Hamster Information

While it’s true that Dwarf hamsters are small and generally easy to care for that doesn’t mean you should take the responsibility of their care lightly. After all, once you have decided to get and care for a hamster or dwarf hamster as a cherished pet and companion you have decided to put your hamsters life in your hands.

Your dwarf hamster will depend on you for food, shelter, medical attention (when needed) and of course lots of personal care and attention from you. This may seem like an obvious thing to you, but no pet should be considered if you don’t have the time or the will to properly take care of it.

Cage cleaning, feeding and daily handling are all important tasks that can’t be overlooked if you are to keep your hamster happy and healthy. Once you have decided that you can and want to take on all the responsibilities of caring for a hamster as your new pet, you should make sure you are informed about exactly what that means to you, the pet owner.

Ready to get started? Well, then come on, lets explore some of the things you should know about your new pet…

The hamster kept as pet most often is the Golden Hamster, also called Syrian Hamster. So-called Teddybear or Black Bear hamsters are also breeds of golden hamsters.

But also four species of smaller hamsters are popular pets, often called dwarf hamsters. These are Roborovski hamster, (Phodopus roborovskii) often called Roborovski, the Chinese striped hamster (Cricetulus griseus) and the two subspecies of Phodopus sungorus, the winter white Russian dwarf hamster (Phodopus sungorus sungorus) and Campbell’s dwarf hamster (Phodopus sungorus campellii).

The care of the dwarf hamsters is similar to that of the golden hamster, but there are differences in feeding and housing needs and temperament. Winter whites and Campell’s are fairly popular, in the US the campells more so than the whinter whites, while it’s other way round in Europe.

Roborovski and Chinese striped Hamsters are somewhat more difficult to breed and keep, they are usually only available from breeders, and therefore limited to serious rodentia fans.

Roborovski are especially not suitable for children.

Hamsters are nocturnal by nature, making them less than ideal as pets for people who are normally awake during the day.

However, many people prefer them to rats, given rats’ unsavory reputation (undeserved as pets). Unlike rats, they are not particularly good at learning tricks but can be entertaining to watch. They are also much smaller than guinea pigs, although equally as furry and appealing, so are more appropriate for homes with limited space.