I'm new! Hi! I was wondering if someone could help me identify my hamsters type?

[GrumpyPotato]

Hello! I am new here and I am a huge fan of winter white/djungarian hamsters. I've had many winter whites in the past and 1 robo as well as 1 Syrian. I went to the pet store today in search of winter white/djungarian hamsters. I found some babies and they looked like winterwhites and one of the babies was orange and I believed it was probably a sunfire which is just another color for djunharians/winter whites. I am pretty sure it's a girl and she is orange with a darker stripe down her back and she has red eyes. I just wanted to verify. If anyone knows what type she might be that would help so much! Thank you and I am very glad to be part of these forums now so hopefully I will learn my way around!

I just barely got her today. She's just a little baby. I can't tell if she's a djungarian sunfire or what but if someone could help me identify her breed that would be very appreciated! She is orange-ish brown with a darker greyish stripe down her back and she is lighter underneath and she has red eyes. Thank you!

[evel_lin]

If you got your hamster from a pet shop then she will be a hybid between a winter white and a campbells. The only way to get a pure species is from a breeder who can trace the lines back. I have no idea where you'd go to find one in the US though.

She's gorgeous

[hamsterhannah]

Welcome to the forum, your hammy is such a lil cutie!On the pic it looks like you have some fluffy cotton bedding this is dangerous for hams as they could choke easy or get it cought around there limbs, you could try recyled paper insted or care fresh crinkle!

[jemmalg]

She s a pretty girl

Originally Posted by GrumpyPotato

sunfire which is just another color for djunharians/winter whites.

Winter whites come in agouti (black brown), sapphire (blue grey) and pearl (white), any other colours advertised as WWs come from hybridisation with Campbell's. They're genetically similar and so can cross-breed but this doesn't mean they should. Sunfire (I believe I've also heard this called mandarin?) is a certain hybrid colour and tends to be used by pet shops to sell exotic sounding animals for more money. You can pretty much assume that any WW/Campbell/Russian is a hybrid unless you have a pedigree from a reputable breeder.

Also seconding hannah, fluffy bedding is really bad for her, it can tangle or make her really sick if she puts it in her mouth. please remove it asap - try shredded tissue paper instead.

[RedSky]

After seeing the effects of fluffy bedding first hand as a child I would never ever use it again, please take it out ASAP.
Ripped up cheap white toilet roll is the best option for bedding. Don't use the coloured or scented stuff though.

Not sure what colour she would be classed as but she looks like a paler version on my hybrid dwarf. What a little cutie

[DrKMcK]

Oh my. What a cutie your hammy is! Hello Grumpy Potato and welcome to Hamster Central. As the others have said, dwarf hamsters sold in USA pet shops are hybrids. I had a pair of Campbell's Hamsters...I have only one now, Almond, as his brother, Toffee, has passed away. They are adorable, but irresponsible breeders and pet stores have messed up the pure lines for Winter Whites and Campbell's so that it is nearly impossible to find a true line of either species in the USA. It doesn't matter to Almond, and it won't matter to your little hammy. They will just do their hammy things. However, it does mean that we have to be careful about what they eat, as they are suseptible to diabetes.

As for the fluffy bedding, I know the colors are cute and they sell it in the pet stores as "Great for hamsters!" The truth is that fluffy bedding is horrible stuff that has killed hamsters. It can also get wrapped around a hamsters leg and wind up amputating a limb. It's a terrible way for a hamster die if it eats the bedding. It swells up and blocks their intestines and they cannot move their bowels or eat. Because hamsters are so little, surgery for this is next to impossible. So, get rid of it as fast as you can...and tell anyone you know who has a hamster the same thing. Plain old toilet paper is better for nesting. There are great threads here on the site about all kinds of things to help us make sure our hammies have good healthy lives. Check them out. I hope to see more of your little one.

[Hekomi]

She is a lovely wee thing, she looks similar to my Caramel. She is a hybrid - sunfire and mandarin are hybrid terms. For a long time people didn't realise there were two distinct species, but also some people wanted to breed the colours of a Campbell's with the personality of a Winter White - hence the interbreeding.

Without a pedigree, she's neither, but she's your pet and that's all that matters!

Do heed the advice about fluffy bedding, and be careful with her sugar intake. Dwarfs, hybrids, Campbell's, Winterwhites, and then Chinese hamsters are all prone to diabetes.