What species is my hamster? Please help.

Ann333 · 02-21-2016, 01:40 PM

I would like it very much of someone could tell me for sure what species I have so I can research care more specifically. I have only had her for one week. She is my very first hamster. Her name is Chopstick because she is not very nice so I pet her using a chopstick

Thanks.

souffle · 02-21-2016, 02:02 PM

She looks most like a Sapphire Winter white but if she came from a pet store she will be a Russian Dwarf Hybrid.
She looks very sweet.
A week is not long and with time and patience and lots of love I'm sure she will soon become tame.
It;s not that she isn't nice. She just doesn't know any different as she has never experienced handling and humans and living in a nice comfy cage. She will learn so be patient and understanding.

Ann333 · 02-21-2016, 02:20 PM

We did get her from a big chain pet store, but she was labeled only as "dwarf hamster". I have watched several youtube videos on how to tame her so we are working on becoming friends.

But for now she is not very nice. haha

I have looked at different guides to tell what species she is but i can not see a difference. How can you tell she is a winer white?

Pebbles82 · 02-21-2016, 06:10 PM

Hi - I just posted on your other thread about the bin cage. Her behaviour could be affected by the lack of ventilation as that could be stressful for her. She's probably a bit scared as well if everything is new. Taming can take a bit of patience as Souffle says, but talk gently to her - they can respond to your voice.

Ann333 · 02-21-2016, 07:15 PM

Thanks I just put her in this cage a few hours ago so it might be stress. I had the drawers open most of the day for ventilation. The cage is right next to my desk so it's easy to supervise.

cypher · 02-21-2016, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ann333

I have looked at different guides to tell what species she is but i can not see a difference. How can you tell she is a winer white?

You can't tell just by looking, hybrids can look more like one species than the other but if your ham comes from a pet shop as souffle says it will almost definitely be a hybrid,
That does mean you need to take a little care with her diet & avoid sugars or anything sweet as they can be prone to diabetes, other than that caring for them is pretty much the same as a WW or Campbells.

Ann333 · 02-21-2016, 11:23 PM

Thank you that answers my question.