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HamstersFamily: Cricetidae
Latest Reader Comment - See More Hi! I went to Petsmart yesterday, and me and my mom saw these REALLY cute hamsters. They were males, but they had big lumps by their tail! It was very strange, but t... (more) Lily Tarrant 2008-11-09
Hamsters are nocturnal, so 90% of their waking hours are at night when the cage is dark. If you provide them with a wheel, they will run up to 8 miles per night!Hamsters are small animals which makes them easy to care for and inexpensive to keep. Their small size means they can be housed in relatively small cages, even an old birdcage or an aquarium can be used. They are gentle, attractive and amusing to watch. They are virtually odorless and are habitually clean. All this makes them great pets for anybody but especially for apartments or houses where space is at a premium.
Nowadays, hamsters come in many many different colors with different types of hair. "Pepper" pictured here is a Golden Hamster, and the three pictured at the top of the page are middle-sized Longhaired Golden Hamsters. The Golden Hamster was the original breed of middle sized hamster which has been bred successfully for many years and thrives as a domesticated pet. The Russian Dwarf Hamster is the most readily available of the dwarf varieties. Click here to see Russian Dwarf Hamsters!For information about Small Animals and their care visit:
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| Color varieties of Russian Dwarf Hamsters Phodopus sungoris campbelli |
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Tan
Russian Dwarf Hamsters
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Albino Russian Dwarf Hamsters |
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These
'Dwarf' hamsters are about five weeks old. Their adult size is about
3".
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Photos: Exotic Tropicals
Environment:
Hamsters can be housed in a cage, hutch, aquarium or terrarium.
The space should be at least 15 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 12 inches
deep so they can get plenty of exercise running around the cage. They
also need enough room to set up a toilet area in the cage, which they
will naturally do to keep the rest of the cage clean, a place for a nest,
a place to eat, and places to play. Keep in mind that they will readily
chew through wood, light plastic, and soft metal. Metal cages are generally
preferable to keep them from chewing their way out of the cage. Hamsters
are known to be good escape artists!
An advantage of a cage is that you can get one with multiple
levels which gives them lots of places to climb. A pan bottom on the cage
is nice too as this helps keep them from kicking their bedding out. Make
sure it has wire spacing no wider than 1/2". An aquarium will keep
the bedding contained so is less messy, but make sure you have a tight
fitting but well ventilated top so they don't escape. There are also a
variety of tubes that you can get that fit with various cages, or can
be adapted to an aquarium. These make it possible to expand their environment,
which they will love as they are very curious and busy.
Provide a good soft bedding that is clean,
non-toxic, absorbent, relatively dust free and easily acquired. Shredded
paper or tissue, processed corn cob, wood shavings (aspen is best), or
a prepared litter are preferred bedding. Avoid cedar or chlorophyll impregnated
shavings as they have been associated with respiratory and liver disease.
They love to burrow so make sure to give them a good layer, at least 2"
thick. Don't use blankets or towels as these may be eaten and will become
wet and dirty very quickly. Make sure you have a food dish (preferably
fastened to the cage) and a water bottle. Also provide your hamster an
exercise wheel. Many cages today come with additional accessories such
as an exercise wheel, tunnels, and nest boxes.
Care and feeding:
Hamsters, both dwarfs and regulars eat the same kinds of
foods. The best staple food is a hamster pellet which you can get at just
about any pet store. The prepared food will contain all of the vitamins
and minerals necessary for your hamster's nutrition. Go easy on the fruits
and vegetables but offer them once or twice a week. Never let perishable
food items stay in the cage for more than a few hours.
Chew sticks or hard pellets make great treats and are good
for hamsters that want to chew a lot. They will need a fresh supply of
water every day. A constant supply of milk can also be beneficial, especially
for bred females, nursing females, and babies. If you do provide milk,
make sure and remove it if it goes sour.
Activities - Exercise and Play:
Hamsters are very active little creatures that need
lots of excercise and love to play. They will be most active during the
night as they are nocturnal. A wheel is a great accessory for the cage,
and a single hamster can run up to 8 miles in one night on his wheel.
To offer a little more adventure, think about getting a hamster ball.
This offers your little pet an opportunity to run around a room without
getting loose or getting hurt.
They are so curious, that they can get lots of enjoyment
out of houses with several openings, ladders leading to different levels,
as well as tube and tunnel configurations. Many toys of this sort are
readily available at pet stores
Social Behaviors:
The general rule for hamsters is to keep only one animal
per cage. Only young hamsters can be housed together if given lots of
space and plenty of hiding places. Dwarf hamsters are somewhat an exception
to this rule as they will live together as families as long as they are
raised together. Putting dwarf hamsters together that don't know each
other often results in fighting.
