Couple Questions????

[Leahv1]

Hi, I am thinking of getting a hamster. But i want to ask couple questions.
1) Males or Females? Which one is nicer?
2) Can i feed them what i am feeding my mice? It is a mix of mice/rat/hamster food, mainly mice/rat food.
3) what kind of hamster? I have had some bad experiance with dwarfs so i want to get a different type. (sorry if i offen anyone)
4) I am about to switch my mice to dirt and i was wondering if i could put the hamster on dirt to.
5) how long do hamsters live?

Thanks to anyone who helps.
Leah

[J mouse]

1. Males (in my opinion)
2. Yes, that is what I do.
3. Syrian is a nice kind, but beware of wet-tail.
4. No, I don't think that is a good idea.
5. 3-5 years (with proper care)
I hope that helps!

[Leahv1]

4) then what kind of bedding?
I have couple more
6) What type of wheel is the best?
7) will a 10 gallon tank be ok, or do i need something bigger?
Thank-you for replying it did help.
Leah

[Cammiehammie]

4. I would use aspen, or carefresh
6. A solid wheel
7. A 10 gallon tank will work
Remember that there can only be 1 syrian per tank.
Good Luck!

[J mouse]

I agree with CammieHammie. Make sure the soild wheel is large enough for a Syrian hamster, they are quite larger than dwarfs.

[Leahv1]

Thank-you everyone. I am going to try to get a job and that way i can buy whatever i need. Is it ok to use a bin instead? i have a bin that is a little bigger then a 10 gallon tank. Could i get a big mesh wheel or just the solid kind? Are Syrian hamsters, the same as black bear hamsters and teady bear hamsters? Thanks again.
Leah

[J mouse]

1. If the bin is clear then it is good to use, hamsters like to see what is going on around them even if they have terrible eye sight.
2. A big mesh wheel is good.
3. No Syrian hamster are different from black bear and teddy bear hamsters. In my opinion Syrians have the best personality.

[Leahv1]

Ok, thank you alot. I hope everything works out for me. I hope i can find a breeder here. You all have helped me alot. And i like that Syrian hamsters are not social with other hamsters. Any more advice that anyone would like to give me, go ahead.
Leah

[LilSnooPydOG]

Syrians are black bears and teddy bears. "black bears" are just black colored syrians, and "teddy bears" are long haired syrians. :) The only hamsters you will see, are syrians, russian campbell dwarfs, winter whites (aka siberian), roborovski, and chinese dwarfs. Out of all them, syrians are vesy easy to pick out. ;)

Mesh wheels with the small squares are fine. Solid is preferred, but if you have a mesh one that's fine...even a runged wheel is fine if you weave cardboard through it.

Bins are great, you can customize them as much as you want. Plus they're cheap!

Good luck. :)

[Leahv1]

Ok, thanks. I don't really like the solid ones because they chew on them. I have heard Syrians are the nices kind of hamster. Is this true?
:eah

[LilSnooPydOG]

My syrians were nice...I've never had any of the dwarfs, so can't really say anything about them. Supposedly dwarfs tend to be nippier, but I know some people who have never been bitten by their dwarfs. They are also faster and more hyper, and generally tougher to tame...a dwarf hammy needs to be handled every day to stay tamed, or else they will turn "wild" again and need to be re-tamed. But a syrian will stay tamed, even if it's been a week since you've interacted with them.

Anyway, my syrians were pretty sweet and I never really worried that they would bite. Most of the time they just took naps on me when I had them out, lol. I even had one little guy that would give me kisses. :) So I would say they're pretty nice. :D

[Leahv1]

Thank-you again, i notice that you have msn mesenger. Can we talk more that way?
Mine is noname200leahv1@hotmail.com
Leah

[J mouse]

I don't think syrians are the same as black bear and teddy bear. They are different sizes.

[Cammiehammie]

I have a Cambells Dwarf she was a little nippy at first, but now she never nips. When I go to get her out of her cage she boxes me, it more cute then anything. I have 5 syrians and have never been bit once. My daughter has, and it was not hard, she didnt wash her hands and they smelled like bacon. If I was Smoky I would have taken a nip to. I had a chinese, he never bit, but he did not live long. I want robos so bad.... They are adorable, but I need to find a good breeder.

