White Butt, So What?!

So. As you may or may not know, Sasha is a Djungarian hamster. Djungarians are also known as Winter Whites and Siberian Hamsters. They've earned these unique names for a very special reason! In the wild, Winter Whites' fur turns completely white to help them hide from predators. Cool huh? I know! However Winter Whites that are kept in captivity almost never change their fur color because there is no need to and their bodies do not tell their fur to change.

Why do they change color?
These adorable hamsters get their winter coat because their tiny little bodies get very cold from the low winter temperatures and they need to blend in with the snow that will be on the ground. Hamsters are prey so it is important that they are able to hide from predators and a little ball of grey fur would be like a bulls eye against the white snow!

Why don't they change in captivity?
In the winter we like to keep our homes warm, and of course there is no snow in a captive Winter White's cage so they do not feel the need to change. There is no threat and they do not get cold enough. It's as simple as that.

Why am I telling you this?
Well many of you may have already had this fun fact in your arsenal of ham ham information, but what you may or may not have noticed in my recent pictures and videos of Sasha is that her fur is changing! I'm not sure why, but it is! It's not a lot, but it's defiantly there. The fur on her butt is slowly getting lighter. It is a lighter shade of grey than it used to be. I'm sure she won't get any lighter than this, especially since she never gets cold enough, but I wanted to let everyone see her cute little white butt! Haha.

Sasha's butt before....

Sasha's butt now!

I hope everyone finds this interesting. :)) Until the next post! Bye~

-Tracy