Males are generally easier to keep together than females
but they may still fight over food and territory. Even when breeding a
male and a female are only placed together for short periods of time and
then removed (see Breeding, below).
Handling and Training:
Hamsters are naturally inquisitive little creatures
and taming them is simply a matter of gaining their confidence. Always
be patient, gentle, and move slowly. Making friends with your pet and
getting him accustomed to you can often be accomplished by offering tidbits
such as a peanut, raison or sunflower seed, which he will want to examine.
Never pick your pet up the the scruff of the neck. Hamsters
are nervous so always let him see the back of your hand first and extend
it slowly. If he does not run away from you, hold your hand above him
and then gently close it around his entire body, or scoop him up with
your palms on either side of his body. If he is scared, or lays on his
back in a defensive posture you will most likely get bitten if you try
to pick him up. In this case, use a small container for him to scurry
inside of until he gets comfortable with you.
Breeding/Reproduction:
Middle-sized or Golden Hamster:
If you want to breed hamsters the best thing to do is to
find a pair about six weeks old. Although they can breed when younger
than this, at about 35 days, it is better to breed them when they are
older, about ten weeks old or so. If you get the pair when they are six
weeks old, this will give them plenty of time to become comfortable with
the environment you provide before breeding them. In general, to be able
to care for her first litter, the female should be full sized and weigh
at least 100 grams (3.5 ounces). Litters from females who are too young
are often born dead or are too small so the mother will kill them. On
the other hand, don't wait too long to breed them either. The female will
usually have a maximum of six litters.
To breed the pair, take the female from her cage using a
scoop or cup (don't use your hand), and place her in the males' cage for
a while. If she is receptive, she will arch her back, raise her tail,
and stand still for some time. The actual breeding will last about 20
minutes or so after which you should return the female to her cage.
Clean her cage in the mean time since you shouldn't disturb
her for some time after breeding. Never put the male in the females' cage
since she will probably beat him up. The process of putting the female
in the males' cage may have to be done for 5 nights before anything happens.
Always return the female to her cage the same night. They may scuffle
at first but do not be alarmed, they will settle down quickly.
After breeding the female should be left undisturbed, except
for water and food of course, until the 12th day, at which time you should
do a major cleaning and replace all the bedding. This will give her about
4 days to make the nest and get comfortable with her surroundings. Put
in lots of bedding and plenty of food so you won't have to disturb her
too frequently. Don't handle her at all.
During pregnancy and while the mother is nursing provide high protein
and fatty foods like nuts, carrots, sunflower seeds, milk, milk soaked
bread, lettuce, wheat germ, and hard boiled eggs. Make sure the babies
can reach the water bottle. The mother will average about 8 puppies, but
anywhere from 2 to 16 can be born.
Don't touch the pups or clean the cage until they open their
eyes at about 16 days. Also don't separate the family and try not to touch
the babies. They can be weaned at 18 to 21 days at which time they should
weigh about 1 ounce. Since they are nearly mature when they are weaned,
males and females should be separated at this time (if possible).
Dwarf Hamsters:
Breeding dwarf hamsters is just a little different than the
Golden hamster since pairs or even colonies of adults can be kept together.
The advantage of the colony approach is that any aggression of the female
will be spread out over several males which makes it easier to correct
the situation before the male is killed.
The gestation period for dwarfs is 18 to 30 days but is usually
21 days. The males can be left in the cage and will actually help tend
the young. Sometimes the mother will chase them away but usually no harm
will come to them. The youngsters will open their eyes at about 15 days
and can be removed from the nest at 30 days.
Different species of dwarfs mature at different times and
have different life spans. More on this later when we establish a "Dwarf
hamster" page for this website.
Common health problems:
In general hamsters are healthy, hardy animals and
only need to see a veterinarian if they get ill or hurt.
There are no known ailments that effect only hamsters. A
number of ailments that can affect hamsters from time to time though are
listed below:
Skin Damage: Small cuts and other wounds to the skin can usually be taken care of by
the hamster himself. They will generally lick the area to clean it and
it will heal nicely. Only large gaping wounds need the attention of a
veterinarian.
Teeth: Hamsters teeth will continually grow and therefore you need to keep a
chew stick or hard dog biscuit in the cage for them to gnaw on. Actually
they will gnaw on just about everything including the cage, so the chew
stick is just directing their natural tendency to chew. Their teeth can
become broken or chipped in which case you can trim them with a nail clippers
or a small file.
Hair loss: Hair loss is normal for hamsters over 10 or 12 months of age. They will
gradually lose hair starting at the rump and moving forward as time goes
by. If your hamster is losing hair before it is 5 months old you should
consult a veterinarian.
Salmonellosis: A rare pet disease which comes from wild rodents, dirty water, or spoiled
foods. Salmonellosis is an intestinal tract infection that will require
veterinarian help. The signs of salmonella is a ruffled coat, loss of
appetite, and weight loss.
