The difference between syrians and campbell's dwarfs?

Question

Well, I'mgetting a campbell's dwarf hamster in about two weeks, and I was wondering what the differences from a syrian/teddy bear hamster is in the following categories:

Feeding/care
housing (cages)
Toys
Play/cuddleing
mateing
friends
biteing
behaviour

Please And THANKS!

Answer 1

Food & housing are the same but you have to be careful with the spaces between bars with Dwarves...sometimes they can squeeze out!!

Toys can be improvised out of such simple things as toilet paper tubes or bounty tubes. They need a wheel to run on to exercise and burn off energy. A wooden block or chew toys are great too. They need a place to hide, get a plastic igloo or half-coconut home.

Syrians are solitary, repeat solitary...no matter what the pet store says. Dwarves are usually social, but unless they've grwn up together, they need to be watched for a week or so, as dominant dwarves can beat on a submissive to the point of injury or death. Usually when I introduce dwarves to each other, they start out sniffing and circling each other and may fight, but not to the point I spoke about above. Same sex pairs get along just as well once they're used to each other as mating pairs.

Some dwarves will bite. They may bite whenever they see your warm pink flesh or they may be defending their territory and will be just fine after you pick 'em up. Others are very sweet and will not lay a tooth on you unless they're sick or have babies to defend or be hugely pregnant and uncomfortable. Syrians usually take a long time to tame, but they will be great pets after.

Don't get the fancy mottled or patchy or albino dwarves...their temperments are...bitter. Just a plain grey dwarf is the way to start out. Ohh, dwarves have a social heiarchy, the sweet hamster you handled at the store will suddenly discover that it is now the Alpha ham since it's alone and may or may not become aggressive - you should be able to swap at the store if you find you bought Hammibal Lecter.

I do love them because they are very cute and the sweet ones are great to handle and play with. Their fur is very soft and they do not cost lots to feed or keep. They don't smell..period, as long as you change their litter and wash their cage once weekly. They have lots of energy and have a lot of personality for something that weighs 4 ounces. They are always insatiably curious and obsessed about food. They will see if you are food by tasting you...but that is different than aggressive biting.

Answer 2

The obvious difference is their size. They are genetically incapable of breeding with each other. They also come from two different parts of the world, Syrians from the Syrian desert and the Campbell's Russian dwarf is from Mongolia. A syrian is never to be kept with another Syrian, but a dwarf can be kelt with another same sex that is the same age, an older and younger one will fight. Put each sex together and you'll get babies every 18-21 days until the male is removed. Syrians carry for 16 days. and are placed with the male for short periods until mated. The dwarf is sometimes a little harder to tame and will need more patience then the Syrians. The food is basically the same with the dwarfs being able to have meal worm and crickets (only one or two a week though) as a treat. We also give our hamster peanuts on occassion as an added treat, they love then and contrary to what some say about the shells, it helps keep their teeth healthy. Don't forget to get their vitamins too. Your housing, toys, playing is pretty much the same, but they are a bit more hyper. Most Syrians are docile and rarely bite. I wouldn't mate them unless you either have a written contract with a pet store for babies or plan on keeping them yourself. We breed ours with a verbal agreement, then when the time came the pet store backed out. We kept all the litters, we had 3 pairs breeding too. I'm listing a few sites that can help better explain about both hamsters. There's a lot to learn about both breeds and much more you'll learn from experience only. I listed the dwarf sites first #1 & #2 and the Syrians #3 & #4, the last is a food list of what to feed and not to feed. Be a good idea to print out the list for yourself. I hope all this information will be helpful to you. We have raised over 40 hamsters in the last year alone. We have lost a lot of the dwarfs to cancer though. We have raised ours with 14 cats and none have ever been harmed by any cat. We even just got a pair of mice, the female got out and not one cat harmed it, she was found in our one hamster cage sleeping.

Almost forgot, a good companion for a dwarf other then another dwarf of the same age and sex is a Syrian of any sex, these two breeds are genetically incompatable and therefore will never breed. All of our dwarfs have a Syrian as a cage mate.

Answer 3

I'm head of rodents and birds in a pet shop - the only differences I've found between them are ( Behavior, Biting ) Dwarfs have a bad reputation for biting - although they are so tiny compared to the rest of hamsters breeds and seem to be the most cuddly, this is not the case at all! Now if your talking a Teddy Bear, a Fancy or even a Silky. They are my favorite - Their super soft compared to the rest, love to be handled and caressed and really enjoy coming out of home base to explore with owner. As far as the others go, it's pretty much all the same.

hope this helps a little......Enjoy your new little furry friend! *Wink

Answer 4

Cambell's russian dwarf is uncomplicated and occasional-fee. It has to do with coloring and the place they're from. yet they do have a diverse temperament. DONT get 2 of a similar intercourse. They get advise and combat ALOT!!! i understand. I used to reproduce them.