Phodopus Sungorus (Russian Dwarf Hamsters)
copyright: (c) 1993 by Jean McGuire (reprinted with permission)

Russian Dwarf Hamsters are becoming increasingly available as pets. 
While they are in many ways much like the more common Golden hamster, 
they also have many important differences and require somewhat 
different care.  None of the literature I have been able to locate is 
both accurate and complete with regard to their care and maintenance, 
so I have written the following article based on approximately ten 
years of experience as a breeder of these delightful little rodents.

The Russian Dwarf Hamster, scientifically known as Phodopus sungorus, 
is a distant relative of the common domestic Golden (or Syrian) 
Hamster, Mesocricetus auratus.  Common names of the species also 
include  Siberian Dwarf Hamster, Winter White Hamster, Djungarian 
Hamster, Campbell's Dwarf Hamster, and Hairy-Footed Dwarf Hamster.  For 
the sake of clarity, it will be referred to in this article simply as 
the the Russian Dwarf Hamster.

DESCRIPTION

Phodopus sungorus is of the Order Rodentia and Family Cricetidae, as 
are all of the Old World hamsters.  It shares with them the general 
description of being a "mouse-like animal with a thick-set body, short 
tail, and cheek pouches."  According to the literature, the body length 
varies from 53 to 102 mm, with an additional 7 to 11 mm of tail.  In my 
experience, domestic hamster sizes seem to run to the larger end of 
that range.  The fur of the upper body is grayish or pinkish buff.  A 
dark dorsal stripe runs the length of the body.  The underside and the 
sides of the muzzle, upper lips, lower cheeks, lower flanks, limbs, and 
tail are white.  The white areas extend upward forward and rearward of 
each leg.  The grey-buff body color commonly extends to the upper part 
of each leg.  Unlike some other hamster species, the tail and feet are 
fur covered.  This gives rise to the "Hairy-Footed" designation.  There 
is also an albino strain and a satin-coated variety.

Under natural lighting conditions, some Russian Hamsters will turn 
partially or completely white in the winter months.  There is 
disagreement over whether these are a true subspecies or just a local 
race.  The "Winter White" hamsters seem to be browner in overall color 
and the non-changing ones seem to have more of a grey tone.  They do 
interbreed without difficulty.  The color change is driven by length of 
daylight alone.  I had animals change during winters in Southern 
California, where they were being kept in an area lit only by sunlight, 
where the same animals or their parents had remained fully colored 
during a Pennsylvania winter when subjected to artificial light and 
longer day lengths.  Hamsters in their winter coat can be distinguished 
from albinos by their black eyes, unlike the deep pink eyes of the 
albinos.  Many of them retain patches of their normal color, especially 
on the head and shoulders.

HOUSING

Russian Dwarf hamsters are smaller than Syrian hamsters, so they do 
quite well with cages and equipment intended for mice.  The cage should 
be lined with pine shavings, NEVER CEDAR!  Many individuals are very 
sensitive to the oil of cedar, and it can cause their deaths.  As they 
love to dig, wire-sided cages can pose a problem with shavings being 
scattered everywhere.

A ten-gallon glass aquarium will house a pair of Russian Hamsters quite 
comfortably.  It should be equipped with a water bottle, an exercise 
wheel [grease the hub with Vaseline for quiet] and a salt block at a 
minimum.  They are burrowing animals by nature and therefore love paper 
towel and toilet paper tubes (especially if you leave the last few 
sheets on the latter!) and anything else they can scoot in and out of. 
A lid is generally not necessary, as they are poor climbers, but it 
does insure against the Olympic-class hamster, marauding cats, and the 
tendency of anything that you DON'T want shredded for bedding to wind 
up in the hamster cage.

My breeders live in home-built laboratory style cages, with the food 
and water bottle in a notch running the width of the wire-mesh lid and 
the wheel hanging from the lid.  I have also seen the "Habitrail" and 
"S.A.M." brand cages being used, although the hamsters do have more 
difficulty climbing the tubes.  Remember the furry feet!  Weekly cage 
cleaning is generally adequate.

