Hello! I'd like to introduce you all to Pinecone!
Photo of Pinecone:
https://ibb.co/Ky5qZVx
I got Pinecone two days ago (almost to the hour) from a nearby animal shelter. The kennel they were in said Pinecone was a:
- syrian
- male
- tan (?!)
- 1 month old (?!)
Pinecone definitely isn't tan and definitely isn't 1 month old. That makes me question their gender as well. I've come to a few conclusions (on age and gender) based on information I've gathered.
Pinecone was part of a group of hamsters that were surrendered on the 22nd of June. It seemed like an adult male and female were surrendered as well as 6 (?) babies. I'm not completely sure. Nonetheless, they looked to all be about a month old in the photos on the shelter's website.
When I went in to see them, nothing seemed to match up to the shelter's website. The first kennel (I use the term kennel lightly, it was more of a cage suitable for hamsters) featured a female and a huge litter of pups that all looked to be under 2 weeks old (they had developed color but I don't think their eyes were open yet). The person showing me the hamsters didn't even know they had them. The next kennel had an adult long-haired ham with two long-haired babies, probably around 6 weeks of age. We finally got to Pinecone's cage and they were by themselves (thankfully) however I don't know how long Pinecone had been alone. The person showing me the hamsters said there were even /more/ babies in another cage. My goodness!
So, to conclude with my theories, I believe Pinecone is either:
- The mother of the litter
- The father of the litter
- One of the brown babies (there were tan and brown ones)
I'm still not sure about their age, but they do seem to be on the younger side. They also do have tiny tufts of long fur which I think indicates that they are a mix between a long haired ham and a short haired ham. That, again, makes me think they're one of the babies. I'm still not completely sure though.
I've included two photos (one of Pinecone and one of their belly (sorry that the photo of their belly is such low quality; they aren't tamed yet and this is the best I could do!) and I'm pretty positive I see nipple lines. I'd like some reassurance, though! If they do end up being a female, I guess I'll have to wait it out and see if they ended up being pregnant like their siblings. Let's cross our fingers and hope not!!!
Please let me know what you think!!
Photo of Pinecone's belly:
https://ibb.co/RbdCcVg