomen is often slightly swollen, and hard feces can often be felt in the abdomen. Diseased hamsters show abdominal pain, stretch their front limbs forward, and lie on their abdomens. Severe cases lie on their backs, with limbs curled up. Duodenal obstruction is the most obvious. Measures to prevent and treat should be taken once constipation occurs to eliminate constipation and avoid secondary intestinal obstruction. When intestinal obstruction has already occurred, the treatment should focus on defecation. If oil laxatives are ineffective, 10%-20% sodium sulfate or deep rectal irrigation with soft soapy water can be tried, combined with purgatives, which is effective for mild intestinal obstruction. For severe intestinal obstruction, which has caused inflammation or necrosis of the intestines, the use of purgatives is not only ineffective but also poses the risk of intestinal rupture and perforation. When necessary, surgical treatment may be performed.

6. Intestinal torsion and intussusception - This disease suddenly occurs during the mating process when chasing or fighting, or during vigorous exercise. Once the disease occurs, it causes severe pain, trembling of limbs and the whole body, inability to stand up, and sometimes squeaking, ultimately resulting in death. On autopsy, twisted or folded intestinal tubes can be directly observed, and the mucosa is acutely bleeding with bleeding phenomena. Due to the rapid onset and quick death of this disease, there is often not enough time to take measures before the sick hamster dies. In rescue efforts, manually straightening the intestinal tubes can be effective for some sick hamsters.

7. Vitamin deficiency - Various nutritional deficiencies are caused by defects in feed preparation and should focus on prevention with treatment as a supplement. Common vitamin deficiencies include vitamin A and B1 deficiencies. When there is a deficiency of vitamin A, hamsters often suffer from keratosis dermatitis, are prone to respiratory infections, have decreased reproductive performance or are infertile, and have obvious dry eye disease or night blindness. Affected hamsters often have unenergetic eyes, cloudy appearance, dull and non-elastic fur, and weight loss. The mating rate of male hamsters significantly decreases, sexual behavior disappears, female hamsters have prolonged or no estrus, pregnant hamsters experience interruptions or absorption and abortion of fetuses. Vitamin A deficiency in young hamsters can result in emaciation and difficulty in survival or blindness. Supplement the sick hamster with 100 international units of vitamin A per day, and appropriately supplement through feed after 1 week. When there is a deficiency of vitamin B1, hamster's movements cannot be coordinated, they are nervous, easily irritated, and typical symptoms include convulsions, spasms of the limbs and body. After a period of convulsions, they can resume normal activity, but if it continues to develop, it will cause death. During treatment, high doses of vitamin B1 should be taken continuously for 2-4 weeks, with a daily dose of 10 milligrams per hamster.

8. Calcium-phosphorus metabolic disorders - A deficiency of calcium and phosphorus in the feed, an improper ratio of calcium to phosphorus, or a lack of vitamin D in the feed can cause calcium-phosphorus metabolic disorders. The typical symptom of this disease is sudden muscle spasms throughout the body, which is similar to the convulsion caused by vitamin B1 deficiency. However, the spasm caused by this disease often occurs before or after feeding, and the important difference is that the convulsions caused by this disease do not include wobbling. The affected hamster lies on its abdomen, with its front limbs stretched forward and its head raised towards its back. Treatment measures: increase the content of calcium and phosphorus in the feed, adjust the proportion of calcium and phosphorus and the content of vitamin D. Alternatively, inject glucose calcium into the muscles, 1-1.5 milliliters per day, once daily, continuously for 3-5 days.

9. Hair loss - Hamster fur is precious, and hair loss is a major loss that frequently occurs. The reasons for hamster hair loss are twofold: one is due to a lack of unsaturated fatty acids in the feed, and the other is due to the easily excitable and neurotic hair loss in hamsters. the value of fur made from the affected skin will be lost. Often, symptoms of both causes are mixed together, and it is often mainly neurotic hair loss. Whether activities in the cage or activities such as artificial adding of food and water, affected hamsters lose scattered hair or clumps of hair, and feathers are seen everywhere in the cage. The skin is severely exposed, keratinized, and scaly. Hamsters with this disease cannot participate in reproduction. Oral or feed addition of unsaturated fatty acids, added along with feed, should not be left overnight. Give 2 pills of linoleic acid per day for 3-5 consecutive days to achieve certain results.

White hamsters like dry and cool environments, with a temperature range of 5-25℃ being suitable. They do not like direct sunlight and are nocturnal. White hamsters have a gentle and timid nature, preferring a quiet environment. They are sensitive to their surroundings and will emit a long cry-like alarm sound when startled. When angry, they make a hissing or purring sound like a snake. During mating, they make soft cooing sounds similar to doves. In a group, female hamsters hold the dominant position, and in a fight between males and females, the females generally win. However, when males and females are raised together, they get along harmoniously and rarely fight. When sitting upright on their hind legs, they use their small front claws to bring food to their mouths. They have a small appetite and are accustomed to eating multiple small meals.

White hamsters really enjoy eating snacks like melon seeds, peanuts, almonds, raisins, and dried fruits. However, these snacks can cause many diseases. For example, melon seeds and peanuts are high in fat, but the white hamster's digestive system has limited ability to digest and break down fats, which can lead to slow intestinal motility, resulting in constipation or even intestinal obstruction. Various dried fruits and dried fruits contain a large amount of sugar, which can disrupt the digestive system and cause diseases in white hamsters. Therefore, it is not recommended to feed white hamsters with such foods.

Usually, hamsters shed their fur every few months. The old fur starts to shed from the neck and continues until the tail. This shedding cycle is not regular and is influenced by the weather. As their fur grows, hamsters shed their fur approximately every three months. Therefore, hamsters shed their fur irregularly throughout the year. Typically, the shed fur falls onto the bottom tray of the cage, while some may stick to the wire mesh. During the hamster's shedding period, it is recommended to brush off the shed fur. This not only makes them look more charming, but also prevents the shed fur from flying around.