What breed is my hamster?

[Shymarie85]

Hi all. I got a dwarf hamster today and I'm curious what kind it is.

I'll do my best to describe it as it is in it's little hide out right now. It's light grey/brown with a dark gray/black stripe down it's back that ends right at the base of the tail. I believe it's stomach and sides are white.

I can't figure it out. Also, if you can take a guess at the breed, is it the most likely to bite? Any insight would be appreciated!

[souffle]

It sounds like you have either a normal Winter White or Campbells Russian hamster. It could also be a hybrid of the two. If you look around at some pics then you may be able to match your hamster up to identify it :)
Welcome to the forum.

[SnickersTheFirst]

Welcome!

As Souffle said, sounds like a Campbells or Winter White. Is he/she from a pet store?

[Shymarie85]

Welcome!

As Souffle said, sounds like a Campbells or Winter White. Is he/she from a pet store?

Thanks! And I actually got him from a friend. Not sure where she got him though

[Gizmodo ^_^]

Ahh hes most likely a hybrid
do you have any pictures :D?

[Shymarie85]

Ahh hes most likely a hybrid
do you have any pictures :D?

Not at the moment but I'll take pictures and post soon! :)

[mangoandmimi]

couldnt he possibly be a chinese?
i dont know much about dorsal stripes though :P
pictures would be helpful :)

[laura]

I agree with the others, post a few pictures of his different sides to know for sure (it's usually good to see the side profile of their face to determine the nose properly).

But I know that campbells agoutis tend to have a creamy brown bit where their coat meets the white sides. And those huge mickey mouse like ears are usually a giveaway. Usually a pointier nose. Any of those features would mean he is either a campbells or a hybrid.

See:

http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/winterwhitecampbells-600x315.jpg

If you see in the picture of the winter white there are usually round but much smaller ears and the white part of the coat is different. There are dark hairs that speck out of the white coat which make it look kinda greyer. Their face is quite short from the eyes to the nose and their jawline and nose is round.

There are a lot of other features that helps you determine this however. There is an amazingly detailed guide on this in the hybrid hamster section, but I'm guessing everyone wants to see pics of your hamster anyway ;)