I've had my Winter White all along

[lv4dogs]

Cheeka, who I always thought was just a campbells dwarf hamster is actually a winter white. I've always wanted one, come to find out I've had one for almost a couple years & never knew it.

Winter Whites sometimes, actually often do not turn white in captivity.

I always had Cheeka's cage in the kitchen where she would get a lot of both natural and artificial light. Well just a few months ago I moved her into the ferrets room to make room for holiday decorations. I keep the ferrets room fairly dark as a lot of light, especially artificial light may cause adrenal & other illnesses. She starting to turn white. She's got a few white patches starting. So I researched the WW's a little more & compared her to the descriptions. Come to find out she is a WW.

I took some pics last night but they didn't turn out well at all. I'll try to take more tonight.

[CathyBogart]

Hehe, congrats on your Winter White darling! What a great holiday surprise Cheeka!

[Jessika]

What *exactly* is a Winter White? I don't know a lot about hamsters (if its even a hamster!) hehe

[CathyBogart]

A winter white is a dwarf hamster that looks pretty similar to a Campbell's dwarf but in the right condition their coat goes white in the winter. :)

[lv4dogs]

What *exactly* is a Winter White? I don't know a lot about hamsters (if its even a hamster!) hehe

It is a hamster. It's related to the Campbells dwarf hamsters which is the most common type of dwarf hamster.
Winter Whites & Roborovski dwarf hamsters are pretty rare in the US, Roborovski's are more rare than the Winter Whites. They turn white or mostly white in the winter but it's rare for them to turn white in captivity. You need to limit the amount of light.

I adopted her from my local shelter almost 2 years ago so I don't know where she came from. The family that turned her in also turned in a few others. Apparently one of their hamsters had too many babies. I don't know if the mom & or dad came from a breeder or a pet store. Most likely a breeder as they are kind of rare. But you never know.

[crazy_caique]

Roborovski drawf hamsters are my favorite hamsters.I have read a lot about hammys on the net and they are the cutest hamsters to me.

[Suki Wingy]

awww she sounds really cute, congrats! :D