Dwarf hamsters are low-maintenance pets that are easy to watch. They are very active and curious. However, they are not suitable for cuddling. Here you will find an overview of the most popular dwarf hamster species.
Hamsters are one of the most common pets today. With their black beady eyes they are just too cute. In addition, hamsters are considered to be easy to care for and are particularly popular in households with children. But the truth is: Hardly anyone can really meet the species-specific needs of a hamster.
The truth about hamster husbandry
Despite its small size, the hamster is a demanding pet. Only those who know and accept their demands can keep a hamster in a species-appropriate manner. The following points must be observed for all hamster species.
1. Hamsters are nocturnal
Hamsters are nocturnal animals and need plenty of rest and sleep during the day. If they are disturbed, they can become quite grumpy and even take a bite out of the unpleasant disturbance!
2. Hamsters are not stuffed animals
Hamsters can easily do without human contact. Anyone who approaches them quickly and hectically makes them very nervous. Not exactly the perfect companions for small, boisterous children who want to play and cuddle their hamster when they come home from kindergarten and school in broad daylight. When they then go to bed, the hamster really gets going.
3. Hamsters need lots of exercise
Hamsters are very lively fellows. They need a lot of exercise and run, dig and dig as much as they can. A large, varied cage or a terrarium with several floors and deep bedding is therefore a must for keeping the tiny creature!
But even a large cage alone is not enough. The hamster should also be given a well-secured, risk-free free run so that it can meet its strong need to run.
4. Hamsters live dangerously
Nothing is safe from the free-roaming hamster. Better keep wooden furniture and electric cables safe. On the other hand, the lively hamster is so small that even small cracks and low heights can become a life-threatening danger for him. Only if you secure everything can the hamster enjoy its free run.
5. Hamsters are loners
Many a keeper has the idea of putting a fellow hamster in the cage. Well intentioned, but wrongly acted: Because hamsters are absolute loners. Putting them together with other conspecifics or even with other animal species is not a good idea at all! Because they react aggressively and can even hurt each other.
6. Hamsters don’t live long
A hamster does not live very long at 1.5 to 3 years. All species have such a short life expectancy. So if you are not good at dealing with losses, you are not well advised to keep a hamster as a pet. It can be very stressful, especially for children, to lose the hamster they love so quickly.
So if you want to keep a hamster as a pet, you should think twice about it. However, if you are still convinced that you can give your hamster a species-appropriate life, then here are the most popular hamster breeds with all their special features.
Keeping dwarf hamsters
Dwarf hamsters are active and curious animals. That’s why it’s a lot of fun to watch the lively rodents. They are active at dusk and prefer to spend the days and nights in underground burrows. Although they are relatively easy to care for and look overly cute with their big button eyes, they are not suitable as pets for children. However, older and responsible children who are careful with the hamsters can take good care of such an animal.
Dwarf hamsters differ from hamsters in terms of housing in that cages with bars are not suitable for them. Here the little bullies could quickly escape between the bars. One misconception is that dwarfs need less space than golden hamsters, for example, because they are smaller. Since a safe free run can hardly be guaranteed for the small hamsters, they need a large cage in order to be able to meet their high urge to move.
The cage for your dwarf hamster needs to be at least 100 x 50 x 50 cm with a 20 cm deep layer of bedding for digging. A bigger cage is always better, of course. The most important thing for the perfect dwarf hamster cage are enough hiding places. You can also set up cork tunnels, cardboard tubes and wooden dormitories. Employment opportunities such as gnawable branches are also important. Your dwarf hamsters need a sand bath for grooming, which is best filled with chinchilla sand. The sand bath as well as bowls and drinking troughs should be set up higher. In addition, all accessories must be secured against tipping over. You can find more information about the perfect hamster cage here.
We cannot recommend letting the dwarf hamster run free in the room, as it can quickly get lost. Once he’s tamed, you can take him out of his cage and let him run around in a limited space. Be sure to keep an eye on your hamster and make sure that he cannot fall off raised surfaces.
Djungarian hamster
The Djungarian hamster is probably the most well-known type of dwarf hamster. However, little research has been done on it so far. In nature, it is mainly distributed in Siberia and Kazakhstan, where it lives in barren steppe areas. It is usually greyish in color and has a distinctive dorsal stripe on its back. In winter, however, it changes its coat color to white, which indicates that it does not hibernate. Although some Djungarian hamsters get along in groups for a short time, like most hamster species they are more of a loner. We would recommend that you keep them alone, otherwise fights between the hamsters can occur.
With a body length of 10 centimeters and a weight of approx. 50 grams, the Djungarian hamster is a representative of the dwarf hamsters. You can recognize it by its grey-brown color and white belly. The back is adorned with a distinctive black dorsal stripe from head to tail. Compared to other hamsters, the Djungarian has a very rounded body shape, very small ears and a short tail.
The Djungarian hamster is an extremely trusting dwarf hamster. He has an inquisitive and friendly nature. And even at an advanced age, he can still become tame. This makes him one of the most popular pet hamsters. With a life expectancy of up to 3 years, it will delight its owner for a comparatively long time.
