Jon Geppert, age 10, of Bridgeport, Conn., for his question:
HOW SHOULD I CARE FOR MY PET HAMSTER?
This project begins in the pet shop when you decide to buy the golden hamster, alias the Syrian hamster. This little charmer is prettier than ordinary types, also gentler and more playful. While you are about it, it is a good idea to buy a pair because the life span of a hamster is no longer than two or three years.
The golden hamster is a six inch bundle of soft honey ¬colored fur, weighing about one quarter pound. As a pet he has all sorts of advantages, though everything depends on giving him the proper care. A couple of hamsters feel at home in a pen or box that measures two feet on each side. The floor should be sturdy, or they may try to tunnel to freedom. It should be carpeted with sawdust or some other absorbent material, with one end deep enough to hoard a little surplus food.
The home should be kept where the temperature never drops below 70 deg., for your pets become lazy in cool weather. In winter weather, they hibernate until spring. In a warm cozy room they are active all year however, hamsters are busiest during the night and prefer to doze through most of the day.
Hamsters are natural grain eaters and their menu is mostly vegetarian. They enjoy scraps of lettuce and a wide variety of cereals and salad foods. Sometimes they enjoy nibbling a dog biscuit. It is fun to watch them eat because they stuff surplus food into their cheeks and carry it back to their storage pantries.
The average hamster is smart and lively and soon learns to welcome you with a twinkle in his bright eyes. He keeps his soft fur combed and clean, and parasite pests usually stay away from him. Best of all, he is a loving little character. As a matter of fact, he is happy and healthy only when you make a habit of taking him out of his box to cuddle him.
When the female is about two months old, she is ready to bear young. After mating, the male and female must be kept in separate boxes or they fight and may destroy each other. In a couple of weeks or so, she bears perhaps 15 blind and helpless babes. They feed on mother's milk for about three weeks. The female may bear a litter every six weeks during her first year. Then the old lady gives up childbearing, though with loving cares she may live to be three years old.