Due to their thick fur, Russian Dwarf Hamsters are quite a bit smaller 
than they look, especially the babies.  They can squeeze out of some 
amazingly small cracks.  Be sure that your cage has no place that a 
hamster can squeeze through, or that can be enlarged by chewing.

If you do have a hamster loose, there are several ways to recapture it. 
You might be lucky enough to see it in the evening, or hear it 
scrabbling around in something.  In this case, clear away everything 
from around where you saw it disappear, then start removing things [and 
checking them for concealed hamsters] until it pops out of somewhere. 
Grab fast and expect to be bitten.  Havahart makes tiny little live 
traps which you can usually get at you local hardware store.  I keep a 
couple around, just in case.  Bait them with peanut butter and CHECK 
THEM EVERY HOUR!  They are a bit small for a full-grown hamster, so you 
want to get them out as soon as possible.  Another way to trap an 
escaped hamster is to put a box the hamster can't climb out of against 
the wall, near cover.  Now build a staircase of books up to each side 
of the box, and put some of the hamster's cage bedding, food, water, 
and peanut buttter [which they can smell from quite a distance] inside. 
The next morning, you will most likely have your hamster back.

Or, you can have a cat like I once had, who thought it was hilarious to 
put a live hamster into my bed while I was asleep.  Not recommended!

FEEDING

In the wild, Russian Dwarf Hamsters subsist on a diet similar to that 
of other hamsters.  The bulk of this diet consists of seeds and other 
plant materials.  The portion of the wild diet that includes insects 
and other animal matter is not fully known.  In captivity, they do well 
on a diet of pellets intended for the feeding of rats and mice, such as 
Purina Rodent Chow.  A seed-based diet is not recommended for the 
captive animal, as they will pick and choose the tastiest seeds and 
leave the rest.  This self-selection leads to nutritional deficiencies 
and reduced lifespan.  Seeds, or a premium-style seed/dried-vegetable 
mix, are much appreciated as a treat, however.  They also enjoy fresh 
vegetables, but greens should be avoided or fed in VERY small 
quantities only, as they can cause severe digestive upsets.  Carrots 
seem to be relished, as are potatoes.

As do other hamsters, the Russian Dwarf Hamster carries food in its 
cheek pouches, either to a hiding place in a corner of the cage or to 
the nest for a late snack.

AS A PET

Russian Dwarf Hamsters are most active in the evening, with some 
activity continued throughout the night.  They are, however, more alert 
during the daytime than Syrian Hamsters, and sporadic activity occurs 
at any time.

They also appear to be more docile than the Syrian Hamster.  Because 
they are very nearsighted, the hamster owner should always speak to the 
hamsters before handling them.  They will become accustomed to the 
voice, and be much calmer and less likely to bite, than if a hand 
reaches down from the sky and seizes them.  Likewise, the hands should 
be clean.  If your hands smell like something a hamster would like to 
eat, such as potato chips, it will most certainly try to see if you are 
edible.  This is more startling than painful, as even in anger they 
rarely bite hard enough to break the skin, but can lead to you dropping 
and injuring the hamster!

To pick up your hamster, cup your hands around it.  They will walk 
right off the edge of anything, including hands, so be careful to avoid 
falls.  It is better to pin a not-yet-tame hamster down and scoop it up 
with a handful of its bedding than to chase it around the cage.  They 
come to associate the stress of being chased with humans, and become 
less instead of more tame.  Some will nip when picked up from above no 
matter what.  In these cases, I find that paper-towel tubes are very 
handy.  You can usually just slide the tube over the hamster, who 
scoots inside and can then be slid out the other end onto your hand! 
Even the "don't pick me up" ones are usually very tame once held.  With 
regular handling, they too will allow you to pick them up.  I've also 
found that they prefer to step DOWN from something, such as a platform, 
into a hand; it seems that it is the attack from above that triggers a 
defensive response.

