albino baby dwarf hamster

[bakura_fan]

I just got an albino baby dwarf hamster today. He and his siblings were just weaned today. Any advice for how to take care of this little guy? I've dealt with adult hamsters, and baby syrian's...but i don't really know much about dwarf's and albino's. Any help would be appreciated.
His name is Cotty, short for cotton ball. ^^, that or chesty, short for water chestnut. I think i like Cotty better. So is there anything special i need to know or is typical hamster care all that's needed?

[mitsuki lover]

My expierences with hamsters is simply to keep them away from the cat.
Actually I only had one golden haired hamster,normal sized.Though I would say the best thing to do would be to see if your local library has any books on the subject plus be sure to ask your vet any questions.

[ChristianKitsune]

hmmm DONT GET ANOTHER HAMSTER! They don't like friends. XD They can in fact, kill each other. :/

Umm I had a dwarf hamster too..I would suggest getting some chewy sticks from your pet store or walmart. These keep their teeth nicely dulled and causes them less pain.

Make sure they have plenty of water... and stuff like that. Change their bedding at least once or twice a week. (It can get STINKY if you don't)

umm... It's been a while since I had a hamster XD Do you have a wheel for him?

Other than that, I would suggest googling dwarf hamsters or like ML said, getting a book from your library about them! ^_^

[bakura_fan]

Well, i've had hamsters before, almost two years ago. dwarf hamsters you can have two of since they are pack animals. My main thing is that i want to know if albino's need different care than typical hamsters. I've googled but haven't found anything. and yes he has a wheel. but, it's a bit big for him. he's smaller than a cotton ball at the moment. just weaned and everything. ^^, i'll try and get a good pic of him sometime.

[chibiphonebooth]

hi i work at a pet store. XD
been there for 2 years.

albino's dont need any special care really. It's just different fur. treat them like any other. lol.

also, you shouldn't *really* get another dwarf to go in. it's ok if they are all from the same litter, but you don't want to mix and match from different litters. that causes problems.

basically, make sure you change his bedding, give him fresh water, stuff to gnaw on, everything CK said. lol.

also, i found that they like these little sun seed square food things. i forget what they are called. XD

but yeah.

if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

[bakura_fan]

nope. no other questions. ^_^ thanks. i knew some albino's had to avoid sunlight completely so i wasn't sure if partial sunlight was good or bad for it. I don't plan on getting another one. one's enough for me. ^_^ we have 4 dogs and a cat here so, enough animals for now.

[Freezair]

nope. no other questions. ^_^ thanks. i knew some albino's had to avoid sunlight completely so i wasn't sure if partial sunlight was good or bad for it. I don't plan on getting another one. one's enough for me. ^_^ we have 4 dogs and a cat here so, enough animals for now.

I'm pretty sure the sun thing only applies if the animal in question is hairless. Don't take my word for it, though. So, uh, don't shave that hamster! >.>

[USSRGirl]

Can't add much to that, except that yeah, you only need to worry about the skin cancer with hairless breeds. Albino hamsters are not really albinos, it's just a white coat. Though for any rodent, it's never good to leave them out during extreme temperatures. Since it's summer now some tips to keep Cotty (I like Cotty the best too ^___^) are: Use a mini fan near the cage while away, put it near shade or an open window that gets a breeze (not one that get sunlight), freeze a water bottle and put it in the cage (watch him with it first to make sure Cotty doesn't get too curious and chew it and flood his cage. XD Mine never did, but some are more "chewers" than others) so he can rub up against it or lay against it to get cool.

If you've taken care of hamsters before you should be fine. Only difference with dwarf hammies is make sure the cage is escape proof as they're tiny and can squeeze through just about everything. My golden hamster was rather huge and used to break out on a daily basis and get into people's rooms. >.>;; Geez. Hamsterzilla.