Housing
Care of dwarf hamsters
is pretty straight forward. A single dwarf or pair can be kept
in a 10 gallon aquarium fairly comfortably. You can purchase
a locking top for little additional expense. Dwarf hamsters are
not very good escape artists so a top may not be necessary.
(Dwarf hamsters have hair on their feet which makes it very difficult
for them to get a good grip to climb up cage walls or accessories).
Despite their poor ability to escape, a top may still be beneficial
as it can protect the hamsters from young children, other pets
or something accidentally
falling
in
the tank
and injuring
them.
My favorite dwarf home is not an aquarium but a 16
gallon rubbermaid box. These boxes are semi transparent and offer
a nice
amount of space for a pair of dwarfs and they are much lighter
to pick up (which is wonderful if you have to clean many of
them each week as I do). I do not put lids on most of mine. If
you wanted
to use the lid it would not be difficult to take soddering
iron and melt many holes in the sides and top. These bins make
very
inexpensive cages but are better than some of the expensive
petstore cages as they are more owner-friendly in regards to cleaning
and allow a larger living space for the hamster(s). Habitrail type
cages with small tubes (that do not go straight up--dwarf hamsters
naviagate curvy tubes better as the hair on their feet can make
it difficult for them to get up easily in vertical tubes) can
also make a nice dwarf home
but
they may be more difficult to clean than an aquarium
or plastic
box.
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