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Harry Littlewood RIP
This article is about Harry Littlewood who began breeding hamsters after he retired and did so for about 20 years. He ran the website Hammy’s World, which educated a lot of people for many years and helped them. Unfortunately I can’t link it because it’s not https but it is still there if anyone wants to have a look – just google Hammy’s World. It is still being maintained for viewing, although apparently it may now be put into a database so his writing is not lost.
This was an era when it was quite normal to obtain a hamster from a breeder in the Uk, and there were quite a number of caring committed breeders.
Harry died a few years ago, and his daughter, Christine, kindly agreed to give me more information and to us publishing a piece about him and his work with hamsters.
He knew a lot about hamsters, loved them and liaised with people at Manchester University over genetics and colours to ensure he had the best combinations for breeding healthy hamsters.
Christine informed me he used to open up his premises for people to visit, to learn all about hamsters and to educate children. And he wanted his website to also be fully accessible for children and to educate others about hamsters, plus his photographs were all free to download or share.
Harry continued to breed the hamsters he loved throughout his retirement, until he began to have mobility issues and then just kept a few at home.
His Adopted Hamsters
You can see from his website, he also rescued hamsters sometimes, and at one point, adopted some eyeless whites as his own pets, and looked after them. Although they were disabled by the genetic issue, he described their unique personalities and behaviours and how to care for them.
Eyeless whites are the result of inappropriate breeding and hopefully rarely seen now. The genetic condition is caused by two hamsters with the white bellied gene being bred together, and pedigree breeders know these two colourings should never be bred together.
This is a quote from Harry’s piece about Eyeless Whites, from his website
“The eyeless white are profoundly deaf as well as blind, but are just as easy if not easier to tame than a sighted one.
Care has to be exercised when approaching and handling this kind of hamster as they can be very nervous and a little jumpy. I have 2 rescued eyeless white that I keep at the moment as pets. One is a long haired male, and the other a short haired female. The eyeless whites cannot see or hear, so just touching them without warning can frighten the living day lights out of them. I blow gently through the cage bars onto the hamsters to give them warning that I am about to move the cage and pick them up. Once accustomed to this it keeps them calm.”
“Eyeless hamsters will feed normally and are generally very active. Another problem with the 'Eyeless Whites' is they seem to loose all comprehension of time and seem not to know if it is day time or night time. So can be awake mostly during the day and or evenings.
Because of other Anatomical abnormalities associated with this condition the life expectancy of the eyeless white is somewhat shortened to around 9-12 months, with around 9 month being the norm.”
His website was a wealth of information for those concerned about hamster illnesses, describing eye conditions, fur loss and other diseases. He gained a lot of experience from keeping hamsters and Christine informed me that Manchester University wanted him to work with them on creating information for hamsters, but he preferred to publish his own site.
Dietary Knowledge
Harry was ahead of his time in understanding how diet can affect hamsters positively or negatively. And his list of unsafe foods is almost as accurate now as it was then (the odd thing has changed due to later research, but not very much). His articles were always enjoyable to read and with much thought put into them.
Here are a few short quotes from his piece about hamster diets.
“Most of the ailments associated with hamsters in captivity today can be attributed to the ignorance of modern day man, and our modern way of living. Almost 90% of the ailments of hamsters in captivity are directly or indirectly linked to the diet and the hamsters eating habits. Hamsters will eat or have a go at almost any food that is offered to them. They cannot decide for themselves what is bad or what is good for them, and care must be exercised when it comes to feeding your pet. Their diet is a major contributing factor in their dispositions and a correct diet is crucial for his health and well being.”
“Hamsters in captivity today are still descendents of their wild counterparts, and their instincts remain exactly the same, as do their nutritional requirements. Although their exact nutritional requirements are still not quite fully understood, we must try and emulate that of their ancestors from what we already know by maintaining a well-balanced diet.
When feeding hamsters keeping their food as natural as possible will increase your pet hamster’s chance of leading a long healthy and trouble free life. Feeding hamsters food that has been processed for human consumption is an absolute no-no! Also bear in mind that processed food contains additives, and processing also reduces the nutritional value of the food. Preservatives are added or created during the processing that can have adverse health effects on your hamster. Food processing is used mainly to produce attractive and marketable food products in which to give it a longer shelf life supermarket shelves; this is done by adding salts, sugars, colouring, and preserving agents in higher than safe or recommends quantities.”
