Should I Buy A Syrian Hamster From Pets At Home?

I'm thinking about buying a hamster from Pets At Home pretty soon, but I've heard bad things about them, mostly about the Crystal Peaks branch, but the Greenwich Peninsular/Charlton Branch seem to have clean and healthy hamsters. Please help!Should I Buy A Syrian Hamster From Pets At Home?Well, people often object to buying hamsters from Pets at Home because the conditions they are kept in are often cramped and not providing enough exercise and entertainment for hamsters (especially the dwarf varieties, which need lots of space). I can vouch that they often have living quarters too small, however I dont think that simply not buying from the store is a good solution, UNLESS they actually look unhealthy. I feel that buying from the store could be saving and looking after a hamster that could potentially be living there for much longer, and could go to owners who dont look after it at all. People should just put pressure on the pet stores in other ways - by sending letters, signing petitions, and generally letting them know that you expect high quality conditions for the hamsters there.

Obviously it is preferable to buy/ adopt from a rescue centre, but again, check for a healthy hamster, otherwise you will certainly not be able to fully care for it in the long term.

Here is what to look for in a healthy hamster:

Shiny eyes

Bright glossy fur with no balding patches

No weeping or liquids from the ears, eyes, nose etc..

Should be plump in size

Should have no irregular lumps on its body

Should be relatively alert and active (when woken up)

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/hamsters/鈥?/a>



You should also choose a private breeder over a store but only after you have judged them yourself. Some just do it for extra money or because they cant control their hamsters - these are often ones which have poor living conditions - look for breeders who really care for their animals, have healthy hamsters and handle them before selling.



The sexing issue where a store incorrectly informs you of the sex, is quite a regular occurance, but it really shouldnt matter too much unless you are keeping more than one animal together, and there is a chance of breeding. Although I would say that males tend to be more docile towards their owner, it really wouldnt make that much of a difference when it comes down to it, and it often relies on personality of the individual hamster anyway.



So I would check out the other options you have of buying in your area, but not worry too much if you do have to end up buying from Pets at Home. and do a health check on any that you are considering. Goodluck :)Should I Buy A Syrian Hamster From Pets At Home?
If there are none at a rescue near you then I think you should, but check in their "adoption centre" for hamsters first.

They DO take care of their pets there, at least at the one near me. They do need a bit more bedding though lol!

The hamsters there arent tame because they dont really have them long enough to tame them, and they need a space to do it, whereas guinea pigs, rats and rabbits can just be held and will stay still, hamsters will climb and when they are untamed will just run. Too dangerous, what if they were taming one and it jumped out their hands, ran under a thing and wasnever found. Wouldnt be pleasant if a customer found it would it?



They do tame their other animals though, which proves they care about the welfare of the animals, beause if they didn't like them, they wouldnt spend timeafter their shifts playing with them eh?



So go for it!

If you ask a member of staff they should be able to tell you wether the hamster in a particular cage/tank thing is male or female.



Goodluck ;) I got 2 from there, and one developed wet tail about a week later, but I got that treated (i think it was just because of the stress) by the vet and she lived a long healthy life, and I currently have a long haired Syrian from there, and she is living healthily.Should I Buy A Syrian Hamster From Pets At Home?I wouldn't advise it. I rang up a Pets at Home the other day to ask if they had any rats and what gender they were. The guy who answered had a 10 minute discussion with another shop assistant as to whether the rats genitals were 'a guy part' or if girls have one too. So evidently their staff are not very competent :S...

I would, personally, get your new pet from a smaller, independent pet shop. Just type 'pet shop, (your area eg Greenwich)' into Google maps and you can ring round the ones that appear to find the most suitable place. Of course, it is even better to go to a breeder direct but getting them from a small pet shop is almost as good as they usually will source their animals from reputable local breeders. They also usually keep the animals in more suitable living conditions.

Hope I helped :) xxShould I Buy A Syrian Hamster From Pets At Home?
I strongly advise you not to buy pets from pets at home they buy them from breeders who don't care about them and also they don't look after them they obviously have to feed them but they have very little bedding and are often seen curled up in a corner. I would advise getting one from a rescue there are loads of little hamsters needing homes in shelters. If you buy one from pets at home to save it from the pet shop then they will only have to restock with more poor hamsters :(Should I Buy A Syrian Hamster From Pets At Home?why would you even post a question like that on yahoo answers? you should of gone straight to pets at home and got a hamster! iv had 4 hamsters all seperate through the years from their. Hamsters are awesome pets and i dont know if my hamster is the only 1 which does this but it feels so safe that it always falls asleep on me when im watching a dvd and it has lots of cages connected together by tubesShould I Buy A Syrian Hamster From Pets At Home?
as long as your not looking for a specific gender its a good place to get them.

i got my rabbits from pets at home and they were healthy.Should I Buy A Syrian Hamster From Pets At Home?
Ive always bought my hamsters from pets at home, i got one yesturday from there :)