Hamsters are cute, cuddly, and small. If you were thinking of getting a hamster as a pet, look at the various types of hamster available and learn a lil about each of them. There are 5 types of hamsters:
● Syrian Hamster ●
● Dwarf Campbell's Russian Hamster ●
● Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamster ●
● Roborovksi Hamster ●
● Chinese Hamster ●
Syrian Hamster
The Syrian Hamster lives alone in the wild and it feels much happier when it’s alone in captivity too. Syrian Hamsters can be aggressive with each other and can seriously hurt each other. Never keep Syrian Hamsters in a pair or a group. Syrian Hamsters are the most commonly found in pet stores.
The Syrian Hamster is sometimes referred to as the 'Golden Hamster' due to its original wild golden colouring although today there are many different colour and coat mutations. It is also sometimes referred to as the 'Standard Hamster' or as the 'Fancy Hamster'. A Long Haired Syrian Hamster is sometimes also referred to as the 'Teddy Bear Hamster'. A female Syrian Hamster is larger than a male Syrian Hamster.
Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamster
The Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamster is also known as the Djungarian Dwarf Hamster. It originates from the steppes of Northern Kazakhstan and Siberia. When kept outdoors it gets a white winter coat. This is a natural protective colour during a period when its original habitat is covered in snow. Hamsters are most comfortable at temperatures between 65 ° F / 18° C and 80°F / 26°C and should always be housed indoors.
Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamsters can be housed in a group of the same gender, if brought together from a young age.
Dwarf Campbell's Russian Hamster
Campbell's HamsterDwarf Campbell's Russian Hamsters are closely related to Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamsters. Because of its thicker coat, the Campbell’s appears somewhat larger than Dwarf Russian Hamster, but in fact it's not.
Campbell's Hamsters tend to become fatter in captivity than the Russian Hamsters. The Campbell’s coat is yellow-brownish with a thin, sharply lined dorsal stripe. Its coat turns slightly greyer in winter. Dwarf Campbell's Russian Hamsters can live in groups of the same gender if brought together from a young age. Dwarf Campbell's Russian Hamsters are around 8-11cm long.
Roborovski Hamster
The Roborovski Hamster is also a short-tailed Dwarf Hamster, but its yellow-brown colouring and striking whiskers lend it a totally different appearance to the other two short-tailed species of Dwarf Hamsters.
The Roborovski Hamster is the smallest Dwarf Hamster. Its body measures only 4-5.5cm in length and its tail is barely visible. Its back is a brownish-yellow with grey under colouring. Sometimes the yellow on its back appears somewhat rusty in colour. Roborovski Hamsters don’t have dorsal stripes. Roborovski Hamsters can live in groups of the same gender if brought together from a young age. Roborovski Hamsters may live up to 3 years but breed very few young.
Chinese Hamster
The Chinese Hamster is a long-tailed Dwarf Hamster and not closely related to the other Dwarf Hamsters. The Chinese Hamster’s coat is not as woolly as that of the other species. Its fur lies close and dark-brown dorsal stripe on its back is not always clearly visible and its belly is light grey. The Chinese Hamster has dark ears, lightly edged. The male has a strikingly large scrotum.
Chinese Hamsters have a quiet temperament and are easily handled even though at first they might be a bit aggressive, but with patience and time they get tamed too. The average life span of a Chinese Hamster is from 1.5 to 2 years. On average the Chinese Hamster is 10-12cm long and the male is larger than the female.
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I would pick Syrian hamsters because they are easy to handle. I once owned a Roborovski hamster. I named her Bokji. Bokji unexpectedly gave birth to 6 baby hammies. Everything seemingly normal but on second day, 2 of the hammies were ''gone'' ( Bokji could have eaten the hammies T.T ), 1 were found dead in the corner of the cage. I thoroughly cleaned out the cage and replaced the food and water ( Idk I shouldn't clean the cage for a couple of weeks after the babies are born T.T ). The next day, one hammie were ''gone'' too! I then realised something was wrong. Bokji breathing really heavily and shaking, sort of..shivering maybe? I sayang Bokji but she is not responding and her back end has suddenly gotten extremely skinny. 2 hammies she had is on the other side of the cage, looks like the mother abandoned them T.T Bokji seems to be vv ill. She died after few hours and I was devastated. I have no clue what happened and I don't know why she suddenly died. She was perfectly fine a couple days ago..T.T Kind of upset because boyfie brought me the hamster and it died 2 week later..T.T
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| so small and fragile...Their fur become visible and their ear canals begin to open. |
I heard that baby hammies can't live on its own when its to young, hand raising wasn't easy! I wrap them up in a soft towel ( to keep their body warm ) and use the tiny paint brush to feed them goat milk every 2 hour. Everything goes well for the first 3 days, they open their mouth gasping once they had some water on her mouth. But on the forth day I found one of them ( the tiny one ) dead. She/he looked fine and there was no blood on her/him. I only have one left and I hope she/he can survive. On sixth day, I spotted something wrong with the hammie, she/he making weird movements with his mouth ( she/he kept closing and opening his mouth ). I add one drop to her/his drinking water and feed him/her gently. I tried to do everything I could but I feel like I didn't do enough. She/He was vv limp, I held her/him on my palm and warmed her/him up and she/he started to moved from time to time. I was so happy and I thought she/he was gonna make it but after a few hours laid on my hand, she/he suddenly breathed his last T.T
