3,719 answers about small mammals
Rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats and ferrets are small pets with big care needs — the right hay, safe housing, gentle handling and early signs of illness. This page gathers the small-mammal library of KinsLe Answers in one place, organized by topic. Every answer is original, written by KinsLe, and tied to a real KinsLe feature.
242 answers in Young Pets — page 6 of 11
Start by giving a young prairie dog room to dig, hide, and watch before expecting handling, because this highly social burrower settles through routine and company more than through cuddles. Set up a deep bedding area for tunnelling, a solid floor, hay to graze and rearrange, and a quiet corner away from household…
Help a young Netherland Dwarf rabbit settle by preparing a quiet, secure pen with a low-sided litter tray, a small hide he can back into, unlimited hay, his familiar measured food and water at a height he can reach, then sitting on the floor and letting him investigate you rather than reaching for him. This tiny breed…
Help a young Mini Lop rabbit settle by preparing his pen in advance with a hide, litter tray, unlimited hay, his familiar food and both a bowl and bottle of water, then letting him walk out of the carrier and explore while you sit quietly at his level. Mini Lops are mid-sized, generally friendly youngsters who settle…
Help a young lionhead rabbit settle by setting up a calm pen with his hide, litter tray, unlimited hay and familiar food before he arrives, letting him emerge from the carrier himself, and keeping the first days quiet with hand-fed greens as your main interaction. His long mane needs gentle attention from the start, a…
Help your young Holland Lop settle by preparing a quiet pen with her hide, litter tray, unlimited hay and familiar food before she arrives, placing her in it at floor level and letting her explore without being scooped up for the first day. Holland Lops are gentle but can be quietly stressed rather than theatrically…
Help a young Flemish Giant settle by preparing genuinely giant accommodation before he arrives, a pen or room corner where he can stretch fully, stand and take several hops, with a heavy water bowl, unlimited hay and a large hide, then letting him explore it at floor level without being picked up. Young Flemish Giants…
Help a young Dumbo rat settle by bringing him home with, or quickly introducing him to, a same-sex rat companion, setting up a large cage with low hammocks, ropes and hides before he arrives, and spending the first days letting him come to you for treats inside and just outside the cage. Dumbo rats, named for the…
Help a young Chinese hamster settle by moving him into a fully prepared, escape-proof tank or fine-barred cage with deep bedding for burrowing, his familiar seed mix scattered rather than bowled, a solid wheel and several small hides, then leaving him to map it undisturbed for the first day or two. Chinese hamsters…
Help a young African pygmy hedgehog settle by having his warm enclosure fully ready before he arrives, heated to the steady warm range he needs, with a fleece hide, his wheel, and the exact food he was eating, then letting him sleep through his first day undisturbed. Hedgehogs are nocturnal and solitary, so settling…
Help your young Abyssinian guinea pig settle by setting his cage up completely before he arrives, with unlimited hay, a hide for every pig, his familiar pellets and vegetables, and then giving him a quiet first day with food placed near the hide so he can eat without feeling exposed. Abyssinians are social, vocal…
Find good homes responsibly by planning before the litter is weaned: line up homes with people you can question properly, check that each home has the right cage, food and knowledge for the species, keep babies until they are fully weaned and eating confidently, and never let littermates go as an unplanned mixed-sex…
Care for baby Syrian hamsters by leaving the litter alone with their mother for the first two weeks, with no handling and no nest disturbance, keeping her food and water quietly topped up in a calm room. Pups are born hairless and blind, fur up in the first week, open their eyes at around two weeks, and begin eating…
Care for a baby sugar glider by leaving the joey in the mother's pouch for roughly the first two months of life, then, once he emerges, keeping him warm against the family group, offering the nectar, protein and fruit components of the parents' established diet in soft forms, and handling him gently inside a bonding…
Care for baby rats by keeping the litter with their mother in a secure cage with fine bar spacing, letting them nurse for the first four to five weeks while they grow from hairless pups through a playful, eyes-open stage at around two weeks. Handle pups briefly and gently from the second week, because rats socialised…
Care for a baby rabbit by keeping the litter in the nest their mother has lined with her own fur, checking once a day that each kit is warm, round-bellied and growing, and otherwise leaving the family alone, because a doe feeds her young only once or twice a day and may seem to ignore them. Kits are born blind and…
Care for baby mice by leaving the litter with their mother in a secure, fine-barred cage, undisturbed apart from quiet food and water refills for the first week, because mouse pups, called pinkies at birth, are hairless, blind and wholly dependent. They fur up within the first week, open their eyes at around two…
Care for a baby hedgehog, or hoglet, by leaving the family strictly alone for the first two weeks, keeping the mother's cage warm, quiet and undisturbed, with food and water topped up silently and no cleaning of the nest area. Hoglets are born blind with soft spines that harden within days, nurse for the first weeks,…
Care for a baby guinea pig by keeping him with his mother in a roomy, draught-free cage, where he will nurse for about three weeks while copying her at the hay rack and vegetable bowl from his first days, since guinea pig pups are born furred, eyes open and ready to nibble. Provide unlimited hay, the mother's usual…
Care for baby gerbils by leaving the family group undisturbed in a deep-bedded tank, letting the pups nurse for the first three to four weeks while both parents, since gerbil fathers help raise pups, stay with the litter unless your breeder advises otherwise. Pups are born hairless and blind, begin exploring and…
Care for a baby ferret, or kit, by keeping the litter with their mother in a quiet, escape-proof space, letting her nurse them for the first six weeks or so while you handle kits briefly from around three weeks to begin socialisation. Kits are born blind and deaf, open their eyes at around a month, and start sampling…
Care for a baby dwarf hamster by leaving the litter completely undisturbed with their mother for the first two weeks: no handling, no cage cleaning beyond a quiet spot-clean, and food and water placed where she can reach them without leaving the nest for long. Dwarf hamster pups are born hairless and blind, and a…
Care for a baby degu by keeping the litter with their mother in a large, chew-proof cage, letting them nurse while they begin nibbling hay and her plain pellets within the first weeks, and never offering sweet foods, because degus are highly prone to developing sugar-related health problems. Handle pups briefly each…
Care for a baby chinchilla by keeping him with his mother in a cool, dry, draught-free cage, letting him nurse and nibble her hay and pellets from the first days, and handling him only briefly and gently once he is steady on his feet. Chinchilla kits are born furred and active, so the real work is environmental: no…
Build the routine around your young small pet's own body clock: offer the main feed when he is naturally awake and active, keep hay or his staple food available at all times, and schedule short handling sessions of a few minutes at the same point each day, ending before he gets restless. Weigh him weekly at the same…
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