Should I get a winter white?

Libby01 · 02-06-2016, 02:46 PM

My first hamster, a roborovski, died yesterday. I am very upset as he was 2 years old and I always thought he would at least live to 3 with proper care. Anyway, I love the little robos but I was thinking that maybe I should get one that I would actually be able to get out and hold properly (I remember how tame the winter whites were when I used to work with them). I would like some advice really on changing from a robo to a Russian. Like, how often would I clean him out & do they smell much at all? My robo had two cages joined together which I would clean one each week, and he never smelt, I never even had urine marks on the bottom of the cage. He probably didn't even need cleaning out as often as I did to be honest! Are there any other major differences between the two species?

**Cinnamon Bear** · 02-06-2016, 04:39 PM

Hi, I have one robo, one WW & two Campbells. I clean all their cages 1x/mo each. The robo could probably be stretched to 5 weeks? They are all in 360 in tanks/bin cage. I have a bitey WW? My Campbells are new and so far so good, no biting but they don't yet let me handle them (I'm kind of afraid, cause I don't want to turn them into nippers) They just crawl around on my hands.

But yes you can definitely handle the WW or the Campbells easier. Hard to say what their personality is but I've always heard WW are less nippy but not in my case? Rose has a great personality so that makes up for it.

In the future I'll probably stay with the Campbells just because of the various fur patterns are fun. I suppose you should go with the individual personality of the pet when picking your next hamster tho

Sorry to hear about your robo dying. That's pretty sad, 2 years isn't that long, I thought they might have lived a little longer too.

The 2 Russian males I have are a little smelly but my female WW is smelly too. I'm not sure if gender makes a difference or not. My one male Russian argente seems to like to scent mark more than the other three. I use Carefresh bedding so having 4 hammies in one room & cleaning their cages only 1x per month the odor isn't that noticeable. I clean one cage per week, on a rotating basis

cypher · 02-06-2016, 11:28 PM

I'm really sorry for your loss, 2 years is a good age though, they can sometimes live longer but not that often so I'm sure your little robo had a good life with you.

If you want a ham that is easier to tame & more amenable to handling then a Russian ham would be great for you, they are usually easy to litter train too so you only need to daily spot cleaning & no more than a partial clean once a month, you should never take everything out, always leaving some of the substrate, nest & food hoard when you clean.
None of my Russians have ever been smelly at all!
Do you have a breeder in mind or are you going to be getting your ham from a pet shop?
If you go to a pet shop you will need to bear in mind that even if sold as a WW it will most likely be a hybrid & they are prone to diabetes so you need to take a little more care with the diet.

flowerfairy · 02-07-2016, 06:22 AM

Sorry to hear about your Roborovski.

I have seen lots of great youtube videos by erinsanimals about the various hamster species which may be of interest to you (if you havent already seen them).

My robos are both pretty hand shy (work in progress). Your boy looked adorable. Hope you find a nice friendly hamster. There are bound to be some more knowledgable people with advice on here soon!

Thin Lizzy · 02-08-2016, 09:46 PM

So sorry to hear about your roborovski.

Libby01 · 02-09-2016, 08:42 AM

Thanks for the replies everyone, I think I've decided to get a male winter white

herbi7 · 02-10-2016, 02:31 PM

I think some of it is down to personality of the hamster , mine broke all the rules and I had a Syrian who stayed impossible to handle all her life and two Chinese dwarfs who are supposed to be faster and more timid who are actually a lot more laid back, slow and easy to hold and pet!