Hamster Care Guide

Hamsters are burrowing, food-hoarding rodents from warm, dry climates. In the wild they dig burrows, climb and walk for miles each day, and most species live alone. That makes their needs different from those of most small pets: a large floor area, very deep bedding, no cage-mate, and a keeper who works around their daytime sleep.

Care requirements

Need	What to provide
Enclosure	Floor area of at least 39 × 20 in (100 × 50 cm), single-level, with a secure lid (PDSA)
Temperature	A steady 64–70°F (18–21°C), out of draughts and direct sun. Merck’s wider range is 64–79°F (18–26°C) (PDSA; Merck)
Humidity	Dry. Avoid damp or draughty rooms, because they come from warm, dry climates (RSPCA)
Lighting	Lights off at about the same time every night, no bright sunlight on the cage (RSPCA)
Diet	Hamster pellets as the base, a teaspoon or two of fresh vegetables and herbs a day, and treats kept under 10% of intake (PDSA; Merck)
Lifespan	About 18 months to 3 years. Syrians tend to outlive dwarfs (Merck; PDSA)
Social needs	Syrian and Chinese hamsters must live alone. Some dwarfs tolerate a littermate, but none need company (RSPCA)
Legal notes	No common restrictions; check local rules.

Syrian vs dwarf hamsters

	Syrian	Dwarf (Campbell’s, winter white, Roborovski)
Adult size	6–8 in long, 4–5 oz (110–140 g) (Merck)	Much smaller (Merck)
Living arrangement	Always alone (RSPCA)	Sometimes pairs or trios if grouped young as littermates. PDSA advises housing Russian dwarfs separately (RSPCA; PDSA)
Wheel diameter	At least 12 in (30 cm) (PDSA)	At least 8 in (20 cm) (PDSA)
Lifespan	Tends to be longer (PDSA)	Tends to be shorter (PDSA)
Diet watch-out	General obesity risk from seed mixes (PDSA)	Russian dwarfs are particularly prone to diabetes, so limit sugary fruit (PDSA)

Why “alone” is the default

Even among dwarf species, the RSPCA says pairs and trios “may fall out later on in life” after getting along at first. Hamsters don’t play-fight, so any fight is real, and the separated animals should not be put back together. Fighting usually happens at night. Check every hamster each morning for wounds. If you keep more than one hamster, keep them in separate cages in separate spaces. Unfamiliar hamsters housed next to each other are stressed by the scent alone. Males find nearby females in season frustrating, and males stress each other with territorial pheromones (RSPCA). Merck reaches the same conclusion: outside of breeding, single housing is the safest choice.

Floor space and digging depth

PDSA says most shop-bought cages are too small. It cites a German veterinary welfare association’s minimum floor area of 100 × 50 cm (39 × 20 in) and stresses that this is a minimum. Extra-large cages, glass tanks and homemade enclosures are all options. Choose one level over several, because hamsters see poorly and fall from height.

Depth is the other half of the setup. PDSA recommends at least 10 in (25 cm) of bedding so the hamster can dig burrows to sleep in and store food. That is far deeper than Merck’s floor of a 6 in (15 cm) enclosure height, so pick a tank or a cage with a deep base. Good burrowing mixes include paper-based bedding, aspen or hemp with paper mixed in for structure, soft hay, and pet-safe organic soil (PDSA). Add a dark nest box, and put loose nesting material outside it so the hamster can carry it in and build its own nest.

Working around a nocturnal animal

Hamsters sleep in the day and are active in the evening and at night. Handle them only when they’re already awake. PDSA warns that a woken hamster is likely to be frightened and bite. Clean the cage in their active hours, too. When you do a full clean, put back a little dry, unsoiled old bedding and return nests, toys and bowls to their usual places so the cage still smells and feels like home. Place the cage away from TVs, computer screens, vacuum cleaners and running water. All of these produce ultrasound that hamsters hear and find stressful (RSPCA).

To pick one up, cup it in both hands and hold it close to your body, ideally sitting on the floor so a jump doesn’t end in a fall (PDSA).

Gotchas

• Buying a “pair” of Syrians. They are solitary as adults and will fight, which can lead to injury or death.
• A wheel that’s too small. It forces the hamster to run with a curved back, which PDSA links to long-term pain. Slatted or barred wheels also trap legs.
• A cold room. Below about 68°F (20°C), a hamster can slip into torpor, and domestic hamsters lack the fat reserves to go long without food (RSPCA; PDSA).
• Shallow bedding over a wire base. Wire mesh floors cause foot problems, and a hamster that can’t dig can’t behave normally (RSPCA).
• Scruffing or squeezing. PDSA warns that hamster eyes can prolapse from rough handling or scruffing, which is an emergency.

Avoid

• Wood shavings and sawdust, which are dusty and cause breathing problems (PDSA). Cedar and pine can be poisonous (Merck).
• Cotton wool, kapok, bamboo fluff and other “fluffy” beddings, which tangle limbs and block guts (PDSA; RSPCA)
• Scented bedding, and thick or scented toilet paper (PDSA)
• Wooden cages, which get chewed through (RSPCA)
• Wheels with slats or bars, and wheels too small for the hamster’s size
• Muesli-only diets, which hamsters pick through for the sugary bits (PDSA)
• Citrus fruit, which PDSA suggests avoiding until the evidence is clearer
• A hamster ball left unsupervised or used for long periods (Merck)