Amongst the five species of Dwarf Hamsters available as pets, our hamstery now only carries two kinds.
Although we have received a handful of purchase requests for Syrian and Russian Campbell hamsters, we have decided that it is against the interests of our hamstery to develop more breeding lines. We want to be able to provide each and every hamster here in our hamstery the best possible life, above all else. We seek your kind understanding.
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Russian Winterwhites
Russian Winterwhite Hamsters, also known as the Phodopus Sungorus, are related to the Russian Campbells (Phodopus Campbelli), and exhibit many similar traits.
In Winter conditions, the coat of the Russian Winterwhite silvers gradually until it appears all white. This helps to camouflage the animal in the snow. These animals come from Siberia and are also found in Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Manchuria.
Whilst their Syrian relatives require solitary housing in general, Russian Winterwhites are able to be kept in pairs or in colonies where there is only one male, and several females. Males start to fight with other males once their scent glands are fully developed. Their scent glands (only present in males) are located on their bellies, making any injury in this area potentially fatal. Thus it is wise to house adult males separately for this reason.
In Russian Winterwhites, there are only three genes, producing only three colours: Agouti (or normal), Sapphire and Pearl. This range is very narrow, especially if compared with the Russian Campbells, who have 9 colour genes, 2 pattern genes and 3 coat genes. Thus, any other colours or variants in a Russian Winterwhite indicates that somewhere in the animal’s genepool, there had been an introduction of Russian Campbell genes. In other words, these breeds have been crossed somewhere in their family line.
Cross-breeds
Of all the domesticated hamster breeds, only the Russian Campbells and the Russian Winterwhites can be inter-bred, resulting in hybrids such as the Pudding Dwarf. Hybrid hamsters tend to be much larger and mature later than ordinary Winterwhites or Campbells.
An extremely large Pudding Dwarf hamster in a rabbit-feeding bowl.
Cross-breeding is not advisable for beginner breeders, as crosses usually result in a smaller litter size or stillborn offspring. Crosses also result in weaker offspring that have poor immunity to infections and skin ailments. Certain crosses may also produce highly aggressive offspring, which adds to the list of reasons why breeders traditionally argued against cross-breeding.
Another argument against cross-breeding is that it is potentially fatal to breed a male Campbell to a Winterwhite female because pups with Campbell genes possess larger skull sizes than Winterwhite pups. Of course this is avoidable by breeding a male Winterwhite to a female Campbell instead. Nonetheless, it will take a lot of planning and is rather difficult to carry out these plans successfully as it will take a great many litters and generations of hamsters before a ‘new’ hybrid gene can be properly established.
Ethically speaking, whether developing new colours is possible through planning or not, it is immoral to breed hamsters in the masses just to ‘establish’ a colour – just think: What will you do in the event of one handicapped hamster? What about five handicapped hamsters?? A dozen??
Read more about Pudding Dwarf Hybrids.
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Roborovskiis
The Roborovski Hamster, also known as the Phodopus Roborovskii, is the world’s smallest dwarf hamster.
These animals are native to Siberia, Mongolia and northern China, like their counterparts the Russian Winterwhite and Russian Campbells.
The normal colour of these animals in the wild is known as Agouti, though two recent mutations in the gene has caused the white-faced variety, as well as the Isabella or platinum variety.
A fully alert Agouti Roborovski.
A snoozing white-faced Roborovski.
Roborovski hamsters require a lot less water to survive than other hamster breeds. This is because their bodies are capable of utilising water efficiently. As a result they pass very small amounts of highly concentrated urine as compared to other hamsters. This means that any food fed to a Roborovski hamster must not be high in water content (Lettuce, Cabbage, Cucumbers, etc.).
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Important:
If you feel that your hamster is seriously ill or showing abnormal symptoms, please take it to the vet instead of sending us emails. There is very little we can do to help in an emergency as we may not even have computer or internet access. Despite our lengthy experience in caring for hamsters, we are NOT certified veterinarians, neither are we running an information counter.
