I am getting a new hamster soon and cant decide which breed to get!!! either a syrian, winter white or campbells dwarf. can you tell me which you like best and give me some info on each? also which is more common to biting? thanks if you can help!
First of all Winter Whites and Campbell are both kind of the same hamster right... with different colorings etc? They both fall under the category of Russian Dwarf? I know at least one of them do...
I have had 15+ Male Russian Dwarf Hamsters. And 5 Syrian Hamsters.
Which do I like best? Well I like Syrians because they are eaiser to handle... not just physically handling I mean in general they are the eaiser hamster. But Dwarfs are more energetic, faster, and can be caged together meaning there are differnt things to look forward to with the hamsters. I will go on a little bit about each.
Syrian- Larger, goes by many names... short hair, long hair, teddy bear... Easier to tame... usually bites less often. Must be caged alone after 2-3 months of age. Is fairly violent to other small animals... I made a horrible mistake of letting a Syrian play with a dwarf outside there cages... everything was going well but then all hell broke loose. The Dwarf was was hurt a fair amount but it lived and was back to it's normal self later that night. Good thing I was watching them closely. I never did that again! Syrians are usually more calm when being handled and come to you more often on there own free will to be handled or taken out of there cage. But of course everything is based on there personality and how you go about taming them etc. Syrians are more prone to getting Wet Tail and they can enter Torpor a state of hibernation that is bad for them... they enter torpor if they get to cold or run out of food/water it is rare though and not immediately deadly but something to know about. Wet Tail is more deadly so research about it. Still none of my Syrians have entered Torpor. And only 1-2 got Wet Tail but only after being over 2 years old and already ill from other things. The Syrian hamster needs a cage at least 360 square inches of living floor space to be happy and healthy. MANY cages do not reach this recommendation. And it's probably the most common mistake hamster owners make.
Dwarf Hamsters... Of course come in different breeds.. Robo, Russian, Chinese. I know most about Russians because I have had plenty. Dwarfs can be caged together but will be equally or more happy living alone. Only cage together if you have done some research of what to expect and only if your ready to split them up. Dwarfs are more active, faster than the Syrian Hamster. And of course smaller! They are often harder to tame and bite much more often. Like being handled less often etc. But again most of this depends on there personality and taming. They are not known to enter torpor... and are more resistant or less common to get Wet Tail. If caged alone they should be fine in a cage smaller then 360 square inches but I still like to aim for at least that amount. If caged together they need a larger cage of course. You can pair or group them but do your research they may need to be split up forever right away or up to like a year after buying them. They will fight at least a little... sometimes the fighting is no big deal other times it can be deadly. The main rule is any fighting that leads to wounds is really bad. OR if they fight all the time it's also bad. Most of my groups or pairs have little to no fighting. One group had to be split up for ever. I have had about 5-6 groups of Russian dwarfs and like I said only one of them was troublesome. You can reduce or prevent fighting with larger cages, more accessories and hiding places. Duplicate anything they fight over like a wheel,food bowl or water bottle. However they fight for many reasons and some reason have no solution. So cage your dwarf alone unless you think you have an understanding on how to handle it. Dwarf hamsters at least the Campbell Dwarfs and maybe other breeds have more strict diet needs. Nothing to hard to manage but they cannot have sugar unless it's in super small amounts etc. I will provide you with a great URL that will explain the diet in more detail. Read it regardless your decision.
I like both hamster types equally... I find the dwarfs harder to manage, even more so if you cage them together. But I would not describe any hamster as a difficult pet to have. Well I personally don't want robo dwarfs... they are more active and faster then other dwarfs. To much for me to handle.
Helpful Info...
1. Most adult Syrians need a wheel no smaller then 8"... 8.5" usually works great.
2. Don't use Ceder or pine bedding... it can cause breathing problems. Aspen wood bedding is safe. You can also use other products like carefresh.
3. I like bin cages they can do well for both Syrians and Dwarf Hamsters and can easily reach the 360 square inches recommendation... and surpass it. Of course other cages work great to and bin cages are not for everyone. Still I will provide a link with more information on that if your interested.