[Leahv1]

So far it really sounds like Syrians are the right ones for me, they are not socail towards other hamsers, they are sweet, and they are good size.
Leah

[o0sapphirerat0o]

males or females, it depends on the individual perosnality of the hamster ;)

on the food, I reccomend NO commercial foods. I make my own hamster diet (which would have to be tweaked a bit for dwarves) which is

holistic dog food
puffed wheat
puffed rice
shredded wheat
cherios
oatmeal
muselix (all natural ceral)
wacky mack veggie spirals

There are only dwarves (with different subspecies like robo's camples etc..etc..) I have a syrian. which HAS TO BE KEPT ALONE, if kept in pairs or more they will FIGHT TO THE DEATH.


I reccomend dirt for NO domestic animal (unless kept outside) as dirt holds poo, and pee, soaking it up and letting bacteria thrive, giving your rodent LOTS of chances to become VERY ill. If you want something they can dig in, give them a thick bed of aspen shavings.

3-5yrs if properly taken care of.

Another good caging idea is a big sterilite/rubbermaid. I have my syrian in a 90 quart sterilite, with holes drilled into the high sides and in the lid for ventilation. You can customize as if you drill holes to add a plexiglass level, and want to move it, you can put aquarium sealent in the hole, smooth it out and let it dry.

A good website for info on reptiles is www.hamsterific.com

[o0sapphirerat0o]

Black bears and teddy bear hamsters are just cute fancy names that pet shops gave to them, go look up the history of syrian hamsters. They ARE the same.

again, www.hamsterific.com for more info (and to prove that syrians ARE black bear and teddy bear hamsters.

plus their size is in their genes and what they eat, not because of their species.

I'm a human, and your a human, but I can about 100% gurantee we don't have the same body type ;)

[J mouse]

But how come the black bears are always black and larger than syrians? I not saying that they are not both hamster but just different types.

[lilforjc]

I have 2 hamsters-both syrian-Ralph is a "black bear" and he is actually a little smaller than my other-there is a thread on here called syrian and dwarves...you should read itJmouse:-)

[Chaos]

Black bears are always black because they are just black syrians with a cute name to pull in buyers. I've seen syrians much larger then my black syrian.
Its just a colour, not a different breed at all. Just like panda bears are just black banded syrians. Teddy bears are just syrians with longer fur. Its just a fur colour.

[o0sapphirerat0o]

I had a hamster that was WAY larger than my girl! THey are not always larger. The older they are, the bigger they are, you may be seeing adult black bears and baby or juvi teddy bears.

And as the name implies, they are BLACK bears, black syrians. It is in their genese, now if they were black and white, it would be in their genes.

That is like asking why black cats are black.

[J mouse]

I guess you guys are right. Another good kind is the hair-less.

[o0sapphirerat0o]

hairless are syrians as well, just no fur ;) kinda like they have hairless cats, (almost) hairless dogs(chinese crested comes to mind but Ik now there is another) and hairless rats.

[Leahv1]

I have 1 more question. I all ready asked it but i want to ask it again, what do you guys think is better, a male or female? Someone said that males are better, but i want to know why you think that.
Thanks again everyone you have helped me alot.
Leah

[J mouse]

I think males are better just from experience. Males seem to be calmer.

[o0sapphirerat0o]

I have a female, but I didn't chose her. I try to let my animals come to me, and I found her in a pet shop for free becuase someone had surrendered her.

She is a sweetie. It is a VERY INDIVIDUAL decesion on which sex to get.

[TobyRat]

Most people would probably say they like males more. They find males more calm and laid back. Females (not all) are known to be more nippy and have a musky smell while they are in heat. They are both great though. . . whichever one you fall in love with, should be the one you get.

[Leahv1]

Ok thank-you everyone. I think i will head more to the males. Besides i have so many female pets. lol, i just hope my dad says yes.
LEah