I’ve been meaning to do this for a while. If you plan on getting a hamster or want to learn more about them this is for you! This thread was made with the intended purpose of sharing proper knowledge and to avoid confusion for new hamster owners.
Never keep multiple hamsters together. They are solitary animals whom often fight to the death. Videos that show them cohabitating is simply rare or due to them being housed together for a while therefor less violent. PLEASE separate your hamsters!
Hamster breeds
There are many breeds of hamsters but few are domesticated.
The domesticated ones include: Roborovski dwarf hamster, Campbell dwarf hamster, Syrian, Winter White dwarf hamster, and Chinese. Three dwarves and the other two (Chinese and Syrian) are not a dwarf.
Please note: While Syrians and Chinese hamsters need more space, this does not in any way mean dwarves should be placed in tiny cages. It only means if you have a Syrian or Chinese its extra important to make sure the cage is big enough for their specific needs.
Cage
Perhaps one of the most important things to know when owning a hamster is the cage.
DOs
Do: Use a DIY bin cage of aquarium tank. This allows hamsters to easily see out of it and reduces possible injury.
Do: Pick correct wheel size. Picking a wheel size is very important. Picking a wrong size, say, a dwarf wheel for a Syrian, is not only uncomfortable, but overtime can warp their back. Doing a wheel to big is less serious, but of course if it contains minor holes its important your hamsters limbs can’t get stuck in them, and that it doesn’t get flung around.
Do: Dust bathe hamsters. Offering a dust bathe for hamsters is great for their coat and is perfect! Just make sure it’s not to dusty to insure it doesn’t go to their lungs.
Do: Reinforce research. Always triple check information because many sources are wrong, outdated, or considered inhumane.
DONTs
Dont: Use wire cages. Not only can this cause bumblefoot in hamsters, they may begin chewing on the metal bars. Not only this, they can climb to the top, then not knowing how to get down, will let go and fall, making the chance of injury high. This is often stress or boredom related behavior but wire cages are often unfit for hamsters and are tiny, causing boredom.
Dont: Use saucer wheels. While not the worst, it’s really not recommended for you to use them. Hamsters may spin off them, especially if it’s to slippery, making it a possible hazard for injury.
Dont: Use mesh wheels. Mesh wheels can cause broken toes or legs due to them getting stuck in the holes during rotation.
Dont: Use hamster balls. Not only can toes or legs be broken from getting stuck in the holes and the rapid spinning, this causes serious stress and they can’t see where they’re going nor properly control the direction. Imagine being shoved in a ball and not being able to stop when your about to run into a tree or furniture.
Dont: Bathe hamsters. Never under any circumstance should you attempt to bathe a hamster unless it’s absolutely necessary. They can easily drown and this may cause serious stress, and even worse, a possible heart attack. Along with this, hamsters have a natural oil coat and giving them a bath will wash that away, also making their coat appear ragged and unhealthy.
Below i will attach a photo of a bad cage VS a good cage.
In this photo, we see many things wrong. Starting off, this is a photo of a long haired Syrian hamster (not a dwarf) which as stated above, should get even more room! This cage is far to small for any hamster, especially a Syrian. We can also see holes in the wheel, though they are very small, not much of a cause for concern. This wheel size could be better, the general rule of thumb is 6 inch wheel for dwarf hamsters and 8 inch wheel for Syrian/Chinese. Although without the exact inch length its hard to be precise, i would not recommend using a wheel this size for a hamster like this. There is absolutely not enough bedding. Hamsters are burrowers and require 6-8 inches of bedding. This cage has about 2 inches of bedding which i doubt would even cover the hamsters body. Cardboard is not harmful to hamsters but will get urine on it and feces. This will mean frequently changing it out and it’s so much easier to just get a actual hideaway at a store for your hamster. To top this off, the cage is wire and as stated before, that’s bad.
this is a wonderful hamster cage. Notice the plentiful bedding, great activities, hideaways, rocks (helps with nail overgrowth) and wood (good for climbing and teeth.) Keep in mind that hamster cages do not need to be exotic or exactly like this, but just have enough activities to keep your hamster entertained, enough bedding and ventilation, good size and you should be good to go.
