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Hamster Care and Advice Thread

*disclaimer: Neither @BurstingBubbles or @CoolCavy are professional experts in this area, this information is based on our own experiences of having hamsters and doing our own research. Please make sure that if you have any medical concerns with your hamster that you see a registered vet as soon as possible*

Firstly, people think that hamsters are an 'easy' pet to have - and whilst they may not require quite as much attention as pets such as dogs may, they still require time and love.

Again, whilst they may not typically cost as much money as some other pets, don't think that just because they typically don't cost much to buy, that there won't be cost involved in caring for them. Make sure that you have enough money aside for ongoing costs of food, bedding, and any vet care if needed.

So here's some advice from us. Please let us know if you have any questions or advice that should be added!

Types of Hamster

Life Span

Health

Habitat and Enclosure

Food and Water

Hygiene

Sleep and Wake Pattern

Safety

Enrichment

Taming

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

srija08

this seems cool and pretty helpful!

Reply 2

BurstingBubbles

Life & Style Forum Helper

Original post by srija08

this seems cool and pretty helpful!

Thank you! CoolCavy cowrote it with me :smile:

Reply 3

Obolinda

Volunteer Team

Hamsters seem like really cool non human animals to care for/live with. this is great ! perhaps I would adopt one if I wasn't scared of them :colondollar:

Reply 4

BurstingBubbles

Life & Style Forum Helper

Original post by Obolinda

Hamsters seem like really cool non human animals to care for/live with. this is great ! perhaps I would adopt one if I wasn't scared of them :colondollar:

They're lovely :smile:

aww do you know what it is about them that you're scared of?

Reply 5

Obolinda

Volunteer Team

Original post by BurstingBubbles

They're lovely :smile:

aww do you know what it is about them that you're scared of?

wish I could pinpoint a rational reason. While I I imagine most people are not scared of hamsters, there does seem to be some cultural fear of rodents which I imagine probably contributes. I also have a fear of most non human animals maybe because it was something I learnt from my parents or because they look so different to humans. I can psychoanalyse all I want but there isn't really any way to know for sure. might just be how I am! :/

Reply 6

BurstingBubbles

Life & Style Forum Helper

Original post by Obolinda

Ah that makes sense! To be fair, the idea of seeing a mouse or rat in my house (i.e. a non pet one), scares me and makes me feel like they're invading my home and almost like claustrophobic about the idea of not being able to get rid of them. I'm still quite a nervous animal handler, I don't know what it is but I fine picking up animals really tricky - I think maybe I'm just worried that I'll hurt them somehow :colondollar:

yet if you gave me a baby to hold, even a really young one, I'd feel more confident. I never had pets growing up so maybe just feel quite unsure from the lack of experience still :iiam: