SnuggleHam
03-05-2005, 07:27 PM
Yup Generic.. Whenever I go into the pet stores they have either Generic names or "special" names in the name of making more money.
The Dwarf hamster in particular has the generic name of simply "dwarf hamster" or "Siberian" hamster. I went to both petco and petsmart today interested in looking at the dwarf hamsters. In petco they had a couple but all the label said was "dwarf hamster" Nobody new what kind of dwarf it was.
So when we stopped at Petsmart I asked about the "Siberian" hamster that they had wondering what kind of dwarf is really was. They didnt have a clue what I was talking about and had to go and check. I explained to them that there are two kinds commonly called "Siberian" hamsters but they arent the same, Explaining one was the Russian Campbells and another similar looking ham was the winter whites whos coats changes to white in the winter.
Maybe its my fault for still being new with the dwarf breeds, but a winter white and a Campbells in the summer look the same to me. How do I know what I am buying then.. Unless I go to a breeder.
On the way home we found another smaller family owned pet store. They hade these mini dwarf white hamsters, I couldnt tell if they were winter whites or Campbells so I asked, and they didnt have the foggiest, so I explained the same thing to them.
One of the white dwarf had red eyes making me believe it was a camp bells coat mutation and not a winter white, but then there was another all white ham that had dark eyes.. so who knows!
One neat thing though is that at petsmart they had a hairless hamster and a chinese hamster! I couldnt believe it. Just as I become interested I start seeing all these hard to find hams pop up! Im glad I found my robos though!
The Dwarf hamster in particular has the generic name of simply "dwarf hamster" or "Siberian" hamster. I went to both petco and petsmart today interested in looking at the dwarf hamsters. In petco they had a couple but all the label said was "dwarf hamster" Nobody new what kind of dwarf it was.
So when we stopped at Petsmart I asked about the "Siberian" hamster that they had wondering what kind of dwarf is really was. They didnt have a clue what I was talking about and had to go and check. I explained to them that there are two kinds commonly called "Siberian" hamsters but they arent the same, Explaining one was the Russian Campbells and another similar looking ham was the winter whites whos coats changes to white in the winter.
Maybe its my fault for still being new with the dwarf breeds, but a winter white and a Campbells in the summer look the same to me. How do I know what I am buying then.. Unless I go to a breeder.
On the way home we found another smaller family owned pet store. They hade these mini dwarf white hamsters, I couldnt tell if they were winter whites or Campbells so I asked, and they didnt have the foggiest, so I explained the same thing to them.
One of the white dwarf had red eyes making me believe it was a camp bells coat mutation and not a winter white, but then there was another all white ham that had dark eyes.. so who knows!
One neat thing though is that at petsmart they had a hairless hamster and a chinese hamster! I couldnt believe it. Just as I become interested I start seeing all these hard to find hams pop up! Im glad I found my robos though!