A Valuable Resource
Harry shared his knowledge, and for a long time his website was a go-to resource for anyone who wanted to know anything about hamsters. He has information about cheek pouches and the risk of impaction, various eye conditions, different types of fur loss and the causes, bumblefoot and much more.
His advice on avoiding cages with “tubes and gadgets” was also good, saying fully grown hamsters may get stuck in them. He had a very interesting and helpful piece about the causes of fur loss in hamsters.
Cushings Disease
Harry had one of the few (if not the only at that time) in-depth pieces of information on the internet about Cushings disease in hamsters, the causes, symptoms and how to determine if fur loss is due to old age or Cushings disease. And he was also clear that even vets sometimes can’t tell if it’s Cushings or old age fur loss, which is still the case. Very few vets can categorically diagnose Cushings by means of a blood test as it's rarely available. Some cases are more easily diagnosed than others depending on specific symptoms, which can vary.
At the end of this article on Cushings is a lovely little paragraph:
“In the 20 years I have bred and cared for hamsters, my hands on personal experience has taught me a great deal about these adorable amazing little creatures by giving me a deep perception and understanding of their most common indispositions.
At first sight of fur loss I tend to put it down to old age until the sign of anything different starts to become more evident.
Hamsters can lose fur or get skin problems at any stage in life due to disease or non-disease conditions. Inc: but not limited to heat, dietary deficiencies, vitamin deficiencies, and parasitic infestations. Parasites can inc: but not limited to Mites, Fleas and Ringworm. So if you begin to see fur loss on your little pet don't leap to conclusions. Just make sure he has his bus pass, and his pension is in order, Oh!! and a zimmer might come in handy.”
Photo of Harry Littlewood, courtesy of his daugher Christine
His early life story growing up/autobiography is in a book that has been published by his daughter, Christine called “Stockport by gaslight” which is available from [email protected]. Obviously there is no mention of hamsters in it as it was his early life!
Note: Please note Harry's website, information and situations are of their time, and although some things have changed, this was the norm of its time and most of Harry’s information and writings are still very relevant.
I have sent the link to this post/thread to Harry's daughter Christine.
This article is about Harry Littlewood who began breeding hamsters after he retired and did so for about 20 years. He ran the website Hammy’s World, which educated a lot of people for many years and helped them. Unfortunately I can’t link it because it’s not https but it is still there if anyone wants to have a look – just google Hammy’s World. It is still being maintained for viewing, although apparently it may now be put into a database so his writing is not lost.
This was an era when it was quite normal to obtain a hamster from a breeder in the Uk, and there were quite a number of caring committed breeders.
Harry died a few years ago, and his daughter, Christine, kindly agreed to give me more information and to us publishing a piece about him and his work with hamsters.
He knew a lot about hamsters, loved them and liaised with people at Manchester University over genetics and colours to ensure he had the best combinations for breeding healthy hamsters.
Christine informed me he used to open up his premises for people to visit, to learn all about hamsters and to educate children. And he wanted his website to also be fully accessible for children and to educate others about hamsters, plus his photographs were all free to download or share.
Harry continued to breed the hamsters he loved throughout his retirement, until he began to have mobility issues and then just kept a few at home.
His Adopted Hamsters
You can see from his website, he also rescued hamsters sometimes, and at one point, adopted some eyeless whites as his own pets, and looked after them. Although they were disabled by the genetic issue, he described their unique personalities and behaviours and how to care for them.
Eyeless whites are the result of inappropriate breeding and hopefully rarely seen now. The genetic condition is caused by two hamsters with the white bellied gene being bred together, and pedigree breeders know these two colourings should never be bred together.
This is a quote from Harry’s piece about Eyeless Whites, from his website
“The eyeless white are profoundly deaf as well as blind, but are just as easy if not easier to tame than a sighted one.
Care has to be exercised when approaching and handling this kind of hamster as they can be very nervous and a little jumpy. I have 2 rescued eyeless white that I keep at the moment as pets. One is a long haired male, and the other a short haired female. The eyeless whites cannot see or hear, so just touching them without warning can frighten the living day lights out of them. I blow gently through the cage bars onto the hamsters to give them warning that I am about to move the cage and pick them up. Once accustomed to this it keeps them calm.”
