Russian Dwarf Hamsters as Pets
Russian Dwarf Hamsters make adorable pets. They are friendly, small and very cuddly. They have been household pets for over 20 years now, so we know they can amicably live with humans.
Female Russian dwarf hamsters are the ones to be beware of as they are more dominant and can get aggressive when pregnant. They tend to feel insecure and might bite at you if they feel they or their babies are in any danger.
At time of breeding, one has to be extra cautious as sometimes these hamsters just abandon their babies. At these times, you must take full responsibility for the young ones and take care of them yourself. So, when you decide to keep them as pets, do consider if you are up for this responsibility, if it ever happens.
A female full grown Russian dwarf hamster is around 12 cm long, males can be bit bigger. These adorable little fluffy animals are found in mostly grey and white colors with a black line on their backs. They live up to 2 years and are more sociable then the common Syrian Hamsters.
Housing: The transition of a Hamster from a pet shop to your house should be smooth and thus selecting the cage and supplies etc. with a lot of attention helps your pet to adjust well. Buy a cage which is neither too big for the Hamster, nor too small.
The right size helps Hamsters grow well. Choose carefully from wired cages and plastic ones, ones that are easy to clean or the ones that have a lot of “hamster play and relaxation stuff” that makes it difficult to clean.
Feeding: An essential aspect of keeping a hamster or any other animal for that matter is the proper feeding. Russian Dwarf Hamsters have special feeding needs and these must be taken care of, no matter what happens. There are basically two types of Hamster diet you could choose from, pelleted diet and loose mix (also known as based diet). The advantage with keeping a Hamster as a pet is that like other common pets, Hamster food is readily available in the market. You could also supplement it with some common food items that are eaten at home by humans.
Breeding: In order to make the hamsters breed, if you have a female and male hamster, then first interchange their cages. This is done so that they are familiarized with each others scents. Then after an hour or so, you can put them together in one cage and see them mix with each other. They might bite each other and get aggressive at first, which is normal.
Slowly, you will find them gel with each other and finally mate. The gestation period of a hamster is 16-18 days. Once you are sure the female hamster is pregnant, you need to give her high calcium diet of bread and low fat milk. Keep her cage neat and give her some toilet paper to make a nest for the new born.
Taking care of the new born: Once the pups are born, no matter how tempting it may seem (as they are truly adorable), do not touch them till next 18 days at least. As their mother might get your scent on them and end up killing them all. So, no matter what you do, do not touch them. You can put your hand in the cage for providing them water and food. Before you get your hamster to breed, ensure you are capable of taking the responsibility of the baby hamsters.
Keep the above mentioned tips in mind and you shall have a great time with your new little friends!