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Chinese Dwarf Hamster 101

August 16, 2013 By Sarah Yee 44 Comments

Chinese Dwarf Hamster 101

Looking for information on the Chinese dwarf hamster? These animals have their origins in Mongolia and the Northern areas of China. They go by the scientific name of Cricetus Griseus and they are a popular pet but not as popular as the Russian dwarf hamsters. Chinese dwarf hamsters are not technically dwarf hamsters, but they are commonly thought as such due to having a similar appearance to the Russian dwarf hamster.

Chinese dwarf hamster basics

Chinese dwarf hamster

The Chinese dwarf hamster will live about 2-3 years which isn’t long but most hamsters have a short lifespan. They average in size about 10-12cm. These hamsters have a 3cm long tail and come in two colors: normal, and dominant spot. The normal ones have a grayish brown color to them. Down the spine of this animal, you’ll find a black stripe that’s quite prominent. The ones that are dominant spot are mainly white with patches of gray-brown. Female hamsters seem to bond well together and if you’re going to have more than one make sure you have females only or males only unless you’re trying to breed your hamsters.

Some people think that females are more aggressive than males and should not be kept together. However, this may arise from females play-fighting and squeaking more than males. Social grooming may also sometimes be confused with fighting. It is not true that only males can be kept together. Regardless of the gender, it’s important to separate your hamsters immediately if they start fighting.

Like Russian dwarves, Chinese hamsters are also prone to diabetes.

Chinese dwarf hamster personality

Chinese hamsters are lively and agile and they enjoy activities such as climbing, running, and jumping. Wash your hands before you pick up your hamster and use cupped hands to do it. This should be supervised by an adult if children are picking up a hamster. Make sure other animals such as a cat or dog are away from the hamster when you are playing with your pet. When you do pick up the Chinese dwarf hamster handle it carefully as it’s quite fragile. If you handle the hamster from an early age it will become tame but just be careful when doing so.

What do Chinese dwarf hamsters eat?

Water is essential for a Chinese dwarf hamster so make sure you always have a fresh supply. It’s ideal to change the water daily as it can become dirty with pellets and debris from the cage. As with other hamsters, your Chinese hamster should be given a food mix formulated specially for hamsters. Other than that, the hamster enjoys seeds, vegetables, fruit, bread and similar foods. They will also eat other creatures such as crickets on occasion.

These hamsters also need chew toys so make sure they have toys designed for hamsters and replace them when they are worn. Some hamsters will hoard food so allow them to keep it for a few days but then replace it for sanitary concerns. Make sure you remove uneaten food like fruit or vegetables before these spoil.

Your hamster’s cage

Hamsters like to have various places to roam around in so get them a half decent sized cage and the cage should have obstacles and places for them to hide out in. If there’s a more dominant hamster in the cage this allows the less dominant hamster to hide from the dominant one. Aquarium tanks work well as these are large enough. You don’t want to use regular hamster cages with wider bars because dwarf hamsters are quite small and they may escape on you or injure themselves trying to squeeze through the bars. They don’t like direct sunlight or too much heat so keep them in shady areas of a room. Wood shavings work well for bedding but avoid cedar or pine as this can impact their respiratory system. Get a wheel as this is essential for them to get exercise.

Other hamster care information

Caring for Chinese dwarf hamsters is similar to caring for other dwarf hamsters. You can visit our dwarf hamster care page to find out more about how to take care of your Chinese dwarf hamster.

Filed Under: Hamster Facts, Types of Hamsters

Hamster Treats

August 12, 2013 By Sarah Yee 18 Comments

Hamster Treats
hamster eating treats

Photo Credit: jpockele

Updated on 15 September 2014

Hamster treats can be used as a reward for your hamster when taming it or when you just want to spoil your pet. They should be given sparingly and never be used to replace a regular hamster food mix or pellet

Table of Contents

  • What treats can I give my hamster?
  • Recommended treats
  • Dog treats for hamsters?
  • What about yogurt drops?
  • More commercial treats and reviews
  • Homemade hamster treats
  • What’s your hamster’s favorite treat?

What treats can I give my hamster?

Here’s a list of fresh food that you can give to your hamster as a treat

Treats made specially for hamsters are also sold in pet stores and online. While these commercial snacks come in many fun shapes and sizes, many of them are high in sugar or contain coloring and unhealthy additives. The added sugar may also be unhealthy for your pet hamster, especially Russian dwarf hamsters and Chinese hamsters since they are prone to diabetes.

