Hello from NYC

[garmyn]

Hello everyone, I am new here but not to hamsters. I've owned syrian and black teddy bear hamsters in the past and am now interested in buying or adopting a litter pair or single hamster for my very responsible 6 year old daughter as her first pet!

I was thinking to try and find a Winter White as it sounds like a good temperment for a child but I have had difficulty in locating one.

If anyone could point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it. Thanks for reading all!

[SKB_Hamsters]

Hello and Welcome to Hamster Central.
Pure Winter White can only be bought from breeders - you may be able to find a winter white breeder. However hamster labelled as winter whites in pet shops are most likely going to be hybrid - crossed with the Campbell Dwarfs.
From my experience I would personally recommend only getting a single dwarf hamster - even litter pairs are likely to fall out and fight also they are perfectly happy to live alone.

[cypher]

Hi & welcome to the forum

I tend to agree that you would probably do better to begin with just one hamster as pairs do often need separating once they mature.
I think breeders are very few & far between in the US so you will have some trouble finding a winter white, if you go to a pet shop or adopt a ham it will almost certainly be a hybrid, they still make lovely pets although you do need to take extra care with diet as they can be prone to diabetes & finding a good dwarf hamster food is also difficult in the US.

[garmyn]

Thank you both so much for the kind replies. After some further thought and research I am definitely going with a single hamster and have decided to try to find a kind Syrian. I have been trying to find a good breeder to endure a healthy and well adjusted fluffhead but this has proven surprisingly difficult! If anyone has a recommendation in or relatively near NYC of a good breeder or shelter so I can get a little guy who has been handled and wouldn’t have been exposed to the contagions in the pet store environment I would really appreciate it. I'm willing to travel and have a car. Thanks again for your time. I'm glad I found this site.

[cypher]

That sounds like a good idea, I don't know of any breeders in your area but hopefully someone here will do.
Good luck with the ham hunt!
Have you seen this thread?
Hamster Breeders (North America - Canada, USA)
It may be a bit out of date now but still could be worth a look through.

[Thin Lizzy]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

[Pebbles82]

Hello and welcome! I would also go with a Syrian - they're easier to handle for a six year old We got our last Syrian when stepson was 6 and he still needed supervising as if our hammy moved he used to try and hold on to him a bit tight, but they soon learn how to handle them gently when shown. The hard bit was the two months it took us to tame ours! In the bathtub as little boy just wanted to hold him and he was wild! But we got there.

You could get a winter white as well maybe as it would be nice for her two see two different ones, but for handling I think I Syrian is best for a child. Some are quite hand tame from the start - ours was a nervous wreck, but so tame eventually.

As SKB says, anything sold as a winter white will be a hybrid, unless from a breeder with a pedigree - and they are prone to diabetes so a sugar free diet would be needed.

Looking forward to meeting your new hammy/hammies!

[BorisPasha]

Hello and welcome to HC