How long does a Winter White Dwarf Hamster live – Most of the Winter White Dwarf Hamsters have a 1.5-2 years lifespan. This hamster lives the shortest of all other species of hamsters. However, with proper care, diet, physical and mental exercise, the Winter White Dwarf hamster can live longer than its average lifespan.
So, now you know how many years you have had with your Winter White Dwarf hamster. But you also know that you can make your hamster live longer. Before we move on to how to make your hamster live longer, you need to understand the factors affecting the Winter White Dwarf hamster lifespan.
Factors Affecting the Lifespan of Winter White Dwarf Hamsters
Although genetics and other specie related factors are constant and you can’t alter them, you have many other factors to control. By controlling these factors in your Winter White Dwarf hamster’s favor, you can allow your furry buddy to spend more years with you.
The factors that determine the amount of time a Winter White Dwarf hamster will live are:
Exercise
Like you, your hamster also needs exercise to stay healthy and active. If your Winter White Dwarf hamster is lazy and doesn’t move from his place, he can get many diseases. Good physical health is directly associated with a longer lifespan.
Young Winter White Dwarf hamsters have a lot of energy and are curious to explore things around them. You can decide on different exercises for your little hamster for his better health status.
For example, you can give a running wheel to your hamster, and he would love to run on it as far as possible. An exercise ball is another great option to keep your hamster physically active. If you want to be a part of your hamster’s activity, then get a laser light. Winter White Dwarf hamsters have an instinct to catch laser dots just like cats.
If your Winter White Dwarf hamster doesn’t get enough exercise, he will become obese and irritated. Both these things will affect your hamster’s health and lifespan negatively.
Diet
Diet has an immense impact on your hamster’s health. It’s even more critical for your Winter White Dwarf hamster than exercise. Because whatever you’ll give to your hamster will have more impact on his health than what he will do throughout the day. So, feeding a high-quality diet that contains all the essential minerals and nutrients is crucial.
To feed your hamster correctly, you first have to understand which foods are safe and which are not for your hamster. Your hamster will eat anything you’ll give him, so you’re completely responsible if your hamster’s health is compromised due to food.
For improving your Winter White Dwarf hamster’s health, you should add Omega 3 and fiber to its diet. These compounds keep their digestive tract healthy for long. To provide the right amount of Omega and fiber to your hamster, you can add vegetables, nuts, fruits, some types of meat, and peanuts to your hamster’s diet.
Make sure you’re not overfeeding your Winter White Dwarf hamster because if he becomes overweight, it can lead to many health problems.
Cage Size and Cage Cleanliness
You might be thinking about how can hamster’s cage size can affect this lifespan. It can affect your hamster’s life if you don’t provide him with a perfect-sized cage. All hamsters, including Winter White Dwarf hamsters, love climbing.
If the cage size is too big, your hamster can accidentally harm himself while climbing.
Therefore, to keep your hamster safe, the ideal cage size for your Winter White Dwarf hamster is 24 x 12 inches having a height of 12 inches. This sized cage is safe for your hamster, and even if he jumps from heights, he won’t get hurt.
If your hamster cage isn’t clean, he is at risk of many infections. Winter White Dwarf hamsters, like other hamsters, are clean animals and don’t need a strict cleaning schedule. The only dirty corner in their cage is their pee area. It’s fine if you change your hamster’s bedding once a week.
But, make sure that the pee area is always cleaned on time when required and is away from your hamster’s living area.
Level of Care and Stress
The level of care and stress that your Winter White Dwarf hamster receives can also affect his lifespan. To keep your hamster comfortable, you should maintain the temperature between 20-23 degrees Celsius. Moreover, protect your hamster from bright direct sunlight.
You also need to understand the right way to handle your hamster. Never force anything until your hamster isn’t comfortable. If your hamster doesn’t want you to hold him, you shouldn’t until he allows you. For this, you can tame your hamster, and it’ll take time.
If you feel that your hamster is stressed due to any reason, you need to remove the stress as early as possible. A stressed Winter White Dwarf hamster will become nippy and irritated with everything around him. Stress can affect a hamster’s ability to resist different infections and diseases, ultimately killing your Winter White Dwarf hamster.
How To Know Your Hamster Is Getting Old?
If your Winter White Dwarf hamster is getting old, you will see the following signs:
- Decrease in physical activity.
- Changes in skin and hair color will occur.
- Appetite and weight decrease considerably.
- Vision will be compromised.
- Tooth loss, brittleness, and other dental problems will occur.
- Arthritis happens, which leads to swollen joints and pain.
With increasing age, your Winter White Dwarf hamster becomes more susceptible to death, causing health problems. So, you have to carefully observe these signs and improve the level of care for your hamster as it gets old.
How to Make Your Hamster Live Longer?
Here are some things that you can do to prolong your Winter White Dwarf hamster’s lifespan:
Ensure you’re feeding a healthy diet to your Winter White Dwarf hamster. His diet should include all the essential minerals and nutrients that are required for growth and good health status.
Invest in a suitable cage that will make your hamster comfortable. Your hamster should feel comfortable all the time, and a wrong cage can stimulate stress. A cage that is too small or dirty can trigger depression in your hamster, so it’s better to avoid it.
Make your Winter White Dwarf hamster drink a lot of water. Severe dehydration can kill your hamster. Always ensure that your hamster’s water bowl is filled with fresh water and your hamster drinks sufficient water regularly. Don’t allow your hamster to drink dirty water, replace it with fresh and clean water.
File your hamster’s teeth and nails when required. If the teeth and nails are longer than expected, they can be irritating and painful for the Winter White Dwarf hamster. So, always keep a check as both these can affect your hamster’s health and lifespan.
If you have other pets too that can scare your hamster, keep your hamster’s cage away from them. Increased stress levels in the hamster are potentially damaging for its health.
Never allow your pet to wander outside the cage without you being around him. Unsupervised hamsters can often harm themselves badly while playing or exploring something new.
So, always keep an eye on your Winter White Dwarf hamster.
FAQs
We have gathered some questions related to the topic for your convenience:
Winter White Dwarf hamsters have a short lifespan than other domestic animals because they grow faster. A male dwarf hamster will become fully matured after eight weeks of birth. A female dwarf hamster requires eight weeks. When this duration is compared with other domestic animals, their growth is relatively slower. So, they tend to live longer than the Winter White Dwarf hamster.
No, Winter White Dwarf hamsters don’t have the same lifespan in the wild and when domesticated. They often live longer when they are in the wild. It may be because, in the wild, they get a variety of diets, adequate exercise and no stressors are there to increase their anxiety levels. All these factors contribute to improving the overall health of the Winter White Dwarf hamster.
All the hamsters, including the Winter White Dwarf hamster, are the happiest when kept alone. However, they can be kept in pairs, but bullying might happen due to their territorial nature, which can harm your pets. So, it’s better to keep hamsters in separate cages.
Lifespan Of A Winter White Hamster Wrapped Up
Winter White Dwarf hamster’s age is crucial for hamster owners as they own a breed whose lifespan is the shortest of all the hamster breeds. You can’t change the genetics and breed, but you can control external factors to increase your hamster’s lifespan. These include improving your hamster’s diet, physical activity, care, etc. Moreover, in this post, you can find how you can prolong your Winter White Dwarf hamster’s lifespan. Implement these things if you want to spend a little more time with your hamster than his average lifespan!