When buying a commercial treat, always read the ingredient label to check what it contains. Although treats are only given to hamsters once in a while, you still do not want something that is full of junk ingredients.


Recommended treats

F.M. Brown’s Extreme Select Seeds

hamster treatsI like this because it contains only seeds! F.M. Brown’s Extreme Select Seeds is available on Amazon and contains Pumpkin Seed, Watermelon Seed, Cantaloupe Seed, and Squash Seed. There is no sugar, artificial flavoring, or colors added to it. Since it’s only a seed mix, this treat is  suitable for all dwarf hamsters (including Chinese and Russian dwarves) as well as Syrian hamsters. You can also easily remake this by buying the seeds separately from a supermarket or grocery store.

F.M. Brown’s Extreme Fruit and Nut Small Animal Treats

fruit and nut small animal treatThis is another treat that does not contain added sugar, flavor, or coloring. However, because it has lots of sweet fruit in it, it may not be suitable for Russian or Chinese dwarf hamsters. You can give this treat to Roborovskis and Syrian hamsters though. The ingredients in the Extreme Fruit and Nut Small Animal Treats are Raisins (Golden and Dark), Pineapple, Papaya, Banana Chips, Shelled Peanuts, Whole Kernel Corn, Pumpkin Seed, Apricots, Mangos, Carrots, Almonds, Cashews, Apples, Coconut, Sweet Potatoes, Shelled Brazil Nuts, Shelled Pecans and Sulfur Dioxide. This treat is also available on Amazon.

Oxbow Simple Rewards

oxbow simple rewardsOxbow Simple Rewards is a series of treats that come in a variety of flavors. There are veggie treats, timothy hay ones, strawberry, banana, and so on. The Oxbow treats contain no artificial flavor or coloring. The fruit ones such as Banana, Papaya, or Strawberry may not be so suitable (especially if you follow the recommendations of most hamster guides) for Chinese and Russian dwarves since they are prone to diabetes, but the other flavors are okay. You can find Oxbow Simple Rewards on Amazon


whimzees alligator dog treats for hamstersDog treats for hamsters?

It might come as a surprise, but dog treats can be given to hamsters too! Whimzees alligators are a popular treat that can be given to hamsters. These are cute alligator-shaped dog chews that are made mainly from potato flour. They are also hard and can help wear down your hammy’s ever-growing teeth.


What about yogurt drops?

Yogurt drops are a very popular choice for hamster treat but these are very unhealthy. The main ingredient in most yogurt drops is sugar, and it contains little to no actual yogurt. We do not recommend yogurt drops as a suitable treat for hamsters.

Take a look at the ingredients of one of the yogurt drops available on the market:

Ingredients:
Sugar, Vegetable Oil, Whey Powder, Dried Skimmed Milk, Corn Starch, Honey, Yogurt Powder, Lecithin, Riboflavin, Vanilla.

Some of you may already know this — ingredients are listed in order of their quantity in a food product. This means that an ingredient that is listed first is present in the greatest amount in a food, and and you get less of the other stuff as you go down the list.

Looking at the above treat, sugar is the top ingredient and yogurt powder (not even real yogurt!) is near the end.

Even if it’s supposed to be given only once in a while, I still feel that yogurt drops are too unhealthy. There are much better alternatives with low or no sugar that hamsters will enjoy. Yogurt drops are just an unnecessary health hazard.


More commercial treats and reviews

Here are more commercial treats the hammies have tried:

TreatDescriptionFull Review?
Vitrakraft Hamster Kracker
Baked stick treat in various flavors, usually with lots of nuts and cereals. Comes with a clip to clip on cage bar/wiresComing soon
Supreme Petfood's Stickles
Baked stick treats with lots of interesting flavors, including chicken & bacon. Also comes with a hook to hang from cage barsComing soon
Hazel and Friends Crisps/Yahoos/Cookies
Cookies and other mini baked goods for hamsters in cute shapes. Mostly just made from wheat flour thoughComing soon
Dried mealworm, insects, etc
Dwarf hamsters' favorites. Creepy but nutritious. Eating too many of these makes your hammy fat. Not popular with Syrian hamstersYes, please check out my review on non-plant food that hamsters eat

Homemade hamster treats

I usually just use these hamster-safe fresh food as treats but other hamster owners have come up with their own healthy hamster treats.

Not all homemade treats are suitable for diabetes-prone hamsters so always pay attention to the ingredients used.

Hamster Cookbook

happy hamsterHappy Hamsters is a book full of treats that you can make for your Roborovski dwarf hamsters or Syrian hamsters (not all of the food are suitable for Russian or Chinese dwarves).

