Golden Fox is a type of hamster, a crossbreed between Pudding Hamster and Silver Fox Hamster.
High-quality Golden Fox has a pure white body with a golden-yellow line along the spine. The wider and yellower the line, the better the quality. Additionally, high-quality Golden Fox has white fur on its ears and golden-yellow fur on its buttocks. (The concept of "high-quality" Golden Fox is not widely recognized, but only admired by a few people)
However, it should be noted that due to Golden Fox being a crossbreed between Pudding and Silver Fox, and Pudding being a cultivated breed (not originally found in the wild), these characteristics are often only known by the owners who raise them. As the age of the Golden Fox increases, these characteristics may sometimes degenerate and become less obvious.
Golden Fox is a hybrid between Silver Fox and Pudding. Golden Fox can be bred with all Agouti Hamsters, but most breeders prefer to breed Golden Fox with Pudding and Silver Fox to obtain higher quality Golden Fox, Silver Fox, and Pudding. High-quality Golden Fox has a snow-white fur with a golden-yellow back line, and the wider the line, the better the quality. Golden Fox is active and it is not recommended for those who prefer a quiet pet. It is best to purchase during the spring and summer seasons because some Pudding may transform into Golden Fox during winter, and the Golden Fox in summer is the true Golden Fox.
Hamster enthusiasts recommend raising hamsters. It is best to buy babies bred by fellow hamster owners in the same city. They are cheap and healthy. You can find people looking for adoption on local forums, bulletin boards, or groups. Many hamsters in pet stores and bird markets are often unhealthy and die shortly after being purchased. Do not have them delivered, even if the hamster miraculously survives, it will suffer greatly.
An abscess
When hamsters fight, they may leave wounds that can become infected and form an abscess. You can squeeze out the pus and apply medication, but this can be painful, so it is not recommended. The best way is to take it to see a doctor. The fundamental solution is to avoid keeping two hamsters together.
Cold/Pneumonia
If your hamster is wheezing, having difficulty breathing, or its eyes are not moving, you need to take it to see a doctor immediately. There are also other symptoms to watch out for, such as sudden weight loss, runny nose, drowsiness, and so on. These may be signs of a cold or pneumonia.
Tyzzer's disease
Tyzzer's disease is a contagious disease among hamsters caused by a bacterium and often leads to death. Some hamsters do not have obvious symptoms before they die. Others may have mild signs, such as listlessness, dirty-looking fur, diarrhea, dehydration, and so on. Hamsters are more likely to get this disease in unclean environments and under great stress. Fortunately, the probability of hamsters that are well cared for and living in clean environments getting this disease is greatly reduced.
Diabetes
Diabetes is common in Campbell's hamsters. A hamster with diabetes will feel very thirsty and urinate frequently. The main treatment method is to change its diet. They should not eat fruits, and the amount of peas and corn in their food should be restricted or not given to them. The veterinarian will provide an accurate diagnosis and give you advice on how to take care of the hamster.
Glaucoma
Winter White hamsters are more prone to glaucoma. There is no complete cure for this. However, veterinarians can use eye drops to reduce discomfort in hamsters.
Cheek pouch problem
The cheek pouches (small pouches on a hamster's cheeks used to store and transport food) can be punctured, blocked, or bitten. Symptoms include being unable to spit things out and being unable to turn the cheek pouch inside out (one should be facing out). If you notice these symptoms, take it to see a doctor immediately.
Feed hamsters less high-protein foods on a regular basis to prevent cheek pouch problems. Because high-protein foods, if stored in the cheek pouch, can easily spoil and cause the symptoms mentioned above.
Cage: It is best to buy a special hamster cage (at least with a dedicated water bottle, food bowl, and running wheel, recommended Little Princess or Chocolate from Lixi). It can also be made by yourself, but it is more troublesome. It is cost-effective for people who raise multiple hamsters or larger-sized Golden Fox hamsters, but it doesn't save much money for raising one or two small Syrian hamsters.
Bathing sand: Used for bathing. Hamsters, especially small-sized short-haired Syrian hamsters, cannot be bathed with water (recommended 1 kg from Lixi). Take a small box (such as a tortoise box) that the hamster cannot climb out of and is well-ventilated, and lay a layer of 1 cm of sand. Every few days, put the hamster in it and let it roll in the sand for a few minutes, or manually sprinkle some sand on its back and let it shake it off.
Bedding: Wood shavings have the highest cost-performance ratio (at least don't choose ONO, if you can buy better ones, don't save those two yuan, as 1 kg can be used for half a year. This is the only thing that absolutely cannot DIY), crumble it and pad it on the bottom of the cage, and change it once a week.
Food: You can use branded food or prepare it yourself (recommended from Belgium. Lixi, Bintianzuli are all poor and may cause malnutrition, so it is best not to buy them, or add some self-prepared food to supplement the nutrients, or for experienced owners, find self-prepared food with good reputation online.). In addition to food, you should also feed a small amount of sunflower seeds, peanuts, dried fruits, vegetables, mealworms, plain cheese and other snacks, but not too much. Absolutely do not feed sunflower seeds as the main food, at most one or two a day.
Others: Look up posts about hamster recipe collections or similar ones. Make sure not to feed anything that shouldn't be fed. Don't think that hamsters can eat what humans can.
Hamsters are solitary animals. After reaching adulthood, they will have a strong territorial awareness, so you must not keep multiple hamsters together! It is recommended to have one hamster per cage, or one pair of the same gender per cage. Otherwise, they may be well-behaved when they are young, but they will start to fight and even cause bloody tragedies when they grow up.
For one or a pair of Syrian hamsters (such as Pudding), it is best to provide a cage with a length of more than 25 cm. Small cages with a length below 20 cm, such as tortoise boxes, can only be used temporarily and cannot be used as a permanent residence. Cheap and poor-quality small wire cages should never be used. The wire bottom may cause fractures, and these low-quality wire cages are soft and easy for hamsters to escape from.
You can use any small box, cup, or plate as a nest or food bowl, but a dedicated water bottle must be used for feeding water. Fill it with clean cold boiled water or mineral water (in short, it is drinking water, same treatment as humans), and leave a small bubble in the water bottle (not easy to leak). Even if the water is not finished, it should be changed every 2-3 days.
Hamsters have a thick and dense coat of fur on their bodies. Although hamsters regularly clean their own fur, their grooming is not always perfect due to various factors. Therefore, owners also need to regularly groom and clean their hamster's fur. Because hamsters are small, the method of grooming their fur is very simple for owners and can be completed with just a little bit of time.
Strictly speaking, owners can groom their hamster's fur every day if they have the time. However, for busy owners, it can be done once every 1-2 weeks. But during the spring and autumn seasons when hamsters shed, frequent grooming is still necessary. The tools for grooming hamster fur are also simple and can include a toothbrush, towel, and a small comb of appropriate size.
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