The Syrian hamster or teddy bear hamster is the beat hamster they are the friendliest kind If u find the right 1 they can develop wet tail which can kill them in 24 hrs if not treated and r escape artistes. They live up to 3 years if properly cared for, and are loving pets u can bond wth. Dwarfs are not as nice as the Syrians or teddy bear hamsters and can get diabetes so u can not feed them all the food u can give to a teddy bear or Syrian hamster. I feed mine hazel hamster good from petsmart because there are no additional sugars. The male smells the least n r more calm then the females. Winter white I have heard r good but I will never get another dwarf because the 5 we have owned only 1 was nice n 1 started to bite towards the end. I have not had any Syrian or teddy bear hamster where I am afraid to hold or put my hand near unlike the dwarfs they can b very mean even if they r nice at the store. If a teddy bear or Syrian is nice at the store they tend to stay tht way. There cages need to b cleaned every week n need food obviously I use lavender bedding from petsmart which is good and has more in it than the care fresh for less n still good. At the store u can sometime but rarely get a pregnant female hamster. Hope this helps also do not get a Russian or Campbell or robo they are the meanest ones. the Chinese are sometimes nice but not usually if u want to get a good one get a teddy bear (yes there is a difference between a teddy bear n Syrian hamster) they are the nicest of all the hamsters.
Well i've never had a Campbell's dwarf hamster, but i've had a few Syrians and recently got a little Winter White.
Get whichever one you want, if you've had a Syrian and never had a dwarf go for winter white or Campbell's, but if you want a Syrian, get one.
ANY Hamster CAN bite, but they wont if you treat them right, and my WW has never bitten me even though people say that dwarves are more prone to biting.
Syrians can live a little longer than Dwarves but obviously if you don't look after them right then they'll die.
People say Dwarves are faster, but if a Syrian hamster wanted to run fast, it would and they can both run just as fast as each other.
Syrians are bigger and come in more colours than dwarves.
But to be honest no matter which one you get if you treat it well it will be friendly and a happy hammy.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
First of all Winter Whites and Campbell are both kind of the same hamster right... with different colorings etc? They both fall under the category of Russian Dwarf? I know at least one of them do...
I have had 15+ Male Russian Dwarf Hamsters. And 5 Syrian Hamsters.
Which do I like best? Well I like Syrians because they are eaiser to handle... not just physically handling I mean in general they are the eaiser hamster. But Dwarfs are more energetic, faster, and can be caged together meaning there are differnt things to look forward to with the hamsters. I will go on a little bit about each.
Syrian- Larger, goes by many names... short hair, long hair, teddy bear... Easier to tame... usually bites less often. Must be caged alone after 2-3 months of age. Is fairly violent to other small animals... I made a horrible mistake of letting a Syrian play with a dwarf outside there cages... everything was going well but then all hell broke loose. The Dwarf was was hurt a fair amount but it lived and was back to it's normal self later that night. Good thing I was watching them closely. I never did that again! Syrians are usually more calm when being handled and come to you more often on there own free will to be handled or taken out of there cage. But of course everything is based on there personality and how you go about taming them etc. Syrians are more prone to getting Wet Tail and they can enter Torpor a state of hibernation that is bad for them... they enter torpor if they get to cold or run out of food/water it is rare though and not immediately deadly but something to know about. Wet Tail is more deadly so research about it. Still none of my Syrians have entered Torpor. And only 1-2 got Wet Tail but only after being over 2 years old and already ill from other things. The Syrian hamster needs a cage at least 360 square inches of living floor space to be happy and healthy. MANY cages do not reach this recommendation. And it's probably the most common mistake hamster owners make.
