# Looking for a Long haired teddy bear hamster



## Stephanie Shaw (Jul 15, 2017)

It would seem it's very hard to find a breeder of long haired hamsters in Northern Ireland. Could anyone point me in the right direction please. I saw a post on here in Nov 16 and someone in carryduff was breeding but I can't find it now. 

My son wants a hamster and I always had the long haired ones as a child and prefer the look of them so would love to get him one. Xx


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

I've been searching breeders for you and sorry to say I've found nothing 

I did find a site that looks like gumtree or some such for NI that had hamsters on it, not that I would suggest buying from there but it was all I found.


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## Stephanie Shaw (Jul 15, 2017)

Animallover26 said:


> I've been searching breeders for you and sorry to say I've found nothing
> 
> I did find a site that looks like gumtree or some such for NI that had hamsters on it, not that I would suggest buying from there but it was all I found.


Thank you for looking for me. Was trying to stay away from pets at home as hear bad things but might not have a choice as my son is very excited. Do you now is jollies ok?


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Stephanie Shaw said:


> Thank you for looking for me. Was trying to stay away from pets at home as hear bad things but might not have a choice as my son is very excited. Do you now is jollies ok?


Your welcome.

Sorry, never heard of jollies.

As for Pets at Home, and I know many on here would disagree with me, but I honestly believe, if you have no other choice, go to your local Pets at Home, look around, see how they look after the hamsters, what substrate is used? Do they have somewhere to hide? Do they have a decent sized wheel? etc. 
Where I live there are no hamster breeders so my only choice was Pets at Home or another pet shop, the 'other' shop was awful, I would never buy a pet from there, in fact I won't go in there at all if you paid me. However the Pets at Home is great, the cages are clean, good amount of substrate, clean water, food bowl is full, somewhere to hide, a good wheel, assistants are knowledgeable, they want proof you have a cage already set up so the animal(s) are not in the travel box too long, all info about the pet given was correct...... Some Pets at home are terrible, but I bet it would be the same for a lot of places that have lots of shops, some are good, some not, so I would suggest seeing what your local P&H is like, if you don't like what you see, don't buy.

Hope that helps.


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## ShibaPup (Mar 22, 2017)

Radio hams hamstery - however I'm not sure if they are still breeding, might be worth asking since even if they aren't they might be able to point you in the right direction to find a long haired hamster.

Breeders might advertise on local free ad sites - preloved, gumtree and the like.

Another option - purchase a hamster from a breeder in England and have it couriered over to you, using an animal courier however it is the more expensive option BUT very much worth it IMO.

All depends on your ethics TBH - pet shop hamsters are often mass produced in rodent farms, small cages, not much thought given to lineage, health or temperament. Not much handling prior to you getting them either... they are a business breeding purely for profit.

Hamster breeders, often belonging to local clubs, however breed for quality, health, temperament, longevity and know their lines well. Not to mention the babies are often very well handled prior to you getting them.

Don't forget you'll need a large cage - minimum 80cm long by 50cm wide - bigger is *always *better since they are extremely active. Avoid cages with lots of tubes, they aren't very practical or hygienic!
A large wheel is also needed - 11" diameter minimum, wodent wheel, trixie exercise wheel, silent spinner and such.


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## Stephanie Shaw (Jul 15, 2017)

Animallover26 said:


> Your welcome.
> 
> Sorry, never heard of jollies.
> 
> ...


Thank you for advise


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## Stephanie Shaw (Jul 15, 2017)

Th


ShibaPup said:


> Radio hams hamstery - however I'm not sure if they are still breeding, might be worth asking since even if they aren't they might be able to point you in the right direction to find a long haired hamster.
> 
> Breeders might advertise on local free ad sites - preloved, gumtree and the like.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the advise very much appreciated


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