New Dwarf baby...what is she please?

[capricorn76]

Hello all,

I bought a Russian dwarf hamster from a breeder on Saturday. When I asked the lady what type of Russian Dwarf she was, she said she didn't know!!! She owned mum and dad and said that they had come from breeders. I am very curious to know what type of Russian our new addition is, lol. Please could somebody look at my pictures and hopefully give me an opinion.

She is quite tame already so Im guessing she was well handled/played with before she came to us. We have called her Cookie, lol. She is 5 weeks and 2 days old, so when we collected her she was 4 weeks and 5 days old, was that too young to leave mum? Also, her brother and her mum were in the cage with her, shouldn't her brother have been removed before this time? Im a little concerned by this as I took a few photos Saturday and then some this morning and she seems considerably fatter already!!! Does she look pregnant to any of you? She is burrowing quite a bit and moving her bedding, but Im guessing she is just getting the cage how she likes it.

I would have liked to have had 2 dwarfs from the same litter, but unfortunately there wasn't 2 of the same sex left. If I bought another dwarf girl,(assuming Cookie isn't pregnant), but kept her in a different cage, could they still go in the play pen together for an hour or so a day or would they fight? Hoping that as they wouldn't live together, they may be ok in the play pen.

Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated. I am reading books and googling like mad, but I think other people opinions and experiences would be great to hear.

314.jpg

326.jpg

334.jpg

335.jpg

344.jpg

Thanks in advance.x

[kyrilliondaemon]

Going by where you got her I think its safe to say she's a hybrid russian. I'm afraid I wouldn't have her play with any other hamsters now, when hamsters are living alone they often find interaction with others stressful - even when its just in a playpen, so the girls could fight if they meet.

[Hekomi]

Yeah, as Kyrillion said, without a pedigree, there's really no way of telling if she's pure Campbell's or pure WW. I'd wager she probably has more WW in her based on her markings, but even then, I'd call her a hybrid. 4 weeks 5 days is a wee bit early, but not that bad. Most breeders sell at the 5-6 week range. She should be fine. She would have been sexually mature though about the time you got her; was she with males at the time?

Seconding the no introductions as well. In the long term it can be a stress as well, since you never know if they'll fall out.

[Colby and the Dwarfs]

Hybrid. A gorgeous one!


Never, never, ever, let two dwarfs that aren't paired see each other(except for breeding). They will fight to the death, and you won't be able to stop them:/