i'm panicing... need a crash course on dwarves... any info appreciated

[pixibubbles]

So after Rocky's sudden death i got really down, and my well meaning but sometimes slightly brainless but still wonderfull other half decided a new pet would cheer me up. i made it clear i didnt want another syrian ever again, and he knows i dont personally like the russian dwarves (i;ve babysat them for a friend but just didnt really bond with them).

He bought home two 7 week old chinese dwarf boys.

They are absolutely gorgeous but sooooooooooo tiny (i'm used to big chunky syrians) and i have so many questions.

Should i have 2? They are happy enough at the moment but do they need seperating / a third friend in case one dies or is it too late to add after 3 days.(current cage is a Rody Savic: 20x15x10 inches- no bars)

Is Harry Hamster food ok? (what about diabetes?)

Are their nutritional needs different from syrians?

Exercise? they run on the wheel for ages... they wont run themsselves to death or something will they?

Noise? one of them seems to squeak a lot... are they ususally quite vocal?

What else should i know?

-Pixi

PS... any name suggestions? One is the usual brown with dark stripe down back and the other has a white belly and brown patches and is a lot tubbier

[KOKKINIKLOSTI]

Oh, i'd love a boyfriend like yours! I really don't know much about Chinese, but i've rerad that they are the most solitary of all domestic hamsters! Don't take me too seriously, but they may need to get separated! But somebody who knows about Chinese hamsters should know much better than me!

[Carebear]

No no no, dawrf hamster's are not solitary! They should be kept in pairs or groups.

The cage sounds good. As for the running on the wheel, that's natural of most hamsters. Now, concerning the one that squeeks alot, you could check his body for scratches, wounds, etc.

Is there a way to get pics? I would LOVE to see them...

Oh, also, what bedding are you using?

(I know I didn't answer all of your questions, but that's because I don't know the answers! LOL I don't want to inform you incorrectly. I'll just wait for someone else to answer.)

[pinkpink33]

harry hamster is what i feed mine, it has probiotics so they will miss it if you change food brands, but it is very good. i pick ou the sunflower seeds, and i think you're meant to pick out the corn too, because of diabetes. this means they cant really be fed much fruit, so i just stick with occasional veggies.
they should have no more than 3 sunflower seeds a day, these are very fatty (speaks from experience lol).
my dwarfs are carzy for their wheels, they'll go for hours a night, and thy've not run themselves to death yet lol!
you dont need a 3rd, if one dies the other should be fine after a day or so. i have found this with my campbells. im not entirely sure about the chinese species, i think they are about the same as the campbells, have read different (conflicting) opinions, but again they may fight, but less likely if they're littermates etc, sure you know this :) they're not solitary though.
if one is squeaking a lot, they are probably bickering over their new cage, dominance etc, but it's only a problem in 2 situations - 1) if there's blood, 2) if one is bullying the other, not letting him have water or food etc. you can try to prevent this with 2 water bottles, hid homes, food bowls etc. obviously if one is unhappy and afraid of the other they shouldn't be together either.
one of mine used to squeak in her sleep (so cute), or whenever the runt (her sis) walked across her face or eyes, it was a single low squeak, like "hey, you're treading on my eye!"
the cage size seems ok, but you might want to make it bigger if you want to reduce the chance of them fighting over territory. i have read, and find myself, that the boys are more docile than the girls, and tend to be less territorial :)
dwarfs are very skittish untill they get used to you, which can take A WHILE! but it's worth it :) i have campbells, one was tame within 2 days, her sis within a week, and my lone ham it took 3 months to get her to stop savagely attacking me!
good luck with your hams, i want to see some pics :)

[pinkpink33]

yes, the squeaky one may be in pain from a fall, or have mites or something ick, so he should be checked, but it's probably just his personality :) some are naturally squeaky!
dwarfs are social, so they should try to be kept in pairs, but they're fine alone too! i think they're better kept in even numbered-groups, as they tend to have a best friend, so 2 may gang up on a third. if one dies, you probably wont be able to introduce another after about 12 weeks old, but if this happens you could get another pair and put the cages next to each other and they can squeak at each other, so no loneliness.
but mine dont get lonely, the dwarfs love their space, and that everything in the cage is all theirs! my syian is the one who seems lonely (obv. i know they're solitary) and begs for sompany (even though she gets 4 hours a night lol)

[lilangel1518]

i had two chinese and they ran a ton on their wheels. i recommend as large a cage as you can find. mine were great for a few months but once they hit maturity one killed the other. im not really sure what happened it was over night. up until then there had been ocassional sqeaks but no bloodshed so i didnt worry.