Of course, any animal will bit if mistreated or frightened, and an 
animal that is not handled will not become accustomed to humans.  They 
have short memories; handle your hamster, or at least speak to it, 
daily for best behaviour.

They seem to go through a stage, at around 1-2 months of age, when they 
nibble on everything that they come in contact with...your shirt...the 
carpet...you!  This seems to be much the same as toddlers who put 
everything they can into their mouths, probably for similar reasons.

Infant hamsters squeak or peep much as other pinkie rodents do.  Not 
long after they get their first fuzz, they develop a distinctive 
"buzzing" vocalization, almost exactly like the sound of an old 
comb/tissue-paper kazoo, which is an alarm and defense call.  This is 
most often heard when an adult hamster bumbles through a nest of 
babies.  Adults will occasionally squeak or squeal when in 
confrontations with other adults.

INTERACTION

In general, Russian Dwarf Hamsters get along very well in family groups 
of one male and one or two females, or in same-sex groups.  Such groups 
should be established early, however, as putting strange adults 
together can be very tricky and, if mismanaged, may result in one 
hamster injuring or killing the other.  Their normal defensive action 
is to sit on their back legs and "box" an attacker -- or a hand -- with 
their front feet!  When they are attacked despite the boxing, they 
generally flip on their backs where all four feet can kick and, of 
course, they can bite as well.

Generally this ends a confrontation.  However, when a strange hamster 
is introduced, the resident hamster or hamsters will pursue the 
stranger around the cage, delivering vicious bites.  Generally the 
injuries in this type of fight will be found on the face and forelegs 
or on the hindquarters and tail, or both.  When this occurs the only 
thing that can be done is to separate the hamsters, as the dominant 
hamster in this situation [the non-bitten one] will eventually kill the 
other.

When introducing two hamsters, the best way to do it is in a completely 
clean, fresh cage.  Rinse it with diluted chlorine bleach to kill any 
residual traces of the smell of either hamster, and put in fresh, clean 
bedding.  Then put in both hamsters at the same time, and sprinkle 
mixed seeds into the bedding.  Searching for the treats will distract 
them from each other, and it does not take long for them to forget that 
the other hamster is a stranger.  If they fight anyway, take out the 
dominant hamster and leave the one who is getting picked on in there 
for a day, then re-introduce them.  Generally, that aggressiveness will 
be lessened by the fact that the stranger's smell is all around the 
cage.

In general, put a female in a male's cage, or an older hamster in with 
a younger one, as females and older adults seem to be the most 
aggressive and should thus be made the "stranger" in such a pairing.

Some hamsters are natural bullies who will attack their cagemates on 
little or no provocation.  Others are natural victims, picked on by all 
the hamsters around them.  This can occasionally occur among 
littermates who have grown up together.  In either case, the "problem" 
hamster should be separated.

I can not say too often how important it is to take great care in 
selecting your hamsters.  Watch them BEFORE you buy them.  There is a 
natural tendancy to want to take home the little fellow that everyone 
picks on, but unless he is to be your only hamster, you may find that 
you have a major problem.  Likewise, make sure that the one you choose 
is not aggressive toward the others.  As a general rule one that 
attacks other hamsters is likely to be a biter of humans as well, 
although I have known a number of exceptions.

BREEDING

The natural breeding season of the Russian Dwarf Hamster in the wild is 
from February through November, but in captivity they can and do breed 
throughout the year.  Breeding age is 50 days.  Gestation is 18 days. 
The average litter size is 3.2, with one report in the literature of a 
litter of 9.  The largest I have ever had was a litter of 8, all of 
which survived.  [Some of them are running in their little wheel as I 
write this, soon to be sold]  I have noticed a very skewed male-female 
sex ratio, of about 3:1, in many but not all cases.

