Pistachios, walnuts, and peanuts... Oh my.

Peppy gets into bag of pistachios

Hamsters like nuts. The shell provides a nice thing for the hamster to chew through.

Hamster Tip

It should be noted however that larger nuts (like walnuts) or nuts with an extremely hard shells (like pine nuts) should be partially cracked before giving them to the hamster. That is if you want the hamster to eat the inside. Otherwise it would be like you trying eat something the size of a soccer ball without a knife, fork, or pneumatic drill. The nut becomes more of an obstacle than food (which you may or may not want).


Captain Hill tries to bite into a chestnut


an uncracked walnut becomes an plaything to Peppy

The ideal nut then would be the peanut as it's shell is textured and can easily be broken by a hamster bite. It should also be noted that most hamsters like peanuts.


Captain Hill enjoys a peanut

Hamster Food

Hamster Fact:

Hamsters are omnivores

It came as a surprise to me to find that hamsters are omnivores. After all when going to the pet store usually the only food the hamster is seen eating are the pellets that come out of a bag (which the pet store conveniently sells).

Hamsters can be fed fruit, such as apples or pears. They can also be fed protein in the form of live crickets, small pieces of cooked chicken or beef, or even bits of dog food. Pork is considered too fatty for them.

In the wild some hamsters actually hunt in packs. Think of them as a group of furry, mini wolf pack or raptors and you might laugh.

Lights, Camera, Action!

TIP: Photograph your pet

While you might be able to put a hamster in your pocket to show all your friends, they are referred to pocket pets after all, carrying a bunch of photos is easier. A live hamster might bite your friend with the new stink, and get hurt as your friend reacts by flinging the hamster in the air (purely unintentional). Also the hamster may try to escape by eating it's way out of your pocket.

Photos come in handy should your hamster escape from it's habitat and you need people to know what your hamster looks like. You can also use photos to show how your pet has the changed over time (eg. "Wow, I can't believe my hamster was sooo small. Look how freakishly fat it looks now!").

For added fun you can also take videos of your pet.  Just look at all the internet footage of cats and dogs.  Gads! (I encourage all you budding film makers out there to make your pet videos interesting, here's a small tip - good sound helps)

low res (mushy version) version

I took photos of Captain Hill during her lifetime and having photos is a way to remember her.  Hopefully she's somewhere still having adventures and snack foods.  Here's an Apple movie trailer I created using the iMovie app on the iPad using some of the photos.

high res (not as mushy?) version

Oddly enough this video does not show up in safari on my iPad.

Cleaning House

I once attempted to clean a part of the cage while Captain Hill was sleeping in another section. Whoops! She woke up and started exploring.

Hamster Tip

When cleaning the hamster cage, especially if you own a habitrail or other cage of modular design, a good place to temporarily place a hamster is the bathtub. Make sure the tub is dry and place a towel in the tub so the hamster isn't sitting on a cold surface. Also, very important, make sure the tub is plugged. You don't want the hamster trying to explore the drain.

If you own other pets make sure they are locked outside of the bathroom. A hamster in a tub is an easy mark for a cat.

Chew chew cha boggie

Hamster Fact:

Hamster teeth constantly grow. Hamsters have to wear down their teeth by nibbling things.

It's important to allow your hamster to have access to things to nibble on. I bought a loofah for Captain Hill that looked like a miniature corn and a pumice stone in the form of a gray cube for Peppy and the Professor.

The Corn Loofah


What? A loofah?

At first I thought these things were for the hamster to use while taking mini showers.  They are actually meant for chewing.  Captain Hill crawled up to the loofah and gave me this look (see photo) and never went near the loofah again. I would say that the loofah was a poor choice for hamster chewing. There may be hamsters out there that like chewing on loofahs, Captain Hill didn't seem to go for it.

The Pumice Cube


The Professor treats the cube as an obstacle.

The item that looks like a mini Borg space ship made of pumice rock was introduced into the living quarters of Peppy and The Professor.  I haven't seen them grinding their teeth on it or even try to nibble on it.  It serves more as a thing to stand on or an obstacle that takes up space and gets in the way.  This is another product I would not recommend for hamsters.

The hamster chews these

As luck would have it hamsters (at least my hamsters) have been found to like a few things that are readily available from the store.

The Snak Shak Taking the form of a tiki hut, the Snak shak is made of edible material. If you don't have enough space in your cage for a tikihut, superpet also makes bridges of various sizes and logs out of the same material. Captain Hill demolished a small bridge by nibbling it until there was nothing there.


Captain Hill chewing on the snak shak.

Wood Chews these come in a variety of shapes and colors from rolling dinosaurs, to watermelons, and flat discs. Captain Hill loved the dinosaur and would chew on it on a regular basis. I also used the dinosaur as a peanut butter dispenser when serving a special treat was required.


Prepare for chewing


Captain Hill loves the wooden dinosaur



Links to items mentioned

Words to live by

Adventure is out there!

Nothing ever happened to people that stayed inside. Unless you were in a trailer during a tornado (and that would probably have been bad). With weather being so uninviting, especially if you live in the east coast getting pummelled by snow, it's difficult to even think about going outside. I say "Dress for the weather and get out there. There's so much to see." Be like a hamster and go out there and explore who cares what the weather is like? Have fun, be adventurous!

Captain Hill

Captain Hill escapes

When I got my hamster from the pet store (P.J.'s Pets) they put the hamster in a small cardboard box to make it easier to transport back home

On the way home the hamster had found a small opening. The hamster expanded the hole by nibbling the surrounding cardboard. It was because of this that I decided to call the hamster "Captain Hilts" after the Steve McQueen character in "The Great Escape".

Later on, shortly after arriving at home, I realized the hamster was female. Not that it really matters as Hilts is a last name but I altered the name (possibly for copyright reasons and) as a nod to my friend Hillary Martin who, like the hamster, seems to go off on the odd exciting adventures. And so Captain Hill was the official name.

In an internet world of a lot of cat and dog photos, this blog is dedicated to my pet hamsters, sharing knowledge about owning a hamster, and sharing photos and stories. I will attempt post once each week on Monday at 9:00am (Eastern Standard time). Stay tuned.

Let the adventures begin...