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Considerations for your pocket pet: Provide a secure cage to keep your pet safe. Clean the cage as often as needed, at least weekly, to keep it fresh smelling and free of any harmful bacteria or waste that could encourage disease. Use wood shavings appropriate for your pet. Some wood gives off oils that may be toxic for your pet. Ask for recommendations at your local pet store. Provide with fresh drinking water, and make sure that water is always available. To help keep the water clean and your pet dry, provide water in a bottle.

	New hamster owners should know that many hamsters do not do well with friends of their own kind. When adopting a hamster consider that you will want to have time to spend with your new friend, because they will not enjoy having another hamster as a companion. Hamsters tend to be solitary by nature. Your new pet may enjoy exercising on a wheel or gnawing on a chew or treat stick for entertainment.

Having gerbils can be a lot of fun for children. They are very active, and can spend hours exercising on wheels. They can also be great for recycling old cardboard toilet paper rolls, since they love to shred them up!