Care Guide Reference

Dwarf Hamsters - An Introduction

Dwarf Hamsters

Dwarfs are best kept in tanks or Plastic Sterilite or Rubbermaid Containers, where they need plenty of floor space to run around and where you can put little houses and tubes and a wheel for stimulation. Dwarfs can and do run up to 4 or 5 kilometres every night looking for food, so a wheel is essential. A zoomer ball is also quite useful for out of cage times. They are burrowers, so 3 or 4 inches of substrate is essential. I tried quite a few different ones, from shavings through to Carefresh to something I now use for my animals that is called Megazorb. Care is needed when using shavings as some, such as Pine or Cedar can cause varying levels of respiratory distress. Here in the Uk, the shavings we use, seem to contain less phenols, whereas the ones used in the USA, seem to be more harmful.

Handling dwarfs can be quite difficult as they can be extremely fast, so they aren't really a good starter pet for children. Always let the hamster settle in for 4 or 5 days when you bring it home, so that it can get used to its new surroundings. Some of them are more tame than others. I always advise people that if they have a hamster that is not tame, to find a large cardboard box, cut the sides down to about 12 inches, use a ladle or mug to lift the hamster out of the cage, and settle the hamster in the box. Let the hamster run around the box, and then just place your hand in palm up, and let it rest there. Its inquisitive by nature, and eventually will come up and see what's it is. Sometimes they will nibble, to see if you are edible, if that happens just move your hand gently out of the way. Eventually it will come onto your hand, so that you can handle it. It will take time, and patience, but it will come round.

Dwarfs eat almost anything that you can give them, as long as it contains no seasonings, garlic, herbs or spices. There's some discussion as to whether they can tolerate citrus fruits, though. A good dry hamster mix is essential, together with fruit and vegetables, such as apple, banana, mango, pear, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, in pea sized portions. Introducing any new foods should be done slowly, so that your hamster doesn't develop soft stools. I used to give mine fruit and vegetables every day, together with their normal dry mix. there are plenty of other foods that can be given.

The only difference is with the Roborvoski, they need smaller pieces. A half-and-half mixture of normal dry hamster mix and a good quality birdseed, such as Trill or a Finch mix, and some millet is a good mix. I used to grind my hamster mix a bit so that it was easier for the Robo's to handle.

Breeding should not be taken lightly at all. A dwarf can start breeding at 5 weeks of age, and have a litter every 18 to 21 days, right up till they are a year old, with average litter up to six pups in a litter, that's a lot of babies. For breeding females a good diet with extra protein is good, I feed them things like boiled, scrambled poached egg, tofu, bread soaked in milk, together with the fruit and veg. Its usually advisable to keep the males in with the females as they help raise the pups, and bring food to the females. Its been noted that a reduction in the mortality rate of the pups has been seen when the male has been removed prior to the birth. Pups shouldn't be handled until at least three days after the eyes have opened, and they are beginning to explore the cage, and weaning also takes place around this time also so they are eating solids by then, so if the female decides to abandon the pups for any reason, they have more of a chance of survival. Cleaning of the cage should be left until this time also.