Robinn
- #1
I know this is a fish forum and stuff but I thought I could educate the crowd one probably the most abused pets commonly found in pet stores-- hamsters.
They're cute. They're fluffy. And gosh darnit even though you're just their food thing you love em so much. But, what a lot of people don't realize is these critters are much more than what most pet stores tell you. So, let's get started!
Side note: I didn't really fact check with the forums, this is just what I have off the top of my head! Please check out the Hamster Hideout forum for more info!
-(Proper) Hamster Care (Supplies/Species Edition)-
Ok, I just want to start off by listing the 5 species (not breeds; they cannot cross breed besides the Campbell's dwarf and the winter white, which are very similar... I digress ) These are the hamsters and their common pet store names.
Syrian Hamster: very common, also the hardest to care for. Get to be about 4-5" when full grown. Have long haired and short haired variations and many pattern types/colors.
Common names: Golden hamsters, teddy bear hamster, black bear hamsters, panda bear hamsters, any kind of variation on bear
Russian Campbell's Dwarf: small species of hamster about 2-4" in length. Probably the easiest to take care of alongside winter whites. Comes in many colors/patterns.
Other names: Sunfire hamsters, dwarf hamsters, Djungarian hamsters
Winter White Dwarf: very similar in size and genetics to the RCD, although these only come in a few colors. Their fur may change color during the winter hence their name.
Common Names: dwarf hamster
Hybrid Dwarf: a crossbreed between the RCD and WW. Often your dwarf hamster will be a hybrid unless it is a pedigree due to mills simply not caring.
Common names: (see RCD and WW)
Chinese Hamster: a somewhat rare but cool hamster, they are quite long and have the longest tail of the domestic species. Often are a brown-grey color. Also often labeled as dwarf, although they are technically not a dwarf hamster (dwarfs are under a different genus)
Common names: Chinese hamster, Chinese dwarf hamster
RoborovskI dwarf hamster: the smallest species of hamster, they usually get to around 1-3". Often are a tortoiseshell-like agoutI with white underbelly. Often called robos in the community.
Common names: roborovskI dwarf, robo dwarf
Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's get into what you'll need!
Cage: Essentially the basis to a good life, outside of food. I know, you see those sweet little critter trails and how fun they look. But no. These are essentially like living in a closet. No space to run, burrow, or play at all, not to mention no space for a wheel (looking at you Syrians).
So, what would be good?
Well, let's start with size. I'll just list them here:
Btw, I'm lumping in Chinese with dwarfs for now because they have similar size reqs
Syrians: 800+ sq in for males, 1000+ for females
Dwarfs: 600+ sq in
Just for reference, a crittertrail is about 220sq in, so yeah..... a lot bigger than "usual".
But, how do you get a cage that big?? Well, you have a few options:
1. Bin cage. There's the IRIS Christmas tree bin which is great, but that's only good for dwarfs due to the height (we'll talk about that later). Generally, there won't be a bin cage large enough for a Syrian.
2. Aquariums. Hey, we know those! A 40 gallon is ~650 and a 75 gallon is ~800.
3. DIY. This is the best option in my opinion. These are generally made of wood and mesh. Mine is 2000sq in, so very customizable based on space and (high [my]) standards.
For more information on how to create these cages, check out Hamster hideout!
Water: a basic topic. Water bottles are a great choice. Hamsters don't drink a lot so a 4-8oz bottle should last you a while, but don't fill it up the whole way since you be doing daily water changes anyways. Glass are best due to their non-chew-ability.
Food: This..... is complicated to say the least. As I said, check out Hamster hideout, but I'll give you a general synopsis.
Your hamster's diet simply cannot be made up of one food. Why? Well, let's look at the requirements for a good hamster diet, at least nutrition wise. Here are the main three you should look at:
Protein: 18-22%
Fiber: 6-10%
Fat- 4-7%
See any problems? Go, do a quick search around and see if you can find a food that fits this. You may be able to find a pellet food, but do you want to be eating only one (rather bland) food for the rest of your life?
See, foods need to be mixed. Hamsters need a mix of variety (in seed mixes) and nutrition (in pellets). The forum I keep mentioning which I will call HH from here on out will explain that more, but just know that you need both for a good diet.
If you have any questions (this is a very complicated topic), message me and I'll be happy to help
Bedding: This is a pretty simple (but expensive) part of hamster owning. I'll just list off a few good and bad beddings:
GOO
Paper-based bedding (unscented)
Aspen bedding
Hemp bedding
Soft granules bedding (not for whole cage [bad for burrowing] but can be fun to play in in a dig box)
Toilet paper (for nesting; just shred it in your hands and boom softness forever)
BA
Pine bedding
Cedar bedding
Softwood bedding
Fluffy/cotton bedding (look it up, you'll never touch it again)
Scented bedding
Unlabeled wood bedding
Those are the common ones.