The table of contents shows 19 recipes including a veggie hot dog, micro burgers, tacos, pizza, and other cute food (photos included!) you can make for your hammy.


What’s your hamster’s favorite treat?

My hamsters love mealworms, sunflower seeds, and millet. What’s about yours? Leave a comment below with your hamster’s favorite treats  🙂

Filed Under: Hamster Care

Ceramic Hamster Hideouts

July 26, 2013 By Sarah Yee 3 Comments

Ceramic Hamster Hideouts

hamster houseCeramic hideouts come in many designs and are easier to clean compared to wood, cloth, cardboard(?!) or grass houses. They also last longer and are chew-proof.

Here are some great looking ceramic houses you can get. To see prices of items, click on the photos to go directly to their product page on eBay/Amazon. More hamster hideouts will be added periodically!

*Note: Most of these are suitable for dwarf hamsters only, please check the sizes before you buy!

Hamster castle

This castle is great for a medieval theme or a spooky one for Halloween 😉

hamster castle

Ceramic ‘wood’ stump

Want a natural-looking cage but prefer chew-proof hideouts? This ‘wood’ stump might work

ceramic tree stump

Mushroom hut

This pink mushroom hideout looks good in a girly or even fairy themed cages.

mushroom hut

Beehive hideout

Dwarf hamsters don’t eat honey but nobody says they can’t go in a beehive!

beehive hamster house

 

Pear hut

Pears may be too sweet for Winter Whites, Campbells, or Chinese hamsters to eat but they can still live in one

pear hut

Ceramic acorn hut

This is another hamster hideout that goes well in a nature/natural theme

acorn hut

Pumpkin house

Blueberry the Roborovski hamster likes to snuggle up in this one

pumpkin hideout

Monster house

I didn’t like the look of this one but it might go well with a spooky/monster theme

monster hideout

Which is your favorite ceramic hideout? Leave a comment below! 🙂

Filed Under: Hamster Care

How to Find a Lost Hamster

July 20, 2013 By Sarah Yee 44 Comments

How to Find a Lost Hamster

If you need to know how to find a lost hamster, I hope this article will help.

how to find a lost hamster

Not exactly lost in this photo but Oatmeal the dwarf hamster was hiding in a packet of peanuts

Hamster security has been pretty lax in my house these few weeks and all four of my dwarf hamsters have taken turns escaping their cages. Fortunately, I’ve been able to find them every single time. Still, it’s an awful feeling when you look in the cage and realize your pet isn’t there.

The following tips will hopefully help you find your lost hamster.

1. If you haven’t already, shut all doors and windows

It’s much harder to find a hamster once it escapes your room or house, so make sure you shut all the doors and windows in the room that the hamster cage is in. You should also shut the doors to the other rooms if you can so that if the hamster has already gone to another room, it would be trapped in whichever room it is in. You don’t want your hamster traveling between rooms while you’re searching for it.

If gaps under your doors are large enough, seal them up or block with books.

Always start searching in the room where the cage is in before moving on to other rooms.

2. Search in your hamster’s regular hiding places

Flaxseed the winter white hamster chewed up the bottle stand

Be sure to search even in the smallest gaps and pay special attention to any place that looks ‘chewed up’. The item in the photo is a plastic bottle stand but your hamster could chew up other furniture just as easily and hide inside/behind them.

Hamsters seem to like hiding in the same place they’ve hidden in before so check their favorite hiding spots first. These hiding spots are usually dark, narrow, and perfect for a hamster.

If you have no idea where to search first, try these:

  • Under sofas and couches
  • Behind or under bookshelves
  • Inside cupboards and wardrobes
  • Inside drawers*** – not in the drawer itself but the space behind it. Flaxseed the winter white hamster went in there once and I only found her because she was making scratchy noises!
  • Under the bed
  • Behind or under any other bulky furniture (they can squeeze in from really tiny gaps or holes, especially it’s a dwarf hamster)
  • Anything else that has a hole or gap big enough for a hamster to fit in (even if the gap was too small at first, a hamster might be able to chew a big enough entrance for itself)

*** When searching for your hamster, be careful not to push back drawers, cupboard doors, etc too quickly or with too much force in case your hamster is behind it!

3. Look for food or poop trails

The past few times my hamsters have escaped, they’ve always left trails of sunflower seed husks. Look for half-eaten food, seed husks, and even hamster poop. These are signs that your hamster may be nearby.

