Hi from Sunflower and Gizmo !

[Achenar Moiety]

We have two Djungarian hamsters from Petsmart. One is a "Sunfire" (Sunflower) and the other is a Campbells' Russian (Gizmo) , both males.
They need to live in separate cages since they do not enjoy each other's company ; contrary to what the store employee said.

After browsing the web for a bit on hamster info--and there is a lot of info out there -- I came across this, that people should buy from a breeder and not from big chain stores . In order to purchase healthier and pure bred hamsters.

My next question is where ? I've been checking everywhere online and cannot find any Djungarian or Winter White or Sunfire breeders.

The Petsmart employee said Sunfires are a result of breeding Roborovskis to Winter Whites, resulting in the white color with orange ticking.

As far as cages... we have tried the CritterTrail , My First Home, and Ovo habitats and did not care for the amount of cleaning. Whereupon my husband , who is handy with various crafting tools, constructed two large bin cages. They are super big and put end to end , are about the length of our living room sofa. Much bigger than two hammies need but they are both happy and the light tan Campbells' (Gizmo)has completely stopped biting !

There are cat shows and dog shows I've been to, but I've never heard of a hamster show anywhere near us. It would be interesting to attend one.

To change this topic a little..... I asked the Petsmart clerk who supplied their hamsters since i had a ton of questions about the Sunfires-- and he said it is store policy to not give out sensitive information. does anyone here know who supplies Petsmart and Petco ??
The main reason for finding a breeder is that they know so much more about the animal ; plus, you get a healthy hamster that is not inbred or with any illnesses. With a pet store you don't know at all what you're getting.

[souffle]

Welcome
Glad to hear you have found a way to provide nice homes for your pets and separate is the way to go with them being unhappy together.
You have been given some horrendous mis-information by the pet stores I'm afraid.
All pet store 'russian type' hamsters are more than likely hybrids. This is a mixture of the genes from the Winter White and the Campbell's dwarf hamsters. They are sometimes called by the blanket name Russian hamsters. Winter white and Campbell's are two different SPECIES however they are very close genetically and can breed together giving the hybrid russian animals. The hybrids tend to inherit the bad problems from both types - diabetes, glaucoma, neurological problems, birthing problems etc and they reason they have been bred is to produce more interesting colours without consideration for the health of the hybrids.
Sunfire is a close breeding of the Argente campbells and Winter white giving an orangy looking winter white type animal. They are given that name to get more money for them in making them sound 'special'. They are just hybrids all the same though.
Roborovski hamsters are another species altogether and CANNOT interbreed with WW ever.
There are very few breeders in the USA of pure animals. Moxie Hamstery has roborovskis and Nancy may be able to help with more names in the USA. It depends on the area you are in. There are some hamster shows in California I believe.
The modular cages are unsuitable for most hamsters. There is a thread in the housing board at the top detailing the most suitable cages in the USA but your bins sound ideal.
Hope that helps clarify matters!

[cypher]

Hi & welcome to HC
I do wonder where pet shops get their ideas from sometimes! Regardless of what they might call them it sounds as though you have two lovely little Russians there, their bin cages sound good too!

[Thin Lizzy]

Hi and Welcome to the forum!
And welcome to your Russians Sunflower & Gizmo.

[horseyhammygirl]

Hi and welcome to HC!

[Shannonmcn]

Those bin cages sound great! It's amazing what nonsense the pet shops can come up with too, surely it's harder to find wrong information nowadays with Google?

Anyway, hello and welcome, can't wait to see pics of the little guys

[BluerayDarkes]

I've never heard of a sunfire hamster, dying to see pics though

[Achenar Moiety]

Thanks everyone... I'll try to get some pics up soon !
I have some more questions, but will inquire in the appropriate subsection.
We are located in eastern MN, close to the border of WI.
Still looking for a hamster breeder mainly for questions and in case we decide to buy one more--- but nothing comes up in Google searches.
There are a few Syrian breeders--- maybe I should ask them why no one seems to be breeding dwarfs ?

[Thin Lizzy]

I'm useless at these abbreviations so what's MN and WI?

[Piebald]

Minnesota and Wisconsin. All the States have official two letter abbreviations for posting.