[racinghamster]

I agree. I don`t class Chinese hamsters as typical dwarf hamsters. Even though they are classified as such. They are much more mouse-like in shape and character even though they have pouches. It`s probably always going to be the case that anyone buying Chinese from a pet shop will just accept that they are buying a dwarf hamster without looking a bit closer at the animal they are buying. It`s fair to say that if choosing to keep a pair is what you want and know this might mean separation at some point that`s fine. But even people like myself who know all this already, I would still never feel comfortable keeping a pair of either gender together.

Pet shops (especially the large one) need to be made aware of the issues Chinese can have when kept in pairs because all they are doing is pushing people into a situation they might not be aware of and it`s also unfair on the animals as well if they go into a home that doesn`t know this.

This is probably one of the reasons people return to the store to return hamsters this happens to and it`s so unfair on the hamsters.