Training Your Pet Hamster [Paperback]

No offense to Nintendo or Microsoft, but there really is life beyond the cursor!

I am one of very few in Egypt who bothers owning pets - I have a hamster, an African Grey Parrot (see my reviews on Keeping African Grey Parrots, and of The African Grey Parrot Handbook), plus two lovebirds, two cockatiels, two dogs, one cat and four tortoises. I thus have found Amazon a great source for pet keeping books.

Another good book for hamster enthusiasts is HAMSTERS, A COMPLETE PET OWNER'S MANUAL. I have, though, chosen TRAINING YOUR PET HAMSTER as the must-have. Buy it before you get or give the pet hamster!

For beginners, they'll get basic information.

The title is misleading as hamster training isn't the focus of the book. There is a little on the idea of clicker training and conditioned response, but this part is very thin.

In fact the book goes more in depth on the author's personal preferences for cages. They laud Crittertrail and SAM set-ups glossing over the cons of using these types (like these are easy for a Hamster to escape from), while presenting very minor disadvantages as major ones in other set-ups like 10 gallon aquariums (like cleaning it)or wire cages (can't use tubes). I'm afraid that having to take a bit of effort to hose a cage down, or providing alternative tunnelling toys are nothing compared to ESCAPING!

They do not mention how much cage room a hamster actually needs. If they had this would discount their favorite cages.

Still, that would only make this a 4-star book and I gave it 3.

This is because when going over the information for choosing a hamster, they don't have their priorities straight. When talking about going to a breeder they list that breeders have breeds and coat colors not available at pet shops as the first reason. Then almost as an afterthought tag on a sentence that the hamsters would be hand tamed and used to humans.

As someone who appreciates an animal for themselves this kind of attitude is extremely elitist and snobby. As if an animal's worth is only in its looks and the joy in having it is to show off that rare color or breed.

In addition, much of what is said is taken off verbatim from various Internet sites. Based on the copyright dates of the book and update information on the websites I know it's not the other way around.

Despite this, this would be a pretty basic book to get if you are thinking of owning a hamster. However, I would recommend the Hamtaro Hamster Care Guide instead.