Campbell Dwarf hamsters are smaller than Syrian hamsters, so they do quite well with cages and equipment intended for mice. The cage should be lined with pine shavings, NEVER CEDAR! Many individuals are very sensitive to the oil of cedar, and it can cause their deaths. As they love to dig, wire-sided cages can pose a problem with shavings being scattered everywhere.

A ten-gallon glass aquarium will house a pair of Russian Hamsters quite comfortably. It should be equipped with a water bottle, an exercise wheel [grease the hub with Vaseline for quiet]. They are burrowing animals by nature and therefore love paper towel and toilet paper tubes (especially if you leave the last few sheets on the latter!) and anything else they can scoot in and out of. A lid is generally not necessary, as they are poor climbers, but it does insure against the Olympic-class hamster, marauding cats, and the tendency of anything that you DON'T want shredded for bedding to wind up in the hamster cage.

I have also seen the "Habitrail" & "S.A.M." brand cages being used, although the hamsters do have more difficulty climbing the tubes. Remember the furry feet! Weekly cage cleaning is generally adequate.

Due to their thick fur, Campbell Dwarf Hamsters are quite a bit smaller than they look, especially the babies. They can squeeze out of some amazingly small cracks. Be sure that your cage has no place that a hamster can squeeze through, or that can be enlarged by chewing.

If you do have a hamster loose, there are several ways to recapture it. You might be lucky enough to see it in the evening, or hear it scrabbling around in something. In this case, clear away everything from around where you saw it disappear, then start removing things [and checking them for concealed hamsters] until it pops out of somewhere. Grab fast and expect to be bitten. Havahart makes tiny little live traps which you can usually get at you local hardware store. I keep a couple around, just in case. Bait them with peanut butter and CHECK THEM EVERY HOUR! They are a bit small for a full-grown hamster, so you want to get them out as soon as possible. Another way to trap an escaped hamster is to put a box the hamster can't climb out of against the wall, near cover. Now build a staircase of books up to each side of the box, and put some of the hamster's cage bedding, food, water, and peanut buttter (which they can smell from quite a distance) inside. The next morning, you will most likely have your hamster back.