Before buying a pet you must make sure that you can care for it properly.

You must:

• provide the right housing
• have room for it to exercise
• feed and water it daily
• handle it daily
• exercise it daily
• groom it regularly
• clean out the cage daily to control germs
• check for signs of illness or disease
• take your pet to the vet for regular health checks and other procedures
• know someone who will look after it for you when you are away

Once you are happy that you can provide everything that your new pet will need you can then choose the perfect hamster for yourself. Make sure that you have everything ready for him before you bring him home, so that you can put him into his new home as soon as you arrive and he can spend the first 24hrs getting used to his new environment. Dont forget that he is naturally timid and will be missing his brothers and sisters. He will like you to talk to him and will soon get used to the sound of your voice. We suggest you dont handle him too much for the first day or two, but allow him to settle in peacefully and quietly overnight without pestering him. You will soon know when he has settled in as he will begin to eat, drink and groom himself.

Finally, it has to be said that hamsters do not really make good pets for small children. Their hours of activity do not fit in with patterns of a young child and it is unfair to expect hamsters (or children!) to change their natural behavior. They are very active all night long and sometimes the noises they make while going about their business can interfere with your sleep if they are housed in the bedroom. Hamsters are also very small and fragile and children can often be a little rough, resulting in the hamster being fearful of being handled. Remember that hamsters are nocturnal and tend to be more active at night which make them less suitable for young children who want a pet to play with during the day. They can be a bit cranky when you wake them up to play as I am sure you can understand. However, if you understand and accept their natural behavior they make very entertaining pets.

Which Hamster will you choose?
Firstly, you need to consider whether you want one hamster or two or more. Syrian (or Golden) Hamsters are solitary and MUST have a cage of their own. (This is true of all hamsters with the exception of the dwarf breeds as described later). They are extremely territorial and will fight to the death if you put two in together (except for breeding purposes). They are the largest of the hamster breeds.

The Dwarf Hamsters (Russian, Chinese and Roborovski) are smaller in stature, are very sociable, and will enjoy being kept in pairs or in groups (remember to keep them in single sex pairs or groups if you dont want to breed them!). Because they are even smaller than the Syrian hamster they are less suitable for young children.

Russian Hamsters are mainly white, grey and brown in color, and the Roborovski Hamster is always brown. The Chinese Hamster will have natural, dominant spot or white coats. You can tell a Chinese Hamster by the length of its tail, as his tail is longer than other breeds.