hey everyone! new to this section! - Paw Talk

TareG · #1 02-25-2005, 12:51 AM

Hey! I am brand new to the hamster section of PawTalk, although I have been discussing in the Mouse & Rat, Dogs, and Chinchilla forums for a while!
What brings me here tonight is the fact that I think I want a hamster!

One of my best friends has one named Hermie and he is so fun and cute that I think a hamster would be the best pet for me. I currently have mice, and was entertaining the thought of rats, but I wondering now if hamsters are a better bet?

I guess I have a few questions!:
1. Do they bite agressively? Can their bites cause a lot of damage?
2. Do they like to live in couples or multiples?
3. Which do you prefer - males or females?
4. Do you think they would do fine in a Martin's cage? (I have recently ordered one!)

THANKS!

p.s. all the pics here are soooooooo cute!

-Taryn!!!

marmilla · #2 02-25-2005, 01:33 AM

I am a new hamster owner, and I would say I like hammies best of all. I've had rats and guinea pigs before. My hamster, Sam is very kind and loving. I've only been bit by him 2x and it wasn't really anything. It felt like a pinch. I have heard of hamsters drawing blood though. Usually hamsters only bite if they are scared. So, if you don't wake him up or grab at him before he has time to smell, he won't bite.
Syrian hamsters must live alone. They prefer it that way and they will hurt each other if they are housed together. Dwarf hamsters can live together from what I hear.
Samwise is a male (I think?! eep). I really see no difference. Both are loving and nice from what I hear.
When choosing a cage you must be very careful to make sure there are no places that the hamster will fall too far. Also be sure not to get one with metal rugs that the hamster climbs on for a floor. The metal rungs are dangerous because they can break the legs on a hamster. There are little mats you can put on the metal rungs to make them safe for walking. Also keep this in mind when choosing a running wheel. Don't buy one with metal rungs and if you do you will need to make it hamster safe. Look in the rodent discussion under "wheel peace" for some ideas. I think padfoot posted a pic of a modified metal wheel.
Good luck! hamsters are so much fun

Picture of Samwise

Luciana Mottola · #3 02-25-2005, 07:51 AM

Welcome

hamsters are very sweet animals,the syrians of course... i do have 6 for my own!! good luck with your new friend

Marmilla

sorry to disagree but i have 4 boys and they live in pairs for almost a year... it depends of them personality...

critterfan · #4 02-25-2005, 08:58 AM

Welcome! Hamie bites can draw blood. If you tame him/her good enough, unless they're scared for some reason, they shoul'nt bite. I know you can keep dwarf hamies in pairs but thats all I know about that. Males and Females are great. I'll have to see a Martins cage to tell you that.

Amethystbelle · #5 02-25-2005, 10:23 AM

Welcome to the world of hammies! They make great pets and very worthwhile little pets, i've been keeping them for about 15 years now and had many over the years so i hope my answers can be of some help to you as i know what its like starting out

1. Do they bite agressively? Can their bites cause a lot of damage?

Hamsters like any creature can bite and yes they do bite hard especially some of the dwarf varieties they bite really hard, but i think its about how you go about treating it that counts, the more time you spend taming it and playing with it the less chance of it biting like any pet.

2. Do they like to live in couples or multiples?

Syrians (golden hamsters) must live alone and if not they will fight to the death with others of their own kind once they reach maturity, i have seen so many injuries occured by people keeping them together that its really not worth even attempting it. They live alone in the wild and only meet up with other hamsters for mating etc.... They make lovely pets though if you only want one hamster and good for handling because of there size!

Chinese hamsters are of the drawf variety and are pretty simular to the syrians, people do have success with them keeping them in small groups but recent research has shown that they are best kept alone, especially the females as they too can fight once they reach maturity. I have done a lot of reserach into them myself as planning to get one in the coming year as never actually owned a chinese hamster and would love one so if you want any advice on them or some links i have a few

All the other dwarves can be kept in pairs or small groups of the same sex!

3. Which do you prefer - males or females?

I've had both males and females over the years and both make lovely pets, although males tend to live a whole lot longer or so i have found but both would make a great pet just depends which hamster you see that you like the look of

4. Do you think they would do fine in a Martin's cage? (I have recently ordered one!)

As i don't now what a Martins cage looks like i will just give you my viewpoint on hammies and cages. I personally wouldn't advise on keeping dwarves in a cage as if the bars aren't tight they will escape quite easily through them they are better off kept in tanks where they can burrow, syrians on the other hand are fine in a cage as they love to climb and are rather robust to escape through the bars

Goodluck if you decide to get one and keep us posted

nygerbil · #6 02-25-2005, 10:28 AM

Hello neighbor - I am in upstate NY - Whitehall to be specific. We raise syrian (teddy bear) hamsters and currently have juvenile (baby) hamsters available. By appointment, we have folks come and visit our 40 something animals. If you are interested in seeing how a well raised hamster can be e-mail us at clafond@nycap.rr.com and set up an appointment with us. You can see our ham babies on http://nygerbil.com/id48.html If you are under 18 a parent must be present to adopt from us.

