Dwarf Hamsters!

[Lirana]

We decided rats and a chinchilla weren't enough, so we got 2 dwarf hamsters yesterday! No names yet. They're super tiny and very cute. Right now they're in an aquarium, but we're going to be getting a tank topper soon so that it can be a multi-level house. Dwarf hamsters aren't as good climbers as syrian (golden, teddy bear, etc.) hamsters, so no vertical tubes for them. So we're looking at a tank topper like this.

 

[Chinmama]

Cute! I really want a robo dwarf pair, I think they are just beyond adorable.

 

[Jenn]

I love hammies and yours are adorable! Congrats! I have a pair of male Russian Dwarf Hammies and they are in a 50 gallon fishtank and I have created a couple of levels for them to explore.

 

[Lirana]

I love hammies and yours are adorable! Congrats! I have a pair of male Russian Dwarf Hammies and they are in a 50 gallon fishtank and I have created a couple of levels for them to explore.

I would love to see their cage if you wouldn't mind taking a picture.

We were thinking of getting a pair of Syrians (they were dancing in their cage at the store) until we found out they can't be paired. The dwarves are just so darned cute. They're whole body is the size of a rat's head!

 

[Jenn]

The tank is an old used one so it is not the prettiest, but it works great for the hammies, and for the gerbils that we had before them. I had 1/4 - 1/2 of the tank filled with bedding and the gerbils had created numerous tunnels throughout. Someday I'll replace the wheel with a solid one that is safer. There is a mesh top screen to keep them in and the kitties out.

 

[Lirana]

That's quite the setup! We got our hamsters one of those critter bath houses too, but we weren't sure if it was okay to keep it in there all the time. We put some of the chin dust in there and one of the hamsters used it, but then we took it out. Is it okay to leave in all the time with dust in it?

Also, ours drink non-stop. Okay, maybe not non-stop. But way more than the chin or the rats. Do yours do this?

 

[Jenn]

Mine don't seem to like the dust. I think it is ok to leave it in there. I guess I would have to research whether they can over-dust or not. Mine don't drink that much water. I only have a small water bottle between the two hammies and they don't go through it very fast. Maybe it just depends on what type of food you feed them and the moisture content in the food.

 

[akane]

At one point my sister had a critter trail 3 and the dwarf hamsters had no trouble with the 2 vertical tubes that run the full height of that cage. They had no trouble with the ones she used to add on from the critter trail on top of her dresser to the tanks on the floor.

 

[Mandy]

Cute!
I adopted a winter white (possibly mixed of course) from the shelter I volunteer at. Named her Boo. She's been a BLAST. I just love her personality.
She doesn't have a big special cage. She's so tiny so we keep her in a ten gallon. She has her wheel and necessities, but I don't like the plastic maze-and tube cages.
She spends 99.9999% of her time going nut ball on the wheel.

The background wasn't all my choice.....just throwing that out there. lol

 

[Lirana]

Oh my goodness, Boo is adorable! Is the bottom of her tank bare? We're using aspen pine right now for them, the rats, and the chin. We have the same wheel and house you do. I'll get a pic tonight when they come out. We almost got that same food dish too but got one size bigger since there are two of them. It's hilarious cause they sit in the bowl to eat/stuff their cheeks.

 

[Jenn]

Mandy, your hammie is adorable!

Here are the two of mine in transport on the way home when we first got them. Their names are Aragorn and Boromir.

 

[AZChins]

Awwww..fuzzy little chubby cute things!! I haven't had a hamster for years...

 

[Lirana]

Oh, they're adorable! I've noticed that both of you have light hamsters with dark eyes. Ours has burgundy/red eyes. Does that make her albino, or is it just a thing, like some chinchillas (beige or white... i forget)?

The pic below shows the 10 gal aquarium... and the dark one drinking water. Again.

 

[CTChin]

They are so cute! I really want to get a couple of the "blueberry" dwarf hamsters at my local pet store. Do two girls or two boys get along better?

 

[Jenn]

I have two brothers and they fight all of the time! Lol. They snuggle together half the time, and then one picks on the other the other half of the time. To my eye, they look identical and I can't tell them apart by sight, only by personality.

I like to give them the occasional tissue to shred up, or other bird or chin approved shred toys.

 

[Mandy]

I've heard it's only robos you should keep in groups.
The other dwarfs may not get along if they weren't raised together?
That's why I keep Boo alone....not because she's queen or anything.......;P

 

[Jenn]

My Russians are siblings and I was told that they would prefer to stay in groups or pairs...IDK, they get along most of the time, but one is definitely dominant over the other. My Teddy Bear hammie was kept alone.

 

[Lirana]

I have two brothers and they fight all of the time! Lol. They snuggle together half the time, and then one picks on the other the other half of the time.

So far, this sounds like our girls. They seem to wrestle a lot. But they snuggle a lot too. So, I have no idea if girls or boys get along better.

Ours are siblings too. From what we've read, dwarves do well in pairs or groups, but can do well on their own as well. It is possible to introduce unrelated dwarf hamsters, but if I recall correctly, it works best when one of the hamsters is young.

 

[Lirana]

We figured out that the hamsters were drinking so much because the water bottle had stopped working properly and nothing was coming out. It's all fixed now. They're only at the water bottle for a few seconds now at a time.

Pictures of our still nameless hamsters:

The light one (picture is from instagram, she's actually much lighter than this picture indicates):

The dark one (again from instagram, she's actually a tiny bit darker):

 

[Chinmama]

What a bunch of adorable hammies! Boo is awesome. I want her!