Hi, this is Shawn , and a hobbyist breeder of Mandarin Orange Hamsters. Currently, I breed them for colour, temperament and also body size. Our hamsters are bred as closely as possible to the Winter White Standards of the NHC. However, we confess that what we know is quite lacking, however we strive to learn more, and to improve the quality of Dwarf Hamsters in Singapore.





Friday, December 4, 2009

A Warmest Welcome to all !



Greetings to all, and hamster lovers and visitors. I am Sean, and this a Pudding Winter White blog, with infomation about Pudding/Mandarin as a Winter White colour, and also other tips I wish to share. Enjoy!

Click on the Links to the right of the site for more

FAQ about Mandarin/Pudding Winter Whites

1.Are Pudding Winter Whites Hybrids?
Yes, they are suspected* to be hybrids, alongside most Winter Whites in Singapore. However, this does not pose much problems like birth defects, as they have been so bred to Winter Whites, that they are now considered almost a pure winter white. It is still said that they descended from a Stock of Winter Whites with questionable ancestry. However, this mutation is now quite endangered in the European Union, due to this status, and this beautiful mutation that makes good pets may go extinct if not given extra protection. And contrary to popular belief, it is not a Campbell Argente Hybrid. Argente is recessive, Mandarin Puddings is Heterozygous-Lethal Dominant.

Updated on 21/1/2011
*Reason being suspected, is that the Dutch breeder has hybridise hamsters before. In the UK ,they are almost confirm hybrids, due to the fact that they have red eyes, which is a sure sign of campbell blood.

However, for the first 5 years after the mutation was found, the dutch breeder had an exclusive contract with the Far East, making them common in Japan, Sg. Its is highly possible that these animals are pure, as i have only heard of 1 red eye pudding in Singapore, and that was back in 2004.

However, no western breeders have kept a line of non-red eyes Puddings. All their Mandarin Puddings give out red-eyed hamsters once in a while. Thats the reason why they are called hybrids.


2.Will the Puddings' coat change?
Definitely, as in fact, all winter whites have a different, more fine coat when young, which changes to a rougher coat when older. The colour would also change slightly. This also happens to Puddings and all other winter whites. But they might change to a darker orange, lighter orange or yellow, dark brown or even dark brown to black. These are all genetics, and all puddings should be given equal care and concern even if they are not as beautiful. They are all still docile and very good pets.

3.Will Puddings bite, as they have some Campbell blood?
From experience and other accounts, they will not bite more than a Winter White. For instance, my Puddings have only bitten my 2 twice in 5years. And that bite was mild. Handle untamed Campbells, and you will finally know what is a bite. In short, Pudding winter whites make excellent pets.

4.Will crossbreeding different colours destroy the bloodline?
If you meant crossbreeding colours of different species(eg. Campbell and Winter Whit), it is very very bad, and this should never be done, as Winter Whites and Campbells are built differently, which causes birth problems especially if it's the Winter White that's producing, because of the slightly wider head of the Campbell, which could lead to a loss of both Mum, and the litter.

If it was within the same species, then it is perfectly fine. There will not be problems at all. It is the same as a Left-Handed man with single eyelids, marrying a Right-handed woman with double eyelids, and their children will be a mix of these characteristics. It is even closer related to pair a pearl and a pudding, compared to human inter-racial marriages. Different human races have genetic differences, but a Pearl Winter White and a Pudding Winter White just have different fur colour, but are genetically similar.

5. Where can i find good quality hamsters in Singapore?
This will not be easy, and it requires the finder to do some homework. There are close to zero hamster shows in Singapore, where one can distinguish a good breeder by the number of awards he has won. Thus, the buyer has to ask the breeder questions, and judging by the way the breeder handles the hamster and answers questions, you can tell the difference between a novice breeder and a good breeder. If someone who states they have quality hamsters, it is very important to double check and verify, as this may be a sales gimmick, and one has to be cautious not to be deceived. One general rule of thumb, Someone who loves his/her hamsters will have healthy hamsters.

6. Are there any Pure Puddings around?
Firstly, there are 2 meanings to this question. It may mean,
"Are there any Pure Winter Whites that are Pudding in colour", or
"Are there any Winter Whites Genetically Pure for Pudding".
Answer: No for Both.

Q1 Reason: Winter Whites descended from stock without doubtful backgrounds.
Q2 Reason: Pudding is a Homozygous-lethal gene, so there are no hamsters that are Pure Puddings. Anyone who says their puddings are either misinformed, or just tying to smoke their way through buyers who may not have heard this infomation.
The Punett square below explains it.

Result: 2/3 Puddings, 1/3 non-pudding.

7. Is inbreeding wrong?
This is a highly debatable issue. Many great pet breeds, are inbred to a certain degree, to get their excellent temperament and other characteristics not limited to colour/looks. Golden Retriver dogs were inbred 150years ago, to produce a more vigorous and powerful dog yet one still gentle and trainable. Another close more simillar example is the use of inbreeding to remove cancer in mice, which is usually the disease which kills older female mice. In this two context, inbreeding would be a good thing. However, if this is indiscrimately done, which is more often the case it will result in a large host of problems, and even suffering for the animal. Conclusion is that one should not touch inbreeding. Leave it to the experts.



For more about hamster caring, here is a website that explains it much better than I can ever do. http://www.hamsters.co.uk/hamster_care.htm

Remember, a Winter White or a Campbell can be expected to live for 2 years or more, While Syrians and Robos can hit 3 or even 4years. A pet is for Life!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Money Saving Tips, when keeping Hamster.

