The Long Haired Hamster

The long haired Syrian hamster may sometimes be referred to as the 'Teddy Bear hamster'.
The long haired female Syrian has a longer coat than the short haired Syrian hamster.
The long haired male Syrian has longer fur than the long haired female hamster, and should have a skirt of longer fur around the waist and rear end. Whilst the long haired females usually have fluffy, or tufts of hair and no skirt.

The longer hair varieties may occasionally need a little more attention than the short haired varieties. Sometimes the bedding may become entangled in their fur. This can be removed by teasing out, using your fingers or a comb. A hair brush may damage the fine hair of the long haired Syrian hamsters coat. A wide toothed comb makes the job much easier. This should keep matting to a minimum. If matting does become a problem then the skirt may be trimmed back a little.
There are no grooming requirements for the short haired hamster, though the hamster may enjoy the odd occasional brushing.

Some varieties of hamster like a sand bath. Dwarf hamsters in particular enjoy this activity.
The sand used for this is chinchilla sand; not the dust, this can be obtained from the local pet shop. A sand bath can provide your pet with entertainment, and will help him groom. The sharp action of the sand on the coat as he rolls around will keep the coat clean and will prevent it from getting too oily.

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