How often to change a hamsters cage?:
People often choose to deep clean weekly or every few weeks, but spot clean every day. This means almost completely cleaning it every week and cleaning out urine and pee you see daily. Something to keep note of is hamsters will actually get stressed out if you fully remove all the bedding because their scent and burrows are all gone. To prevent this, set aside some of the cleaner bedding in your hamsters cage when deep cleaning and sprinkle it back in and on top of the new clean bedding. This still keeps the scent of the hamster so makes things less stressful. If you do good spot cleaning, deep cleaning every month is fine. Deep cleaning should never be done every day.
What to feed/how often to feed hamsters?
First, lets cover this. There are multiple ways to offer feed to hamsters. Some people say keeping the bowl filled, others only give a tablespoon or so, and some scatter feed. I do not recommend keeping your hamsters bowl always filled. This can promote picky eating and will teach them that they can pick out whatever they want because it will get refilled. This prevents them from getting the proper nutrition they need. Scatter feeding is a great choice and is optional, it depends on the hamster too. Scatter feeding can help with boredom issues. Feeding from a bowl is fine.
Okay, now how often to feed them? How much? Everyone has a different opinion. There isn’t one right or wrong way for the most part but I generally like to feed mine every other day, 1 1/2 tablespoons. Hamsters store food in their pouches and put it in burrow chambers so yes, it is totally fine feeding your hamsters this way, and i actually recommend it oppose to feeding them every day. To prevent a picky eater make sure the entire bowl is gone before refills. A hamster will never starve themself so refilling it before its gone can cause picky eating very easily. Now to cover what to feed them. This is a bit similar to that of chicken food. Yes, you have basics, but the brand and specifics are mostly up to you. Many people use Sunburst feed and combine it with other feed. Later on i will discuss what to and what not to feed your hamsters, but when it comes to feed you’ll have to figure out what works best for you and your hamster.
How to tell sex?
Telling the gender of a hamster may be confusing because for dwarves its similar to that of cats, you really have to look. For Syrians/Chinese it’s completely obvious. Of course, what im referring to i’m sure we all know, and it gets more obvious over time. Younger then ten months he isn’t fully mature and it will be harder to tell the younger the age, even not being a dwarf.
Let me simplify: To be able to tell the sex of a dwarf, first flip them on their back. Please, please be gentle and cautious. This can stress them out and they may think your a predator doing this, i give them a snack while i hold them in this pose to calm them down, but do it slowly and gently and get them used to it. Not all hamsters enjoy being on their back and some may be spooked by it. When doing this, if you have a female, you should see nipples and the genitals will be closer to the anus for females and farther for males. The males also will have a scent gland on their belly while females do not.
I hope this helps you. I wanted to get this posted as soon as possible, so i will keep updating this thread with new information to keep it up to date. As well as that, i’m working on publishing a full list of what to feed your hamsters and what not to feed them. If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask, i don’t mind answering them.
Never keep multiple hamsters together. They are solitary animals whom often fight to the death. Videos that show them cohabitating is simply rare or due to them being housed together for a while therefor less violent. PLEASE separate your hamsters!
Hamster breeds
There are many breeds of hamsters but few are domesticated.
The domesticated ones include: Roborovski dwarf hamster, Campbell dwarf hamster, Syrian, Winter White dwarf hamster, and Chinese. Three dwarves and the other two (Chinese and Syrian) are not a dwarf.
Please note: While Syrians and Chinese hamsters need more space, this does not in any way mean dwarves should be placed in tiny cages. It only means if you have a Syrian or Chinese its extra important to make sure the cage is big enough for their specific needs.
Cage
Perhaps one of the most important things to know when owning a hamster is the cage.
DOs
Do: Use a DIY bin cage of aquarium tank. This allows hamsters to easily see out of it and reduces possible injury.
Do: Pick correct wheel size. Picking a wheel size is very important. Picking a wrong size, say, a dwarf wheel for a Syrian, is not only uncomfortable, but overtime can warp their back. Doing a wheel to big is less serious, but of course if it contains minor holes its important your hamsters limbs can’t get stuck in them, and that it doesn’t get flung around.
Do: Dust bathe hamsters. Offering a dust bathe for hamsters is great for their coat and is perfect! Just make sure it’s not to dusty to insure it doesn’t go to their lungs.