Pneumonia: A
serious lung infection whose signs are ruffled coat, lack of appetite,
runny nose, coughing, and sneezing. The animal needs to be taken to the
vet if these symptoms occur.
Colds: Symptoms are lack of activity, ears laid back, runny nose, sniffling,
and sneezing. Try not to handle your hamster if you have a cold but if
it does get a cold make sure to sterilize all water and food bowls and
keep the bedding real clean. Make sure there are no drafts on the hamster.
Offer plenty of good foods and supplement them with cod-liver oil to help
your hamster get over it.
Wet tail: A bacterial infection that causes diarrhea, ears laid back, loss of appetite,
and a fluid like discharge from the vent. The animals' hind quarters will
appear dirty and wet. There is a broad spectrum antibiotic called Drytail
which can help this condition if caught soon enough. Most pet stores should
have it, otherwise take the animal to a veterinarian.
Diarrhea: Different than wettail, diarrhea is not an infection and is usually caused
by overfeeding vegetables and fruits or maybe contaminated foods. Quit
feeding fruits and vegetables for a couple of days to see if it clears
up. If it doesn't, take the animal to a veterinarian. Another cure that
works on Chinchillas is to feed them shredded wheat biscuits. Again, the
condition should clear up in a few days.
Constipation: A condition that can also indicate wet tail, constipation can also result
from feeding pellets without adequate water. Apparently the pellets will
swell up in the intestine causing blockage if not enough water is available.
The cure is to provide plenty of water and to feed carrots, carrot tops,
and other fruits and vegetables. A cure used with Chinchilla's is to feed
the animal raisins.
Mange: Symptoms include the hamster shaking its head a lot, scratching at its'
ears, severe hair loss, and general poor appearance. Soon after this gray
scabs will appear on the nose, ears, and genitals. Take the animal to
a veterinarian who can prescribe a medicated bath. Make sure and sterilize
everything (cage, food dish, water bottle, etc.) while treating this condition.
Fleas, lice,
other skin disorders: Since hamsters spend a lot of time grooming
themselves, skin parasites are a rare problem. Generally dirty conditions
may provide breeding places for these types of pests so make sure and
provide a dry, clean environment. Fleas and lice can also be passed on
to the hamster from other pets like dogs and cats. A good flea powder
should eliminate this problem. Change the bedding just before using a
flea powder so any eggs that are about to hatch will be discarded.
Overgrown nails: If your hamsters' nails become too long, simply trim them with fingernail
clippers and emory board. Make sure not to trim them too close since they
have a blood vessel that extends a short ways into the nail (similar to
a cat).
Watery eyes: Any excess water around the eyes may indicate problems in the rear of
the cheek pouch. You may need to wash out the pouches with an eye dropper
or syringe (without the needle). This will remove any soft food that may
be caught in the back of the pouch. Also try to keep the hamster from
storing food in the pouches for awhile by feeding only soft foods and
not too much of them.
Lumps: Any lumps or bumps should be checked by a veterinarian.
Paralysis: This seems to be common among hamsters and is usually caused by a lack
of exercise, a spinal injury, or lack of vitamin D. Provide plenty of
exercise toys and supplement the diet with wheat germ and wheat germ oil
if your hamster seems to be losing the use of its' limbs. If it becomes
advanced, take the hamster to a veterinarian.
Availability/Purchasing your Hamster:
Both middle-sized and dwarf hamsters are readily available.
Click to see All the comments!
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Click to see all of the coolest comments!
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| Latest Comments |
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| Hi! I went to Petsmart yesterday, and me and my mom saw these REALLY cute hamsters. They were males, but they had big lumps by their tail! It was very strange, but the hamsters were SO SWEET! Seriously, they were so cute and sweet but the thing I didn't like about 'em was those lumps! I've never seen anything like it! Well, I might also get a hamster for Xmas because I didn't tell anyone what I wanted for it, and I made a new wish list and it says, "I want a cute hamster, plus all the items to take care of it!" Well, it said like a food bowl, exercise wheel and all of that stuff. ok, gotta go!
2008-11-09 |
| Hello everyone, by the way I'm Carlo from the Philippines. Got 7 dwarf hamsters in our house. Last october 26, my hamster named booboo gave birth, but after an hour the baby hamsters died. She didn't know how to take good care of the baby hamsters because it is her first born. I just would like to ask if it is normal in first timers female hamster. Thank yah guys....:)
2008-10-28 |
| Hi, my name is Hannah Wilkie. I have a golden brown teddy bear hamster. His name is Hennrey. His birthday is December 7th, and this year he turns one. Everybody in my family is crazy about him. He has never bitten anyone and is really sweet but crazy at the same time. His nicknames are Lil Dude, and Lil boy.
