Syrian Hamster Care Standards
Habitat
Syrian hamsters should always be housed alone, as they are naturally solitary in the wild. Never keep them together in the same enclosure, as serious fighting and injuries are very likely to occur.
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Enclosures must have a minimum of 600 square inches of unbroken floor space, although we highly recommend 775 square inches or larger. The larger you can provide, the happier your hamster will be! Please see our Enclosure Recommendations page for some ideas!
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Bedding depth needs to be a minimum of 8 inches so that your hamster is able to create burrows. Hamsters in the wild create burrows up to 6 1/2 feet deep, with numerous chambers for storing food, nesting, and even a "bathroom"! They are very tidy little creatures!
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A wheel must be provided with a minimum diameter of 11". It's important that the hamster's back is not curved at all while running. Their body should be straight from front to back to prevent spinal injuries and arthritis. Running surface should be solid. A wheel with spokes or mesh can cause "bumblefoot" in hamsters, a painful condition causing redness, sores, and possible infection in their footpads.
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At least 2 digging substrates should be provided for enrichment. Examples are play sand, coco fiber, or cork granules.
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An enclosure should contain many hides and tunnels, giving your hamster places to hide and feel safe.
Nutrition
Hamsters are omnivores and need a varied diet of seeds, legumes, protein sources, vegetables, and fruit. They should be provided a constant supply of high quality lab blocks, along with a high quality seed mix scattered around the enclosure so they can forage like they would in the wild. This provides great enrichment for them, as opposed to just offering the seed mix in a bowl. 1 tablespoon of seed mix should be given every other day, while lab blocks should be in constant supply.
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Vegetables (and a small amount of fruit) should be given 2-3 times per week, Not only does this provide great nutrition for your hamster, but it also enriches their lives by providing more flavors and textures for them to enjoy. Pieces should be no larger than the hamster's ear. This way if your hamster decides to add them to their hoard, they will dry out quicker and not turn moldy. The Ontario Hamster Club has a great list of safe & unsafe foods, and a downloadable PDF version. I recommend saving it to your phone so when you're grocery shopping, it's easy to access!
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Sprays are another great source of food and enrichment. Some sprays that Syrian hamsters tend to enjoy are flax, sorghum, wheat, oats, and millet. What are sprays, you ask? I'll let Victoria Raechel explain!
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Enrichment
It's important to have lots of enrichment in your enclosure because hamsters are very curious, intelligent, active little creatures and will thrive when given things to chew and explore.
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Sprinkling their seed mix around the enclosure is one way to provide enrichment and encourage foraging behaviors. Herbs and dried flowers are great for foraging as well.
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Sprays provide mental stimulation and an additional source of food, while encouraging your hamster to work for their food like they would in the wild. They can also provide additional cover in the enclosure, which makes them feel safe. Hamsters are prey animals, so having lots of clutter and places to hide will make them feel much safer.
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Wooden chew toys and unsalted nuts in their shell are great sources of enrichment. Poke a small hole in thicker shells like walnuts and pecans to help give your hamster a head start. Whimzees made for dogs are also great for chewing. Do not get the puppy kind; they contain calcium. And do not get the sausage ones, as they contain clove bud oil. The safe Whimzees are the toothbrush, alligator, hedgehog, brushzees and stix. Just be sure that whatever shape you buy, it has no white area at the end, as this is added calcium and can be potentially dangerous to hamsters' kidneys.
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Dig boxes are a fun place to hide treats, and provide a great opportunity for your hamster to exercise their natural desire to dig. Examples would be play sand (or reptile sand), cork granules and coco fiber.