Rabbits N'Rodents

There are many different types of hamsters, but currently there are only five species of hamsters that have been domesticated, and they are Syrians, Russian Winter whites, Russian Campbells, Roborovskis and Chinese. So which one suits you best?

Syrians

These are probably the most popular hamster available and come in a wide variety of colours, coat types and patterns and are recommended for beginners and very young owners. They are the biggest of all the species traditionally kept as pets, measuring around 6-8 inches, with females usually being larger and more rounded than males. The picture to the left shows a shorthaired golden syrian.

Syrians are best for young children and beginners as they are bigger and slower than dwarves.  On average, Syrians live for 2-3 years, and very rarely 4-5 years.

This species CANNOT live with any other syrian, they are strictly soliatary animals that only come together to breed and after around 6 weeks babies will often start fighting with their siblings. Many claim to have or have had them live together peacefully but not only is this extremely rare it is also extremely dangerous as they often will fight, kill and even eat one another with little or no warning, so please, please keep them seperate!

In the USA and Canada they are rarely labelled as syrians and instead have been given new names to make them sound more appealing. Common names are 'teddybear' which are for longhaired syrians, 'panda bear' for black banded syrians and 'black bears' for black syrians. However, despite what shop assistants say, they are all syrians. Many shop assisants are not educated in animal care and believe that these are indeed, a different type of hamster.  As you can see below there is no difference other in coat colour, pattern or lenght.

Shorthaired-'Fancy'	Longhaired- 'Teddybear'	Black - 'Black bear'
Black Banded-'Panda'	Dominant Spot- 'Dalamation'	Cream -'Honeybear'

 

Campbell's Russian Dwarf

 These are often found in American stores and are now appearing in UK stores. Their status in the rest of the world varies. They are around 8-10cms in length and on average live for 1.5-2 years and are best suited to older children and adults.

They can be housed in same sex pairs or colonies, however, colonies don't always work out and they seem to get along in pairs better. Out of all the dwarves, these tend to be by far the most sociable, although in rare cases, fighting may occur, and the general rule is, if there is blood, seperate. Intially there will be fighting to determine dominance, but this should not cause bloodshed.

This type of hamster is very prone to diabetes probably due to the introduction of the albino gene into almost all lines and also through continous poor breeding.

They come in a nice variety of colours and patterns, ranging from whites, beiges to chocolates and blacks.

 

Dwarf Russian Winter Whites

Similar to Campbells, the winter whites are not just as common, probably because they do not come in a wide variety of colours and patterns like their Campbell cousins. They are slightly smaller than Campbells, and although they look similar they cannot be housed with Campbells or any other type of hamster other than another Winter white. This is because they have different social structures and habits, it would be like forcing you to live with someone who spoke a different language.

They can be housed in same sex colonies or pairs and again, like Campbells if there is any bloodshed, they should be housed separately. These tend to be more likely to fight than the campbells.

Unfortunately, one other aspect they share with Campbells is their susceptibility to diabetes, although are not just as prone.

Roborovskis

These are still a rare hamster, and are unavailable in most areas, however if you are lucky enough, you will be able to find some. Due to their complicated name, they are often nicknamed 'robos'. These are fantastic little hamsters, measuring around only 4-5cms! These hamsters are not suited for young children as they are very fast, even an adult will have a struggle holding one. They are more a hamster to be watched, and only ever handled over a cage or dry bathtub, because if they escape you will be lucky if you catch them. Also, due to their small size, they can dart into tiny places. They rarely, if ever bite though and are a joy to watch.    

They only come in one colour, and two variations- the agouti and whitefaced, although the whitefaced is extremely rare.  They should be housed with other same sexed robos and can be housed in groups or pairs. Always check the sex of your hamsters, most petstores get it wrong and you could be going home with a male and female! It may sound cute to have babies, but unless you have researched breeding thoroughly it should not be taken lightly, also if your hamsters are brother and sister (most likely if from a store) you could have all types of problems due to inbreeding! 

Robos are generally quite a squabby species, but if there is no blood shed, they can stay together

Chinese

These hamsters are sometimes labelled as dwarves, however, they belong to the 'mouse-like' hamster group.  They are smaller than Syrians, measuring only 3 inches on average. They can get along with another Chinese hamster, but it is now thought that these hamsters are solitary as they so often fight when housed in pairs or groups, females especially! It is now recommended they live alone.

They come in two colours, dominant spot (above) and normal(below). These hamsters do not like change and can become stressed if there environment changes suddenly ie: clean cage, different cage arrangement etc. So it is best to keep their set-up the same and to gradually clean out the cage, rather than doing it all at once. The whole cage should have been cleaned by one week.  They can also be quite prone to diabetes.

<---Normal Chinese Hamster called 'Ping', owned by Luke, UK.

On average, these hamsters can live for up to 4 years and are best suited to an older child or adult. They usually cling onto fingers and love to climb, so make sure they have plenty of climbing opportunities in their cage.

NOTE: Male Chinese hamsters have very noticeable testicles and that can put some people off-(see above).

In conclusion.....

*Different species should not be housed together- ever!

*Syrians are solitary and best suited to children (over 9 years) and beginners

*Those who can be housed together should be kept in same sex pairs as male and females will breed rapidly and you will soon find yourself swamped with babies- and if they are not spilt by sex by 3-4 weeks you will have even more inbred litters!

*Russian dwarves and chinese are prone to diabetes.

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