Mew...what kind is he?

[mom2dogs]

It is actually called a Campbell's Russian Dwarf but it is blueberry in color. The PetSmart around my area sells all sorts of rodents and they have Blueberry Dwarves. What a cutie!

You got the breed right, but there is no such thing as blueberry coloring - just called blue.
http://www.geocities.com/aaahamsters/Blues.html

Very cute, but I'm running from the cuteness because I do NOT want to relive my hamster days lol

 

[Brattina88]

cute

 

[709Juggalette]

He is a cutie! Definatly some sort of dwarf hammie.
He is waaayyy too small to be a syrian.

I used to have a rat that licked. I never did know why, though. lol
He is VERY cute. I love hamsters.

Rats lick for affection in most cases and to groom.
I assume hamsters may do it for that as well...if not,then yeah..he likes the salt flavor!

 

[CharlieDog]

Does he have a mineral block or anything? I know my gerbils used to love to lick those...

 

[smkie]

i was only going by the shading of the siberian dwarf.and.i thought yours was bigger. I love dwarves, i had two siberians a long time ago.

 

[drmom777]

He is very cute. What is his name?

 

[Babyblue5290]

Does he have a mineral block or anything? I know my gerbils used to love to lick those...

No he doen't, I didn't know he needed one. But I have an extra one I got for the birds, that should be ok right? It's just a general miniral block, nothing specially formulated for the birds.

He is very cute. What is his name?

Mew lol

 

[CharlieDog]

No he doen't, I didn't know he needed one. But I have an extra one I got for the birds, that should be ok right? It's just a general miniral block, nothing specially formulated for the birds.

I don't know if they HAVE to have one, but my gerbils certainly enjoyed theirs!

It was like, less than a dollar at petsmart, and wasn't formulated for rodents or birds, but could be used for both.

 

[Babyblue5290]

THat's what I have for the birds, so I'll just put my extra one in Mew's cage ^_^

Thanks! You knmow if he can have spinach leaves?

 

[CharlieDog]

I'm pretty sure they can eat whatever. Hamsters, at least the ones I knew, were NOT picky. lol!

They were quite tubby little guys, so just watch how much he eats, you don't want him to get overweight or anything.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

Hes not "probably" a campbell's russian dwarf, he IS one.

Rodents like to lick salt off of hands, or sweaty parts of your body.

I wanted to add, that bedding in his cage is pine shavings, and pine shavings are bad for small animals. The only safe wood shavings are aspen, and thats because there are no dangerous phenols and oils that have been known to give rodents upper respiratory infections.

As for salt licks and mineral licks, avoid those. Those are not recommended to put in their cages!!

And about spinach, give in moderation. It can give them diarrhea, especially if they are not used to veggies.

 

[CharlieDog]

Mineral licks never gave my gerbils any problems. And I've had many many gerbils over the years. Never had a hamster, but I don't see why it would be bad for one rodent, but not another. The gerbils quite liked the mineral lick.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

If they are getting the appropriate diet, they don't NEED them. So its my opinion they are unnecessary..and because they WILL chew them anyway, it gives them TOO much minerals. (Same with the salt lick! They will drink a LOT more water if they have a salt lick in their enclosure.). Its not that they are BAD for them, just unneeded. Also, a lot of hamster won't touch them,,and they just end up getting peed on and ignored and harboring bacteria.

 

[LoveMyKees]

punkygirl has been giving you some great info! In addition to what she said about bedding, Carefresh is another brand that I'm pretty sure you can get affordably at a Walmart (I believe its called Critter Care there, or something along those lines). If not, plain Aspen shavings are fine. In the mean time, you may want to dump the pine, since the actual pine itself can cause skin infections, and the phenols can cause respiratory infections. In replacement of this (until you can get Aspen or Carefresh), you can use plain unscented shredded toilet paper. The hamsters like to shred this to make nests too

Oh, and if you have a wheel in the tank, make sure it doesn't have any open bars. Their little feet can fall through the rungs and break their legs.

I used to have MANY hamsters, so I know too much about them, lol. If you have any more questions just PM me.

Are you planning on keeping him?

 

[Babyblue5290]

I'm not going to dump the pine guys. When this bag runs out I'll get another kind (one better suited) but I'm not going to throw away a bag that I've already bought. And like I said, I know it's pine and I know it's not good but it was the only kind they had. And I'm not going to just throw it away and I see no likely way to sell it so, he'll get diff bedding when it runs out.

I think I'm keeping him. Pretty sure. He's way too cute not to! ^_^

 

[drmom777]

I put my Guinea Pigs on pine. I have read all of the problems with it, but they are in an open cage and i have had piggies for over ten years with not one problem. The cost differential is just too big for me, since they always do well on it.

I believe the whole phenol issue becomes a non-issue with good ventilation. Also, if it is kiln dried pine it is less of a problem.

 

[wcladymacbeth]

Aww now I want a hamster. He's so cute! The only hamsters I've ever handled have bitten though.