The young hamsters are born with teeth.  They quickly grow dark 
pigment, then fur, then eyes.  By the time the fur comes in, they will 
gnaw at any solid food they can find.  One or two days before their 
eyes open, they will seek it out by smell.  As soon as they have 
functional eyes, they will leave the nest in search of food.  If you 
are using a lab-type cage as I do, at this time some food should be 
placed in the cage, near the nest, for the babies.

Like mice and many other rodents, female hamsters go into estrous 
within 24 hours of giving birth, so they are often pregnant with one 
litter while nursing another.  This is one of the reasons why rodents 
can survive the heavy predation they are subject to.  The breeder, 
however, should closely monitor the health of the female, to ensure 
that she is not losing weight or showing other signs of debilitation 
due to this.  Generally, I give my breeders a one-cycle "vacation" 
every three litters.

The expectant mother hamster should be provided with a clean cage, a 
supply of tissue for nest-building, and peace and quiet.  Do not 
disturb her until the babies' eyes are open.  If it is absolutely 
necessary to change the cage bedding before that time, do it as 
follows:

Remove the parents from the cage first and wash your hands thoroughly, 
making sure to rinse well to remove any trace of soap scent.  Next, rub 
the soiled cage bedding all over your hands, to get the hamsters' scent 
on them.  Then, scoop up the entire nest, including the surrounding 
pine shavings, and put it in a container separate from the parents -- a 
small box or a soup bowl work well.  Clean the cage as usual.  Return 
the nest to its original position.  Put in the adults, and IMMEDIATELY 
sprinkle seeds and hamster treats into the cage.  The hamsters will 
probably pick up the babies, especially if they're still pinkies, and 
carry them around the cage for a while.  This is normal, and within an 
hour they should have all settled down again.

A lot of this depends on the personality of the individual hamster.  I 
have had some where I could lift up one edge of a nursing mother and 
count day-old babies, and others who stressed out at any disturbance. A 
severely stressed hamster will abandon or kill her babies, especially 
if it is her first litter.

Unlike the situation with Syrian Hamsters, the male Russian Dwarf 
Hamster should not be removed from the cage before the babies are born. 
Not only does this make it difficult to re-introduce him, but he will 
usually take an active part in rearing the litter!  Most males [again, 
this varies among individuals] keep the babies warm while the female is 
out of the nest, assist in nest building and maintenance, and many will 
also retrieve young who have crawled from the nest or been dragged out 
when the female leaves while they are nursing.

DISEASES AND MEDICAL CARE

Russian Dwarf Hamsters are extremely hardy.  However, I have 
experienced problems with cedar-oil reactions, mild respiratory 
infections, intestinal upsets, umbilical infections, and wounds 
inflicted by other hamsters.  While this article is NO SUBSTITUTE FOR 
PROPER VETERINARY CARE, I will summarize what I know below:

DON'T USE CEDAR CHIPS!  Many Russian Dwarf Hamsters are extremely 
sensitive to cedar oil.  Their fuzz will all fall out, their skin will 
crack, and the resultant dehydration and infections can be fatal.  I 
found this out the hard way; at the time, there was nothing in any 
literature about this problem.  I isolated the affected animals. I had 
skin scrapings checked for parasites and cultured for infections. I 
gave the worst-affected antibiotics in a desperate attempt to save 
them.  Nothing worked.  After I had ruled out everything I and my vet 
could think of, by chance I came across a mention of human allergies to 
cedar oil.  I saved most of the adults, by carefully washing and drying 
them, and immediately getting rid of every bit of cedar in the animal 
room.  DON'T USE CEDAR CHIPS!  Pine shavings, conveniently available in 
"presspak" form, work quite well.

Some of my hamsters, and particularly those I have bought from outside 
sources, have experienced respiratory infections.  Basically, tiny 
little hamster colds, complete with tiny little hamster sniffles!  I 
have never lost one to this.  I just isolate the entire cage affected, 
keep them in a somewhat warmer area than usual, and make sure that they 
have plenty of water.  I have read of much more severe outbreaks, but 
never encountered one.  Again, it seems that careful scrutiny of the 
hamsters before buying one, and sanitary practices afterward, are the 
key to preventing this.

