Before you go out a buy a pet hamster, you should know that there are several different breeds of hamster and each breed has a slightly different disposition and care needs. The first step of learning how to take care of a hamster is knowing what type of hamster you have. There are two general types of hamster breeds that make for suitable pets. The Syrian hamster and several dwarf breeds.
Syrian Hamster Breed
The Syrian hamster is the largest of the pet hamster breeds that can grow to 7 inches (18cm) and weight 6.5 ounces (180g). It comes in many different colors and fur coats; several of which have nicknames for these variations. These of course include:
- Golden Hamster
- Teddy Bear Hamster
- Black Bear Hamster
- Panda Bear Hamster
Since the Syrian is the largest breed of hamster, it’s also the easiest to handle and best for beginners. The Syrian is a solitary animal and while you might see them kept together in the same cage at the pet store, when they get older they will begin to fight it’s cage mates as it tries to stake out it’s own personal cage space. Read more….
Dwarf Hamster Breed
A dwarf hamster is well, a dwarf sized hamster. The various breeds range in in size from 3.5-4 inches (9-10cm) long with a weight of .75-1.75 ounces (25-50g). These hamster types include:
- Campbell’s Dwarf Hamster
- Winter’s White Hamster
- Chinese Dwarf Hamster
- Robo Hamster
- Djungarian Dwarf Hamster
The Campbell’s and Winter’s White are the easiest to handle of all the dwarf hamsters and probably make for the best pets. These breeds are friendly and have a temperament that closely resembles that of the Syrian. The Robos ad Chinese dwarfs are fast, squirmy, not as easy to handle and thus harder to tame. However they are very entertaining to observe. Read more…
Photos by: kuchenkuh, necrocake
Author: Tim Winter