[pinkpink33]

god that sounds awful :( i thought that most dwarfs (except the ww) will have a few days-1 week of fighting before they kill each other? im sorry for your loss :(

[HappyLouiseD]

I had a friend who had to separate her Chinese Hamsters due to them fighting. You might want to prepare yourself incase they do have to be separated. Best of luck!!

[lilangel1518]

thank you...there was no prior nips or bloodshed or anything so i didnt worry, but then over night he like destoryed his brother.. i think they will be ok though if u give them plenty of space and two wheels two water bottles etc so that way they cant fight over anything.. good luck and keep us updated

[Moosley]

Should i have 2?

Male Chinese hamsters *can* and often do get along well if they are siblings. Females should always be kept solitarily like Syrians because they just dont get on, most breeders will breed them like Syrians too as even male/female pairs don't tend to work.

Chinese hamsters really arent like hamsters at all, they are a lot more active and flexible like mice, they are handleable but are more like mice in that sense than big cuddley syrians.

As for your two boys, i would definately keep them together unless you know they are definately fighting..


Is Harry Hamster food ok? (what about diabetes?)

Harry Hamster seems to be the best shop bought food you can give any hamster :) It doesnt contain PRObiotics but does contain PREbiotics, but they are similar... If you start feeding Harry Hamster, just make sure you dont leave it to last minute to buy some and then find out there is non because switching between HH and another food with no/less/different prebiotics can cause stomach upsets.

Are their nutritional needs different from syrians?

Not really, they aren't exactly difficult to look after :)


Exercise? they run on the wheel for ages... they wont run themsselves to death or something will they?

Chinese hamsters are absolutely manic and very VERY active. Yes, it is possible they can make themselves 'ill' by running in their wheel too much, just as gerbils often do! They probably wouldnt make themselves ill as such but it could make them very hot/exhausted and also make them rapidly lose weight and no matter how much they eat... they burn it off!

If they are literally running for hours then I would honestly consider taking the wheel out and say... let them have their wheel for a couple of hours every evening before removing it again.

With hamsters/gerbils etc that run for long periods like that it is often more of a compulsive stereotypical behaviour... they run just because it is there, not because they enjoy it as such.

Noise? one of them seems to squeak a lot... are they ususally quite vocal?

Its a personality thing, all species can be quite vocal, especially with animals that live together! Especially if one of your hamsters is more submissive, they will tend to be the noisier one hehe like.. the dominant one only has to give it 'the look' and it starts screaming 'it wasnt me i swear! im not near you! im not on your wheel! im not eating your food honestly! please dont hurt me! im sorry! im sorry! please i beg you!' LOL


PS... any name suggestions? One is the usual brown with dark stripe down back and the other has a white belly and brown patches and is a lot tubbier

No name suggestion but the normal colour is just that, a Normal, the other is a Dominant Spot, they are the only two colour mutations known in Chinese hams :)

I think the most common suggestion of names would be Salt n Pepper ;)

[pinkpink33]

wow i didnt know female chinese were so solitary! you learn something new... lol, i dont know the dif between pre and probiotics (hangs head in shame)! can you explain? i always have about 4 bags in at a time lol, when im watching a dvd im either shredding toilet roll or picking out sunflower seeds and corn from their food!

[lilangel1518]

when i had mine i named them ricky and fred from I Love Lucy. Because fred had more white and ricky was normal color

[pixibubbles]

THanks for all the great advice... my new camera arrived yesterday and my broadband rouoter should be here in about a week... by that time they should be calm enough to take pictures and i'll put them up here (i also might have names to introduce them to you all with)

Lilangel... that's awful... but are you sure he killed him? was the cage disturbed? i'm wondering if maybe he passed naturally and bro just ate (gross but i've heard of that before) i;m even more worried about them now... i know so little about dwarves lol

[pinkpink33]

im sure they'll be fine :) just keep and eye on them, and if they are as mind-changing as lilangels', if this is common behaviour in chinese, just remove one if there is any bullying or any signs. you can always keep them in separate cages next to each other if they need separating, so they can still squeak at each other.
cant wait for pics :) i love ham pics!!!