SQUEAKYCHU'S SYRIAN HAMSTERS |
This is Sprite, the 3rd grade hamster |
|
My family thinks I'm crazy!!! I have three hamsters. Well, not really.
Buddha is definitely my daughter's. My dilemma is
that I must care for all three of them since I like them and she's now tired
of them. It all goes back to when she introduced one hamster to me a few years
ago (when I didn't like hamsters at all).
At that time she wanted to participate in a class project which involved (You guessed it!) keeping a hamster. The deal was: She chose the hamster, I paid for it, it would stay in school, and it would go elsewhere for summer vacation. The result was: I wanted to keep the hamster not only for the summer, but ever after! |
 After Sprite died of old age, Pooh came to live with us. He was a present from me to Jordana. He was the only long-haired cream hamster in a large litter of golden hamsters. I thought he looked a lot like Sprite. |
|
My three current hamsters are: Buddha, Thistle,and Bandit.
Buddha is the oldest. He's a black bear who was the grandfather of some black bear (and other color) babies, all male, interestingly enough. Thistle is a black-eyed cream (split for black) who was the mom of Buddha's black bear (and other color) babies. My newest hamster is Bandit, a young male light gray teddy bear Syrian. I'm hoping to keep him for breeding. Everyone who's seen him (except for me) thinks he's ugly! He looks like a furry miniature possum. I'm not sure yet what color babies I'll try for. The interesting thing about the color Light Gray is that it should not be bred to the same color hamster. This is due to the fact that, when the two Light Gray genes come together, they produce a baby which dies in utero or shortly after birth. Light Gray is often called Lethal Gray. Isn't that horrible?! Nevertheless, if bred with knowledge of genetics, a Light Gray is (to me, anyway) an attractive hamster and a color not often found in my area. In fact, Bandit was the first Light Gray Syrian I found in any pet shop in my area in the 6 years that I have been an owner and hobby breeder of Syrian hamsters. I'd love to hear from anyone else who might own one. I'd also like to know from breeders what color combinations they use when having a light gray as one parent. |
 Brandy, a black-eyed cream female |
| The pet store I use and have bred for in the past is Animal Exchange in Rockville, Maryland. They sell both Syrian and dwarf hamsters, although I am only interested in Syrians. I found both my black bear and Light Gray at this store. Their hamsters usually sell for $10 or less, depending on the color and kind. I like dealing with this store because the owner and staff are highly knowledgable about their animals and the store is odor-free and clean (a *must* when searching for healthy pets). |
Communicating about hamsters...
Want to talk about hamsters on a forum? Join
Hamsters Galore , a MSN web community about hamsters. I started it in 1999 and it now has over 200
members. Besides an active message board, it has community links, an art page, a photo album, a breeder list, a name exchange, a memorial page, chat and original stories. New pages are added frequently. It has been a previously selected MSN community COOL SITE! I think that's a tribute to all of its community members. Come join us!
If you're more interested in joining a mailing list, why not try
Don't want to talk? That's okay. To read about hamsters, go to
Have a question about a Syrian hamster? Maybe you'll find an answer on my FAQ About Hamsters |
|
|
