Posts Tagged ‘females kill the males’

Like most creatures and even some Human Beings, Dwarf Hamsters can have bad tempers and appear to constantly be angry. Often you will see them fighting one-another and this may raise concern for your hamster’s wellbeing? The truth is that they are for the most part just playing and they have no intention of hurting one-another.

These pocket pets take great pleasure in having mock fights, however, many times you cannot really determine if they are just playing or if they are angrily biting each other. They may also seem to be chasing one-another and making loud squeaks, as a result of this you could easily get confused and not be able to tell whether you should separate them or just ignore them. To avoid misinterpreting their actions, you need to be able to distinguish a play fight from a real fight.

But how do you know the difference between a fun fight and a serious fight?

As a matter of fact, you may never know the difference between a real and play fight unless you have very keen eyes and catch a glimpse of the small tell-tale details that go on during these fights.

Fortunately, you do not need to be too worried since Dwarf Hamsters are just playing for the most part and normally two Dwarfs get along pretty well. Just take care to observe your pets during these fighting events, the general rule is: If no one gets hurt, then they are just having fun. However, if one of them has cuts, wounds or bite marks, then you must separate them immediately.

Always remember that the majority of Dwarf Hamsters are very friendly and they seldom fight. If you do decide to house two hamsters in one cage, ensure that each of them is provided with their own wheel and food bowl to avoid the occurrence of fights.

You can experience great joy by merely looking at your Dwarf Hamster as he plays around his cage, but do you know the meaning behind some of his actions? Usually pet owners misunderstand the implications of some of these actions, figuring some of them out can aid you in providing your pet with a more healthy and comfortable life. As with most humans, your hamster will usually live longer if you his reduce his stress.

So what signs should you be looking for?

When your hamster moves stealthily along the floor of his cage, then he may well be nervous about something outside his shelter. He may have seen a cat or some sort of commotion in your house that startled him.

If things deteriorate and your pet becomes even more scared, he may possibly place his ears forward and puff out his cute cheeks. If there is food in his mouth, he will empty his cheek pouches because of fright. If the situation gets this bad for him, it very often means that your hamster is no longer happy with his surroundings and he is preparing to run the first chance he gets.

Handling a hamster at this point is not safe because he becomes aggressive and he will probably bite your hand. If he is lying on his back and his teeth are visible, do not pick him up because again he is showing signs of being really terrified.

When your hamster’s teeth are chattering, this is a sure sign that he is upset or uncomfortable. He may demonstrate this trait if you place him in the cage of another hamster. This could mean big trouble, especially if you put a male Dwarf into a female’s cage, the females are dominant and they will kill the male. If you ever put 2 hamsters together for mating make sure that you never put the male in the female’s cage.

Even if you put them in a neutral cage, they may still fight, and there are some warning signs that you should be aware of when two hamsters are preparing to do so.

They use their scent glands to mark their territory, so you will see the hamsters rub their glands against the wall of the cage. If they want to mark a particular spot, they can also scratch their scent glands with their feet and march around the area that they want to claim as theirs.

So, what about signs that your little baby is happy?

You may see your hamster gnaw the bars of his cage. Do not think that he is planning for an escape! He is just trimming down his teeth. The teeth of Dwarf Hamsters are growing continually, thus they need to reduce the size of their teeth to avoid dental problems and illness. Let him chew the bars of his cage, but see to it that the bars have no sharp pieces that could injure him and make sure that they are not rusty.

When you see your hamster burrowing and searching his bedding material for stray bits of food, or you see him stretching or grooming, you can generally be satisfied that he is definitely happy.

Chinese Dwarf Hamsters are rarely seen in pet shops and houses because they originated in the deserts of northern China and Mongolia and they are difficult to breed when they are kept in captivity. Many States in the US also restrict people from having Chinese Dwarf Hamsters as pets.

At a glance, you may think Chinese hamsters look like mice instead of hamsters. Even though they are small compared to Syrian hamsters, still they can’t be considered true “Dwarf” Hamsters. Chinese hamsters have a longer tail and body when set side by side with other hamsters, and they belong to the rat-like hamster family. A fully grown Chinese Hamster can be about 10 to 12 centimeters in length. Generally they have grayish brown fur with a black strip along their spine and white-colored fur on their undersides.

People think that hamsters live well when they are in pairs, on the contrary, this common misconception is not applicable to Chinese Hamsters. A pair of female Chinese Hamsters that have been brought up together can get along better than a male and a female pair of hamsters in the same cage. In their community, females are the ruling sex, therefore the males may possibly wind up badly injured or dead when they live with the females.

Accommodating two hamsters in a single cage requires extra rooms and multiple levels. The less dominant hamster can flee from the dominant one when it has more places to go to. Normally, they are housed in plastic or aquarium tanks because they can sometimes squeeze through a wire cage or they can get stuck in the cage bars because of their small size.

In terms of feeding, Chinese Dwarf Hamsters have similar eating preferences to other members of the hamster family. They thrive on diets that are mainly comprised of seeds and pellets. These little pets also take pleasure in eating fruits (not citrus fruits though) and vegetables as well as wheat bread and Cheerios, and some owners even feed their Chinese Hamsters Crickets or Mealworms. They also need to have an abundant supply of fresh water, preferably delivered via a water bottle, because water bowls can get dirty in just a few hours, and if they get spilt the little guy may dehydrate if he is left alone all day without water.

Chinese Hamsters can survive between two to three years, but they are difficult to tame and train. They can jump from very high places, can run fast and even break away from cages if they are not completely secured. With their aggressive, playful and very active characteristics, they are not suitable for children under the age of twelve. They are also not appropriate for beginners, and if you decide to have them as pets, it is better to keep your hands off of them unless you are very experienced.