The Hamster Handbook (Barron's Pet Handbooks)

Rating:
Summary: Only Book for your Hamu that you'll ever need
Review: I was so lucky to come across this book! It's deceptively small and thin because in fact, it is chock full of information on every single subject pertaining to hamsters! It takes the basic tenets of any hamster care guide and expands on it tremendously. You get a FULL history of hamsters, a FULL guide to nutrition and health, exercise, hamster language, breeding . . . it even has information on showing your hamster and on hamster clubs and organizations. This book has absolutely everything you will need to know! You are mistaken if you think you can get through it in one sitting!

A very attractive factor also, is that the author has had tons of experience with making lots of tools/habitats/toys/wheels/breeding shelves herself, and gives you all the information you need to make your own! She does not endorse any product or suggest you buy certain things the way other books do - she will tell you what your hamster needs, and more often than not, she will tell you how to make them! For example, you can make a hamster litterbox out of a juice box (instead of buying an expensive one like I did).

MOST IMPORTANTLY - it is very evident that the author LOVES hamsters. She writes with affection, care and passion. It was as though the book was written out of love! She talks fondly and sweetly of her own hamsters (she owns and breeds over 70 with her husband) and really makes you feel "okay" for being hopelessly in love with your own hamster :).

Oh, and, it's got the most adorable, beautiful hamster photographs you've ever seen.

Buy this book, and you will never need another, or if you insist on buying more than one, this is a *must* for your collection!

Rating:
Summary: Any other hamster book is just a lie.
Review: There is so much information in this book, it tells you everything that a hamster owner should know with out fluffing it up with jargon and trade terms. It is a book that everyone, from an aspiring veternarian to a child, would enjoy. It makes you an instant expert! The best part about it is that it doesn't assume the reader is a seven-year-old kid prone to smashing his or her new pet. It assumes that the reader has a thirst for knowledge (not to say that it is too much for a child to understand). Bartlett also includes some anecdotes and makes the book very fun and easy to get through. It sorts through all the information on the internet and in other books and boils it down to what a new hamster owner needs to know and what they want to know. It would be wise to save yourself the trouble and buy this book rather than look online for hamster information or bother with another book, I think that I can say very confidently that ANY OTHER HAMSTER BOOK IS A LIE!

Rating:
Summary: Any other hamster book is just a lie.
Review: There is so much information in this book, it tells you everything that a hamster owner should know with out fluffing it up with jargon and trade terms. It is a book that everyone, from an aspiring veternarian to a child, would enjoy. It makes you an instant expert! The best part about it is that it doesn't assume the reader is a seven-year-old kid prone to smashing his or her new pet. It assumes that the reader has a thirst for knowledge (not to say that it is too much for a child to understand). Bartlett also includes some anecdotes and makes the book very fun and easy to get through. It sorts through all the information on the internet and in other books and boils it down to what a new hamster owner needs to know and what they want to know. It would be wise to save yourself the trouble and buy this book rather than look online for hamster information or bother with another book, I think that I can say very confidently that ANY OTHER HAMSTER BOOK IS A LIE!

Rating:
Summary: Very similar to Barron's other manual.
Review: This Hamster Handbook is very similar in information and binding quality to Barron's Complete Owner's Manual. Slightly redundant, but an essential guide for hamster owners. Barron's is an excellent company that publishes quality pet owner's guides. Their books on Golden Retrievers are also some of the best on the market. The authors have much expertise in this pet and others, and do not hesitate to document it on the page.