Breed of Hamster

Question
Hello, my husband took our trash off last week and saw a woman sitting down a cage. She left and he went over to the cage and found a hamster inside with no food or water. He brought it home, and i have changed the bedding in its cage and have been taking care of it. it likes to roll in the hamster ball we purchased. How can I find out what kind/gender it is? It is also chewing on the cage bars, I've provided chew sticks. I want to give this hamster the best home possible.

Answer
First off, it is excellent of you to rescue that hamster, if everyone could have the same compassion towards animals, there would be a lot less strays. Your hamster is likely a syrian hamster, if it is around 6 inches long. It could also be a dwarf, just do a google search of syrian hamster and take a look at the pictures. Male hamsters tend to have an elongated bottom, which is actually his testicles. If your hamster looks to have a protruding bottom, then it is likely male. Females have a flatter, shorter bottom. A younger hamster may be difficult to determine gender, the best indicator is the testicles. You can also tell by distance of the anus from the sex organs. This link is to a diagram so you can see for yourself.

http://www.hamsterific.com/HamsterUniversity/images/SexingDiagramSyrian.jpg

As long as your little guy or girl has a large enough space to live in, a hiding place, fresh food, water, and bedding, you have made the hamster very happy, and given it a great home.