Small Animals Care Guide

Small Animal Housing

When looking to house a hamster or a gerbil it is advised that you select either a metal/plastic cage or an aquarium that has a secure lid. However if you are looking to house a chinchilla it is best advised that the cage is made from wire mesh with a raised wire mesh floor to prevent the coat becoming soiled, it is also a good idea to keep a removable tray underneath the cage so that the cage will be easy to clean. The cage size for a single chinchilla should be 45cm x 45cm x 45cm which is larger than a hamster or gerbils cage. The position of your small animals housing should be away from drafts or excessive heat sources and out of reach of any other pets you may have.

Small Animal Feeding

When feeding your hamster or gerbil it is advised that you provide a balanced diet of grains, seeds and nuts all of which are available in pelleted form from Prestwood Petzone. In addition to the diet of your small animal you can include a small amount of greenery or carrots, to supplement your small animals diet it is also a good idea to add vitamin drops to their drinking water or add a vitamin supplement to keep your pet in peak condition. Chinchillas require a much different diet to other small animals such as specially prepared chinchilla pellets and hay to provide roughage to their diet, it is very important that you do not use hamster or rabbit pellets for your chinchilla as this will greatly affect its life span. To provide calcium to your pet chinchillas diet a cuttlefish bone is an excellent supplement. Water should be provide for all small animals and replaced daily in a specialised feeding bottle dependent on the small animal you have as a pet

Small Animal Handling

When handling your small animal it is important that you are gentle when you are looking to pick up your pet as you may injure the animal. The best way in which to pick up your small animal is to scoop the animal from underneath using both hands, this should be done slowly with the cupping of both of your hands together. You must always make sure that you have a firm grip of the animal to avoid dropping the small animal or it slipping out of your hands.

Small Animal Toys & Decor

An important factor in keeping your small pet is to ensure that the correct flooring is used in the cage of your animals housing. The best flooring for your pet hamster would be sawdust or a fine wood shaving, gerbils prefer peat on the floor of their housing as it enables them to burrow through the peat with around 5-10cm being an adequate depth. In order to provide a nesting area for your small animal it is a good idea to place a soft bedding material in one area of the small animals housing. A soft proprietary bedding material made from natural fibre is an adequate bedding solution. A hamster ball provides a great way for your pet to exercise in a controlled manor there are many toys available for your small animals with a selection of toys available to view on the small animal products page of this website.

Small Animal General Care

Chinchillas have a dense coat and will need to keep their coat in good condition, to do this they will need a dust bath which involves placing a metal container in the cage with 5cm of chinchilla sand so that the chinchilla can roll in the sand to clean its coat. The dust bath should be placed in the chinchillas cage once a day for ten minutes. Your hamster will groom itself with its own paws however you should keep an eye on the size of the hamsters teeth so that they do not become overgrown, to help prevent this provide your hamster with a hard chewing material to stop the teeth from becoming too large. Gerbils may encounter a sore nose and is often caused due to the use of unsuitable litter material and can be easily changed to stop the gerbils nose from being sore.