Keeping a hamster is something never cheap. With food, bedding and even the unexpected visit to the vet, the cost of keeping hamsters might even become quite high. Looking at the 08-09 financial crisis, there is no more proper time to save some dollars and cents, especially if you happen to be getting a new hamster setup. Here are some tips that may help you save money while keeping hamsters, but not reducing their quality of life. Food Food quality should never be compromised, as hamsters are what they eat. To feed low quality food to save cost is unethical. The best way to save is to buy in Bulk, but not too much, 3months should be the maximum to preserve freshness. Treats from petshops should be avoided, as they are usually costly, and contain high levels of calories. Organic/Fresh vegetables are a cheaper and better choice, alongside grains. These are much healthier and cheaper treats. Food Dish This item is easiest to save on. Petshops usually sell them for about $5-$10 for 1 food dish. Here is mine from cash converter. I brought 4 of these for $2, and previous ones brought last me for 4years, and still in perfect condition

Tank A tank is better compared to a cage, in terms of durability, and ease of cleaning. While there may less air coming in from the sides, this protects the hamsters from draught, and the open surface on the top brings about adequate ventilation. A bare 2nd hand tank would cost around $8, for those 2feet and below, if you search hard enough. This is much cheaper than a cage, which may cost $40 or more. * Certain Tubs can be brought from Ikea at less than $10, for a reasonably sized one, which is also not too heavy, though you are unable to view the hamsters from the sidesm which is the major downside. Hamster House? These are not really necessary, and any porcelain cup will do. Below is a house that i used to have, which cost $6. It was also quite unhygienic, and waste and urine would accumulate there. A cup is enough, as it provides a hard and covered surface for the hamster to sleep on. Toilet/Bathing area I used a bowl, instead of the ones brought form the pet shop. These are much cheaper, $2 for 4 bowls, compared to those fanciful ones at the pet shop. Below is 1 of my no-frills setup. Costing: $15.80 Tank: $5, from Cash Converter Wheel: $5, brand new from SN(Serangoon North) Water Bottle: $3.80, and there are cheaper ones, equally good at SN Cup/House: $1, from Cash Converter Food Dish: $0.50, from Cash Converter Toilet: $0.50, from Cash Converter Here is how i saved money, while not compromising on quality of care. The items too can be brought and customised by oneself, giving each tank unique in its own.

Pudding phottos Photos

Here are some Puddings, Pearl Puddings, Pearls, Nwws I have/had. Some were taken a few years back, and some photos are of lower quality. More will be added in time.










Obituary



Old Blue, (28Feb07-12Oct08)

This is Old Blue, named from a Black Robin which saved her species from extinction.



Mr YanDao, (15Oct07-xxDec08)



ZaiZai(仔仔) ,25sept07-11Jul09




Snowball
Jan'09-15Jan'10

Grandma, The last hamster i owned that was born in 2008.
Nov'08-15July'10

Liong, my most handsome pudding. (died of stroke)
Jul' 09 - 31th dec 2010

Monday, November 23, 2009

Pudding Colours, and their combinations

Photobucket

Look at the above picture closely, do you realise that the 2 puddings have a slightly different tone of colour? I had this pair of hamsters sometime in Aug 2005, and this situation got me baffled for quite some time. Guess were made on the genetic makeup, but my hamsters were found to have diabetes, and all breeding had to be stopped.

Nearly 4 years later, on Oct '2009, I came across a Russian website, which did state about Puddings. They called this colour Carmel, and the more accurate name is, Sapphire Puddings. This explains why there would be Sapphire Winter Whites in those litters. It finally made sense. This new colour is a combination of the sapphire gene and pudding gene, resulting in a lightening of the colour, like how Sapphires are a lighter shade compared to Normals.


Pearl Puddings




Pearl Puddings too come in many different colours, from being pure white, to one with orange and even one that looks like a Pear Winter White. However, due to the small amount of orange in them, i found it not easy to determine if they are Sapphire or Normal Pearl Puddings. But nevertheless, the difference between a Pearl Puddings and a Pearl, is that Pearl Puddings are usually much whiter compared to Pearls, and their tickings are usually Brown/orange, and not black like Normal/Sapphire Pearls.



Click here for their basic introduction.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Basic introduction: Mandarin/Pudding gene



The Mandarin/Pudding colour is my favourite colour gene in Winter Whites.

Here are some the facts. This gene is a dominant gene (Me), and one pudding parent alone will give result in pudding babies. There is also overwhelming evidence that this gene is homozygous dominant, which means that babies with 2 Pudding genes will not survive. They either get reabsorbed, or they will not survive even inside mum. The Pudding gene can combine with other genes like Sapphire and Pearl, to produce different types of Puddings. So no puddings have 2 pudding genes. Thus no genetically pure puddings exist.

Below here is a Punnett Square, of a Pudding X Pudding.



Their appearance are mainly orange with an orange dorsal stripe when young, but this is what I personally described as their baby coat, which would change in the future. Other winter whites too experience this, with the babies having a different colour when it matures if one examines closely enough.
However, the adult coat would be either a range from yellow or even totally brown, with the dorsal stripe being a darker shade of colour. Can you imagine that, no other Winter White mutation has such a diversity of shades in the single colour alone, which makes it a truly unique mutation. This is the reason why Puddings are my favourite winter whites, and the reason why this blog was made! See my puddings above, they both are of a different shade isn't it.



This information is from a Russian Website stated below, and also from some observations of my Puddings, and also from Puddings belonging to people from hamster forums of Singapore.


http://hamster.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1520