Page:The Golden Hamster Manual.djvu/12

 body odor, have high adaptability In both domestication and laboratory usefulness. They flourish in higher temperatures than tolerated by most strains of laboratory mice, rats, cavies or rabbits, and readily adapt themselves to sudden drops in temperature. Thus, by nature, the hamster has many advantages as servant of both education and science.

Natural tameness, inquisitiveness and adaptability make them delightful animals to propagate and use. Hamster fondness for attention attracts adults and children alike to watch the climbing, nesting and pen habits of these interesting creatures. Year around breeding normally occurs In domestication. Size of adults may be greatly modified by care and feeding. Likewise may care, feeding, pens and certain scientific practices exert important controls over date of weaning, as well as number, size, sex and quality of weaned young per litter. A profitable litter at 21 days may weigh 2 to 3 times as much as its mother. The importance of these considerations may not be overemphasized, and these are treated In detail in Parts IV and VIII. For instance, when a maximum number of well-developed females per litter are desired, either for sale, laboratory or one's own future breeders, some of the baby males may be removed from the litter about the 6th day, or earlier when caretaker becomes more experienced. Thus, one weans females in best number and quality per litter to make greater profit. Consult Chapter 31 for Illustrations of sex organs during early periods, and Chapter 30 for culling directions which may double sales value of the litter.

FISHERMEN! While reducing litter count for specific purposes as suggested, young hamsters purposely culled from litters at 3 to 12 days may be preserved frozen or in brine for future fish bait. Such have all game fish bait attractiveness of grubs, or of baby rats, mice or opossums of same age. See Baits, Chapter 37, and Other Uses In Chapter 38.

As an example of what one may expect in operating a small hamstery, the author offers this comment from his own experience. He Is interested in research, rather than commercial profit from hamsters. But his care, housing, feeding and incidental costs are the same as for outright commercial production. At times during World War II, he used as many as 24 pens, built in units of 2 to 4 pens each, mostly 4-pen units. Such pens required a total floor space of about 2 by 3 feet, and housed from 4 to 8 females in continuous production—together with the breeding males, unweaned and weaned young, plus additional laboratory stock shipped In for such war-time research—frequently a total of 100 to 160 animals in his own basement. These never furnished enough noise or odor to be detected even faintly up In the house itself. Every pen had self- cleaning area in floor, such as shown in Chapters 19, 22 and 23. A hobby basis producer not engaged in research would not need as many pens on the basis of only 6 or less hamsters in production. Most of the work with them was done after 9:30 p. m., with the exception of time required showing them to guests in the same field of interest, and in the conducting of certain experiments in connection with such visits. Little time is required for their care. The quiet, unoffensive nature of these creatures is much to their advantage as pets, hobby subjects, money makers, and, most important, as laboratory animals.