Syrian Hamster Care

We feed our Hamsters a mixture of Mazuri Rodent Breeder 6F, Higgins Sunburst Hamster & Gerbil seed mix, as well as fresh foods and treats. There is actually not a commercially available Hamster food that is nutritionally complete, so it is recommended to combine a high quality lab block and seed mix.

Syrian Hamsters MUST have enough bedding for digging burrows. Substrate should be 7-8" deep; the more the better. There are many options available, and we use a mixture of paper and kiln-dried pine bedding. It is important that the bedding be as dust free as possible. Cedar or non kiln-dried pine can be toxic to your pet. We recommend spot cleaning dirty bedding and you should replace all of it monthly.

In the wild, Syrian Hamsters can run over 4-5 miles in a single night, looking for food. They are most active at dusk and dawn, and periodically during the night. A bored hamster is an unhappy hamster, so make sure to provide them an exercise wheel or saucer (not wire mesh or barred wheels), toys, and a sand box to keep them mentally stimulated. We do not recommend using the exercise balls commonly found at your local pet store. You can also scatter feed to encourage natural foraging behavior. Hamsters should also always have chew toys available to them as their incisors grow continuously and need to be worn down in order to stay healthy.

Syrian Hamsters are the largest Hamster species and they require a lot of space. They also MUST be kept alone. 600 square inches of floor space is the absolute bare MINIMUM. Unfortunately, this means that there are almost no appropriately sized caging to be purchased in the US. Bin cages are an excellent choice, and 40 gallon breeder aquariums will also work. Many people have also used the Ikea Detolf shelving unit and put it on its side to use as a cage.

Syrian Hamsters should have access to a sand box. They will use the sand to groom themselves and often also as a litter box, which can make cleaning their cage much easier. It's very important that you don't use sand collected from outside. You can find sand at most pet stores or purchase sand box sand meant for children from your local home improvement store.