Do: Reinforce research. Always triple check information because many sources are wrong, outdated, or considered inhumane.
DONTs
Dont: Use wire cages. Not only can this cause bumblefoot in hamsters, they may begin chewing on the metal bars. Not only this, they can climb to the top, then not knowing how to get down, will let go and fall, making the chance of injury high. This is often stress or boredom related behavior but wire cages are often unfit for hamsters and are tiny, causing boredom.
Dont: Use saucer wheels. While not the worst, it’s really not recommended for you to use them. Hamsters may spin off them, especially if it’s to slippery, making it a possible hazard for injury.
Dont: Use mesh wheels. Mesh wheels can cause broken toes or legs due to them getting stuck in the holes during rotation.
Dont: Use hamster balls. Not only can toes or legs be broken from getting stuck in the holes and the rapid spinning, this causes serious stress and they can’t see where they’re going nor properly control the direction. Imagine being shoved in a ball and not being able to stop when your about to run into a tree or furniture.
Dont: Bathe hamsters. Never under any circumstance should you attempt to bathe a hamster unless it’s absolutely necessary. They can easily drown and this may cause serious stress, and even worse, a possible heart attack. Along with this, hamsters have a natural oil coat and giving them a bath will wash that away, also making their coat appear ragged and unhealthy.
Below i will attach a photo of a bad cage VS a good cage.
How often to change a hamsters cage?:
People often choose to deep clean weekly or every few weeks, but spot clean every day. This means almost completely cleaning it every week and cleaning out urine and pee you see daily. Something to keep note of is hamsters will actually get stressed out if you fully remove all the bedding because their scent and burrows are all gone. To prevent this, set aside some of the cleaner bedding in your hamsters cage when deep cleaning and sprinkle it back in and on top of the new clean bedding. This still keeps the scent of the hamster so makes things less stressful. If you do good spot cleaning, deep cleaning every month is fine. Deep cleaning should never be done every day.
What to feed/how often to feed hamsters?
First, lets cover this. There are multiple ways to offer feed to hamsters. Some people say keeping the bowl filled, others only give a tablespoon or so, and some scatter feed. I do not recommend keeping your hamsters bowl always filled. This can promote picky eating and will teach them that they can pick out whatever they want because it will get refilled. This prevents them from getting the proper nutrition they need. Scatter feeding is a great choice and is optional, it depends on the hamster too. Scatter feeding can help with boredom issues. Feeding from a bowl is fine.
Okay, now how often to feed them? How much? Everyone has a different opinion. There isn’t one right or wrong way for the most part but I generally like to feed mine every other day, 1 1/2 tablespoons. Hamsters store food in their pouches and put it in burrow chambers so yes, it is totally fine feeding your hamsters this way, and i actually recommend it oppose to feeding them every day. To prevent a picky eater make sure the entire bowl is gone before refills. A hamster will never starve themself so refilling it before its gone can cause picky eating very easily. Now to cover what to feed them. This is a bit similar to that of chicken food. Yes, you have basics, but the brand and specifics are mostly up to you. Many people use Sunburst feed and combine it with other feed. Later on i will discuss what to and what not to feed your hamsters, but when it comes to feed you’ll have to figure out what works best for you and your hamster.
How to tell sex?
Telling the gender of a hamster may be confusing because for dwarves its similar to that of cats, you really have to look. For Syrians/Chinese it’s completely obvious. Of course, what im referring to i’m sure we all know, and it gets more obvious over time. Younger then ten months he isn’t fully mature and it will be harder to tell the younger the age, even not being a dwarf.
Let me simplify: To be able to tell the sex of a dwarf, first flip them on their back. Please, please be gentle and cautious. This can stress them out and they may think your a predator doing this, i give them a snack while i hold them in this pose to calm them down, but do it slowly and gently and get them used to it. Not all hamsters enjoy being on their back and some may be spooked by it. When doing this, if you have a female, you should see nipples and the genitals will be closer to the anus for females and farther for males. The males also will have a scent gland on their belly while females do not.
I hope this helps you. I wanted to get this posted as soon as possible, so i will keep updating this thread with new information to keep it up to date. As well as that, i’m working on publishing a full list of what to feed your hamsters and what not to feed them. If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask, i don’t mind answering them.