Intestinal upsets are often caused by either fresh greens and other 
dietary imbalances.  In this case, the only thing that can be done is 
to supply only solid food, such as Purina Lab Chow, and plenty of 
water, and let the problem run its course.  If, on the other hand, the 
diarrhea is being caused by an infectious organism, there is an over 
the counter antibiotic preparation called "Dri-Tail" which is very 
effective.  I also mix this into the water of the "quarantine cage" 
where I keep any new hamsters I acquire, as per the instructions on the 
bottle.  Diarrhea can dehydrate and kill an animal as small as a 
Russian Dwarf Hamster very quickly.  A dehydrated hamster will have 
dull, sunken eyes, slow movements, and in extreme cases a swollen 
tongue.  If the hamster is too far gone to drink, your vet may be able 
to save it with a subcutaneous injection of normal saline solution.

It's worth mentioning here what I still call my "Miracle Mouse 
Medicine," so named back in the days when I was breeding hordes of 
fancy mice for every pet shop in town.  It is nothing more than whole 
milk mixed with as much honey as you can get to dissolve when you heat 
it to body temperature.  Small rodents will suck this from a twisted 
corner of a bit of paper towel, or drink it from the tip of a spoon. It 
provides warmth, fluids, simple sugars, fats, and various other 
nutrients when you can't get anything else into a sick rodent.  This is 
anecodtal evidence only, of course, but it has appeared to be effective 
in saving the lives of a number of sick small rodents in my personal 
experience.

Males are prone to infections of the umbilical scar, aka the 
bellybutton.  Generally this is a result of unclean cage conditions 
during infancy.  Once a hamster gets it, it seems impossible to fully 
cure; at the least, an apparently cured animal is much more susceptible 
to reinfection.  The first part of avoiding this problem is prevention. 
Carefully check any hamster you are planning to buy for this problem, 
and if you see even a small trace of thickening or swelling in the 
center of the abdomen, do not buy that animal.  The difference in price 
between a hamster in a good pet shop and one in a filthy hole is far 
less than the vet bills you can run up, especially if he infects 
others!  But, don't go by the store's appearance alone; many of them 
buy their animals from large breeders, and the hamster may be infected 
long before it ever reaches the store.  Check the animal yourself. Keep 
your cage clean, with fresh pine shavings weekly.  Dilute chorine 
bleach, WELL RINSED, is effective for sanitizing a cage when washing 
it.  If you do happen to get an animal with such an infection, you will 
need to see a vet for appropriate antibiotics.  This will cost.  Lots. 
But, for anything more than a very mild case, it is the necessary.

You should never have a hamster so severly bitten by another that it 
requires medical attention, at least not in a pet situation.  It's 
sometimes impossible to avoid in a breeding colony of hundreds of 
animals.  If it does happen, however, the hamster being attacked should 
be removed to a separate cage.  A cotton swab should be used to apply 
Betadine, which is my antiseptic of choice.  If an infection develops 
despite this, and persists for more than a day, see your vet.  It's 
usually not nearly as bad as it looks!  The same procedure should be 
followed for wounds inflicted by cats recapturing escaped hamsters!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Curatolo, Joel, "Phodopus Sungorus: description and support for 
approval for sale as a pet in California", unpublished

Henwood, Chris, "Dwarf Hamsters", TFH Publications, 1990.

Hobbs, K.R., "Chapter 23 - Hamsters" in "The UFAW Handbook on the Care 
and Management of Laboratory Animals"  Poole, Trevor B., ed., Churchill 
Livingstone Inc., New York, 1987.

Nowak, Ronald M. and Paradiso, John L., "Walker's Mammals of the WOrld, 
4th Edition, Volume II", The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 
and London, 1983.

copyright: (c) 1993 by Jean McGuire