Hamsters for Sale

There are some hamsters for adoption please take a look at Adoptions

As a breeder of Syrian hamsters I have the occasional litter of baby Syrian hamsters for sale. Hamsters have to be collected in person as I cannot ship my hamsters'. Different colour and coat variations are available for sale. Occasionally long haired hamsters, but mostly are short haired male and female baby hamsters and average 5 week of age at the point of sale.

Breed for health:

A great percentage of hamsters on sale to-day from shops are at an increased risk of developing genetic diseases such as cancer / tumors diabetes and reoccurring infections, inc: wet tail. These are genetic disorders. Understanding the genetics that cause these diseases that commonly affect rodents will greatly reduced the risk of them developing such diseases. Our attention has always been focused on prevention and all our breeding stock are screened regularly in efforts to eliminate any risk factors. A reputable / responsible breeder would never put up for sale any animal knowing it had, or had a predisposition to a disease or a genetic fault that would hinder the animal's quality of life as a pet.

Breed for temperament.

Good breeders go far beyond breeding for looks and health. They also breed for temperament. Hamsters with bad temperament issues should never be bred. The temperament of an animal is never acquired by taming it: it is a genetically inherited trait. A hamster with a poor or suspect temperament that shows signs of aggressive behavior towards its owner / keeper is considered a serious flaw. A well bred hamster should "Never" display any aggression. With this in mind a good reputable breeder would never consider breeding hamsters that have bad temperament issues. Hamsters are very cute and entertaining little rodents that children just love to handle and interact with. There is no point in breeding hamsters that cannot be trusted or handled by a child, or adult, for fear of the animal biting or showing any aggressive tendencies towards it's handler. Temperaments, whether good or bad, are passed to the off-springs through the parents DNA (mother, father, or both)

Some people become confused with the terms "Temperament and Personality" So what is the difference? Temperament is the biological component of ones individual personality; it is the part of their personality that each are born with. Temperament is determined largely by genes and interacts with the environment to produce personality (this includes both biological and environmentally-shaped components). Temperaments are genetically determined as a whole and each individual animal can have the same temperament but different personalities.
Personalities come later. This is set of qualities that make an individual distinct from any another and is that which can distinguish or individualizes each animal. Personality arises from within the individual as the animal matures and remains fairly consistent throughout life.  Personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behavior that make that individual unique. Personality does not only influence how an animal moves and responds in its environment; it can also cause them to act in certain ways.

Breeder V pet shop

Buying a hamster from an experienced reputable breeder does have considerable advantages over hamsters for sale in pet shops. When buying from a breeder you can be assured that all the hamsters for sale have been bred and reared to very high standards. I don't want to give the impression that all baby hamsters on sale in shops are nasty sickly little creatures, that they are not. Pets-shops are where most people will purchase their first hamster and often many of their subsequent pets.
However, hamsters for sale in the shops can make nice pets if care is taken before you buy, see buying hamsters. But be aware, most hamsters that are for sale in the shops may come from commercial breeders. Theses breeders have none or very little concern whatsoever about health or temperament issues. Breeding for the profit that can be gained by breeding as many baby hamsters' as possible.
Their females are often kept pregnant without any period of rest between litters. As soon as one litter is taken away the female will be forced to mate again, within days of taking the litter away. Basically she is just a baby producing machine for them. This is an extremely hazardous situation that can have serious repercussions. Why? Because the Syrian hamsters in captivity to-day have a very low genetic variation. Just like all rodents, hamsters are prolific breeders, meaning the females can produce offspring’s in abundance and at an alarming rate. The serious implications this can have because of their low genetic variation has led to many of theses breeders encountering serious health issues with their animals, and some breeders discontinuing breeding altogether. But some will just carry on producing inferior and sick animals' or just simply start all over again with new stock. Most breeders that supply the commercial trade (shops) have very little knowledge or understanding of genetics. Theses breeders are the ones we want to avoid.
Most of the hamsters for sale in shops come from rodent farms. Theses rodent dealers will not normally just breed hamsters, most may also breed many other species of rodents such as rat's mice, etc: So dedication and care to any particular species is somewhat disregarded and brushed aside. Most females will spend their whole breeding life in confined and inadequate conditions. When the breeding female’s life comes to an end at around 10-12 months of age she is no longer serving any purpose to the breeder so she is "Disposed of" as older hamsters' become counterproductive and profitless.

More often the hamsters for sale will have only been handled initially when taken away from the mother at 3-4 week old. Transported to shops, to be kept in glass tanks under bright lights when being offered for sale. Hamsters are crepuscular animals and don't like bright light at any time.
When buying baby hamsters for sale in the shops there are a few main points to watch for. Watch for mixed sex groups, males and females are sometimes left together in tanks, any female kept with males at 4-5 week old in such a tank may almost certainly be pregnant by this time. Don't let any shop assistant tell you that 2 hamsters' may be kept in the same cage, you cannot keep two Syrians together after aprox: 8 week old. Although the babies may look placid enough when kept together as young pups. Syrian hamsters are a solitary creature and become fiercely territorial at 6-8 week of age and won't tolerate any other in the cage, even their own litter mates.
Always' at point of sale, ask to handle the animal you choose, if the answer is no and the shop staff won't handle them this may indicate a temperament issue.
Check eyes, nose, ears and rear ends, eyes should be clean bright, clear and with no discharge, rear ends should be clean and dry. The animal should be bright, alert and inquisitive. Their activity either playing around or eating should give you some indication of their general health and condition. Coats should look clean, thick, and well groomed.

Definition of Teddy bear hamsters. The Golden hamster. The Pet hamster

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