Pudding Hamster

1 Breed Overview

The Pudding Hamster — also nicknamed the cheek mouse, moving-store mouse, or sunflower mouse — is one of the more common varieties in the pet market. Its coat is yellow, very much like the color of a pudding, which is why it is called the Pudding Hamster, and it is much loved by hamster keepers.

In classification it belongs to the hamster family Cricetidae (phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, order Rodentia). It is a domesticated pet color morph rather than a distinct wild species, kept purely as a companion animal.

2 Morphological Characteristics

The Pudding Hamster’s coat color is very special; because of its unique fur color and gentle temperament it is very popular. So what are the special appearance traits and habits of this hamster? Let us tell you.

A Pudding Hamster with orange or gold stripes on its back is called a ‘yellow pudding’; one with milky-white fur is called a ‘white pudding.’ They have a very gentle personality, interact well with people, and are easy to care for, so they make a great small pet rodent for beginners or children. Like other pet hamsters, pudding hamsters take little space and are easy to feed and clean, with a tame personality. The pudding hamster fears heat and needs temperature control in summer. A pudding and a silver fox can produce a ‘golden fox,’ but the golden fox looks almost identical to the white pudding. This variety is rare, so its price is higher.

3 Care Essentials

More and more people keep hamsters as pets; their special cheek pouches make them cuter. The Pudding Hamster is also beloved for its unique coat and is a very commonly kept variety, so what should you watch when raising one?

One: The Pudding Hamster has a keen sense of smell. If you have handled its favorite food, it may smell it and think you are food, then bite you. Wash your hands before and after touching it.

Two: Your Pudding Hamster was co-housed at the pet shop. Although young hamsters have a weak territory sense, they still often fight cage-mates, so its temper may be short and it may be wary and hostile to other creatures. Spend time on a schedule with it to dissolve its hostility.

Three: If you and the hamster are not yet close but you keep poking it and grabbing it with your hand, it feels unsafe. Again, follow a step-by-step schedule to dissolve its hostility.

Four: The Pudding Hamster’s eyesight is poor; it may mistake your finger for food. When holding it in your hand, if your fingers are not together it may bite your finger as food — usually not hard, just a ‘kiss.’ So keep fingers together when holding it, but not too tight or you trap its feet. Best not to tease it with fingers, to cut bite risk.

Five: The Pudding Hamster has a strong territory sense. If you touched another hamster and your hand carries that smell, the little pudding will firmly drive away the ‘strange’ hamster (really your hand). So wash hands after touching other hamsters before handling your own.

Many owners have been bitten by Pudding Hamsters and ask whether they need a rabies vaccine. A hamster bite can transmit rabies (unlikely, but rabies is 100% fatal), so promptly clean the wound and get the rabies vaccine, and if needed the rabies immunoglobulin.

Wound care: immediately or as soon as possible rinse all bites and scratches with soapy water / detergent and plenty of clean water (about 15 minutes if possible); if available, apply an iodine-based or similar local antiviral agent. For deep, heavily contaminated wounds, consider tetanus prophylaxis and antibiotics to control infections other than rabies.

4 Living Environment

The Pudding Hamster’s ideal temperature is 20–28°C, but that does not mean any change within the range is fine — for example 20°C at morning and evening but 28°C at noon is bad for it, because it is sensitive to temperature swings and its body may not cope. Keep the surrounding temperature as steady as possible. Also mind these supplies when setting up its home.

1. Bedding: aspen is better but pricier (nearly 50 yuan a pack). Many use pine (20–40+ yuan); pick the least dusty. Other options: paper, corn cob, wood-shaving sand.

2. Bath sand: WILD-308 about 65–90 yuan a pack, lasts about half a year and is reusable. Replace when it smells; if freshly changed sand is wetted by urine, just take out the wet part. Some use cat litter as bath sand — not advised; cat litter works OK as toilet sand but its grains are too big to remove bacteria from the fur.

3. Water: always use boiled water; pure water is best if possible (a nursing mother needs some fresh milk).

4. Chew items: special chew wood and mineral salt blocks exist, but the hamster may not like them; chew treats are more popular, 10–60 yuan. Never use disposable chopsticks or popsicle sticks.

5 Feeding Requirements

Although the Pudding Hamster is small, its food has many rules — what it can and cannot eat, and what can be given as supplements, all matter. Here is an analysis.

One: Edible foods.

1. Vegetables: greens (e.g. bok choy), carrot, pumpkin (green-yellow vegetables preferred).

2. Seeds: sunflower seeds, peanuts, walnuts, pine nuts (not too many), safflower seeds, hemp seeds.

3. Fruits: apple, strawberry, cherry, banana, grape (high sugar, don’t give much).

4. Grains: wheat, corn, millet, oats.

5. Plants: clover, dandelion, kudzu, plantain.

6. Animal protein: beef, chicken, boiled egg white, small insects, pet dried fish.

Two: Harmful foods.

1. Fruits: almond, plum, loquat, peach, nectarine, apple seeds (cause heart paralysis, digestive trouble, breathing difficulty).

2. Vegetables: onion, scallion leaves (break down blood components), garlic, ginger, leek, celery (too irritating), and tomato and potato leaves and stems.

3. Plants: daffodil, tulip, morning glory, azalea, orchid, sweet flag, hyacinth, fern, cyclamen, hydrangea, bellflower, and other fern-like or bulb plants, iris.

4. Other: human snacks, biscuits, chocolate, coffee (these two cause heart paralysis), alcohol.

Three: Supplements.

1. Mealworms: very high protein, the best of supplements; don’t feed too many a day.

2. Dried small fish: calcium and animal protein; older hamsters can have it ground into powder.

3. Nutrition paste: sold in stores, in deep-sea fish oil and cherry flavors.

4. Nutrition water: sold in stores, 100–150 yuan.

5. Glucose water: buy glucose at a pharmacy, mix 1:10 with water; boosts appetite.

6. Artificial baby food: sold in supermarkets, feed about 0.5 cc at a time, keep refrigerated.

7. Small-animal milk replacer: available at most hamster-supply shops; mix 1 packet with 10 cc water; the hamster drinks little, judge the amount, and serve at once.