“Eyeless hamsters will feed normally and are generally very active. Another problem with the 'Eyeless Whites' is they seem to loose all comprehension of time and seem not to know if it is day time or night time. So can be awake mostly during the day and or evenings.
Because of other Anatomical abnormalities associated with this condition the life expectancy of the eyeless white is somewhat shortened to around 9-12 months, with around 9 month being the norm.”
His website was a wealth of information for those concerned about hamster illnesses, describing eye conditions, fur loss and other diseases. He gained a lot of experience from keeping hamsters and Christine informed me that Manchester University wanted him to work with them on creating information for hamsters, but he preferred to publish his own site.
Dietary Knowledge
Harry was ahead of his time in understanding how diet can affect hamsters positively or negatively. And his list of unsafe foods is almost as accurate now as it was then (the odd thing has changed due to later research, but not very much). His articles were always enjoyable to read and with much thought put into them.
Here are a few short quotes from his piece about hamster diets.
“Most of the ailments associated with hamsters in captivity today can be attributed to the ignorance of modern day man, and our modern way of living. Almost 90% of the ailments of hamsters in captivity are directly or indirectly linked to the diet and the hamsters eating habits. Hamsters will eat or have a go at almost any food that is offered to them. They cannot decide for themselves what is bad or what is good for them, and care must be exercised when it comes to feeding your pet. Their diet is a major contributing factor in their dispositions and a correct diet is crucial for his health and well being.”
“Hamsters in captivity today are still descendents of their wild counterparts, and their instincts remain exactly the same, as do their nutritional requirements. Although their exact nutritional requirements are still not quite fully understood, we must try and emulate that of their ancestors from what we already know by maintaining a well-balanced diet.
When feeding hamsters keeping their food as natural as possible will increase your pet hamster’s chance of leading a long healthy and trouble free life. Feeding hamsters food that has been processed for human consumption is an absolute no-no! Also bear in mind that processed food contains additives, and processing also reduces the nutritional value of the food. Preservatives are added or created during the processing that can have adverse health effects on your hamster. Food processing is used mainly to produce attractive and marketable food products in which to give it a longer shelf life supermarket shelves; this is done by adding salts, sugars, colouring, and preserving agents in higher than safe or recommends quantities.”
A Valuable Resource
Harry shared his knowledge, and for a long time his website was a go-to resource for anyone who wanted to know anything about hamsters. He has information about cheek pouches and the risk of impaction, various eye conditions, different types of fur loss and the causes, bumblefoot and much more.
His advice on avoiding cages with “tubes and gadgets” was also good, saying fully grown hamsters may get stuck in them. He had a very interesting and helpful piece about the causes of fur loss in hamsters.
Cushings Disease
Harry had one of the few (if not the only at that time) in-depth pieces of information on the internet about Cushings disease in hamsters, the causes, symptoms and how to determine if fur loss is due to old age or Cushings disease. And he was also clear that even vets sometimes can’t tell if it’s Cushings or old age fur loss, which is still the case. Very few vets can categorically diagnose Cushings by means of a blood test as it's rarely available. Some cases are more easily diagnosed than others depending on specific symptoms, which can vary.
At the end of this article on Cushings is a lovely little paragraph:
“In the 20 years I have bred and cared for hamsters, my hands on personal experience has taught me a great deal about these adorable amazing little creatures by giving me a deep perception and understanding of their most common indispositions.
At first sight of fur loss I tend to put it down to old age until the sign of anything different starts to become more evident.
Hamsters can lose fur or get skin problems at any stage in life due to disease or non-disease conditions. Inc: but not limited to heat, dietary deficiencies, vitamin deficiencies, and parasitic infestations. Parasites can inc: but not limited to Mites, Fleas and Ringworm. So if you begin to see fur loss on your little pet don't leap to conclusions. Just make sure he has his bus pass, and his pension is in order, Oh!! and a zimmer might come in handy.”
Photo of Harry Littlewood, courtesy of his daugher Christine
His early life story growing up/autobiography is in a book that has been published by his daughter, Christine called “Stockport by gaslight” which is available from [email protected]. Obviously there is no mention of hamsters in it as it was his early life!
Note: Please note Harry's website, information and situations are of their time, and although some things have changed, this was the norm of its time and most of Harry’s information and writings are still very relevant.
I have sent the link to this post/thread to Harry's daughter Christine.
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