Siberian Hamster?

[Tweety_Pie]

My sister (green_chamelon_girl) and I just got back form PetsMart. And guess what we saw! The cutest little SIBERIAN HAMSTERS! So we went off in the store to find my mom. We showed her the hamsters and her heart just melted! lol

Anyways my brother is giving me his old job and it pays $75.00 a week!

And my mom said as soon as I get the job...I COULD GET A HAMSTER! Now this isn't the first time I've owned a hamster, but since it's a different species(sp?) there might be some different info.

Any Information?

[batgirl1980]

I had siberian hamsters for a while.. my husband loved them, and i had some experience with them, so we got them.
They aren't real social with each other, so best to get one, at least in my experience...
and with petsmart hamsters.. try and get baby ones (small as you can).. easier to tame.. and until they are tame they WILL BITE (and yes, it hurts).. but it just takes time for them to get used to your scent (always wash your hands before and after so they don't smell something on you and think food)... ermm... I'm not sure of what else to add.. in my experience the boys were nicers through their whole life than the girls.. but could have just been the personailties of the ones I had, like anything.

I adored them, but decided to get a bird instead of another hammy or two or three, once they passed on.

I don't know if that helped much... in general , care is the same as other hammies..

[Tweety_Pie]

I also found a cage it's exactly like this.

[RockyRoad]

Ooh, Campbells Russian Dwarf Hamsters are so cute! I have two of them, well obviously, Perrie & Speedy.

First of all, they do not have muscles to throw up, like all rodents and rabbits, so it is not a good idea to neglect to feed them.
Don't house them in pine bedding. It hurts them. Aspen is the kind we use, it is more comfy.
A wheel is necessary, hamsters need at least an hour of play time.
Hamsters are afraid of lots of things, so be sure not to do anything to alarm them, i.e. loud noises.
They need lots of nutrients, make sure to give them a nutritious food.
As batgirl said, they do bite until they are tamed. If you wake them up during their sleepy time (the day), they will not be happy.
Dwarf hamsters in general tend to be better off with a friend, just make sure they are the same sex!
CRDHs are suseptible to diabetes.
Make sure their cage is secure, they can escape very easily!


A good thread to check out is the hamster info thread made by tikeyas mom. It can be viewed
here.

Also, if you ever need any help, I reccomend asking Tikeyas Mom. She helped me with a lot of stuff, and has done lots of research and has lots of experience with hamsters.

Good luck!

P.S.- That cage is the cage we bought for the both of them, but now it's Speedy's.

[shellonabeach]

Firstly Siberian is a name given to dwarf WINTER WHITE hamsters (these differ from Campbells and I'm not meaning to shout at anyone ).

Dwarves are social animals (in most cases) so it is actually better to get 2 of the same sex. They may in a rare occasion not get on and fight to the point of drawing blood and have to be separated but as I said this is rare; some amount of squabbling is normal. They should be provided with 2 houses so they can get away from each other if need be (by houses I mean plastic houses/nests they sleep in).

The cage you posted the picture of isn't really suitable for dwarves - it is very high and a hamster could get hurt if it falls from the top level. Dwarves are not as good climbers as syrian hamsters, being smaller and often rather rounded. Also the wheels in that picture are runged - these can break a hamsters leg (as I'm sure you know from previous hamster ownership). I personally think that dwarves are best kept in a glass tank (10 gallons minimum), if not go for a cage which is not as tall.

Finally last week a friend of mine in the U.S. found out that her 2 dwarves had diabetes, this is unfortunately too common in petstore dwarves. Hers were from where you are planning to get yours from - and she is not the first to get dwarves with diabetes from there.

Good luck and have fun being back in the world of hamster ownership

[batgirl1980]

I agree with shellonabeach about the cage.. Although it LOOKS neat, it really isn't the best for them. They have little feet. Try to stay with smooth surfaces. Petsmart should have S.A.M cages, which aren't bad (provided you take out the bottom that has lines like your cage, and just leave the smooth bottom)

As for being social.. if they've grown up together, there's a MUCH better chance they will not fight.. but if they haven't, there's a higher chance of them fighting to the point one bleeds or worse. So if you get two, be watchful. (They make noises when they fight too).

Oh, and as for not being good climbers.. my dwarves climbed stupendously! I had a couple S.A.M cages, all hooked together with these tubes for it, and they climbed up them fine, but the cage you show could cause them a hard fall... They will climb if given opportunity, and mine loved to do so, but with the tubes, if they fell it was just a slide, not a fall.

[Tweety_Pie]

yea i kinda figured the cage might be a little big. Im glad to have your opinions The only thing is, the S.A.M. cages...arn't they like Habbitrail?

[tikeyas_mom]

I own a habitrail and it is fine. I suggest getting a ten gallon tank they are easy to clean and they are super fun for hammies, pluse they dont make a mess like cages with bars

[Tweety_Pie]

I don't like Habbitrail that much. They scare me! lol

I don't like them to much because my borthers hamster(RB) had one and she chewed a huge hole in it and got out..... and another reason, there wasn't any air holes!

[tikeyas_mom]

ok then we are not talking about the same habitrail lol.

I have a saffari set one and a space station. they have bars because they are wire cages. here is a pic..


^cuddles cage^


^whiskys cage^


^spurs cage^

[Tweety_Pie]

no not those ones. I like those ones, the ones I'm talking about are the ALL plastic ones.

[cocker_luva]

what do siberian hampsters look like? i'm not sure that i've seen them.

[Tweety_Pie]

They look like this

[iwuvsmypuppy]

aawwwww those are cute!! congrats on the addition( are the ones in the pic urs?)

[Tweety_Pie]

no lol...

I havn't got one yet..lol

If I end up getting one it would be in July around my birthday