Pet owners should know the
sex of their pets, and dwarf hamster owners are no exception. It is not enough
to ensure that they are cleaned, housed and fed; it is necessary to know
whether you own a male or a female hamster as well.
As easy as it sounds, sexing dwarf hamsters can pose quite a challenge, most
especially for new owners who know nothing about it.
This is because the tiny built of these hamsters makes it hard to determine
their sex. Moreover, they are very fast and always moving around, and this
surely makes sexing dwarf hamsters all the more difficult.
There are different varieties of dwarf hamsters. You will find that one of the
most elusive and skittish hamsters are the Roborovski hamsters. If you have
these at home, you probably know what I am talking about. If you have one of
those Chinese dwarf hamsters, lucky you! These are easier to check since the
males have more visible testicles as they are larger in size compared to most.
However, it is important to take note that when sexing dwarf hamsters, you need
to exert some effort to make sure you get it right. Remember that these little
ones are very energetic and move real fast. If you are not careful and gentle
with them, you could end up hurting these little creatures.
When sexing dwarf hamsters, here are a few guidelines to prevent hurting your
pet. The first thing to do is to check the scent gland which is visible in the
male species. It is a yellow stain found somewhere around the belly button. All
you need to do is to hold the dwarf hamster with its back resting on the palm
of your hand. Your index finger and your thumb should be holding its chin or
legs.
Then, your free hand should be used to clear the fur on its belly button area
so you can see it easily. Next, let’s talk about safety measures when sexing
dwarf hamsters. You can make use of a large container that is covered with a
towel. Inspect your hamster over it so that in the instance he moves or falls
off, he will just end up in the container, thus preventing injury or possible
escape.
There is also what is known as the glass view method which makes use of a clear
glass container. It should be small in size so that your dwarf hamster will not
be able to move around much, but not too small though that he or she will be
uncomfortable inside it. From this container, you can simply observe and find
out whether what you have is a male or female dwarf hamster.
