AY Honors/Small Mammal Pets/Answer Key

• Phodopus sungorus
• Phodopus sungorus sungorus

(see text) Template:Taxobox end Winter White Russian hamsters are a species of hamster in the genus Phodopus. They are typically half the size of the better-known Syrian hamster, and therefore called dwarf hamsters along with all Phodopus species. Features include a typically dark grey dorsal stripe and furry feet. The tail is so short that it hardly shows if the hamster is sitting. In the winter, or during any sustained period when the temperature is low and the hours of daylight are short, they will turn pure white with the exception of their dorsal stripe. They will rarely turn white in captivity when kept in heated rooms. They need this color change because they do not really hibernate; they leave their burrows in winter frequently in order to forage or get food from separate store burrows.

Taxonomy

It is no longer debated wether the Winter White hamster is a sub-species of the Campbells, the Winter White is it's own species and is not a sub-specie.

Winter White Russian hamsters as pets

They are often found on the pet market, in Europe and Asia more so than in the US. Care is similar to that of the Syrian hamster. Winter White hamsters generally make excellent pets, but are very small and move quickly, and therefore may not be good for very young children. They need bigger cages than Syrian hamsters because they are more lively, but as with all dwarf hamsters, care must be taken not to create high vertical tunnel structures that could result in broken limbs if the hamster falls. Winter White hamsters should not be fed food containing sources of simple sugar because of the aforementioned risk of developing diabetes mellitus.

In general, dwarf hamsters typically have more of a family structure than the Syrian hamster. Dwarf hamsters will happily live in mated pairs, with both male and female caring for the young, but some report that same-sex pairs and larger groups will rarely get along well, as they wouldn't live together like that in nature. Frequent fighting may occur and be a great distress for them, or even lead to deadly incidents. This is in contrast to the Campbell's species and remains an item of dispute among hamster owners.

Winter White hamsters used to be only available in their typical Brown/black "Normal" color, but they are now available in a variety of colors, However, these colors may be difficult to find, and the number of available colors is much smaller than in the dwarf Campell's hamster.