Best!

Luciana Mottola · #7 02-25-2005, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethystbelle


	2. Do they like to live in couples or multiples? Syrians (golden hamsters) must live alone and if not they will fight to the death with others of their own kind once they reach maturity, i have seen so many injuries occured by people keeping them together that its really not worth even attempting it. They live alone in the wild and only meet up with other hamsters for mating etc...

i disagree... i have a syrian boy who lived with a friend almost 1 year old,then the friend died with heart problems and know hes living with other friend for almost 5 months... so they can live togheter

nygerbil · #8 02-25-2005, 11:16 AM

Just to be clear on the photo link I sent - The hamsters pictured together are 5 weeks old. They MUST be separated within the next week and will be. I am not willing to risk my darlings life to see if they happen to be one in a million who get along!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luciana Mottola · #9 02-25-2005, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nygerbil


	Just to be clear on the photo link I sent - The hamsters pictured together are 5 weeks old. They MUST be separated within the next week and will be. I am not willing to risk my darlings life to see if they happen to be one in a million who get along!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

im not risking my hamsters life... they just live well togheter,when my hamsters friend died he almost died togheter! he likes company... anyways i won't argue...

Amethystbelle · #10 02-25-2005, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luciana Mottola


	im not risking my hamsters life... they just live well togheter,when my hamsters friend died he almost died togheter! he likes company... anyways i won't argue...

I'm a qualified veterinary nurse (although on a break at moment) and i've seen some horrific injuries caused by adult syrian hamsters fighting and they cause a lot of damage, ok you haven't had problems with them and thats good but its just not advisable in general to keep adult syrians together

PKK · #11 02-25-2005, 01:42 PM

Here's the section on my website about syrians:

"SYRIANS ARE SOLITARY

Syrians are solitary by nature. Do not put your own emotions on this animal. They are not lonely living by themselves. They prefer it. In very rare circumstances without providing extra space and entertainment a few Syrians will be non-solitary. A well-known Syrian breeder and judge with vast personal experience and exposure to other experienced breeders said she had 3 out of 5000 Syrians that were non-solitary. That is 0.06% of her Hamsters. It's not worth the possible maiming and death of one or more Hamsters to find out if they are non-solitary. They should only be put together under supervision for breeding. Then the pups need to be removed at weaning and separated by gender. Then have their own individual homes by 6 weeks.

ONE HAMSTER = ONE CAGE!"

The change can come suddenly and violently. It's not worth the pet's life.

Amethystbelle · #12 02-25-2005, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PKK


	The change can come suddenly and violently. It's not worth the pet's life.

Thats very true, good post

Luciana Mottola · #13 02-25-2005, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethystbelle


	I'm a qualified veterinary nurse (although on a break at moment)

so? im a vet too... who cares about your occupation? are you trying to say you're better than me just because you keep yours hamsters alone? that's not my fault if your hamsters fight and mine doesn't...

and i never said ALL hamsters can live togheter i was saying about mine

**Sasami** · #14 02-25-2005, 04:04 PM

1. Do they bite agressively? Can their bites cause a lot of damage?
I've never been bitten, just nipped. My brother was bitten once and it drew a little blood but they don't usually do that much damage. A tame hamster rarely bites.

2. Do they like to live in couples or multiples?
Dwarf hamsters prefer to be in pairs but Syrians must be kept alone.

3. Which do you prefer - males or females?
I prefer females, but that's my opinion. The males can sometimes be a bit territorial and they aren't into petting as much. But on the other hand, they're usually more playful then females. I'd just get whichever gender appeals more to you. You aren't going to notice the differences unless you keep both males and females and even then it's pretty slight.

4. Do you think they would do fine in a Martin's cage? (I have recently ordered one!)
I don't know which cage it is but it should be ok as long as it isn't wire-bottomed and the wires are close together (hamsters can squeeze through small places). It would be great if you could post a pic of the cage for us to see

.

marmilla · #15 02-25-2005, 04:13 PM

Hamsters are amazing creatures that can learn incredible things. (Mine is potty trained now YAY!) Lucy may have been able to introduce her hamsters and in a sense "train" them to like each other. From what Lucy has posted in the past, I know she looks after her animals very well.

This probably discourages them from fighting. However, a lot of people want hamsters because they can't supervise them as much as they would like to, so the best option for those people is to keep the hamsters separate. Plus, new hammy owners, like me, may not be able to see the early signs of fighting between their hamsters. I would say, if this is your first hamster experience, start with one. That way you can observe his behavior and know what is normal.