Re: Cold apartment

[Karen]

Hi, I live in San Francisco and its pretty cold in my apartment during the day and at night when I'm in bed. I only turn the heat on while I'm up and at home. I worry because syrian hamsters are from the desert. What can I do? Is it a problem?

[Yinx]

Hi,

Someone else posted a similar question on CHS. I shall paste the question & the response below :

Qn : I live in Hong Kong and the temperature has dropped down to 14 degrees celcius these few days and my normally sweet tempered hamster has tried to bite me today...on my band-aid...is it the cold weather
or is it the abnormal(to him)smell of my band-aid??? Please help me!!
<Andrea>

Ans : Yes, temperature can affect your hamsters. If they are trying to nest and you disturb them especially with a foreign smell on your hand they could bite.

You really want the temperature to stay higher then 14C; if you can manage it about 18C would be better for dwarves and a little higher than that for syrians.
<Doran>

[susany]

Hello Karen,

But i am not as detailed as Yinx has provided you. I am not sure about what temperature to keep hamsters in. But i can help you a bit.

Basically, from what i know, it is alright for hamsters if the heater is on at a moderate temperature. At least they are warm and nice. http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif

What i am worried is, do you keep the heater on when you are not at home? If your hamster is left at home without the heater, they might freeze to death if the weather gets really cold and freezing.

If you don't on your heater when you are out, this idea might help you. I suggested some ideas to a friend, and it seemed like it worked pretty well on her hamsters. Here goes...

I told my friend to put her hamster in a corner near/behind her fridge, where it is rather warm, to keep her hamster warm throughout and the temperature isn't that high, afterall, it is much colder than warm anyway. Also at times, she will put her hamster in a corner or even in the bath room, which has no wind and is much warmer.

She also puts her hamster cage with the cloth under her bed, as she lets her blankets spread out from her bed, with the extra sides of the blanket falling out of her bed and there her cage lays in the middle of her bed. http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif

I think you might find it rather comical to try all these, but it works!

I would also suggest that little houses with clothes in them might help to keep them warm too. Try to cover the cage with a thick cloth too, leaving a gap for air.

Also, if you are worried if your hamster is afraid of warm. Just as long as it is slightly warm, your hamster will enjoy the nice and warm temperature in their cage. http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif

Let me know if these few ideas works for you.

[Karen]

Thanks Yinx and Susany. Great info. I don't think my apartment gets below 50 degrees Farenheit, so maybe I don't have to worry about my hammy going into hibernation. But I sure would like to keep her warmer for her comfort. I wish I could put her cage by the fridge, thats a great idea. But alas no space, same with the bed. I will wrap her cage up better though. Has anyone tryed aquarium-type lights or any of the different reptile cage-heating products?