dwarf hamsters

[candice clews]

Hi i am in the middle of trying to get in contact with someone who is selling a pair of male hamsters, i am pretty sure they are roborovskis. I have two syrians at the moment and am wondering whether theres anything different i need to know between syrians and dwarfs.

Do they require any extra care?

Is a mini duna cage okay? Thats what they come in

Normal woodshavings as substrate and shredded paper for bedding?

Normal toys?

Wheel size?

thankyou!

[candice clews]

Cage size okay ? Look healthy?

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[cypher]

They look ok as far as it's possible to tell & the cage should be fine, at least for starters & less stressful for them if they can keep the same cage.

You can actually use hamster sized toys for dwarfs, the ones that are always too small for syrians!
Egg boxes are a huge favourite with all my dwarfs along with cardboard tubes & coconut hideouts. They really are quite easy & cheap to please in that department.
Same substrate is fine but as deep as you can as they really love to dig & burrow.
I would feed a dwarf mix, burgess dwarf or there are a couple on Zooplus, JR farms & Bunny dream both do a good dwarf mix.
They are generally more fond of seeds than syrians, a spray of millet in the cage usually goes down well.
Wheel size if you have an old silent spinner (new ones don't work!) 6.5" is fine otherwise 8", karlie wheels are good, I found the Trixie really noisy so wouldn't recommend that.

[CMB]

If they live together they may fall out as they get older and you would need to separate them. It would be a good idea to have a spare cage or storage box ready just in case.

[Cinnamon Bear]

If you have a pair they need a 40 gal breeder size tank, think that's 648 Sq in. UK cages are a little different but with 2 hamsters, even though they are small still need just as much space as other species.

I noticed you have a level, I'd remove that as they can get territorial over it and fight causing injury or death. You'd always need 2 of everything & an extra cage available in case they start fighting & then you'd need the cage in advance to be able to seperate. They can have fall-out even after living happily for months.

Regarding the hamsters balls I see in the photo, robos can get very nervous in hamster balls so make sure they have a choice whether they want to go into the balls or not. My robo went into her ball only 2x's before deciding that she didn't like it.

Please don't chase them around in order to catch them to hold them. We want that where the hamster usually doesn't like to be held 99% of the time (robo's that is).

Congratulations on your new pets (if you decide to adopt )
Also, remember they will need a vet fund! Just in case, but chances are higher with a pair due to fighting. But the hammies can get sick so you'd need to be financially prepared. / Just saw how you have Syrians so you already know about the vet

Robos are very entertaining & can use smaller toys which is fun, I still give my robo an 8 in Wodent Wheel & they love flying saucers. Careful of the Silent Spinners as they aren't made that well & hammies can't move them.

For treats they love millet, papaya treats, seeds & meal worms

[cypher]

You do need two of everything & no levels, I really don't think changing the cage would be a good idea as that could well be enough to set off some fighting due to stress.
I have no experience of pairs or groups myself but in another thread kyrilliondaemon who does have experience suggests that smaller cages & less toys might actually be less likely to cause fighting or resolve it if it starts, I know most of us (including me!) generally think bigger is better along with lots of toys but maybe that wouldn't be the right thing in a situation like this.
I definitely wouldn't use balls for robos, the bin is the best place for those!

[CMB]

Bin the balls or keep them. They are useful for transferring the hamster to a playpen of box for when cleaning the cage if they are startled by hands in their cage.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Some people keep only 1 robo in 648 Sq in

I'd really check into correct cage sizes before adopting, people have different view & different experiences!

[candice clews]

Hi guys! Its been quite an eventful day! The two dwarf hamsters that the woman assured me were still for sale were actually not after i rang her on her mobile number! That upset me quite a bit! I then thought maybe pets at home have got some dwarf adoption hamsters in rather than buying a baby one and i would buy a cage from there and just have the one as two isnt very practical if they fight. I then 20 mins later just before going out to get one, got a text message from someone on Facebook offering me two hamsters with a cage for free! She said her daughter had lost interest in them and although she wasn't 100% on the breed they are she said they were smaller than a normal hamster. She sent a picture of the cage and it is a mini furplast duna, which on facebook i was assured was the correct size for a pair of dwarf hamsters, however i wasn't fully certain! At 3 o clock she said she would send me pictures when she got back home as she was out, however i havent heard anything back :/ im now beginning to think maybe she was just playing me up or shes decided to keep them as she said she didnt really want to get rid of them. Whats your thoughts on this?

[candice clews]

Im going to see if this person actually does respond eventually or whether she is generally wasting my time. I had a lot of faith in her being genuine but now im not quite sure.... of course i could be wrong though! If it doesn't go to plan then i think i might just buy a cage and get a dwarf hamster from the adoption centre as i had originally planned! Unless i see a baby one i really like! If this does go to plan then i think i will keep them in the cage they are in to prevent stress and fighting! If they do fight, then i will have money for a second cage any way and vet is covered! X