Hannah Wilkie
2008-10-26 |
| I have had a female Syrian Hamster (Black Bear) since June 22, 2008. Her name is Emmy and she's a complete sweet heart and even if she's in a bad mood, she will not bite! She loves too sit in front of me when I watch her, and cleans herself. She can stand on her back paws straight and perfectly and loves to run around my room without a ball, because she won't hide, just explore inside my shoes or under a blanket! Because she's so sweet, I am planning on breeding her with my Albino Syrian Hamster, Emmett, the goofball that loves to flip upsidedown to clean his stomach. I have asked around BEFORE even preparing to breed them, if some people I trust will take a baby hamster. I hope things work out!
2008-09-15 |
| I have a male Russian Hamster. His name is Calypso (ca-lip-so). He is very active and young. Calypso is very shy around people he doesn't know, but has grown to trust me. He is light brown- or tan- with a white stripe in the middle of his body. I just recently bought him. He loves his cage, especially his excersize cage. I love my So-So, so much! So-So is one of his many nicknames. A few others are: Nutty, Calypy So-So, Scaredy Cat, Baby Boy, and much more. Thats's My Calypso!
2008-08-11 |
| Some of the coolest comments: |
| In the "coolest comments" section, the person says that it is normal for a hamster to chew on their bars. Yes, it is common, but it is not a good sign! It means the hamster is bored! They can easily damage their teeth chewing on the bars. Give you hamster more excercise, more space, more (healthy!) things to chew on and it won't be gnawing on the bars. 2008-07-08 |
| Hi I have 2 Russian Dwarf hammies and I believe they are both males. I've had them for 2 months now and except for an occassional spat they seem to put up with each other very well. (They usually get up at different times so this might help). When they fight it is because one is trying to steal the other ones food when he drops the crumbs. lol I have hand trained them by giving them a sunflower seed everytime I pick them up so now all I have to do is go near the cage and they start climbing the sides of the cage trying to get to me. They make a purring sound when I hold them and pet them. 2008-03-29 |
| Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear! |
| I just found this site and it's great!! We've been small animal lovers for four years, having a beautiful golden teddybear named Harry (after Harry Potter and because he was so hairy!), a darker brown syrian named Shannon (because she looked like my then 12 yr old daughter's best friend), and an albino rat named Pinky (my baby girl). They lived with us for three years each before they passed over the Rainbow Bridge, Pinky almost made it four! Now we have an adorble and sweet syrian named Godzilla(after a book my youngest daughter read about a hamster, "Godzilla ate my homework" highly reccommend it) and we had what we now call Mommy, otherwise known as White Paper, my 5 yr old's baby. She's a Russian dwarf albino. She had 7 babies, we didn't know she was pregnant when we got her...and we certainly had to keep the 6 that survived. So now Tookie, my now 6 yr old son, has White Paper, Naruto and Jimmie Johnson, My 8 yr old son has Jeff Gordon and Sasuke, my 10 yr old daughter has Meanie and cotton ball... the two girl babies. Just today we discovered Naruto is a girl! So now we have five new little pink jelly beans waiting to be named! We also have two anoles, american chamelions, Yukio and Minabi, those are my 16 yr old daughters's, and my husband and I have 3 cockatiels between us, Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, his, a natural color or grey, and two beautiful pearl, or yellow girls named Tweety and Sour Puss(because of their lemon cream pie colors and dispositions)mine.
Thanks for a great site to remind me what to do as it's been a year since we had babies! Wish us luck coming up with names for our 5 new albino Russian Dwarfs! (I'm sure one will be Dale Earnhardt Jr!) :-D 2008-10-04 |
| We just bought a Russian Dwarf Hamster as a pet on Thursday. Her name is Abercrombie.
My daughter was a little disappointed because the hamster was a little nippy. We told her that once she got used to her new enviroment she would be better. My daughter just returned home from her first day at camp and went in her room to check on Abercrombie and she started screaming that Abercrombie had babies. We quickly checked and my son said he counted five. We really didn't want to disturb mommy and her new little pups so we covered up the top of the cage so it was protected from the central air. Wonderful!!! We visited this site to educate ourselves on raising Russian dwarf hamsters. 2008-07-14 |
| Hey, I just got a russian dwarf hamster(named Squirt) like two weeks ago! Then my little bro got one (named Pipsquiek) and hen my friend got one(named Lily)! They were all siblings and were very young! e didn't know what gender it was but the lady at the store told us they were too young to be pregnant. As it turns out, 3 days ago my hamster had two babies! Then this morning my friend called and said she could see one baby with her hamster! Im trying to convince another one of my friends mom to let her have one of the babies! We named the two babies Freddy and Lulu! They're so cute and I can't wait until I can hold them! This site is helping me care for my lil babies! Thank you so much! 2008-07-12 |
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