chinese hamster, gerbils? advice needed

[Veer]

Hi guys,
A few months ago i lost Hammie, yesterday i lost Ukkie. both were russian dwarfhamsters. I am from the Netherlands and the species are banned over here (still some debate going on about it in politics). I am not sure if i want to get a new hamster because i realy liked the russians.

I have very much stuff suitable for dwarfhamsters, so if i get a new pet, it would be something similar in size, but in the Netherlands only chinese hamsters are allowed at the moment, or gerbils.
I would need to get new housing, Ukkie was in a bincage and i would like something nice looking again. maybe an acrylic cage, but i don't prefer a glass style tank.

I am not a evening/night person and go to bed early, i am afraid that a chinese hamster would not be a good match because of this.
i was thinking gerbils, but i worry about keeping multiple animals together.

a chinese hamster i could keep in my bedroom to maybe see him before i go to sleep.
but what about care and houding for both species?
what would be a suitable pet for my situation, and what would they need?

 

[Socks' Mum]

@Daisy has gerbils I think cage space planning should allow for extra space in case they fall out and need to be kept side by side. I am not sure if you can attempt to rebond gerbils after a fall out. But you would see more of them as they are diurnal. They can become quite interactive and some allow petting. Their social interactions can be fascinating to watch as they play together and play chase

 

[Socks' Mum]

They are chewers, so chew proof furniture or safe to chew furniture is necessary

 

[Amy]

Hoi
Do you know the reason why they are banning the Russian dwarfs?
I am sorry to hear of your loss and hope you are okay.
My friend always had gerbils and she was so happy with them, as it suited her better because they were more active during the day/ early evenings.
I hope you find a good solution and I am sure you will find good advise here.

 

[Socks' Mum]

The problem is they are not necessarily long lived, although they can live for five or more years in theory. They can't live alone, so you will often be needing to replace and bond new gerbils. It just depends on which you prefer. There are rats as well, but I think they might be a steep learning curve and are quite needy pets.

 

[Veer]

I used to have a group of rats before, about 6 males. I loved them and how interactive and social they were, but their health problems are hard to deal with, especially with no good exotic vet nearby. I decided to stop with rats because of this, but i do still miss them sometimes.
Hamsters are less maintenance, are not in need of social interaction and don't have much health issues like respiratory problems and tumors .
I loved my Russian dwarf hamsters and am at loss about what to do next.
I also have a dog and some birds, i might just stick to that, but i so enjoyed setting up the hamsters enclosures and their cute little happy faces when it was snack and cuddle time.

 

[Socks' Mum]

What about a Syrian hamster?

 

[Rescued One]

@Daisy has gerbils I think cage space planning should allow for extra space in case they fall out and need to be kept side by side. I am not sure if you can attempt to rebond gerbils after a fall out. But you would see more of them as they are diurnal. They can become quite interactive and some allow petting. Their social interactions can be fascinating to watch as they play together and play chase

Howdy, my bonded ger-boys have never had an issue or falling out, but since I was a new to gerbils I got a separator just in case. The separator I got fits a 12" fish tank. If your bonded gerbils do spat (which can happen as young ones mature), they can often rebond after being separated (at least according to the gerbil forums I have researched on. There are lots of DIY split tank separator videos on youTube. I would worry about putting gerbs in an acrylic or wooden enclosure - they will likely chew right through it. A glass tank is best.

 

[Maz]

I think you'd need quite a bit of space for gerbils but @Daisy would know more. Assume the dwarf hamster ban includes roborovskis as well? Which would be a shame. Both Chinese and Syrian hamsters mainly come out at night, but Syrians can be trained to be out from say 8pm onwards, so it wouldn't necessarily mean late nights. Chinese hamsters are notoriously very shy/timid so would take quite a bit of taming and interaction. On the other hand, they do quite well in barred cages and height isn't an issue so much as they like to climb. I wouldn't rule out a Chinese hamster. They could also be awake and active during the evening from 7pm to 10pm.

I know you said you had a lot of dwarf sized hamster items, - presumably wheels, houses etc. So the idea of buying more larger ones probably doesn't appeal, but Chinese Hamsters also tend to need slightly larger items than dwarf hamsters (although some items might be ok). And Gerbils definitely need bigger items

If you get a female syrian, she would almost certainly be active during the evening before it gets too late Apart from a wheel and a house needing to be larger, you could re-use items like branches and cork logs, and even some smaller bridges.

 

[Veer]

yes, roborovski's are also banned, it is ridicoulous! i think for now i have to get used to beeing without a hamster.
maybe when regulations change over here, a new russian might be an option.