If you don’t follow me on Instagram (@chloemetz_) you might not be aware that I am a proud hamster mumma. I’ve spoken about my Hamsters in blogs too but someone pointed out I’ve never written whole posts about them.
Currently I have 5 Hammies, yep 5 (I blame Ali completely). In the top left we have Ghost (white) and Nymeria (gray) they are our youngest and, yes, they are named after the direwolves from Game of Thrones. On the top right we have Wompa, she was on her own in the shop and that’s how she stayed (more on that later). At the bottom are my oldest Artoo & BB. We were going with a Star Wars theme.
These aren’t the only ones we’ve had either, before this we had Noodle (left) and Hamski (right), they were mine and Ali’s first hamsters together and they were adorable. After that we had Wickett on the left. I also had a Syrian Hamster as a kid called Lampie (after Frank Lampard) but I don’t have any pictures of him on my laptop.
First things first, there are different types, I’m going to talk about the types I’ve had. You have Syrian Hamsters they are much bigger and MUST LIVE ALONE. These are probably the slowest hamsters and if handled right are very social at night because they’re much more nocturnal.
Now, for Dwarfs we have Russian Dwarfs and Robovski of which I have both. Wickett, BB and Artoo are all Robovski hamsters these are absolutely tiny and incredibly fast. No word of a lie when we bought Wickett home he ran up my arm (out of the cage) jumped out and ran up the wall. I’ve also found that these little guys normally take longer to tame because they are so anxious and timid. BB and Artoo are still not crazy about being held for long periods of time.
On the other hand Hamski, Noodle, Wompa, Ghost and Nymeria are all Russian Dwarf Hamsters. This means they’re a fair bit bigger and for the most part are much more comfortable being held – although this still takes time and can include a few bites while they get used to you (I’m looking at you Wompa).
Russian & Robovski Dwarfs are meant to live in groups and are usually adopted in pairs. That said I have one of each who have lived alone and were happy enough – this is because there was an odd number in the litter. Each hamster is an individual – a lot of people scoff at this but all animals do. Hammie’s might only live for 2ish years but my goodness each of these have a piece of my heart.
Lampie was very sweet and gentle, Hamski loved cuddles and being carried around in pockets and on shoulders, Noodle was very much a baby quieter than Hamski but also loved attention and fuss. Wickett was my little buddy when Ali first went on tour, although it look a while he ended up loving falling asleep in my hand until it went numb and being mumma’s little muchkin.
BB and Artoo are very much like their namesakes, with one being very hyperactive and noisy and the other just going along with it and just doing their own thing. Wompa is named after the snow monster in Star Wars (her Dad’s idea), I wanted to call her Leia but then she turned out to be pretty bitey so the name stuck, after she calmed down she loved being cuddled. That said, she definitely lets you know when she wants to go back to bed – that’s my girl!
And finally Nymeria and Ghost are a funny pair. While Ghost doesn’t mind being held, it’s definitely on his terms and he’d much rather be napping. Nymeria on the other hand wants attention all the time, if he hears me in the room he will squeak until I go and check on him and he’ll climb into my hand for a cuddle before settling on my shoulder or chest.
Also – I wanted to give a shout out to my sisters lovely hamster Fudge who was an adorable ginger Syrian and a little character all himself with a very sweet nature.
So, that’s my little love bugs. Every time one passes I say no more…but I also said a year ago. Again, I blame Ali. Would you like to know more about how to care for a Hammie? What you need? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading guys! 🐹🐹🐹🐹🐹
Chloe Metzger 