How to care for a dwarf hamster

Caring for a dwarf hamster requires responsibility. You must be willing to spend some time and money to properly care for a dwarf hamster. But it’s totally worth it because they are cute and make great pets!

Contents

1. Items for the enclosure

2. Food and water

3. Toys, activities, and hideouts

Items for the enclosure

• For the cage you need at least 40 in x 20 in so your hamster can get lots of exercise. Your hamster needs space to be happy, otherwise if you get a small cage then your hamster won’t do much and be bored most of the time.

• Bedding is very important so your hamster can burrow. You will need at least 10 inches deep of bedding so your hamster can have fun burrowing because it’s a natural behavior. Bedding can be paper-based. Try to avoid paper shredding, pellets, and no fleece or blankets.

Food and water

• You will need some food for your hamster. If you have to go to the store, I recommend buying hamster seed mix and several food brands and mix them together for your hamster to enjoy. If you look on Etsy, you can search for good mixes suitable for your dwarf hamster so you won’t have to mix together different brands of hamster mix.

• Water is very important for your hamster. You can get a water bottle and/or a water dish. I recommend getting both because if you get a water dish your hamster will have to work less to get water. And if you get a water bottle for your hamster, it will mostly have to work harder to get the water compared to a water dish.

Toys, Activities, and Hideouts

• Hideouts are going to give your hamster somewhere to sleep and to feel safe because they are prey animals. You probably need to buy more than one hideout so they have choices. You can find hideouts at Dollar Tree stores and also candle melt holders make good hideouts.

• It’s not a bad thing to not have chews because some hamsters don’t even use them. If you grow trees safe for hamsters to eat in your yard and they aren’t sprayed with pesticides or fertilizers then you can properly sanitize them and use them for chew sticks. Chews to avoid would be any type of mineral or salt, edible chews (chews that have shavings or honey formed into a shape).

• Tubes and branches. There are many types of these that you could get for your hamster, such as willow, cork logs, great vine wood, bamboo wood, and paper towel tubes.

• Platforms are important because they can used for holding up heavier items, such as ceramic items.

• Wheels are good for exercise. You should have a stand up and solid wheel with no mesh or runs on it. For a dwarf hamster the best is 8 – 12 inch wheels so their backs don’t hurt while enjoying their exercise.

• Playpens are important if you want your hamster to play safely outside of the enclosure.