Age?

Question
QUESTION: I was wondering if there was any way to tell how old your hamster is? Because i got my dwarf hamster a month ago and she is very active and healthy, but one time some of her hair fell out and she is brown, but is now getting white spots of hair... does their fur change colour? is she old or sick? just a little worried because she is still rather small... even for a dwarf hamster
ANSWER: Hi Kaitlyn,

    I do not know of any way to tell for sure how old a hamster is. In my experience, an older hamsters fur will change color (like my black bear, he is going on 2 years old, started out black and now he is almost all gray). Baby hamsters fur will also change in color, up until they are a couple months old.
    Generally most hamsters gotten from a pet store are somewhere between 2-6 months old. I'm sure some pet stores have hamsters that are even a year old or older, just depends on how many they sell.
    Loss  of fur is normal in older hamsters (generally will start loosing hair around a year old), but using the wrong type of bedding can cause it to. What type of bedding are you using?

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QUESTION: I am using pine shavings and toilet paper for its bedding... it has a white stomache, which i believe is suppose to be like that... but just the white patch (barely there) is on its back (near neck)... the hair loss was not really very much, but i wasn't sure if it was a bad thing... am i using the right bedding?
ANSWER: Hello again Kaitlyn,

    You need to get rid of the pine as soon as possible. Pine and cedar bedding are toxic to hamsters and can cause many different types of health problems and even death.
    The best bedding to use is either Aspen, critter care (which is a natural bedding, looks like brown paper pieces) or carefresh.
    If you have anymore questions, please write again.

Thanks again for writing!

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QUESTION: How do you know if your hamster is pregnant or when will i know, because i have been trying on and off, and today i they did not bite at one another, i am not sure if they did anythign, so i don't know if she is pregnant...

Answer
Hi Kaitlyn,

    It is very hard to tell when a Dwarf hamster is pregnant. They say if she gets fat quickly (and she has been with a male), you can expect babies in 2-7 days.
    Dwarf hamsters carry their babies for 18-22 days. If no babies come by then, she isn't pregnant.  
    If you have anymore questions, please write again.

Thank you for writing!