What kind of hamster is my new hamster?

Snowflake_and_I · 12-21-2006, 01:18 AM

I just recentley got a new dwarf hamster for my birthday from a friend of mine, though I have no Idea what kind of dwarf hamster he is. I know she got him at PetSmart, and they had labeled him as a, "Blackberry Dwarf Hamster." I could not find any information on that specific name, but still am unsure what exactly he is.
She said there were only blackish ones and ones that looked like their color was "faded." I'm a shaky camera operator, so it's kind of hard to tell, but he has a really dark stripe all the way down his back too, and he is also kind of brownish. Can any one help me identify him? Could he be a mix breed?

souffle · 12-21-2006, 04:35 AM

It is quite hard to tell from the piccies. On balance I would plump for a Black Campbells Dwarf hamster. There is no such thing as a 'blackberry hamster' It is just a name that pet shops give sometimes. It could be a Platinum campbells or a dark normal but I cannot see any pale arches on the side where the belly fur meets the top coat. Here is a link which has some pics you could compare with. At the bottom of the page is the information about each species and examples of colours. Anyway he is a real cutie and I hope you have lots of fun with him/her. What name have you chosen? It is possible to get hybrids between Campbells and Winter whites but it is not good policy to breed hybrids.

http://www.midlandhamsterclub.co.uk/

**pophammy** · 12-21-2006, 08:58 AM

I would agree with souffle and say a black Campbell's Russian Dwarf. Here is a link to some pictures of a black for you to compare him with.

http://www.hamsters-uk.org/modules.php? ... =69&page=1

Snowflake_and_I · 12-21-2006, 09:35 AM

Cool thank you

the pet store really confused me with the silly blackberry dwarf title. Oh and his name is Snowflake, cause of my winter birthday when I got him.

**babyboos** · 12-23-2006, 04:50 PM

Could be a black or a platinum black Campbell possibly (the faded one almost certainly is the later) - there are also the lovely blue Campbells tough still quite rare. This is more commonly misnamed by US pet stores as Blueberry Dwarf Hamster. I do think your little one is more black than blue (a genetic combination of the opal and black colour genes).