Got a hammy tonight

[sarah1987]

Hi,
i got a hamster tonight i was going to go for a syrian but there was a dwarf looking for a good home so i took him in, i think he is a russian dwarf not 100% though, ill try and get some pictures tonmorrow, he is 7 months old, he is white underneeth, grey on top with a black stripe down his back, ive got a few questions, if he id a russian dwarf can i put another one with him in the same cage? The cage he came with is quite nice, looking on google i think its called mickey max savic, it has a few accesories with it, dish, water bottle, wheel, bendy bridge, ive added a log, coconut toy i made, and a few other bits, one thing that concerned me is they had put a wooly glove in there the hamster seems to like it but i was wondering is it dangerous? Ive taken it out for now, any tips for these hamsters? ive only had experience with syians so far, thanks guys :D

[Gillzy]

Aww congrats :)

The description sounds like a russian campbell's dwarf... but will need to see pics to confirm, chances are high though.

At the age of 7 months I think it would be unadvisable to add in a cage-mate. They work best in pairs of family members - although other can guide better on this one.

The Mickey Max is an alright cage - I kept my previous two campbells (separately) in it. But having been on this forum for a wee while now would say it's a bit small on it own. Maybe if you notice he needs more space later you could add on a bin cage :)

Does he chew the glove? As this could be dangerous. You might want to make a hamock for him, which might be slightly safer? :/ I just worry about him swallowing any thread (which could get tangled in intestines) or getting his little paw stuck in it or something.

Other than size (of ham, food etc) looking after syrians and dwarves are very similar :)

Can't wait to see pics :)

[juliedn]

Hi,
i got a hamster tonight i was going to go for a syrian but there was a dwarf looking for a good home so i took him in, i think he is a russian dwarf not 100% though, ill try and get some pictures tonmorrow, he is 7 months old, he is white underneeth, grey on top with a black stripe down his back, ive got a few questions, if he id a russian dwarf can i put another one with him in the same cage? The cage he came with is quite nice, looking on google i think its called mickey max savic, it has a few accesories with it, dish, water bottle, wheel, bendy bridge, ive added a log, coconut toy i made, and a few other bits, one thing that concerned me is they had put a wooly glove in there the hamster seems to like it but i was wondering is it dangerous? Ive taken it out for now, any tips for these hamsters? ive only had experience with syians so far, thanks guys :D
Your hamster is too old to have a new hamster introduced into their home unless you are interested in putting a female in and having babies.. Otherwise DO NOT put a grown male with another one. A pet store employee told me I could and when I put mine with my sister's, my hamster started biting the other hamster's head. If this is a Djungarian/Campbell what I just said applys to them. Other species vary. :)

[Hammihog]

Congrats on your new hammy :D He sounds adorable :D Have you named him yet?

[DwarfNome]

I have heard of other cases (actually the male was 7 months there too) where they bought a 5-6 week old male hammie and that went off beautifully for the lone male! I do reccomend it. :)

[laura]

Congrats! Can't wait to see a pic of the new little one. :)

I would take the woolly glove out, ESPECIALLY if it is actual wool because cotton wool is meant to be bad for their pouches so I could only assume anything woolly would be the same?

I wouldn't add a cage mate personally. I've heard Campbells are less likely to get on (but this might be due to hybrids etc). Apparently you're better to introduce a younger one with an older one, so I've heard, but from my experience of dwarf hamsters living together it's unlikely they will get along so unless you are happy for the other hamster to live in a separate cage incase of them not getting on one day I really wouldn't. You would also have to monitor them closely for a really long time and have a huge cage. All it takes is for one of them to go through hormonal changes later in life though for them to start fighting from what I've heard and seen. My hamsters (male brother hybrids) lived together for a few days then one of them who turned out to have diabetes started causing fights with him and wouldnt leave him alone. Tried reintroducing and he did the same thing. But you do see lots of exceptions and hamsters living happily together, even hybrids and different breeds on the rare occassion.

Anyway, I hope he's settling in fine!! :D

[sarah1987]

Hi
sorry about the delay been really buzy, ive got a few pics of him although they arnt great he wont keep still lol, he seems to be settling in ok, although he spends most of his time in bed!! he has woken me up a few times in the night in his wheel, apart from that ive not really seen him :( is that normal? Another thing slightly worrying me is he dosnt seem to put food in his cheek pouches, i have seen him eating he likes sunflour seeds, peanuts and spinach im spoiling him already, im looking for a bigger cage for him, ive got/made him so many accesories they wont fit in his cage lol, anyway i hope someone can tell me his speices as i said the photos arnt very good but i will try and get some better ones and post them as soon as i can, also im thinking of "stripe" for a name?? any other suggestions welcome, thanks

[sarah1987]

A few more

[laura]

Awww, very cute!! Looks like a winter white or a really convincing hybrid to me though rather than a campbells...

He looks quite friendly too considering you've only had him a few days! My hamster doesnt always stash, but sometimes I think he's eating something whereas really he is just breaking it up into little bits because it's too big to stuff in his pouch all at once lol. He's still adjusting to his new environment too, new voices and smells to get used to, so that's probably why he's not coming out too much.

Hope he's settling in well! Good to hear he's being spoilt :)

[racinghamster]

He looks very much like the dwarf I had a few years back called Scooby! :) Same markings and colour. I never knew what Scooby was, but I would guess somewhere between a winter white/campbells hybrid type. He was a happy wee soul and I could handle him aswell.

I kept Scooby in a Ferplast Duna tank and always thought it was too small a footprint for him. If I was to have one of these little guys again, I would be looking for a cage roughly the size of a gabber Rex tank or a single levelled cage like the Hamster Heaven. Or something along those lines. Another internal shelf can easily be added with a ramp (not runged ladders) as they tend not to manage ladders as well. A cage like this would give him loads of running room and you would be able to put much more accessories in to stimulate him. :)

A regular sized Silent Spinner wheel would go down well too! if you use ebay, there are some good deals on second hand cages on there if you look in the rat and hamster sections, but just bare in mind to ask about the bar spacing if it`s a barred cage as anything wider than 1cm and he could escape. Gaps around the door latches can be blocked easily with mesh or flat plastic strips. With a tank style, that`s not a worry though.

[DwarfNome]

He's really handsome! I would advice you to either remove or cover up his second level though, barred shelves tend to give them injuries on their little paws :(

[Gizmodo ^_^]

Hes gorgeous, and yeah cover up the wire flooring it can really hurt them

[RachK]

His markings are so much like Huxley's especially because of the lighter patch around his nose. He is gorgeous! :) I love him :)

[samincittagazze]

What a sweetie-pie! He looks very much like my Frohike, who is a hybrid on the WW side.