Djungarian hamster: care and maintenance at home

About the characteristics of the breed

The Djungarian hamster is recognized by its characteristic dark stripe located in the middle of its back. The variegation and white speckles make the animals invisible to predators in their natural environment.

Djungarians can have the following colors:

• standard;
• pearl;
• tangerine;
• sapphire.

As a result of pre-winter molting, the hamster's coat turns white.

Miniature pets rarely grow more than 10 cm and weigh 50 g. They are characterized by exceptional cleanliness, the habit of storing food reserves behind their cheeks, and fussiness. The animal leads a twilight lifestyle, but likes to sleep at any time of the day. Despite its good tameability, the animal experiences bouts of aggression. If you get a hamster for children, you should warn them to be careful. Although a rodent bite is not dangerous, it is quite painful.

Djungarian hamster of tangerine color

Appearance of the Djungarian hamster

This rodent grows up to 10 cm, and its weight is approximately 50 grams. The body is oval, under which the paws and small tail are practically invisible. The head is wide and has high-set ears. The eyes are beady, black and convex, less often red (albinos).

The coat is quite soft and thick. The coat color is usually gray-brown, but there are other colors, for example:

• Creamy orange with a white belly;

• Gray in color with a white belly;

• Bluish tint with a white belly.

It has its own business card - a black stripe of fur runs along the back and ends on the very muzzle of the hamster. It is worth noting that the feet of the little chubby creature are also covered with hair, which is where the name of the genus itself comes from.

How to care for dzhungarika?

Despite its small size and charming appearance, the dzhungarik is not a toy, but a living creature that needs to be treated accordingly: provide all possible care, respect its habits and natural instincts.

Cage for dwarf

When choosing a cage for a Djungarian hamster, we recommend paying attention to the following parameters:

• Dimensions. Active animals need space to move. For one animal, a cage measuring 40x40 cm is enough; a couple will need larger housing. It would be nice if there was a second floor.
• Material of manufacture. Wooden and plastic cages are not suitable for rodents, only metal ones.
• Distance between rods. The more often the rods, the better: it will not be difficult for nimble little ones to slip into an accessible hole and escape.
• Door strength and fit . Curious hamsters will test the strength of each element.
• The presence of a retractable tray makes it easier to clean the cage and replace the filler.

Equipping a home from an aquarium is also considered a popular option.

Important! To create ventilation, the top of the aquarium is covered with a metal mesh.

The hamster's housing is located in a place inaccessible to direct sunlight, away from heating appliances, household and computer equipment.

Home equipment

Housing for a hamster
For normal life and successful development of hamsters, the cage must be filled with a minimum set of accessories:

• A little house. It is better to make it from plastic, which does not absorb odors and is not susceptible to your pet’s teeth.
• Drinking bowl and feeders. It is better to attach ceramic or clay food bowls to the bars or bottom of the cage and purchase a convenient nipple drinker.
• Running wheel. Such a simulator will satisfy the animal’s need for movement. The surface of the plastic wheel must be continuous or with minimal gaps between the rods.
• Ball for walking. A small, lightweight device will allow your hamster to move around the house.
• Bedding. The best option is pressed or regular sawdust without fragrances.

Features of care

Upon arrival of the hamster at its new place of residence, it must be allowed to calm down, look around and get used to the smell of the owner. This will help in taming the animal. An accustomed pet will be able to keep you company while watching TV.

Important! You should not let your hands smell of soap, cream or other aromatic substances.

Care and maintenance of a Djungarian hamster at home includes:

• Regular cleaning of the cage. If leftover food and rodent feces are not removed for a long time, strong, unpleasant odors will spread throughout the house.
• Change the bedding weekly. During this time, the animal must be placed in a glass jar or other container.
• Clean the cage monthly. You are allowed to use regular laundry soap. It is not recommended to touch nests created by a hamster.
• Timely filling of the bath with clean sand. Water procedures are not recommended for hamsters.
• Supplying your pet with a bar or mineral stone for grinding down teeth.

