An introduction to hamsters

Did you know, there are five main domestic species of hamster? These include: the Syrian (most common and largest), the Winter White, Campbell, the Chinese and Roborovski hamster. Each breed comes with their own quirky personality traits, habits and appearance. Hamsters can make a lovely addition to any family.

Our helpful guide covers everything from companionship, health, and accommodation, to how to handle your hamster and more. We hope this will help you with your decision about rehoming a hamster and which species is right for you.

Hamster companionship

All species of hamster must live alone as pets. Syrian and Chinese hamsters live alone in the wild and are incredibly territorial. Some of the smaller species of hamster would live in groups in the wild for safety and to share resources, but these Dwarf species often fight when kept as pets. They may seem okay together for a while, but their fights can be fatal, so it’s safer to house them alone.

Health and life expectancy of hamsters

Hamsters are generally healthy animals and can live up to the age of three. Most illness come with old age or poor care.

Read more about hamster health.

Housing your hamster

Hamsters travel long distances in the wild – some up to five miles in 24 hours! So, they need lots of space to keep them happy. All species of hamster should live in an enclosure that’s at least 100cm long and 50cm wide. All dwarf species will need an enclosure that is at least 40cm high with 6mm bar spacing. Syrian hamsters need to live in an enclosure that is at least 50cm high and with 1cm bar spacing.

Read more about housing your hamster and making them feel at home.

Feeding your hamster

Hamsters are omnivores, they require a well-balanced diet of seeds, grains, vegetables, pulses and meat sources. Feeding your hamster a good quality, complete dry mix will provide the essential nutrients they need to keep them healthy.

As natural foragers, they like to look for their food so it’s worth scattering their daily allowance around their enclosure rather than feeding them from a bowl. To keep them interested in their food, it’s worth introducing a variety of healthy treats in moderation. These include:

• Raw or cooked pasta
• Fresh fruits and vegetables including broccoli, curly kale, strawberries and grapes
• Small amount of boiled eggs
• Pulses and cereals
• Fresh mealworms – one or two at a time, unless their dry food already includes this
• Apple wood or other fruit tree wood for them to gnaw on
• Dried herbs including mountain and garden mix – Supreme Petfoods have a variety of dried food for hamsters on their website.
• Dog biscuits such as gravy bones
• Avoid water supplements, fatty or colourful chew sticks and mineral and salt blocks. These can cause more harm than good so it’s best to stick to healthy, natural treats.

Are hamsters family-friendly pets?

Yes! Hamsters can make a lovely first-time pet for calm and patient children who are interested in learning about how to care for an animal. New hamsters and babies may be nervous at first, especially if they haven’t been handled much, so it’s worth giving them time to settle when you first bring them home.

Hamsters are nocturnal so they will sleep more in the day and be active at night. If you live in a busy household with lots of comings and goings, it’s worth bearing in mind, they may not appreciate being woken up.

The safest way to socialise your hamster is to place a short tunnel in front of them to encourage them to walk in, and let them come out to investigate you in their own time. This can be done on the floor of a secure room or in a bath.

Handling your hamster

Hamster enjoy being handled from time to time but it’s important to take extra care so they feel supported and comfortable.

• Cup your hands under the hamster and gently lift them towards your body.
• Syrian hamsters can be gently picked up by placing one hand behind their front legs and supporting their rear end with the other. This should only be done once your hamster feels comfortable being picked up regularly using the cupping method.
• For the first few weeks, sit on the floor and allow your hamster to walk over each hand or sit in your lap.

Always try to place them back in the cage whilst they are still relaxed and happy with the situation rather than when they become irritable. Otherwise this will become a learned behaviour of how to get you to leave them alone.

Once they’re happy with you, you can slowly practice picking them up from your lap and placing them back down again. After one to two weeks of this calm and patient approach, you’ll find your hamster is quite happy to be picked up, handled and hand fed.

Roborovski hamsters and handling

Roborovski hamsters are incredibly fast and because of this, it’s very tricky to regularly handle them, especially by young children. Due to their exceptionally small size, they’re also difficult to pick up. Their fast and sudden movements could result in an injury, so it’s best to just enjoy watching them rather than picking them up.

Transporting your hamsters

Make sure you have a suitable pet carrier available for when you need to take your hamster to the vet or when cleaning their cage. To keep your hamster relaxed and happy at this time, place some of the bedding in the base of the carrier along with a little house or tunnel. Lastly, scatter a small amount of food around the carrier for your hamster to enjoy.

Looking for more advice? If you have further questions about your pet hamster, or looking for support with anything to do with your pet, please don’t hesitate to contact us for help and advice.

Discover the perfect care tips for your hamsters in our hamster care guide.

Adopt small animals like hamsters with Woodgreen today.