One sec, let me explain the difference between bedding and nesting material:
Bedding: used all over the cage for burrowing
Nesting material: soft material for a hamster to sleep on; kinda like a mattress & blankets situation
Ok, so let's get to bedding depth! They need room to burrow (a natural instinct), so they need a lot! But, depth will depend on how big the hamster is. Here's the general guidelines (Chinese are with Syrians now! Yaaaaaay)
Syrians: 8" min; 12"+ is best
Dwarfs: 6" min; 8"+ is best
Yeah, that is a lot. Now, you don't have to use that much all over the whole cage, but at least half of it should be that depth. You can look into why more on HH.
Toys: A very important part of the cage. It's what your hamster will do while running around and playing at night! There's so many out there that I can't imagine naming all of them, but I will talk about tubes for a sec.
Syrians pretty much can't use plastic tubes unless they are rat/ferret tubes. Commercial hamster tubes are simply too small, especially with stuffed cheeks. Dwarfs are fine with them, I just wanted to point out Syrians and tubes equals stuck equals bad.
Wheels: These are a NEED. Not a toy, not extra, a NEED. Hamsters in the wild run for miles at night and need a way to replicate this, which can be found in a wheel. Here are the wheel reqs:
Must have solid running surface. Mesh/bars can get paws/toes stuck or lead to irritated, bleeding paws. Ridges are fine (like on the silent spinner), just no wire or mesh.
Must be at least 10" for Chinese and Syrians (more like 12" for Syrian females; they're massive) and at least 8" for dwarfs. Robos may be able to get away with a 6" but...
You don't want an arched back. This will lead to back problems later in life.
These are guideline numbers. If your dwarf is huge and her back arches on an 8", get a 9-10"! It's all good
Food dish: not necessary, but nice for monitoring food intake if your hamster doesn't pouch it and take it back to their nest.
Cagemate: NO. NEVER. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. ESPECIALLY WITH SYRIANS. They are solitary and will fight to the death. Oh, while we're on that note, DON'T BREED HAMSTERS without years of research in advance. It's extremely complicated, especially when it comes to genetics.
I think that's about it Supplies wise..... I'll update it if I think of anything.
As I said, check out Hamster hideout! They're a wonderful community that will be so happy to help! Create an account and ask away on there!
I hope this helps anyone even in the slightest! Ask me if you have any questions!
~Robin
They're cute. They're fluffy. And gosh darnit even though you're just their food thing you love em so much. But, what a lot of people don't realize is these critters are much more than what most pet stores tell you. So, let's get started!
Side note: I didn't really fact check with the forums, this is just what I have off the top of my head! Please check out the Hamster Hideout forum for more info!
-(Proper) Hamster Care (Supplies/Species Edition)-
Ok, I just want to start off by listing the 5 species (not breeds; they cannot cross breed besides the Campbell's dwarf and the winter white, which are very similar... I digress ) These are the hamsters and their common pet store names.
Syrian Hamster: very common, also the hardest to care for. Get to be about 4-5" when full grown. Have long haired and short haired variations and many pattern types/colors.
Common names: Golden hamsters, teddy bear hamster, black bear hamsters, panda bear hamsters, any kind of variation on bear
Russian Campbell's Dwarf: small species of hamster about 2-4" in length. Probably the easiest to take care of alongside winter whites. Comes in many colors/patterns.
Other names: Sunfire hamsters, dwarf hamsters, Djungarian hamsters
Winter White Dwarf: very similar in size and genetics to the RCD, although these only come in a few colors. Their fur may change color during the winter hence their name.
Common Names: dwarf hamster
Hybrid Dwarf: a crossbreed between the RCD and WW. Often your dwarf hamster will be a hybrid unless it is a pedigree due to mills simply not caring.
Common names: (see RCD and WW)
Chinese Hamster: a somewhat rare but cool hamster, they are quite long and have the longest tail of the domestic species. Often are a brown-grey color. Also often labeled as dwarf, although they are technically not a dwarf hamster (dwarfs are under a different genus)
Common names: Chinese hamster, Chinese dwarf hamster
RoborovskI dwarf hamster: the smallest species of hamster, they usually get to around 1-3". Often are a tortoiseshell-like agoutI with white underbelly. Often called robos in the community.
Common names: roborovskI dwarf, robo dwarf
Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's get into what you'll need!
Cage: Essentially the basis to a good life, outside of food. I know, you see those sweet little critter trails and how fun they look. But no. These are essentially like living in a closet. No space to run, burrow, or play at all, not to mention no space for a wheel (looking at you Syrians).
So, what would be good?
