Are you planning to keep hamsters as pets at home? Then, you will need to be knowledgeable about the hamster breeds you can keep as pets at home. Not all breeds of hamsters are suitable to pet.
In total, there are sixteen breeds of hamsters, but there are a few of them kept as pets. There are several factors to consider hamster breeds as pet, such as they are easy to hold, pet and care for. Also spend time reading don’t keep these hamsters before you know everything about them.
Maintaining and taking care of hamsters are not easy tasks to do, especially for beginners. That’s why knowing the characteristics of each hamster breed is important. By knowing the characteristics of each hamster breed, you will find the most suitable breed for your need. You might also want to know these 5 facts about hamster breed that you should know.
If you have never kept hamsters as pets, then highlight these 4 hamster breeds to pet at home.
This hamster breed is the top and most popular hamster breed to pet at home, according to the Pet Website. It has some other names, such as golden hamsters or standard hamsters.
Syrian hamsters are best kept by themselves as they can be aggressive when they are put in groups. Their size can reach up to 7 inches long. This is a size that is easier to handle by kids than the smaller ones. Less maintenance also makes this hamster breed become favorable.
Syrian hamsters have a really short tail, large cheek pouches and small eyes. Syrian hamsters can live up to 2 to 2 ½ years, but they are known to be able to live as long as 4 years.
Is it difficult for you to differentiate female and male hamsters? Read and follow these ways to differentiate male and female hamsters. They have some distinctive features.
Do you know
that the long-haired version of this Syrian hamster is called Teddy bear
hamster? Yes, Teddy bear hamster is breed of Syrian hamster with longer hair.
Among two types of dwarf hamsters,
Campbell’s Russian hamster is the most commonly kept as pets. Their small size
and inexpensive cost of maintenance are the two common factors that make them
the best breed to pet at home. They like to live in pairs, sociable and quick.
They are considered suitable for children and teenagers.
Another type of dwarf hamster breed is called the dwarf winter white Russian hamster. This is similar to Campbell’s, but it might not be a good choice for kids and teenagers.
This Russian hamster is nocturnal and really active in the evening. Both Campbell’s and Russian dwarf hamsters can reach up to 4 inches long.
If you want to ask your hamsters to play, then you can follow ways on how to invite hamsters to play.
- Roborovski Dwarf Hamsters
This hamster breed is considered as social breed of hamster as Roborovski dwarfs are able to do well in small same sex pairs of group. They are better introduced at a very young age. They are sweet hamsters to be kept at home as they have good temperaments and they rarely nip.
This hamster breed is generally better to be kept for observation rather than for handling as their size is too small and they are agile. If you want to handle this hamster breed, you need to make sure that they will be easy to catch in case they escape from your handle.
Their color is mostly sandy brown
with a white part on its stomach, white marks over the eyes and white face.
They have the smallest size of body among the most popular hamster breeds,
which is only 1-2 inches. However, it has longer life span that can reach up to
3 to 3 ½ years.
This hamster breed is also known as the striped hamster or Chinese striped hamster. Chinese hamsters are not typically sociable hamsters, but there are some people who have successfully raised this hamster breed well.
However, it is better to house each of them individually. Despite their aggression towards others, they are really friendly to humans as they almost never bite. Their active period is mostly at night.
Chinese hamsters are distinctive from dwarf hamsters, unlike how people think they are similar. Chinese hamsters are similar to a rat or mouse, which has slender and long body.
There are two common colors that Chinese hamsters have: an agouti coat with dark brown back and black line of fur along the spine, and an ivory colored stomach, while the other one has dominant spot which is a white coat with spots of color all over its white coat. Chinese hamsters are able to live about 1 to 2 years.
As a hamster owner, you really need to enrich your knowledge not only about the breeds, but also other things you need to take care. You can read kinds of vegetables that can be eaten by hamsters to get to know about the types of suitable food for your hamsters.