Campbell’s dwarf hamster
The Campbell’s dwarf hamster is a subspecies of the Djungarian hamster. In fact, it is so closely related to the Djungarians that it is frequently crossbred with them, which is why many of the dwarf hamsters kept as pets are hybrids. In the wild, it lives in grasslands, semi-deserts and deserts. However, he likes firmer ground than, for example, the Roborowski. The Campbell reproduces from April to October and does not overwinter. Its diet consists mainly of seeds and occasionally insects. You can feed your hamster mixed grains and fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Campbell’s dwarf hamster is a very close relative of the Djungarian hamster and looks confusingly like it. On closer inspection, however, the Campbell’s hamster’s fur is a bit browner and the dorsal streak isn’t quite as dark as that of the Djungarian.
Hamsters are actually loners and only tolerate each other during the mating season. Not so the Campbell dwarf hamster: In nature, it lives monogamously. The male stays with the female and offspring for life.
The reason for this is its distribution area in nature, in which the thermometer can sometimes show temperatures below 30 degrees minus and only rarely exceed 15 degrees plus. Living together protects the dwarf hamster from cooling down. In this respect, Campbell hamsters are not strict loners and can also be kept in groups if the animals get along and have enough space available.
Roborovski dwarf hamster
Although the Roborowski dwarf hamster is the smallest of the hamsters, it has a large distribution area in nature. This covers much of the Gobi desert where it prefers sandy deserts and semi-deserts. He prefers to build his caves between sand dunes. The Roborowski does not hibernate and reproduces from March to September. The Roborovsky dwarf is sandy in color with a white snout and belly.
The Roborowski dwarf hamster is a real tiny creature. With a body length of six centimeters and a body weight of 20 grams, it is the smallest representative of the dwarf hamsters and even the smallest hamster in the world! This requires special housing conditions. Freewheeling in the apartment is very dangerous for this dwarf. At best, you can reserve an area in the apartment for the hamster, secure it with plexiglass and set it up in a varied way.
If this is not possible, then you must ensure that its terrarium (it is too small for a cage with bars and can escape!) is sufficiently large and varied so that the Roborowski hamster can sufficiently satisfy its urge to move.
Because he is very active, not only at night but also in the morning. In general, the Roborowski is considered shy, but also peaceful. In individual cases, it can also be kept together with a conspecific. The Roborowski dwarf hamster is by no means suitable for children and beginners. He is too demanding in posture.
Chinese striped hamster
The Chinese striped hamster prefers to live in forest steppes and semi-deserts. In contrast to the other hamsters mentioned here, this small dwarf hamster has a longer tail of about 2-3 cm, which is why it looks a bit like a mouse. In the wild, these hamsters live in groups of four or five in their underground burrows. They feed on grains and legumes. This dwarf hamster species hibernates and only becomes active again in February and March. The Chinese striped hamster is still quite rare as a pet.
Goldhamster
Measuring 13 to 18 centimeters and weighing 110 to 170 grams, the golden hamster is the heavyweight among pet hamsters. With its life expectancy of up to 3 years, it will delight its owner for a comparatively long time. The golden hamster comes in a wide variety of colors and fur structures. The red-brown coloring with black and white piebalds is classic. Golden hamsters have large, black, protruding beady eyes and a small stubby tail about one centimeter long.
Golden hamsters are strict loners! If they are not ready to mate, each conspecific will be driven out of their own territory – this often leads to aggressive fights. The nature of the golden hamster still contains a lot of its wild relative, the Syrian golden hamster. Therefore, the golden hamster is very skittish and not very trusting.
Teddy hamster
The teddy hamster is a variant of the golden hamster. His long fur and his tousled hairstyle have earned him his name. The fur of the teddy hamster requires a lot of care because it grows throughout its life and gets even longer in males than in females. Keeping teddy hamsters is not recommended for beginners. This also applies to its long-haired fellow hamster, the Angora hamster.
The teddy hamster is a very good-natured hamster. He quickly becomes tame and seeks contact with humans. With a size of 12 to 16 cm, it is one of the larger hamsters kept at home and will please people for around 1.5 to 2 years if kept in a species-appropriate manner.
What types of dwarf hamsters are there?
There are different types of dwarf hamsters. In pet keeping, however, only four types of dwarf hamsters are usually found, namely the Djungarian hamster, the Campbell dwarf hamster, the Roborowski dwarf hamster and the Chinese striped hamster.
How many species of dwarf hamster are there?
There are 20 different types of dwarf hamsters. However, four species are most commonly kept as pets: the Roborovsky hamster, the Djungarian hamster, the Campbell’s hamster and the Chinese striped hamster.
What is the tamest hamster species?
The teddy hamster is a very good-natured hamster. He quickly becomes tame and seeks contact with humans. With a size of 12 to 16 cm, it is one of the larger hamsters kept at home and will please people for around 1.5 to 2 years if kept in a species-appropriate manner.
When do hamsters bite?
In addition to the psychological stress, there can also be physical reasons why the hamster bites. If your hamster does not normally bite, you should definitely check with your veterinarian to see if your hamster is in pain or has an illness.
Which hamsters are also diurnal?
The golden hamster is more suitable for children because it can also be active during the day. It’s also easy to tame.
Do dwarf hamsters become tame?
The animal will change its behavior over time, get used to you and eventually gain enough courage to climb onto your hand on its own. If you want to tame your hamster, you usually don’t need a lot of patience.
