Worried about getting hamsters from breeder!?

Question

It's my first time, and I'm getting a dwarf hamster from a VERY trusted breeder. Is there anything I should be worried about in getting my hamster from a breeder?

Answer 1

Are you in Southern California and getting a hamster from AAA Hamsters? If so, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about. AAA Hamsters is one of, if not THE, top breeders in the US. Their animals are free from temperament and health problems.

If it is not AAA Hamsters, the only thing you need to be concerned about is diabetes. A good Campbells breeder will test their animals every week or two weeks for signs of the disease (testing is done inexpensively with test strips purchased at any drug store). As a breeder myself, this would be my biggest concern when getting a Campbells, no matter the source.

-Janice
http://www.holmdenhillhaven.com

Answer 2

Ask the breeder how often they have breed the momma, prior to this when the last litter was born. There should be at least 6 weeks in between litters to have allowed her time to recover from the last one. Look at her other adult hamsters and look for any sign of missing hair or lumps, you may ask to handle them to check for yourself. Don't think for a minute the breeder has handled the babies, ask about each of their temperments and try to handle then yourself. A way to pick one up is to put their litter scent on your hands, rub your hands in their litter to do this. A high strung mother can also mean a more high strung baby, but they too can be tamed. We got a sibling pair of hamsters to breed with 2 others we had at home. They ended up getting mange and cancer/tumors. Mange can occur from over crowding in the cage. These people had 20 hamsters in a cage meant for no more then 3 dwarfs. The cancer is passed from generation to generation and never should be bred. We bred ours before we knew and had to keep all 6 litters. All the parents have passed from cancer and one also had mange (vet said the cancer caused the mange to come out from the stress). Out of 23 dwarfs, we now have only 9 left and we lost none to fighting. 3 died from unknown, I think a broken heart when their cage mates died from cancer. We never put more then 3 in a three story cage or one in a single story cage. You do know that dwarfs can be more of biters and are a little harder to tame. It just takes more patience. They are also more hyper and can jump faster then a Syrian.

Now befor you go and get one, make sure you have everything you should need, cage, litter (no ceder), food, treats, water bottle, food dish, some treats, chew sticks or toilet paper roll (they chew on these too) and some fresh veggies that you can get off the site I'll give below. As a treat you can also give Dwarfs store bought crickets as a treat once or twice a week (only buy one or two to see if yours likes them), ours love them and fight over them if your not quick to give them out.

The first site is the food list, the second is the main home page for the site.

Good luck with which one you choose.

Answer 3

I would think getting hamster from the breeder would be better than getting hamsters from an alligator farmer or from a landfill operator

Answer 4

not really!!! in fact its better than getting them from a store. if u get them from a breeder then ur hamster will be very loving and gentel!! but if u get it from a store then its not gonna be very nice and they bite !!!! and their older and not gonna live as long !!

i got my hamster lucky, from a breeder and he lived about 2 &1/2 years !! and he was very nice!!
so u have nothing to worry about !! and good luck w/ ur hamster !!

Answer 5

You should examine the hamster for any disorders or anything unusual.

Answer 6

never buy female hamsters from breeds because they can be pregnant