Fancy Russian Dwarf Hamster 101 - Dwarf Hamster Blog

You’ve probably heard or seen the term “fancy russian dwarf hamster” especially if you do your shopping at pet stores like PetSmart. Fancy Russian dwarf hamsters are not a different species of dwarf hamsters. Rather, they are just a marketing term used to described Russian dwarf hamsters (sometimes also referred to as Siberian hamsters) that are not the normal or Agouti color (black-brown with a dark grey stripe) or have different coat-types or patterns. There are only two species of Russian dwarf hamsters — the Campbell’s dwarf hamster and the Winter White dwarf hamster — and they are able to interbreed. A fancy Russian dwarf hamster is usually one of these species (more commonly the Campbell’s dwarf hamster as it comes in more colors) or a hybrid of the two.

Fancy Russian Dwarf Hamster Colors and Patterns

Below are some pictures of different colors of fancy Russian dwarf hamsters. Most of these are Campbell’s dwarf hamsters unless they are specifically referred to as Winter White. However, it is difficult to identify the actual species because of a lot of crossbreeding so some of these hamsters may be hybrids. You probably won’t know for sure unless you got the hamster from a breeder who knows exactly the genetic lines of her stock.

Note: This is not the full list of available “fancy” russian dwarf hamster colors and patterns, for a more complete table but without pictures, see this. Where the owner has labeled a hamster, we’ll use the species provided. Otherwise, it won’t be specified.

Black Dwarf Hamster

Source: this olx.sg sale listing

Opal Campbell’s Dwarf Hamster

Source: Miss Shari on Flickr

Lilac Dwarf Hamster

Source: Miss Shari on Flickr

Pearl Winter White

Source: Wikimedia Commons Jpbarrass at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons

Pearl Puddings (Hybrids)

Source: Sean’s Mandarin/Pudding Blog

Mottled (Pattern) Campbell’s Dwarf Hamster

Source: Dwarf Hamsters as Pets

hamsterlover339

my hamster dose not like the treats I have THATS ALL MY PET STORE SELLS!
What do I do????
- Sarah
  
  Try this list of fresh food that you can give your hamster as treats: http://dwarfhamsterblog.com/dwarf-hamster-food You probably have some of them at home already 🙂
Hiwaaa

Can someone pls help me? I have a dwraf hamster that is a boy (Teeka). I buyed him like 3 months ago and he was like 1month old. 2 days ago I buyed an another dwarf hamster that is a girl (Coco). Idk why when I left them together they just fighted and my girl hamster (Coco) screamed like whole time! Is it normal or I have to take them off from each other? Pls HEEEEELP!
- Sarah
  
  Please separate them immediately before one of them kills or seriously injures the other.
- alma
  
  if they are fighted so much DO NOT HAVE THEM IN THE SAME CAGES
pinecone&kiss winter whites

I’d suggest getting a syrian hamster, aka the “normal” or golden hamster. They are bigger than dwarf hamsters, but are the best option if you want a cozy little furball who loves being held and lives a bit longer than a dwarf.
Dwarf Hamster Blog

They might fight. I’ve had hamsters that lived together their whole lives start fighting after one of them escaped for a few hours and were put back into the cage. Also, there’s no guarantee they wouldn’t fight in the future even if they don’t fight immediately.
Erika

Have you ever heard of a dwarf hamster that’s completely white, but with red eyes? I have two, and I can’t figure out what breed/kind they are.
- Dwarf Hamster Blog
  
  Hi, they sound like Albino dwarf hamsters
  - Marisa Lakota
    
    just because they are white with red eyes does not make them albino