Nibble - Dwarf Russian Hamster

Nathan Pralle - www.nathanpralle.com

PLACES TO GO:

Nibble (RIP - June 2004)

Nibble is my female Dwarf Russian Hamster, more properly known as a Campbells Dwarf Russian hamster (Phodopus campbelli). She was born around the first week of April 2002. She is about the size of two strawberries and weighs around 1 ounce. She won't get much bigger than she is already. I got her from Pet Parade in Mason City, IA, where one of the clerks (named Michelle) raises dwarf hamsters and resells them to the store. She is currently living in the same aquarium that used to house my late pet lizard, Debbie. She has a water bottle, food dish, and exercise wheel, which she loves to run on at night. She also has a toilet paper tube for fun which she fits inside quite easily, giving you an idea of her size.

This particular breed of hamster is normally found in the wild on grassy steppes. They dig burrows up to 6 feet deep, the tunnels lined with soft fur and dry grass, making the ambient temperature around 62F. Hamsters are nocturnal, so they move around and do most of their eating at dusk and night. Given the chance, they can run up to 8 miles in a night.

I obviously only have one, but if I had a male, I could pop out a litter of babies once every 18-21 days. (I don't have the need at the moment.) She eats a mixture of seeds and vitamin pellets that makes her food dish look like it is holding a bowl of Fruit Loops.

She's quite cute, I can hold her on my hand or on my chest or let her roam around on my desk while I work, just as long as I keep track of her. She doesn't bite (although every now and then takes an experimental nibble).

Unfortunately, she bit the proverbial dust rather hard in June 2004. I may some day get another dwarf hamster but will have to work it out with the cat first. :)

The pictures below are NOT of Nibble, I have yet to get the digital camera and get some. But these will suffice for now, they're good examples.