Pick the right Hamster
When selecting a hamster, to start with examine all the hamsters in the cage and the conditions they’re kept in. They need to be in good healthy condition and not be kept in overloaded cages. The cages themselves need to be clean and also the hamsters should have access to food and water. The hamsters must be separated by sex with males in a single cage and females in another. If buying from the pet shop and the shop staff cannot guarantee the sex of any hamster this isn’t a good sign and buying could mean purchasing a pregnant female – and problems.
The hamsters should ideally be 5-6 weeks of age – hamsters shouldn’t be sold younger than this.
After you have found a good pet shop or breeder inspect the hamsters carefully. If an 
individual hamster appears sick the others can also be at risk of being ill so it is best to look in another cage or another shop.
Make sure that the hamster is bright eyed and alert when it’s awake. It ought to be curious and not too nervous. Beware of any hamster that has runny or sticky eyes, runny nose, sneezing, wet or dirty bottom, matted fur, seems lethargic or does not have a firm body. All of these things can indicate a sick hamster.
After you have seen a healthy hamster that you like, ask if you can handle it so that you can see how tame it is. If a shop does not allow you to handle the hamster you have no opportunity to assess how suitable it is as a pet and cannot check its health properly before buying so is best avoided.
