Strange hamster hair growth
 

hi forummers,
i got my brother a pet hamster for his birthday last july. she's very active and she has a great appetite... but lately her hair growth has become very odd. she's a syrian hamster. her coat is divided into large areas of white and brown fur. here's the thing, she had normal short hair all over body when i first got her. now, the brown parts of her coat are still short, but the white parts have grown very very long and straggly. so she looks really odd with her hair all different lengths.
at first i thought maybe she's a long-haired hamster, but then why is it that only the white hair patches have grown long? shouldn't ALL her hair be long then? why aren't the brown hair patches growing longer too?
i hope someone can shed some light on this for me..
also, is it ok for me to trim the white hair so its the same length as the brown? she looks very messy now.

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

for a female should NOT have long hair at all..
probably she is not feeling well

do monitor her behaviour
if a male syrian then ok - like my blackie - bushy - see this :)

he from black becoming more grey and white now because he is an old hamster already - but looking at his face - he still has that baby look. hehee

please do not cut the fur....... hamster are not like dogs/cat that needs trimming - dont and they get very destress - can die instantly one

let it be if it does not bother her...

do you have a pic of that hamster of yours?

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

i'll take some photos when i go see my brother.. i'm still scared to handle this hamster alone.. i think i told you last time that she bit me super super hard until the blood was flowing out of my finger!! i'm still traumatized {shy}

oh ok, i won't cut her hair.. i was just worried that maybe it was becoming difficult for her to groom herself.. coz the long hair parts look all tangled.

hmm... females shouldn't have long hair? now i'm confused.. coz when i bought her i asked the pet store guy for a female.. but then a few weeks later my brother and i noticed like a bulging thing bum bum area.. i'm not sure if its "male equipment". so now actually, the hamster's name is sarah but we consider him/her a hermaphrodite..

is it normal for a brown and white hamster to only have long hair in the white parts?

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

bulging thing bum bum then confirm MALE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so it is nothing unusual.............................its definitely a male

the person who pick up might goes wrong with gender especially if the hamster is still teeny weenie......

so nothing wrong if he turns our a male.......change name
dont want sarah - er...... samuel? hahaa {shy}

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

Lynie, wear baseball gloves when you go near Sarah/Samuel.....you don't want another bite from her/him.....{scared}

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

Omg poor sarah/samuel will have an identity crisis. I think we will keep calling him sarah.. After all we also have a female cat named oscar! Can we brush hamster hair? Or is normal for the hair to look wild? Sarah looks like a rockstar now. Oh and i bet sarah could bite through gloves Hahaha i'm so paranoid. I'll never forget that inside his adorable head there is a set of scary super sharp teeth!

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

yes i suspect sarah is samuel eventually

rockstair hahahaa duplicate of my blackie - messy
that is why my blackie - if he goes into a semi wet tunnel
he will end up like a punk - as one of thread :)

where else golden - male that i have - goodness really short hair for a male....

brush him? you can just use your fingers and help him to groom....

i came across a hamster brush - but it looks scary hehee.. not the soft time - like wired - similar to cats/dog type only tiny little one
i dont recommend that for a hamster :)
that one i think more suitable for guinea pigs {shy}

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

oh eww {sick}.. that does sound scary.. even my cats are afraid of that wire brush.. i can't imagine brushing a teeny tiny fragile little hamster with that same kind of brush. Yikes!!

well i've broken the news to my brother that his precious little sarah is a boy. he's thinking of changing his name to soren or einstein. einstein is an option because of the crazy white hair that he's got {shy}

anyway, thanks vivien for clearing up this mystery for us!! {good}

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

einstein - hahhaa ok also since he might look like what
messy......with lots of hair at the wrong place {good}{happy}

male cannot hide their bum bum one :P {shy}

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

Vivien!!!!!!!
finally i remember to post photos of sarah/samuel/einstein. can you see the long white hair?

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

aww, i don't know which is sweeter & cuter, the hamster or your brother. {madore} err, i assume that's your brother? and i've never seen such long-haired hamster before. wow!

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

Hahaha funny lah you! No he's not my brother, or my son. He's my friend's son. I can't have children yet! All money spent on pets lah. LOL!!

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

hahahaha.....just checking, can't blame me.......{shy}{shy}

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

wow.......... nice....hamster
reminds me of my bandit...........hehee
long hair..
ok you really need to change name already :) to sean {shy}

Re: Strange hamster hair growth
 

long hair hamster.super cute {shy}{shy}{victory}