Takeaway: don't buy pet store hamsters, but it was too big for the cage they had it in and we felt sorry for it, trying to run in one of those tiny horizontal disc-wheels. For the first week, it couldn't stay in the full-sized wheel. It'd get going, veer off & shoot out, nearly run into the wall...

... it even had sort of a hunched back that has since straightened out, now that it has a real wheel and fairly huge cage. What I don't get is the closest breeder says it's a 3 MONTH PROCESS which seems crazy. Do animal shelters have hamsters?