Beautiful Djungarian hamster

Characteristics of the Djungarian hamster

Of all the domestic dwarf rodents, the dwarf has the least aggressive character. For example, they don't bite as much as Campbell's hamsters.

and are calmer than Roborovsky's hamsters.

More often than not, the owners watch them, but if you can tame your pet, the baby will happily go into your arms and fall asleep while being petted.

After puberty, it is advisable to place them alone in a cage. An exception may be if you place two hamsters that have been around since they were born. Conflicts may arise with a stranger.

But you can give them time to get used to it if you put two of them in a cage with a partition in the middle, and after a while remove it. Also, you shouldn’t be angry with them for making noise at night, since Djungarians are nocturnal and prefer to sleep during the day.

Reproduction

According to experts and experienced breeders, rodents of different sexes should be kept in different cages. A couple is united only for the purpose of reproduction.

Important! It is recommended to mate dwarfs of approximately the same age.

A pregnant female independently builds a nest from sawdust and carries the cubs for about three weeks. At this time, the main task of the owners is to maintain complete peace of the animal and increase the portions of dairy products and chicken meat.

A litter usually consists of 2-9 babies, fed mother's milk for a month. Next, the hamsters should be placed in a separate cage and fed with ready-made dry mixtures with a high protein content, fresh vegetables and fruits.

How many dwarfs should I get?

Many new owners of Djungarian hamsters are firmly convinced that these small animals simply need company. Therefore, they immediately purchase a couple of hamsters, a cozy cage for them and all the necessary equipment: drinking bowls, feeders, houses and other devices. However, not everyone knows that dzhungariks do not need companions at all. Moreover, each Djungarian hamster must live in its own separate cage! That's how individualistic they are.

However, this is not a whim at all, but a nature-conditioned feature of these animals. In natural conditions, they live separately, so loneliness in captivity does not make their life boring. On the contrary, in a spacious cage without neighbors, jungarians feel at ease and comfortable. But the forced need to share territory with other hamsters makes dwarfs aggressive and restless.

In most cases, keeping several animals in one cage leads to truly tragic consequences. Hamsters begin to divide their living space, start fights that end not only in injuries, but also in the death of the animals. However, there are examples of completely peaceful coexistence of Djungarian hamsters. But you still have to make the final choice. And if you are determined to purchase more than one hamster, then prepare a separate cage for each pet. By the way, the cage for these babies also needs to be chosen taking into account their lifestyle.

Diseases

Djungarian hamsters are most susceptible to:

• Colds and flu . Symptoms indicating the occurrence of infectious diseases: decreased activity, sneezing, snoring. Everyone's favorite can easily become infected from a person. Treatment comes down to boosting immunity with vegetables and fruits.
• Injury . There are frequent dislocations, blows, and fractures that a hamster can get when falling from a height. Signs of injury: awkward movement, shock, curvature of the legs.
• Eye diseases . If your pet catches a bacterial infection and you do not notice it in time, the disease will end in conjunctivitis. This will become clear from the sticky eyelids. You can help the animal by carefully washing its eyes with strong tea or lightly salted water. In the case of cataracts, the pupil becomes gray and the lens becomes cloudy. Most often, older individuals are susceptible to this disease. Cataracts cannot be treated, you will have to come to terms with it.
• Problems with teeth. Dental trauma may cause your pet to refuse food. Pay attention to the condition of the incisors; teeth that are too long are straightened with ordinary nail clippers.
• Problems with hair and skin. When your baby's skin begins to peel off or hair falls out, it is most likely a dermatophyte or eczema. The cause of their appearance is most often stress or an allergic reaction. If the body is covered with red spots and wounds, this indicates the presence of mites.
• Digestive problems. Intestinal diseases are manifested by copious discharge with a pungent odor, loose stools, and rumbling in the stomach. Your veterinarian will prescribe special medications for your baby to fight bacterial infections.
• Tumors . This is the weakest point of the Djungarian breed of hamsters, and it is also difficult to recognize. Often, owners confuse an ordinary lump with a brain tumor.

