Possibly Getting a Russian Hamster

[Artsy Hammy]

There are 3 week old hamsters at my local shelter (they were born in a foster home, apparently). They look like Russians, but I'm really not sure. Anyways, I was originally looking into Syrians, but I was curious how easy 3 week olds are to train. Can someone give me some tips? The Syrian is 6 months old. Would there be a difference in the ease of training them? I am going tomorrow right when the shelter opens to make sure I can look at all of them before they get adopted by someone else.

What would be the pros and cons of each?

[kyrilliondaemon]

Generally younger hams are easier to tame, but at three weeks old no ham should be getting rehomed yet - they should still be with Mum until four weeks.

[SinNyx]

It is likely the Russians will actually be hybrids, so take care in the fact they are prone to diabetes and can have shorter lives, you may want to ask the shelter to test for diabetes as I know some rescues do with hybrids.

If they are handled by staff then they probably will be okay to tame, but definitely too young to leave mum just yet. If I were you, I'd ask to see someone handle them then have a go yourself if possible so you can choose based on temperament.

With the Syrian, I'd say the same - ask about his handling, maybe ask to see him/her handled then make your decision on what you are most comfortable with.

Some Syrians can be very friendly, naturally, though I have had some rescues needing a lot of time and patience, depending on their background.

Good luck!