Page Contents
Cages & Bedding:
Food & Water:
Basic Handling:
Interactions Between Dwarf Hamsters:
Hamster Illness & What To Do:
Links To My Other Pages:
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First of all I cannot stress this enough-NEVER USE CEDAR OR "FLUFFY" BEDDING!! These types of bedding have caused injuries and even deaths to many hamsters. Cedar is dangerous to their resperatory systems. Hamsters choke on and get caught in(especially true for babies) "fluffy bedding". Then there are aspen shavings. I have used aspen and pine with no problems. For some reason I liked the feel of aspen better than pine. Some hamsters react to pine as they would to cedar, other hamsters have no problems with it. I stopped using aspen when I first tried out "Carefresh". Aspen has a kind of saw dust in it(so does pine) that is bad for the hamsters respiratory systems. I noticed it still clinging to the sides of the cage when I was dumping out old shavings. "Carefresh" has none of those kind of problems. It is made out of reclaimed wood pulp waste. It can't be made into paper & so would be thrown away (basically a very enviromently friendly product). However, it can get a bit pricey (16.99 at one place for 46 dry quarts, who knows what that means off the top of your head?, so it translates into a very large bag) but after all what wouldn't we do for our pets? At any rate bedding should be piled at the very least 2" high. I know my dwarfs love to dig and burrow in their shavings so I often give them 3" - 4" of bedding.There are many different types of cages that you can buy. Cages made from companies like "SAM" and "Habitrail" are great, but perhaps more than is really needed. These cages are good, and are fun for you to watch your hamster explore. These cages are very hard to clean though. Plus the hamsters can chew on the little plastic odds and ends. This destroys the cage, makes a racket and worst of all endangers the animal. If the hamster ingests one of these jagged plastic bits, well, I imagine it's not a good thing! For my animals I use $10 plain plastic tanks which are light & take 5 minutes tops to clean. I also include accesories from the "Habitrail" and "SAM" line of products. I use their tubes and toys to connect different cages and give my hamsters something to do. Glass aquariums work well too. I would never reccomend wire cages (unless they have one of those 3" guards around the bottom of them that are on most of the new models); for two reasons: 1) Dwarf hamsters can quite easily escape through most ordinary bars of a wire cage(if you are set on a wire cage get one made for mice since the bars are closer together. 2)Any hamster will certainly make a mess by accidently kicking out bedding, food, etc. through the bars of a cage.
There are so many companies with so many lines of food products that it is just hard to keep track. Mixed food diets are good as a supplement by not as your hamsters staple diet. This is because the hamster will pick and choose the tastiest grains, dried fruits, etc. often leaving behind vital nutrients. Also even if you're just going to use the mixed food as a supplement make sure its oats are "crimped" or smashed. Pointy oats may puncture your hamsters cheek pouches and that can lead to infection. As for staple foods you should be feeding your hamster some pellet like diet. These pellets will all be the same, leaving your pet no choice but to take in all the good stuff. You should also give your hamster fruits and vegetables every now & then. Make sure they are clean & never feed citrius fruits to your hamster. They also like stale bread, cheese, & scrambled egg. Remember all of these things must be fed in small portions to your hamster. As for water, water is water just make sure its not from the storm drain! However there is a major difference in water bottles. I really reccomend investing a good $5 (what I payed for my water bottle) and getting one you know won't leak easily which is a water bottle with one or even better two ball bearings inside. However any bottle can leak if the hamster has a little bit of shavings/bedding pushed up against it. This is especially true for my hamsters. For some reason they like to make their nests under their water bottles, why I will never know. This results in their bedding sometimes touching the tip of the water bottle like a hamsters tongue would, making water come out. I would definetly make sure I checked for this kind of situation every now and then since leaks lead to damp or even soaked bedding, which leads to hamster colds, which sometimes leads to their death if untreated. My water bottle is from a company called "LIXIT" & doing fine.
When you hold your hamster you always want to make him/her feel safe. I suggest you use two hands, making sure one is always underneath the hamster. Even the best hamster may bite if frightened when you try to pick it up, so never: try to grab your hamster while it is sleeping; or grab your hamster while it is in it's nest/in it's little plastic house. If you are trying to get your hamster and it doesn't want to be held (it runs away from your hand) just leave the animal alone. I've read and believe true that the hamster will remember the stress associated with being chased around the cage by your hand and be even less friendly the next time you try to hold it. Try to make your hamster feel comfortable. Don't handle it in any akward or painful way. I know it sounds weird, but think 'How would I feel if I were being held that way?' In short the old rule "do un to others as you would want done to yourself" applies when holding your hamster.
Dwarf hamsters are sociable animals and best kept in groups. It is advised to keep them as same species groups since in the wild different species would never meet and it might cause them distress. The groups can be either same sex or a breeding pair. Dwarves should be introduced at an early age. Otherwise they might not get along. The best way is to get a fresh cage and put in all the hamsters at the same time. Sprinkle in lots of treats to keep them distracted from one another. There will be sniffing and tussling going on between hamsters and even some squeeking. Most of the time the hamsters will get along, but it is a good idea to check now and then for any injuries and if you find any separate the bully(s). If the injuries are minor the hamster will recover in a while and you can try re-introducing him to another hamster. Of course sometimes hamsters just don't get along, & you have to relise that and separate them. It is very important to pay attention to your hamsters behavior twoward each other. Never forget that your cute cuddly babies can and will kill each other if they don't get along and you don't notice.
I have been very fortunate in that none of my animals have ever gotten sick. That is why I have no informtion to give on the subject. However alot of hamsters do get sick and their owners want to know how to help them. So I have supplied this link: The Complete Hamster Site Health Page It is a really great page is you have a sick hamster. Hope that helps!
The Hamster Hall of Pictures
The Hamster Memorial Page
Breeding Your Dwarf Campbell's Hamster(s)
