| There are several aspects that we should consider when buying a hamster: | |
| 1. A healthy hamster | |
| -should not be too thin | |
| -have bright and clear eyes | |
| -have round body | |
| -have dry nose (shouldn't have snivel) | |
| -should be active | |
| 2. The hamster shouldn't be too young (at least three weeks old) or too old (not more than three | |
| months old). As young hamsters are easier to tame. However a hamster under three weeks old | |
| is not able to feed itself suitably. | |
| 3. Buy hamsters in the afternoon. As hamsters usually sleep in the morning and you can't see how | |
| active they are. | |
| 4. Male / Female? | |
| If you are going to keep one hamster only, there won't be much difference for keeping a male or | |
| female hamster. However, if you don't want the hamsters to have babies, you should keep hamsters | |
| with the same gender. | |
| Here is a picture showing the difference between a male and female hamster: | |
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|
| 5. Beside different appearances, different species of hamsters also have different characteristics. | |
| Here are a brief introduction to some common species: | |
Syrian Hamster / Golden Hamster
| Scientific
name |
Mesocrietus aurantus |  |
| Size |
male: 12 -18 cm / female: 13 -19 cm | |
| Weight |
male: 80 -130 g / female: 90 -150 g | |
| Pregnancy
|
about 16 days | |
| Number
of babies |
3 - 17 | |
| Life
span |
2 to 2 and half year | |
| Characteristics |
friendly, prefer to live alone |
Russian Hamster
| Scientific
name |
Phodopus Sungorus |  |
| Size |
male: 6.5 -11 cm / female: 6.5 - 10.5 cm | |
| Weight |
male: 35-43 g / female: 32-37 g | |
| Pregnancy
|
about 3 weeks | |
| Number
of babies |
1 - 9 | |
| Life
span |
1 and half to 2 years | |
| Characteristics |
easy to get along with, prefer to live alone |
| *Little tip: This is the kind of hamsters I used to have. I strongly recommand you to keep one russian hamster in a cage only. I didn't know they prefer to live alone when I bought them, and end up having the two of them fight all days. If you decide to breed them, you should see if the two hamsters get along with each other. And should also separate them with different cages. |
Campbell Hamster
| Scientific
name |
Phodopus Campelli |  |
| Size |
male: 7 - 11.5 cm / female: 7 - 11cm | |
| Weight |
male: 35 - 45 g / female: 32-40 g | |
| Pregnancy
|
about 3 weeks | |
| Number
of babies |
1 - 9 | |
| Life
span |
1 and half to 2 years | |
| Characteristics |
more difficult to get along with, sensitive and often being nervous |
Roboroskii Hamster / Desert Hamster
| Scientific
name |
Phodopus Roboroskii |
 |
| Size |
5 - 7 cm | |
| Weight |
15 - 40 g | |
| Pregnancy
|
about 3 weeks | |
| Number
of babies |
1 - 9 | |
| Life
span |
3 to 3 and half years | |
| Characteristics |
nervous, timid, sociable (can be kept with other desert hamsters) |