Thankies for the welcome! Gir is my thrid hamster.
My first was Max, a golden syrian I had in childhood. He lived to about three and was put down as he was suffering from tumours.
My second hamster was Buttons, a dark grey/brown syrian. We got him by chance, as his owner couldn't keep him anymore. (Don't ask). He was 4 when we got him, and died of old age about 6 months after coming to live with us.
Gir is my current companion
http://www.hamsterster.com/?pet=495. I think he has quite an unusual colouring. We rescued him from a local SPCA, as he was an unwanted Christmas present. This experience has made me decide to not support the pet industry. From now on, I will only foster/adopt companion animals.
I have quite a lot of experience with hamsters, but I'm still up for learning things. My close friends all own small animals themselves (rats and ferrets), so I'm also learning about these critters too.