Our Hamster Doesnt Use His Pouches ??

Question
Our hamster is 3 months old and doesn't use his pouches. The person at the pet store said he was "too young" to be using them yet. Does this sound right to you? ...and if so, at what age do they start to use their pouches? THANKS!!

Answer
Dear Mary,
thank you for your question.
I have seen hamster babies that hadn't even opened their eyes use their cheek pouches. Usually they start to do so at an age of 14-18 days. But some hamsters just don't gather food in their pouches, especially dwarf hamsters, so your hamster is probably one of them and perfectly alright.
I really love pet shop employees that have no idea what they are talking about. For good hamster info, check out this website:
http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/about_hamsters.htm
They recommend Vitakraft food, which I don't like because it contains too much sugar, and I would never house two dwarf hamsters together like the site tells you to, but otherwise the site is pretty good.
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer