Dwarf hamster (Phodopus sungorus)

In contrast to the striped hamsters, the dwarf hamsters are with a short tail and even when they are in move the tail is appearing hardly under the fur. The fur of these mini hamsters is very thick and silky soft, colored from grey and brown to slightly orange. His coloration forms three hallows in the whiteness of the side parts of the body; the stomach of the hamster is from pure white to white grey. Again we have a dark stripe from the middle of the head along the whole length of the back, which become wider on the shoulders. His ears are black with light tops. The coloration of dwarf hamster has a very interesting characteristic – it turns partly or completely into white. In this way, adapting to the conditions, they change their coloration just like many animals from the polar districts. In the over-heated apartments and in captivity, this phenomenon is rarely observed. Another typical feature of this species is the thickly fur steps of the hind legs. They are real pygmies with a length from the head to the body only 2.5 - 4 inch.

The dwarf hamster is also spread over huge territories of Central Asia – from China through Mongolia to the west outlying districts of the Asian parts of Russia, where he inhabits the steppe and semi-steppe regions. It is not known whether he has become a real pet like the striped hamster.

Although the dwarf hamster is one of the first kinds of hamsters known by the science – he is described still in 1773 by Palas – he entered the world of domestic animals hardly during the last decades. In his nature and character, he is very much alike the striped one, so the fans of this race will be very happy if they care about this little but quick and healthy fellow. The second group of hamsters in the zoology is presented by the average sized hamsters from the kind of Mesocricetus. Here is the most dreamed by the animal fans and children’s hearts kind of the golden hamster. Our dwarf hamster cages are specially selected for the peculiarities of this kind.

Useful info about dwarfs:

If you want to provide the perfect care for your pet you should consider his surroundings and the facilities in it to meet the special features of his exact race. So if you have or intend to buy a dwarf hamster you must have in mind the characteristics of his behavior, size and necessities and not buying an ordinary hamster cage. Here are some useful issues about this kind of hamsters:

- Dwarfs are very fastidious animals. They regularly "wash" themselves alone in order to keep their fur in a perfect shape. 
- Usually choose one or two corners from the cage as only place for urinating. The excrements are scattered all over the habitat.
- The house of those creatures should not be very spacious because they are not very active animals. You can put some wheels and other facilities inside that will keep them in good shape.
- Cubs like sleeping in a safe and quiet place so you need to consider this when you purchase the cage.
- The short-tailed dwarfs don't jump and are not very good in climbing so you can breed them in lower cage even without any roof.
- These hamsters don't drink much water but they always need to have it available in their cage. If this will be a bowl situated on the floor it will be spilled too often and the water will pollute. That's why it is preferable to install a special watering trough with a dropping method of drinking.
- For the dwarfs is enough about half of the quantity of food for a golden hamster so do not overfeed them. Especially for the animal proteins have in mind that in the nature they eat main "live" food. However he doesn't need such quanitity during the home life but we also don't have to deprive him of it.
- Dwarf hamsters must be at least 3-4 month old for reproduction.

In our catalog you will find cages that are specially created for the above mentioned necessities and special features of this little hamster