Hello thar!

[Euan]

Hi,

After owning a few hamsters as a child and in my early teens, my wife and I have now got back into the hammie game adopted an unwanted winter white hamster.

Euan

[cypher]

Hi Euan, welcome to the forum & congrats on your new ham :)

Just in case you don't know unless your ham originally came from a good breeder & not a pet shop he will be a Russian hybrid (cross between WW & Campbell's) not a pure WW.
It's good to be aware if that is the case as you need to take care with diet, hybrids are prone to diabetes so it's best to avoid sugars of any kind including fruit in the diet.

[Drago]

Hello and welcome! Enjoy your new little ham and be sure to share some pictures :)

[BorisPasha]

Hello and welcome to HC, looking forward to hearing more about your hamster :)

[Euan]

Hi Cypher, I suspect Frank originally came from Pets at Home as most of the toys/feed and cage had stickers on from there. But if mine is a cross breed and potentially vulnerable to diabetes, should I avoid fruit based treats and honey sticks and the sort?

[cypher]

If he came from P@H then he will definitely be a hybrid, they don't all get diabetes of course but are more prone to it so I would avoid all sweet treats, anything with honey or sugar of any kind & only give fresh veg not fruits.
There are plenty of natural treats you can give that they really enjoy like extra seeds, millet sprays, monkey nuts among other things & if you want the stick type treats Rosewoods naturals range has some suitable ones.

[Euan]

Ok thanks! That's very helpful! We'll look into getting him some more nut and veg orientated treats. Well he loves his sunflower seeds.

Thanks again for the advice!

[Thin Lizzy]

Hi Euan and welcome to HC and getting back into having hams as pets. Looking forward to pics of Frank once he's settled into his forever home.