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Old 05-28-2017, 02:28 AM   #1
capricorn30
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Question Dwarf care advice, please!

As the title!

I brought home a beautiful little unnamed dwarf girl yesterday. I'd only owned syrians before, under the impression that dwarves were nippy and tricky to handle, but I'm friendly with the assistant manager at our local Jollyes who loves dwarves, and said this little female was one of the friendliest they'd had and she really is!

She's in a ZZ2, with 2 hides, some bendy bridges, tunnels and a 6.5 silent spinner. Is that a proper-sized wheel for (what I assume is) a hybrid dwarf? She's on the generic Jollyes hamster museli currently, but I'd wanted to swap her onto something more suitable/dwarf-friendly? She seems to love burrowing for more than my syrians did, so I'll be making a super deep digging area, but are there any other toy recommendations/things to be aware of/tips for dwarf owners I should be aware of?

Thanks!
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Old 05-28-2017, 02:46 AM   #2
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Default Re: Dwarf care advice, please!

The setup needs to have no wide open spaces.This does have an impact on how confident a hamster is,and allows them to settle into a cage much better.

For wheel size,8-9 inches is best.I don't think Silent Spinners are good wheels though,if you've gotten lucky for now with it spinning properly it is unlikely to stay truly silent and will eventually not spin properly I think the best wheel on the market is the Silent Runner which unlike any other wheel is 100% safe(even the Wodent Wheel isn't that safe!)and is actually much better quality than other wheels on the market.They last a long time,so despite being an investment they're entirely worth it for the safety and quality

For diet, I think Burgess dwarf hamster food would be the best in the UK.You need something with no artificial ingredients,no unspecified preservatives(E&C approved is not acceptable,as it can be BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin which are known to cause cancer),and as with any item to be fed to any animal there must not be unspecified biproducts(liver,digest,derivatives,etc).In the case of hybrids,which are prone to diabetes,there should be no added sugars or sugary fruits added.Keep the same rules in mind for treats as well,sticking with only the highest quality natural products(and if they're to be shared with dogs or cats,they must not contain corn or wheat in any form).

Last edited by Fluffagrams; 05-29-2017 at 03:52 AM.
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Old 05-28-2017, 03:24 AM   #3
cypher
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Default Re: Dwarf care advice, please!

Congrats on your first hybrid capricorn They do have a bit of an undeserved reputation but I've found them easy to tame & adorable pets, I'm sure you're really going to enjoy your new girl
Your set up sounds good, they do love to burrow so she'll enjoy plenty of substrate, if you have a silent spinner that actually spins (not many do these days!) the size is fine for most hybrids, any other wheel needs to be 8-9".
As long as she's running comfortably in the silent spinner then I would stick with it for now at least as the larger wheels do take up a lot more room meaning you have to compromise your set up a fair bit to fit them in.
(The old silent spinners are just fine Amity, I have some really old ones that are well used, spin well & silently so not necessarily a bad wheel.)
Does she have a sand bath yet?
They love their sand & it is important for keeping their coats in good condition so anything big enough to dig & roll in with chinchilla sand (not dust) will be enjoyed.
Their claws tend to grow very fast so it's good to have some rough surfaces like terra cotta (small flower pots are great) or tiles turned upside down to help with trimming.
I would switch to the Burgess dwarf hamster harvest food, it's about the best in the UK for diabetes prone species.
They tend to love mealworms so they make a good treat & she might enjoy a millet spray in the cage along with a whimzee to have a chew on.
Other simple toys they really seem to enjoy are coconuts as a hideout or place to hide food/treats & an egg box with a couple if holes cut out is always a favourite, they aren't hard to please with simple toys really

ETA I should have said (in case you don't know) regarding diabetes, hybrids can be prone to it so it's best to be extra careful with the diet, avoid all sweet commercial treats with sugars, honey or fruit, there are a few natural treats without sugar like the Rosewood dandelion sticks for example which are fine but read ingredients carefully, fresh low sugar veg daily (once they have got used to it, maybe every three days to begin with) are really good for them but avoid fruit or veg that are high in sugars although the sweeter veg can be given occasionally as a treat in small amounts.
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Last edited by cypher; 05-28-2017 at 04:34 AM.
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Old 05-28-2017, 08:01 AM   #4
capricorn30
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Default Re: Dwarf care advice, please!

Lovely, thank you both! The wheel spins well, and she's running with a nice flat back - have the silent spinners been considered unsafe now then?

Thanks for the food recommendation too, though what could be used as a sand container?
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Old 05-28-2017, 08:21 AM   #5
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Default Re: Dwarf care advice, please!

The silent spinners had a bit of a redesign a while ago & just don't seem to spin well, not unsafe just a bit useless! If yours spins ok that's fine.

You can use anything for sand really, I use things like tupperware containers, bird baths,ceramic dishes, it doesn't really matter as long as it's big enough to roll in & deep enough to dig a bit.
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Old 05-28-2017, 01:23 PM   #6
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Default Re: Dwarf care advice, please!

I think Cypher has covered everything you need to know .

The bird bath Cypher linked is excellent and is the one I use personally. My little Jasper loves it. I also have ceramic tea light holders from Poundland which work well as hides or sand baths (depending on the design).

One of my hamster's favourite toys is those extendable tubes and he loves running through it. You can make toys yourself, if you prefer. ErinsAnimals is an excellent hamster YouTube channel with a lot of good suggestions.
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Old 05-29-2017, 03:21 AM   #7
capricorn30
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Default Re: Dwarf care advice, please!

Thanks for the suggestions!

Jollyes doesn't specify the breed mix of their 'Russian dwarves', I don't suppose there's a way to determine the species mix/colouration in hybrids? I don't have a good photo of her yet, but she's red-eyed, with a white underbelly, and a pale fawn colour on top with a slightly darker stripe. Seriously cute too!
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Old 05-29-2017, 03:34 AM   #8
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Default Re: Dwarf care advice, please!

There are only two species which can breed together It can get very confusing at first,but the easiest way to remember is that there are 5 species(not breeds,as they are extremely genetically different unlike for example dog breeds or cat breeds)with two that can make hybrids.
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Old 05-29-2017, 03:56 AM   #9
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Default Re: Dwarf care advice, please!

Quote:
Originally Posted by capricorn30 View Post
Thanks for the suggestions!

Jollyes doesn't specify the breed mix of their 'Russian dwarves', I don't suppose there's a way to determine the species mix/colouration in hybrids? I don't have a good photo of her yet, but she's red-eyed, with a white underbelly, and a pale fawn colour on top with a slightly darker stripe. Seriously cute too!
True Winter Whites will never have red eyes and with the colour you describe sounds like she might have more Campbells in her, however pet shop Russians (including those sold as Winter Whites and Russian Campbells Dwarf) will almost certainly be Hybrids as they are very likely to have had at least one of another species in their ancestry somewhere.
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Old 05-29-2017, 03:59 AM   #10
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Default Re: Dwarf care advice, please!

Some hybrids do look more like WW or more like campbells but they are all a hybrid mix so you can't determine any exact genetics at all.
Look forward to seeing a photo when you can get one, it's hard to guess at her colour until we see her.
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