Short nosed hamster

Debbie · 01-29-2011, 12:25 PM

We were in P@H this morning buying Fred a new cage ..... more of that later! ...... and, as you do, I looked at the hamsters. There was a little white syrian that had me very worried, not only did he have pink skin around his eyes that looked sore, but he seemed to have a 'deformity' in that he had a much shorter nose than a normal hamster. There was a little gap and I put my hand up, as you do, and the little blighter went for me in a very aggressive manner, and it wasn't because he was scared, he wanted blood!!! LOL Anyway, I asked an assistant about him and she said that apparently he had been bred like this, it is a new thing that some breeders are doing and although they were rare they had had one in the shop before who was a real sweetie whereas this one was mean and aggressive, I'd already seen that! She said he had had drops in his eyes, been to the vet etc but there was nothing wrong with them and they just looked like that naturally (I still think they looked sore!) It was a very strange looking thing and I've never heard of breeders trying to breed 'snub nosed' hamsters, has anyone else come across this? I wondered if the breeding had something to do with the aggressiveness, although the girl had said the other one was very gentle. I've also never know a hamster be so intent on attacking like this one did. He had another hamster in with him so I'm assuming wasn't aggressive towards him. I felt very sorry for him as I don't think his looks will appeal to people and once they realise how aggressive he is they won't look twice, unless it is a lovely person who like me feels sorry for him and wants to 'rescue' him. I also wonder if his shortened nose and odd eyes will cause health problems in the future. I was also wondering how you go about breeding a short nosed hamster ....... and why?!!!

Marica · 01-29-2011, 12:31 PM

to be honest i think it is sick how people breed hamster to get a 'new' sort of breed. they probably do this by breeding maybe brother and sister hamsters or different breeds. im not too sure, but i know this could cause deformities like it would with humans or any other animal. this could also be why the poor hammy was so aggressive, either this or he wasn't tamed as a baby. i feel sorry for the poor wee ham

Debbie · 01-29-2011, 12:38 PM

I do too, especially as this sort of breeding could cause him health problems and even shorten his life, and I think it's disgraceful that P@H are taking these hamsters to sell. This one was still only a youngster as he had a cage mate, but boy was he mad at the world. It also worries me what will happen to him if no-one wants him.

Marica · 01-29-2011, 01:00 PM

yea, they should be against this sort of breeding. people will avoid their stores if they keep that sort of thing up. i just hope an experienced ham owner gets him incase a child or something gets him and ends up leaving him back or something.
I got one of my dwarf hamsters in a reptile sort of pet shop. she was sharing a cage with about 10 other dwarf hamsters and they were all fully grown, they were mixed in with boys aswell. this ham (clover) was so angry all the time. when i was even changing her food bowl one day she ran straight out and bit me and wouldnt let go, when she did she had made me bleed.
the reason for her aggression was that she was never tamed and was just bred because they could be fed to the snakes in the store. i guessed that she was maybe bred from a bro and sis, perhaps like this ham. as she got older she started to lose her fur and her back legs stiffened up so she was struggling to walk, this was round the time she passed away. but i loved her the same :')
i just hope this ham doesn't end up the same as Clover as a result of cruelty like this.

wow i wrote alot there lol kind of got of track lol

Katty_Sheldon · 01-29-2011, 01:05 PM

I think those really short nosed dogs have also troubles with eyes, but I am not totally sure. I think I heard that sometime. Anyway if anyone is breeding them intentionally thats simply horrible!

Blue Dragon · 01-30-2011, 05:30 AM

What's wrong with normal hammy faces???

mangoandmimi · 01-30-2011, 06:01 AM

ikr!
How on earth you get noses to be like that i dont know it doesnt sound normal!

WinterbellHams · 01-30-2011, 09:12 AM

I once had a hamster i believe similar to what you are describing, and had a friend who lived in another state that did as well.. The little guy I had found at first glance, had an amazing head for a pet shop animal.. but upon closer inspection and handling him, his head was deformed.. He also had teeth issues, as did the ones a friend of mine had found so he had to be fed mush daily.. His teeth were crooked, and sometimes would fall out... I fed him ground lab blocks mixed with water daily and sometimes baby food and other soft goodies.. Oddly, he also lacked testicles, but did have a penis...

Here are a few pictures of him. Is this similar to what you saw?

I don't think these capture quite how odd he looked.. I wish I would have had pictures of his mouth as well. I eventually had the little guy put down because I don't think It was a fun way to live..

Gillzy · 01-30-2011, 09:56 AM

Looks a bit like a tiny guinea pig... That's the shame he couldn't lead normal life

Katarina · 01-30-2011, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gillzy

Looks a bit like a tiny guinea pig... That's the shame he couldn't lead normal life

That's what I was thinking! a little tiny guinea pig! I wander if they managed to cross-breed a larger hamster and a small guinea pig? Sick, but... well... poor animal. It certainly shouldn't be sold in pet shops!