Male or female?

[Birdsarenotreal]

I am going to be getting a Syrian hamster soon and need to decide if I should get a female or a male.
Which is more likely to thrive in a 4’x2’x2’ diy enclosure? Should I err on the side of caution and get a male? Is the enclosure big enough to potentially keep a female Syrian happy? The last female I had was insane and needed so much time out of the enclosure (75 gallon) whereas my males have been more chill and not trying to get out/showing any boredom behaviours. I have a female dwarf right now. Will a male syrian (or any hamster for that matter) be bothered that she is in the same room? Obviously different enclosures which are on opposite sides of the room but still…

[Kikya]

Well... I don't want to lie to you and say a Syrian female is easy to keep in an enclosure. I have an enclosure of that size and in spite of my best efforts all my females always needed floor time.

It's not really that they aren't happy. They are just driven biologically, to go far from their home to find a mate and then settle down at home. They don't want someone too close to invade their turf long term and they don't have happy family time with their males.

If that sounds exhausting or you don't have an easy place to free roam, then I would go with a male or another dwarf. There's no shame in saying, that's too much work for me right now or I don't have the right setup.

[Birdsarenotreal]

I found a really lovely male that I want sooo baddd. He’s fairly young but he is so so sleepy. Like last night we saw him and we picked him up and he fell asleep in our hands and just sat there. He looks outwardly healthy. He has been handled a ton and is in a small enclosure with basically no enrichment. Could that be causing his extremely docile behaviour? Is it a sign of him being sick or just a lack of enrichment?

[Kikya]

I found a really lovely male that I want sooo baddd. He’s fairly young but he is so so sleepy. Like last night we saw him and we picked him up and he fell asleep in our hands and just sat there. He looks outwardly healthy. He has been handled a ton and is in a small enclosure with basically no enrichment. Could that be causing his extremely docile behaviour? Is it a sign of him being sick or just a lack of enrichment?

That is exactly what a male did when I brought home one in a 10 gallon tank. He was very lethargic and kind of fat, but now he's energetic and runs on the wheel much more.

I think you'll see a behavior change (not to full female level) when he gets settled. It took my guy several months but I think he's an extreme case. He was in that tank for 7 months of his life.

[Birdsarenotreal]

I found a really lovely male that I want sooo baddd. He’s fairly young but he is so so sleepy. Like last night we saw him and we picked him up and he fell asleep in our hands and just sat there. He looks outwardly healthy. He has been handled a ton and is in a small enclosure with basically no enrichment. Could that be causing his extremely docile behaviour? Is it a sign of him being sick or just a lack of enrichment?

That is exactly what a male did when I brought home one in a 10 gallon tank. He was very lethargic and kind of fat, but now he's energetic and runs on the wheel much more.

I think you'll see a behavior change (not to full female level) when he gets settled. It took my guy several months but I think he's an extreme case. He was in that tank for 7 months of his life.

Update:
I got him like 2 weeks ago and he has definitely increased in energy, however he is still a very friendly boy and sleeps in my hands still. Some pictures that show his cute personality because why not https://ibb.co/gLNNW95z https://ibb.co/vCSymnWc https://ibb.co/R4VxvWZ2

[Willow2022]

I found a really lovely male that I want sooo baddd. He’s fairly young but he is so so sleepy. Like last night we saw him and we picked him up and he fell asleep in our hands and just sat there. He looks outwardly healthy. He has been handled a ton and is in a small enclosure with basically no enrichment. Could that be causing his extremely docile behaviour? Is it a sign of him being sick or just a lack of enrichment?

That is exactly what a male did when I brought home one in a 10 gallon tank. He was very lethargic and kind of fat, but now he's energetic and runs on the wheel much more.

I think you'll see a behavior change (not to full female level) when he gets settled. It took my guy several months but I think he's an extreme case. He was in that tank for 7 months of his life.

Update:
I got him like 2 weeks ago and he has definitely increased in energy, however he is still a very friendly boy and sleeps in my hands still. Some pictures that show his cute personality because why not https://ibb.co/gLNNW95z https://ibb.co/vCSymnWc https://ibb.co/R4VxvWZ2

Ahhh OMG congratulations! He is so so so so cute! I love him!