I wouldn’t be comfortable breeding Sossij. I think it’s already a question of ethics to breed uncertified winter whites (certainly ones from a gardening store, where you have absolutely no knowledge of their relationship to each other for starters)- but you’re going down a whole other moral footpath to breed from one who is *very* obviously a hybrid. I think it’s a very far stretch to say that a ‘winter white’ with red eyes and a beige coloured coat is “almost genetically pure” when neither of these colours (eye colour nor coat colour) are a trademark of winter whites. She is, however, a poster child for what a hybrid hamster typically looks like; with obvious traits she’s inherited from each species.
She's not a pearl, either - nor does she look like one. Pearl winter whites are completely white individuals with a darker dorsal stripe who remain that colour their entire lifespan. She may potentially look like one in her winter coat, but she's certainly not a pearl. Her turning white for the winter also wouldn’t reassure me in any way that she’s “mostly” winter white. They turn lighter in reaction to daylight hours (so can technically turn white at any time of the year!), so few actually turn lighter in captivity due to artificial lighting in the home - I know of some purebred WW’s who have never changed, but I also know of hybrids who have… so it’s not necessarily a good indicator of how much WW is in her.
I’m not a breeder, just someone passionate about Winter Whites, so I’ll leave it there. I just have some concerns with the idea of breeding obvious hybridised individuals, and I think it’s unethical, personally. No hard feelings! just some of my concerns.