Funny dzhungarik
If you noticed:

• that the fur has become dull or shiny;
• the hamster became sad;
• refuses food;
• moves little.

House for a pet.

Djungarian hamsters can reach ten to eleven centimeters in length, so the cage or aquarium must be quite spacious (the optimal size is 35x70x50). If you settle on a cage, it should be made of wire with vertical bars. In such conditions, the hamster will feel quite comfortable and will be able to sharpen its teeth. For this reason, do not buy a painted house, because the paint will be chewed off over time, and this will not improve your pet’s health.

With a terrarium things are more complicated. A prerequisite is the presence of branches along which the animal can climb. Under no circumstances should the aquarium be covered with plastic or other dense material - the dwarf needs oxygen. You should avoid using paper filler because it will accumulate moisture, causing an unpleasant odor to spread throughout the apartment. High humidity leads to the formation of mold, which can make your pet sick.

Cage for the Djungarian hamster

Which house to choose for a hamster

For such a small animal, both a cage and an aquarium are ideal. In the first case, there is a small drawback, namely, scattering the filler on the floor, which the Djungarians really like to do. However, people don't like this behavior very much.

If you choose the second option, the animal will no longer be able to scatter sawdust. In addition, if a cat lives in the house, the aquarium will more reliably protect the rodent from a potential hunter. But before you settle on this method of keeping a hamster, you should familiarize yourself with the disadvantages of aquariums:

• inconvenience in cleaning;
• difficulties with ventilation, which is necessary;
• the animal itself quickly becomes bored, because... There is no way to climb on slippery glass.

Nutrition

Perhaps this is the most important thing when keeping a hamster, and this issue should be thought through even before the dwarf appears in your apartment. You should not feed your hamster more than three times a day, because hamsters are susceptible to obesity, which will shorten their life. At the same time, food should be varied. The diet may include:

• Wheat sprouts;
• Various types of nuts;
• Melon seeds;
• Dried fruits;
• You can take rose petals as dessert;
• Apple, pear, plum are perfect for the Djungarian hamster.

In winter, when the menu cannot be so varied, go to the pet store to buy vitamin food.

Hygiene for dzhungarika at home

For proper care it is necessary to constantly clean the cage. Cleaning is carried out once a week. To prevent the hamster from running away, you can let him out into the bathtub or put him in a jar. Dirty litter must be replaced with new sawdust. The cage bars should be cleaned once a month. At the same time, it is not recommended to destroy the animal’s nest during cleaning. During weekly cleaning periods, it is enough to wipe the bottom of the cage with soapy water.

Should I bathe or not?

Hamsters' skin is very sensitive to temperature changes. Therefore, it is difficult to guess what kind of water is needed to bathe a dwarf. Usually hamsters wash themselves using saliva, but if the fur is dirty in an area that is difficult to reach, you can wipe the animal with a damp cloth or gauze.

IMPORTANT. If there is a sand bath in the cage, it is necessary to periodically check it for hiding places. Rodents tend to stock up on food or pieces of fruit. Such secrets need to be thrown out.

Does your hamster bathe in sand?

How to trim a hamster's claws?

Hamster claws consist of two sectors: a keratinized zone and an area with living pulp, in which a blood vessel passes. On the light-colored nails of dzungarians, the border between these areas is clearly visible. Only the dead, horny part of the claw needs to be cut. Otherwise, bleeding will occur, which will stress the animal and require appropriate treatment. The wound may become infected.

To trim a rodent's claws, you need to place the animal on your palm with its belly up. You need to hold the rodent firmly and carefully. With your index finger and thumb, you need to pinch one of the front paws and carefully trim all the claws one by one with nail scissors. After this, the procedure is repeated with the second front paw. Only after this can you move to the hind limbs.

After trimming the nails, you should give the animal a treat to compensate for the stress. The procedure can be carried out once a year. Most often, animals themselves wear down their claws on a mineral stone.

Dzungarik's pregnancy lasts about 3 weeks