Well, let's start with size. I'll just list them here:
Btw, I'm lumping in Chinese with dwarfs for now because they have similar size reqs
Syrians: 800+ sq in for males, 1000+ for females
Dwarfs: 600+ sq in
Just for reference, a crittertrail is about 220sq in, so yeah..... a lot bigger than "usual".
But, how do you get a cage that big?? Well, you have a few options:
1. Bin cage. There's the IRIS Christmas tree bin which is great, but that's only good for dwarfs due to the height (we'll talk about that later). Generally, there won't be a bin cage large enough for a Syrian.
2. Aquariums. Hey, we know those! A 40 gallon is ~650 and a 75 gallon is ~800.
3. DIY. This is the best option in my opinion. These are generally made of wood and mesh. Mine is 2000sq in, so very customizable based on space and (high [my]) standards.
For more information on how to create these cages, check out Hamster hideout!
Water: a basic topic. Water bottles are a great choice. Hamsters don't drink a lot so a 4-8oz bottle should last you a while, but don't fill it up the whole way since you be doing daily water changes anyways. Glass are best due to their non-chew-ability.
Food: This..... is complicated to say the least. As I said, check out Hamster hideout, but I'll give you a general synopsis.
Your hamster's diet simply cannot be made up of one food. Why? Well, let's look at the requirements for a good hamster diet, at least nutrition wise. Here are the main three you should look at:
Protein: 18-22%
Fiber: 6-10%
Fat- 4-7%
See any problems? Go, do a quick search around and see if you can find a food that fits this. You may be able to find a pellet food, but do you want to be eating only one (rather bland) food for the rest of your life?
See, foods need to be mixed. Hamsters need a mix of variety (in seed mixes) and nutrition (in pellets). The forum I keep mentioning which I will call HH from here on out will explain that more, but just know that you need both for a good diet.
If you have any questions (this is a very complicated topic), message me and I'll be happy to help
Bedding: This is a pretty simple (but expensive) part of hamster owning. I'll just list off a few good and bad beddings:
GOO
Paper-based bedding (unscented)
Aspen bedding
Hemp bedding
Soft granules bedding (not for whole cage [bad for burrowing] but can be fun to play in in a dig box)
Toilet paper (for nesting; just shred it in your hands and boom softness forever)
BA
Pine bedding
Cedar bedding
Softwood bedding
Fluffy/cotton bedding (look it up, you'll never touch it again)
Scented bedding
Unlabeled wood bedding
Those are the common ones.
One sec, let me explain the difference between bedding and nesting material:
Bedding: used all over the cage for burrowing
Nesting material: soft material for a hamster to sleep on; kinda like a mattress & blankets situation
Ok, so let's get to bedding depth! They need room to burrow (a natural instinct), so they need a lot! But, depth will depend on how big the hamster is. Here's the general guidelines (Chinese are with Syrians now! Yaaaaaay)
Syrians: 8" min; 12"+ is best
Dwarfs: 6" min; 8"+ is best
Yeah, that is a lot. Now, you don't have to use that much all over the whole cage, but at least half of it should be that depth. You can look into why more on HH.
Toys: A very important part of the cage. It's what your hamster will do while running around and playing at night! There's so many out there that I can't imagine naming all of them, but I will talk about tubes for a sec.
Syrians pretty much can't use plastic tubes unless they are rat/ferret tubes. Commercial hamster tubes are simply too small, especially with stuffed cheeks. Dwarfs are fine with them, I just wanted to point out Syrians and tubes equals stuck equals bad.
Wheels: These are a NEED. Not a toy, not extra, a NEED. Hamsters in the wild run for miles at night and need a way to replicate this, which can be found in a wheel. Here are the wheel reqs:
Must have solid running surface. Mesh/bars can get paws/toes stuck or lead to irritated, bleeding paws. Ridges are fine (like on the silent spinner), just no wire or mesh.
Must be at least 10" for Chinese and Syrians (more like 12" for Syrian females; they're massive) and at least 8" for dwarfs. Robos may be able to get away with a 6" but...
You don't want an arched back. This will lead to back problems later in life.
These are guideline numbers. If your dwarf is huge and her back arches on an 8", get a 9-10"! It's all good
Food dish: not necessary, but nice for monitoring food intake if your hamster doesn't pouch it and take it back to their nest.
Cagemate: NO. NEVER. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. ESPECIALLY WITH SYRIANS. They are solitary and will fight to the death. Oh, while we're on that note, DON'T BREED HAMSTERS without years of research in advance. It's extremely complicated, especially when it comes to genetics.
I think that's about it Supplies wise..... I'll update it if I think of anything.
As I said, check out Hamster hideout! They're a wonderful community that will be so happy to help! Create an account and ask away on there!
I hope this helps anyone even in the slightest! Ask me if you have any questions!
~Robin