Dwarf Hamsters... Of course come in different breeds.. Robo, Russian, Chinese. I know most about Russians because I have had plenty. Dwarfs can be caged together but will be equally or more happy living alone. Only cage together if you have done some research of what to expect and only if your ready to split them up. Dwarfs are more active, faster than the Syrian Hamster. And of course smaller! They are often harder to tame and bite much more often. Like being handled less often etc. But again most of this depends on there personality and taming. They are not known to enter torpor... and are more resistant or less common to get Wet Tail. If caged alone they should be fine in a cage smaller then 360 square inches but I still like to aim for at least that amount. If caged together they need a larger cage of course. You can pair or group them but do your research they may need to be split up forever right away or up to like a year after buying them. They will fight at least a little... sometimes the fighting is no big deal other times it can be deadly. The main rule is any fighting that leads to wounds is really bad. OR if they fight all the time it's also bad. Most of my groups or pairs have little to no fighting. One group had to be split up for ever. I have had about 5-6 groups of Russian dwarfs and like I said only one of them was troublesome. You can reduce or prevent fighting with larger cages, more accessories and hiding places. Duplicate anything they fight over like a wheel,food bowl or water bottle. However they fight for many reasons and some reason have no solution. So cage your dwarf alone unless you think you have an understanding on how to handle it. Dwarf hamsters at least the Campbell Dwarfs and maybe other breeds have more strict diet needs. Nothing to hard to manage but they cannot have sugar unless it's in super small amounts etc. I will provide you with a great URL that will explain the diet in more detail. Read it regardless your decision.
I like both hamster types equally... I find the dwarfs harder to manage, even more so if you cage them together. But I would not describe any hamster as a difficult pet to have. Well I personally don't want robo dwarfs... they are more active and faster then other dwarfs. To much for me to handle.
Helpful Info...
1. Most adult Syrians need a wheel no smaller then 8"... 8.5" usually works great.
2. Don't use Ceder or pine bedding... it can cause breathing problems. Aspen wood bedding is safe. You can also use other products like carefresh.
3. I like bin cages they can do well for both Syrians and Dwarf Hamsters and can easily reach the 360 square inches recommendation... and surpass it. Of course other cages work great to and bin cages are not for everyone. Still I will provide a link with more information on that if your interested.
The Syrian hamster or teddy bear hamster is the beat hamster they are the friendliest kind If u find the right 1 they can develop wet tail which can kill them in 24 hrs if not treated and r escape artistes. They live up to 3 years if properly cared for, and are loving pets u can bond wth. Dwarfs are not as nice as the Syrians or teddy bear hamsters and can get diabetes so u can not feed them all the food u can give to a teddy bear or Syrian hamster. I feed mine hazel hamster good from petsmart because there are no additional sugars. The male smells the least n r more calm then the females. Winter white I have heard r good but I will never get another dwarf because the 5 we have owned only 1 was nice n 1 started to bite towards the end. I have not had any Syrian or teddy bear hamster where I am afraid to hold or put my hand near unlike the dwarfs they can b very mean even if they r nice at the store. If a teddy bear or Syrian is nice at the store they tend to stay tht way. There cages need to b cleaned every week n need food obviously I use lavender bedding from petsmart which is good and has more in it than the care fresh for less n still good. At the store u can sometime but rarely get a pregnant female hamster. Hope this helps also do not get a Russian or Campbell or robo they are the meanest ones. the Chinese are sometimes nice but not usually if u want to get a good one get a teddy bear (yes there is a difference between a teddy bear n Syrian hamster) they are the nicest of all the hamsters.
Well i've never had a Campbell's dwarf hamster, but i've had a few Syrians and recently got a little Winter White.
Get whichever one you want, if you've had a Syrian and never had a dwarf go for winter white or Campbell's, but if you want a Syrian, get one.
ANY Hamster CAN bite, but they wont if you treat them right, and my WW has never bitten me even though people say that dwarves are more prone to biting.
Syrians can live a little longer than Dwarves but obviously if you don't look after them right then they'll die.
People say Dwarves are faster, but if a Syrian hamster wanted to run fast, it would and they can both run just as fast as each other.
Syrians are bigger and come in more colours than dwarves.
But to be honest no matter which one you get if you treat it well it will be friendly and a happy hammy.