Hamsters - The 3 Best Places to Buy a Hamster</strong>

Hamsters are gorgeous creatures, and make fantastic pets. However, when buying a hamster, it's important to purchase from a place that will have treated the hamsters well, and which also takes care to ensure its hamsters are healthy, happy, and used to having human contact.

These are the best 3 places to buy a hamster, to ensure a long, happy life together:

<strong>1. Hamsters Breeders</strong>

The best place to buy a hamster is from a specialist breeder. Usually, breeders will also be hamster owners themselves, and as such they will know how to look after a hamster to ensure it is healthy and well cared for. Breeders are also well-versed in how best to raise a baby hamster, and so they tend to produce robust animals with a good temperament.

Many breeders will keep one or two animals from the litter, to take them to hamsters shows, or to keep as their own pets. This is an excellent sign, as it means that they will have done everything they can to produce a strong litter.

<strong>2. Rescue Homes</strong>

Rescue homes specialise in taking in abandoned or surplus animals, and helping to find them a new home. We often hear about this in relation to larger animals such as cats and dogs, but these homes also take in smaller animals, such as guinea pigs, mice, and hamsters.

Rescue homes will assess the health of their hamsters before attempting to re-home them, so you can be fairly confident that your animal will be healthy. The downside is that these centres also sometimes require you to fill out several forms, or even undergo and interview. However, this is nothing to be worried about - it's simply to ensure that the animal will be going to a loving home.

<strong>3. Pet Shops</strong>

Finally, many pet shops sell hamsters. This is a bit more hit and miss, since many of their animals will have come from farms designed specifically to breed pets for selling. This means that they are not always looked after as well as if they came from a specialist breeder. This usually means that information about their breed and background is a little harder to obtain, and the animals may not always have a good temperament.

However, pet shops still have to abide by strict animal welfare rules, so their pets should be very healthy, and you are unlikely to have any problems with them.

As you can see, buying a hamster can be a complicated affair, but by following the above advice you are giving yourself the best chance of finding a healthy, happy animal, which will give you a lot of pleasure and affection.

<H2>Hamsters</H2>

Hamsters are nocturnal rodents ideal for those who work or go to school during daytime either young or old adults. They are tired and most of the time are asleep during daytime because their energy is higher during the night time. Like guinea pigs, hamsters are popular in the industry today because of their unique and attractive colors, odorless appearances, they are harmless and they are so easy to tame. Aside from spending initially on their cages and equipment, they are less expensive than guinea pigs. Also, they only require a minimum amount of care such as feeding and bonding. Like other pet rodents, hamsters generally need a long time commitment when being cared for, which includes a scheduled appointment to a veterinarian when they are sick.

Hamsters are kept in small cages which require lesser space and they are ideal to all pet lovers who are living in small spaces like apartments, condominium units and rented rooms. They are also suitable for children and even adults wherein there are numerous species and varying sizes, unique characteristics and different colors to choose from. But, not all of these species are suitable for very young children. Some of these species are so small that requires gentle handling and the assistance of and older individual to ensure accurate care of the said hamster. Hamsters are also sensitive, so be careful in handling them since they can die easily.

The age of the owner is a factor to consider when choosing a variety of hamster. Age affects an individuals choice and circumstances. So it is best to identify your means and circumstances as well as available resources to sustain your pet hamster, such as replacement of a care giver when you are not around, because of a busy career or schedule, someone who will spend a little time to the hamster when they need someone to cheer them up, someone who will feed them when they are hungry. Next is the number of hamsters. If you plan to tame numerous hamsters, this means you are also facing a bigger and more expensive cage for them. Taming many hamsters has a partner responsibility and commitment to all pet owners. This includes proper maintenance such as food, hygiene and environment. It is not best to place them in a small cage wherein they can no longer move and play.

Once everything is set, you are now ready in choosing your hamsters, available in most of the pet stores or breeders. Before selecting your hamster, be sure to inspect the hamster once handed to you meticulously. A sick hamster means others are sick also, so better find another store or breeder. Next, look at the eyes of the hamster, their normal eyes are bright and they are always alert when they are placed in hands. Avoid those hamsters with runny nose, dirty bottom, sneezing, sticky eyes, weak and lethargic, and obviously thin body. These indicate an abnormal condition and sickness. Always ask the staff to let you handle the hamster so that you can inspect thoroughly to avoid buying a sick hamster.
<H3>Hamsters</H3>
The hamster is an animal that belongs to the rodent family which you can find in different parts of the world. At present, a lot of people purchase hamsters to be their home pet. Hamsters are fascinating, lovable and very vibrant. They are nocturnal animals that are solitary in nature. They'd prefer be alone than to be with fellow hamsters.

In General, hamsters are very small. They range only from 2-11 inches in size and they can only weigh up to 900 grams in weight which is why they can easily be kept in hamster cages. A hamster is often used in a research or experiments because some parts of their body are likened to us humans. They are similar to guinea pigs which are considered as laboratory animals.

Pet hamsters are mostly examined in their sensory systems like taste and vision. They are used by scientists looking for a remedy of certain illnesses like pancreatic cancer, cardiopulmonary disease and other similar ailments. Hamsters multiply fast and mostly disease-free, that is why scientists like to use them for experiments. Moreover, their cardiovascular system is almost same to a human being and that is why experiments are done to find remedies for many cardiovascular diseases.

Physically, you can notice that hamsters have fat bodies with cheek pouches on the sides of their heads. They have also got very powerful legs and wide feet. They utilize their cheek pouches to store the food they have gathered. Their teeth continue to grow, that is why they need to gnaw on objects or food to stop their teeth from growing very long which can have a great impact on their health.

The internal parts of hamsters mainly consist of skull, jaw, teeth, limbs and tail. Their sense organs are mouth for tasting, nose for smelling, eyes for seeing, ears for hearing and skin for touching. A hamster's average life span is 2-2 1/2 years but can reach up to 3 & 1/2 years depending on the breed.

Animal experts say that hamsters have poor eyesight and tend to be color-blind but then their sense of hearing is very well developed and their nose can recognize different scents which can compensate for their poor visual sense.

A hamster is a great pet to take care of because they are sociable to humans and can be easily trained or tamed. Some breeds are generally sweet so you won't have trouble trying to get them to like you. Ready a hamster cage now for your pet hamster to live in. Just make sure to choose the right hamster cage which will make your hamster happy and contented.
Phil Clarkson