Thinking about getting a hamster. Should I get a Syrian or a

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>>2356886
>20 gallon

Anon, dwarf hamsters or roborowski can live in groups only if they come from the same breeding. Make sure they come from the same mother, or at least they have been together at the shop for a time.
Also, they need a lot of space so they don't become aggressive. Having the tank you're talking about, you shouldn't have more than 4 or 5. You can have more, but they won't be as comfortable.
I don't know if you're planning to breed. If not, buy them the same sex. Females can be pregnant the time you buy them at the shop, so be careful.
They can have fun together, but buy them toys with lots of holes and pipes, stairs or cliffs, and wheels so they can exercise. 15-20cm wheels are ok for small hamsters.

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>>2356974
My ham ham

>>2356909
20 gallon long

>>2356974
Thank you for the info Anon. The pet store here has dwarfs but I'm not sure if they're robos or another kind. I can go check tomorrow.

>>2356974
>4 or 5
What? That's ridiculous
I have a 30 gal tank and 2 djungarian dwarfs and they just stopped fighting after 3 months of having them

>>2356983
Maybe they were from different families. Also, had to use a unit converter to know what a gallon is, I may misunderstood the measures.

>>2356978
Also your ham is cute.

If i do ending up getting a Syrian, I have an old rat cage (used to have rats) I could put him in. But I don't know if the bar spacing is too big. The second level of the cage is all wire floor and I covered it with fleece for my rats. Would fleece hurt a hamster? Idk.

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>>2356993
Well, we have to talk about bar spacing on the floor and on the walls.
Bar spacing on walls should be 12mm for a Syrian hamster and 7mm for a dwarf hamster. Bars should be disposed horizontally so they have fun climbing, but vertical are also ok.
Floor shouldn't have holes or any kind of obstacles, because legs can tangle or be blocked and break, or even lose fingers. This applies for the wheels too. Avoid bars on the floor or the wheels. If your cage floor has bars with spaces in-between, cover it with a cardboard, and the put a 3cm hemp bed. That will help them to run safely and also they can dig it to build an underground nest. It's really funny to see them build the nests, you can also help putting stripped toilet paper they can use as a building material.
Wheels with bars that have spaces are really dangerous, buy one pieced ones.
Also, all these advices are taken from a book I read before I bought my hamster, it's called Hamsters by Peter Fritzsche. It's really cheap and it will solve all your doubts right away.

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>>2357026
Answering your question, fleece could tangle the legs of the hamster and hurt them.
Here in the picture is the kind of wheels I bought and the hemp bed

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>>2357031
Here's a pic of I toy I build with different sizes of paper rolls. They love tunnels. I put a little cheese on the top and a slice of apple inside so it's not completely easy to obtain food. You can see the horizontal bars. On the second floor I didn't use the hemp bed, only absorbent pressed newspaper. I didn't show you on the picture a bucket with sand hamsters use to clean themselves and also poop.

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i wouldnt reccommend getting dwarfs in a group. they dont need companionship to be happy- they're just fine by themselves. there's also always that chance they can start fighting and seriously hurt each other. you can't watch them 24 hours a day, and its just a big risk to take when it's easier to care for one
the species depends on what you want out of a hamster- if you want a hamster more open to being social i'd get a syrian, they're usually pretty friendly. keep in mind you need larger toys for them though.that can be an inconvenience when hamster toys sold pretty much anywhere are all dwarf sized. if you're ok with less handling dwarfs are still great though
also
>20 gallons
you need a bigger tank m8. 40 gallons is a decent size for a single ham.
pic related my syrian

I have owned 5 hamsters- three Syrians, one long-haired Syrian, and my current dwarf robo I've had for over 2 years. The long-haired Syrian was the most friendly- never bit me and often sought out attention. She was almost as affectionate as a guinea pig. The other Syrians and robo were/are skittish and never became "tame". I bought my dwarf when he was just a baby and handle him every couple days or more- he LOATHES me, even with cushings and in old age he bites the hell out of me and screams/squeaks at me when I put my hand in his cage. He never warmed up to me. He is entertaining to watch but I miss the easygoing nature of my old Syrian. RIP Esther

>>2357192
I got this fat white robo with a black dot on its forehead I named Yang.

I dunno, maybe it's because I poke him on his head every chance I got that he got used to my touching and picking him up. he a soft cutie.

He's currently a little over a year old.

>>2356988
A 20gallon long is the perfect size for 1 hamster, dwarf or Syrian. For every dwarf you wanna add about the equivalent of a ten gallon, ideally double the size. You'll also need two of everything to really prevent serious fights. If you wanna get multiple dwarfs, get Chinese dwarfs. They're the friendliest of the bunch and the least territorial. They're also a bit smarter than the average ham and nowhere near as inbred. Robos are the next easiest to get along with each other but require extra work, such as a larger cage, two of everything, and you can only do partial cleanings. If you do 100% the forget each other's scents and then will kill each other.

Honestly I'd recommend starting with a Syrian or a pair of Chinese dwarfs. Less of a headache and very good Hams for beginners.