If you have anything edible in the room or if your hamster food/treats are accessible, your hamster may have also gotten to it and stashed the food away. Below are photos of stashes of sunflower seeds that I found on different occasions when looking for my runaway hamsters!

hidden hamster stash

Oatmeal the Russian dwarf hamster left this stash of sunflower seeds in a cupboard

Ichigo the Roborovski hamster left this stash behind some boxes

Ichigo the Roborovski hamster left this stash behind some boxes

4. Set a bucket trap in each room


If you are still unable to find your lost hamster, set bucket traps in all of the rooms in your house. Bucket traps are a popular way to get back missing hamsters. This is what you’ll need to make a single bucket trap (repeat for as many rooms as you need):

  • Get a bucket that is tall enough so that your hamster will not be able to escape from it (but not so tall that it will injure a hamster falling into it)
  • Lay a towel or other cloth in the bucket to cushion your hamster’s fall
  • Put treats in the bucket as a lure for the hamster. Use treats such as peanut butter on a cracker or other treats that you can think of that have a strong smell. You want your hamster to be able to find it.
  • You’ll also want to put a hamster water bottle in it if you have a bottle stand, or a piece of lettuce if you don’t. This is to make sure that your hamster has enough water to drink and not die from thirst.
  • Make a ladder going up from the floor to the bucket. You can use any existing hamster toys, stack books and other stuff to make one, or make it out of popsicle sticks.
  • Put a sunflower seed or other treat on each step leading to the top of the ladder. Hopefully your hamster will follow the trail to the top and fall in the bucket.
  • Again, remember to keep doors and windows closed so your hamster doesn’t go from one room to another. Check your bucket regularly to see if your hamster has fallen in.

5. Other ways to find a lost hamster

Here’s a video by with a few other great methods of finding your missing hamster

 

The longest I spent searching was eight hours but others have been able to find their hamsters after days or even weeks. So don’t give up if your hamster is missing and I hope you’ll be able to find it soon.

Filed Under: Hamster Help

Hamster Site Review: Kathy’s Kritters

July 19, 2013 By Sarah Yee Leave a Comment

Hamster Site Review: Kathy’s Kritters

Kathy’s Kritters is a web site about guinea pigs and hamsters. Kathy, the site owner, has been a hamster owner since 1992 and a guinea pig owner since 2000.

kathy's kritter tales

The site has stories of her pet hamsters and guinea pigs as well as photo galleries full of pet pictures organized by each of the lovely animal friends that have been or are currently in her life. Don’t be fooled by the words ‘photo gallery’ though, because they’re also filled with interesting facts about her pets . There’s even a a guide to making a guinea pig house!

My favorite part of Kathy’s Kritters is the Pet Stories. It includes a Baby Hamster Journal which is a day-by-day account of the birth to Day 16 of thirteen baby hamsters. The babies went from tiny jellybean-like shapes to looking like actual furry Syrian hamsters (although not as big).

There’s also Hermione’s Adventure — it is a story written in the perspective of Hermione the hamster who goes exploring after her tunnel got disconnected from her lower house.

Each pet story comes with its own color and theme. It feels like I’m reading a different ‘book’ when I go to each story!

Besides the two stories mentioned above, there are more that you can read. They all come with cute photos and Kathy’s awesome storytelling. If you like reading pet/animal stories, you should definitely visit Kathy’s Kritters.

After reviewing Hammysworld and Kathy’s Kritters, I really feel like adopting a Syrian hamster! I will be going to the SPCA  (they have guinea pigs too *ahem*) tomorrow so I might actually return with one >.> Now, I realize we’re called Dwarf Hamster Blog so maybe I should get another dwarf hamster instead…

Filed Under: Other Hamster Blogs

Dwarf Hamster Adoption / Rescue in Flower Mound Texas

July 14, 2013 By Sarah Yee Leave a Comment

Dwarf Hamster Adoption / Rescue in Flower Mound Texas

This message is from Robin who works at Flower Mound Animal Shelter at Flower Mound Texas:

I work at the Flower Mound Animal Shelter in Flower Mound Texas. A resident surrendered a dwarf russian hamster recently. I was just wondering if there are any rescue groups for these little guys or if there was someone who might like a free hamster. His name is Fred. He comes with his own cage. If there is any interest, please give me a call at 972-874-6390 or just email me. Thank you for your consideration.

Please share this if you know anyone who may be able to give Fred the dwarf hamster a good home. Thank you!

The e-mail is robin.vallee@flower-mound.com

fred the dwarf hamster

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

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