Chinese - social or solitary?

[Emma]

Babyboos mentioned keeping different species solo/in groups on the cage types thread, I thought I'd start a separate thread for this question.



Should Chinese hamsters be kept solitary or in pairs/groups?



I've never kept any myself, they are next on my "list" after I sort my new Syrian(s). I've read differing opinions on the subject. I know many keepers have them in pairs and groups with no more trouble than the other dwarf species - your're always going to get the odd one who prefers to be alone. But other sources I've read have stated that there is a higher incidence of cagemate violence with Chinese, and even that they really should be kept solitarily. A veterinary textbook states that a solo Chinese does not have a shortened lifespan compared with one that lives in a group, as is the case with the Phodopus species supposedly. Implying that this is evidence that being solitary is fine for Chinese.



Does anyone have any opinions on this subject?



Em x

[babyboos]

Hi Emma - good question!

I have had mixed success with Chinese breeding and currently have one pair and one colony, no singles, but you never know with these guys they can be so close with their cage mates one minute and then suddenly...

I know some well established breeders who do treat them as Syrians and others like myself who try and let them live in social groupings.

I find them a most intriguing species and have NEVER EVER been bitten by a Chinese hamster. They have beautiful short, soft, shiny coats and love to run around in your hands for hours!

The best tips I can give you are:

• a) get the absolutely biggest enclosure you possibly can, preferably not a wire cage and,
  
  b) if getting them to breed get an unrelated pair, if not get two boys.

For a really good summary of the Chinese Hamster please check out this link:

http://www.napak.com/chinese_hamster.html

Paul Owen ([email protected]) has covered all the bases I think so there really isn't much to add but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask and I will do my best to give some advice. Hopefully some more Chinese owners will join the forum soon too.

[Emma]

That's a really comprehensive article Morag thanks. Chinese do not seem to be a very popular species at the moment - I think I've come across more Robo owners than Chinese.

[babyboos]

I agree, although a couple of years ago I would have said the opposite. Chinese hamsters were really taking off more in the specialised pet market, here, and in the USA. Roborovski Dwarves were a lot more expensive than Chinese hamsters back then and although in Pets at Home (largest UK pet superstore) for example they still are slightly, I have seen them increasingly in local petshops for the same price as all other hamsters. Indeed to see either species in a local pet shop at all was totally unheard of up until quite recently. One reason I can think of straight away therefore is supply - have you noticed how few Chinese hamsters there are actually for sale in pet stores just now There has not been a Chinese hamster in any Pets at Home near me in a 75 mile radius for months now, but always at least one tank full of Roborovski Dwarves. Every time I have been in there has hardly even been a Syrian hamster, which does worry me as how many Roborovski Dwarves are being bought by totally unsuitable individuals just because they are all that is there

I have had countless contact from people who have bought two "same sex" Roborovski Dwarves and then had litter after litter of babies. I am the first to admit they are not the easiest to sex to an untrained eye, Chinese hamsters on the other hand are rather more obvious!!!

One other attraction people seem to mention is their average 3 - 3.5 year life span, being the longest lived of the dwarf species, although I know from experience some Chinese hamsters can live longer, this just isn't as widely advertised. Chinese hamsters seem to have gained a bit of a reputation as nippers which is very strange as I have never ever been bitten by one, but then the same is true for my Roborovski Dwarves. Previous discussions on this aspect seem to blame sustained inbreeding. This is something I am totally against in all my hamster species but I do appreciate there can be positive aspects when done in experienced hands. When just done to avoid investing in new unrelated breeding stock, by individuals just interested in producing babies it can really emphasis any negative qualities in all species.

But I think we should leave discussions on inbreeding for another day and keep this thread to discussing Chinese hamsters, and leave it that anyone interested in obtaining some Chinese hamsters tries as far as possible to ensure they are from unrelated parents

[SnuggleHam]

I can't say that over here in the US I have ever seen a Roborovski or Chinese hamster.. or a Campbell’s, I have only ever seen the Siberian hamster which is technically supposed to be a Winter White but in most cases I think they are Campbell’s labelled wrong and I've only ever seen them with their natural coloration.



The only speciality rodent I see are Panda Bear hamsters and Black Bear hamsters which is lame because they charge 10 dollars more for these than just a regular Syrian.



I use to see pet stores selling Teddy Bear hamsters for more, but generally I think they are just charging a basic price for them now.

[babyboos]

That is stil not unusual in many areas sadly, in fact in some American States they are even banned Coincidently I just received an email today from a guy in Northern Ireland looking for some Chinese as he has never seen any in his country either.

It is sad that pet shops get away with charging more for different colours of Syrian too by giving them fancy names - Black Bear, Teddy, Panda, Dalmation etc are all just regular Syrians really. They are all directly descended from their wild cousins in Syria

You are lucky to have Winter Whites in your stores, they are something we don't see very often here in the UK widespread commercially available, but when they do appear in pet stores they are often just classed as Russian Hamsters and clumped together with Campbell's Russian Dwarves

[SnuggleHam]

No that’s the thing... the only dwarfs I ever see are ones they call Siberian hamsters, Siberian is another name used for the winter white, but these "Siberians" I see in the pet store aren’t winter whites they are Campbell’s named wrong.



I think anyway…

[Emma]

A pet concession in a large garden centre near me usually has Chinese when I go in. They also stock WWs but not Campbell's. Always the exception to the rule! I asked them where they got their stock from (trying to ascertain if there was a proper breeder in the area, or if it was mostly unplanned pregnancies coming back - apparently some pet shops up to 80% of their stock is from unplanned pregnancies of their own sales!) but noone who was there knew



I'd love to hear from more pet owners as to how sociable their Chinese hams are. So far in my very unscientific and small survey, it seems that females will only just about tolerate a male most of the time, and almost never tolerate another female past a few months of age. Like you suggested babyboos people have more success with boys paired together, but still not as much as with the phodopus species.



Wouldn't it be nice if the hams could tell us what they'd prefer!



I think if I was looking to get Chinese just as pets, I'd go with your suggestion of a male pair, and make sure I had a spare cage on hand. Or look for a female who was already alone.

[SnuggleHam]

I think my the Hamster Central Chinese hamster section could use some more info about them...

[babyboos]

Hopefully some Chinese owners will come by and tell us of their adventures soon. Come on guys - don't be shy