Choose and Breed Your Russian Hamster Carefully

There are different species of dwarf hamster, including the Chinese dwarf hamsters, Winter White Dwarf, and the topic of this article, the Russian dwarf hamster. Only recently have the Dwarf Russian Hamsters been introduced as domestic pets. They were kept in zoos during the 1960s in Britain, but not until the 70s were they presented to the pet owners of the world in the domesticated animal market. They came to the United States in the early 80s and were declared legal in California just recently.

A Beautiful Russian Dwarf Hamster

You can tell by the name itself - “Russian Hamster” - that it originated in Russia, however, Russian Dwarf Hamster and Russian Hamsters are one-in-the-same while the Winter White Russian Hamster is entirely different species. The Russian Dwarf Hamster possesses a bullet shaped body 3 inches in length. Naturally they have small ears in a short and stout head with the male being larger than the female. Their feet are covered with fur and a tail that is barely visible. They have thick hair in an equally thick undercoat. They come in various colors such as platinum, albino, argente, and opal, however, their natural color is brownish-gray.

Because of their tiny build, baby Hamsters and all Dwarf hamsters have a difficult time climbing vertical tubes in their cages. Tweaking their cages to add appropriate mouse ladders inside the tube will do the trick; just secure it with a wire so as not to move when stepped upon.

All dwarf hamsters are very social animals; they can be paired with the same sex or groups and have no problem getting along. Just like any other animals Russian Dwarf Hamsters sometimes fight, making irritating noises, but rarely hurt each other. The bickering mostly occurs among the females rather than the males. The two types of Russian Dwarf Hamsters are The Campbell’s Russian Dwarf and the Winter White Russian Dwarf.

The Winter White Russian Hamsters are about half the size of the popular Syrian hamster, - or about 4 inches - which is why they are being classified as Dwarf Hamster. They are typically seen with a thick dark grey body stripe and furry feet. When the winter comes, as the season changes the Winter White Russian Hamster changes the color of its coat to almost completely white. This is their camouflage in the wild to hide them from predators out to get them in the midst of the snow. Their habitat can be found mostly in Siberia, Kazakhstan, Manchuria, Dzungaria, and Mongolia

Of all the various species of Russian Dwarf Hamsters, the Winter White Hamsters and Campbells are the only ones able to interbreed and produce good offspring or hybrids. However, hybrids of the two kinds are often accidentally produced due to the mistake in properly identifying which is which breed. Unfortunately this happens when the hybrids are mislabelled in pet shops in several countries, and falsely identified as the pure bred.

Attitude wise, hybrids are fine, and pet owners should have no problem dealing with them. However, breeders can’t deny the fact that there are sometimes underlying health problems that may occur in the hybrid species. Their distribution could jeopardize the survival of the pure bred in captivity. Therefore, It is important to note among the pet owners that breeding of the Russian Dwarf Hamster should only be done between two pure bred hamsters of the same species to further prevent producing hybrids.

I trust you are enjoying these dwarf hamster articles and all of this useful hamster information.

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