I had two dwarf hamsters in a ten gallon before and they did okay, ended up dying because the dog somehow got the lid off and had a snack. But I was only 8 years old.

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I always wondered if you could try to mimic the actual eco system hamsters came from if that would be the best..like dusty/sandy plateaus of syria..would it work?

>>2357515
Aren't domestic hamsters a mix of 2 different species of hamsters and thus aren't the same as the ones you find in the wild? So it wouldn't matter. (I'm not 100% sure)

>>2357539
No they're just inbred as fuck.
>>2357515
You could get a deep aquarium and fill it with soil then put a layer of sand on top, you'll never see the thing except at night.

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I know these are bad for rats but are they okay for hamsters?

>>2357655
They're bad for rats and mice because they cousin hay. Hamsters can eat hay and it doesn't irritate them. So yeah it'll be okay.

>>2356974
>4 or 5 hamsters
>20 gallon tank
That is beyond overcrowded.
It'll be a total bloodbath.

I had two dwarf hamster sisters that lived together peacefully for two years until one of them killed and ate the other's head.

>>2357623

i wonder if you could do kind of a ant farm setup, but make the hamster dig his own. sol you can watch the action.

Wouldnt see them, but at least they would be happy.and if cuddly would come out for snuggles

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I own and breed Campbell's dwarf hamsters, by far my favorite. My male is the sweetest thing ever, he comes out whenever I place my hand in the cage, and licks all my fingers, he'll walk right on to my hand without hesitation. The only time he's ever bitten was when he got an infected cyst on his head from a bite from one of my females during introductions. He bit me twice and bit the veterinarian on his finger as well when I went to get him antibiotics lol.

I own over twenty animals, reptiles, inverts, amphibians, and even other rodents (mice and gerbils) and he's by far my favorite, even though I love all of them. Sweet lil dude.

The females are nice, but not as eager as he is. My mottled argente female is kind of shy but fine with being handled, and my grey mottled female is super hyper and greets me at the cage door, but bites ALL THE TIME. Like not aggressively, it's almost like she's tasting me or something, but she bites really hard. Past that, she's nice and very cute.

So I might be biased but I've noticed that they're typically pretty nice, much less prone to disease than syrians, and honestly I think Syrians are fucking ugly. Campbell's dwarves are where it's at for me.

And btw a 20g long is awesome for 1-2 dwarf hams or a single syrian (which need to be alone anyway) but just keep in mind that aquariums need to be cleaned about 2x as much as a wire cage to prevent ammonia buildup

Pic related is my most recent pic of my male, I love him so much

>when you get too atached to your hamster and it dies months later
that is why i dont have pets anymore

>>2358664
You could, it would have to be 8 inches wide and 45 inches long the height could be whatever, the tunnel won't be super complex but will be visible.

>>2358775
>owning a pet without fully expecting its death at any time and place

I pity the future cat/dogfags who will make threads about their euthanized animals here.

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>>2358693
I work at Petco and we get these 'sunfire' things. I think they are a type of djungarian hamster, but similar to Campbell's or possibly the same? Anyway, they're my favorite hamster. Everyone says Syrians and teddy bears are 'the best' hamster but once the djungarians get used to your hand they are so laid-back and cute. Never been bit by one either, only the big hamsters.

Plus they are definitely cuter.

>>2358693
Haha cute

>>2356886
I got a pair of Campbell dwarf hamsters recently. Was all fine for a month, then one died unexpectedly - still not sure what happened. Suspect she got unlucky during the only fight the two of them ever had. Point being, it doesn't always work out with more than one.
However, I've got a second one again, and introductions with the first one are going really well.
Side note, if you buy from a large store, don't trust their advice. I assumed the people at PetsAtHome would know their stuff, but they just chatted loads of shit. Told us females are less prone to fighting, but since discovered the opposite is true. Mislabelled their cages so we bought a small instead of a medium (could have contributed to little Raichu's death) and didn't correct the error when we checked with them. Literally bought the two dwarfs at the same time as they cage, and they said it was fine. Bloody wasn't, but fuck me as a first time owner, I trusted them to give good advice.
Sorry, I'm getting salty.

>>2360191
They're a type of djungaraian hamster and are inbred to hell and back to have that specific color. They have a problem of literally screaming for no reason.

>>2360849
Our new ones sometimes scream but they calm down after a few days. Honestly it's a really hilarious noise, don't see what the problem is. Aren't all pet hamsters inbred as hell?

Not op, but I have a question.
Are hamster balls not safe?
I've always had my hamsters use them but over time since I've grown up and done research on them it seems like the holes and slots in the balls would catch their feet and break them... I'm not 100% sure about this though. Figured /an/ could help me out.

If they are dangerous I'll just make a "playpen" for my hamster when I get it rather than getting it a ball.

he's funny

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=26V5zftsLQQ

>>2360923
Only Syrians and color specific breeds. Russian dwarfs, Campbell's dwarfs and Chinese dwarfs are not to inbred. But when you get down to things like Russian whites, sunfires and shit like that then the inbreeding get ridiculous.
>>2360944
They're not good as they build up ammonia and the rodents will bump into shit, which causes stress. A play pen would be the best.