If the title thingy wasn't clear I mean the 450 square inches of floor space minimum standard thingy.

I personally don't find 450 square inches of floor space all that ethical. I currently have my hamster in a 800 square inch bin, and honestly, I feel even that is quite small. Smaller than I am completely comfortable with. (I am gonna be adding another 900 square inch bin to his set up as soon as possible. Along with tons of new enrichment.) I would never keep a hamster in something nearly half that size for any amount of time. (Except for a travel carrier for a short time when necessary.) I believe hamsters shouldn't be kept in anything smaller than 775 square inches at all. Like that cage is basically their whole world, and they spend most of their time there. It needs to be big, you know?

I feel very strongly that people should use the German standard of 775 square inches of floor space, and stop using the 450 one entirely. I believe it is MUCH more ethical. Like it shouldn't be the minimum. We need higher standards of care for these little guys.

I could go on for ages about this, but I'll end it here.

What are your thoughts?

(Sorry if this is worded weird. Despite it being my native language, I am bad at English lmao.)

I'm getting a syrian hamster in a few months time and still a bit unclear on what a good feeding schedule looks like. If anyone could show me what theirs looks like that would be really helpful.

1. How often should you change digging substrate like cork granules? (I’m not entirely sure if he’s peed in it - he tends to use the sand bath or his wheel from what I can tell)

2. Is it a good idea to add some large rocks at the bottom of the sand bath to ensure my Syrian hamster’s nails get filed down when he digs in it?

3. How often do you guys add Whimzee chews to the enclosure? I added one the other day and it’s missing (I suspect he’s dragged it inside the multi chamber hide)

4. How often should I change out the apple sticks? I haven’t seen him showing much interest in them though they are scattered throughout the enclosure

5. Is freezing for 24 hours a good way to ensure a ceramic tile is sanitized before adding to the enclosure? (I got spooked by all the posts about mites)

I would pay the hamster tax but Ferb is currently sleeping 😅 thanks in advance for any help given!

hi! i’m going o vacation to canada and was wondering if they sell anything different from what’s in the US? like any other brands or anything? hoping to maybe see a few things to get my hammy! also in store only! please reply with pet/ other store names!! current enclosure btw :)

I have a Roborowski about 1 year old and she recently started to become a little lethargic, doesn't use her wheel that much and didn't react to me much and her eyes squinting... That was yesterday, now she is completely unresponsive, she just sits in her little nest she made (i tried to give her some toilet paper for her hideout so she has something to do because I thought she got bored but she moved there and stayed there). I saw her drink few hours ago. There is no vet for small rodents anywhere near. She looks physically okay, no signs of wet tail or anything else. I don't know what to do. She is just sitting there sleeping or something, I don't know.

Hi all, so i’m looking to create my own enclosure for my hamster as all of the ones online are too pricey or just not big enough/nice enough for my syrian. Does anyone have any advice on what woods are safe to use for the main walls of the enclosure? It’ll be a base, 3 walls and a lid i’m making out of wood then pvc sheet for the front, just don’t want to use anything that may be harmful. And any tips on what wood finish to use etc. Thanks!

So my friend and I both have hamsters. I had my friend watch my hamster for a day and I bought her a sand bath and sand to thank her, because she never gave her hammy one. She said her hammy doesn’t like them. my hammy uses it frequently. 3 days later, she told me her hammy died the day after she put the sand bath in. I feel so guilty and I don’t have any idea how this could’ve happened. Can anyone explain?

I'm transitioning my robo onto GetZoo Dwarf Hamster mix but she doesn't seem to like the dried mealworms (can't say I blame her, I've had them before and they're terrible haha) but every other protein for hamsters I'm aware of is live food or perishable (cooked meats, egg, cheese). I feel bad digging into her burrow regularly for uneaten protein because she's very shy & I don't want to stress the poor girl.

If there are other options I'd like to explore those first! I know some people will have hamster nuggets that they occasionally give to their hamster to make sure they're getting all the nutrients they need but I don't know if that's an adequate substitute for protein.

Otherwise, if there aren't other options I'll test out the perishables and the live insects to see what takes her fancy. The trade off is she'll have to put up with me stealing it back later if she doesn't eat it haha

I recently got a robo hamster but i want him to have proper care i wasn’t there when my parents had bought all his stuff and my parents know nothing about hamsters so they just went with what the workers at pet smart said which was a little cage and pellet food whenever i tell them he needs a proper enclosure they say it’s unnecessary and that people dont know what theyre talking about i am willing to buy whatever he needs my parents just wont let me but i have been feeding him some lettuce and walnuts because its really all i have i want him to feel safe and comfortable in his enclosure but how would that be able to happen if my parents dont want to buy anything proper i try to bond and make contact with him but it’s obvious hes really scared what should i do? :(

Will a Russian Dwarf chew out of a bin cage?

I recently got a Russian dwarf, and he seems pretty content in his enclosure. He climbs under and over every structure, chews toys, forages, and sometimes puts his front paws up on the bars, but today I saw him actually bar climb. Luckily in this cage he could not get to the top to monkey bar, but I am a bit concerned. As I said he’s very curious and gets on top of everything, as dwarfs do, so is it possible this was just a curiosity thing? The cage meets the minimum and he didn’t seem erratic or anxious, he just walked up, did it randomly, then got down and proceeded on with his foraging.

If this seems like a concern (especially because lord knows if he’s bar climbing at night), I am thinking about a bin cage. I found a bin that would be suitable, but since part of his high-energy-ness is that he’s a big chewer, I’m worried that he could chew through the plastic. I’ve seen people saying that it takes weeks or months for a hamster to get out of a bin, but regardless I don’t want to cost myself self money continually replacing cages.

My Syrian is in a glass terrarium on a table, and my dwarf’s enclosure is underneath, so it’s not practical for me to get another glass tank, unfortunately. Having it on the ground wouldn’t be good and to be honest I don’t wanna move two giant glass tanks lol.

So please let me know if a bin cage is easy to maintain for a dwarf or if it would be better for me to maybe zip-tie some clear plastic sheets over the bars.

Hello,

Me and my girlfriend bought a lovely black syrian hamster 2 days ago. He’s still very scared - hides for most of the day, and somewhat concerningly, seems to not eat

However, it is the latest concern thats stressing us out. We picked him up just to check for any sort of visible injury, and noticed dried brown stuff on his tail.

He’s still fairly active, and drinks water, but for the sake of being safe - what are some easy ways to identify wet tail, and is it so common that we should worry

Thanks!

Tried to post in another hammie group but couldn’t because it was deemed a “health” question which went against the rules of the Reddit group.

If anyone has any tips or opinions on this, I’m all ears. I just want my gal to be happy and comfortable.

Hi sorry that I keep asking for help on here, Maples enclosure was getting so much better but when I added more bedding in it started to bulge and because it isn't actually a enclosure and just something I did up I can't do anything else with it. I really need help finding a new enclosure and quick, this one is literally about to pop, I've done what I can for now but i'm betting it has a week at the absolute max. I can't go for anything too expensive but obviously I'll do whatever I can. Thank you and sorry if this doesn't make much sense I'm writing this in a rush as I am a bit anxious.

My hamster is 1.5 years old and has had this bald spot for awhile, it has got bigger though. He’s still acting normal, running on his wheel, and eating. I love him and don’t know what to do.

Ive just buried poor little blueberry and my anxiety is making me worried that she could wake up. I found her cold and slightly stiff in her hide two days ago and immediately was worried it could be torpor. So I put her on a hot water bottle (with blanket in between so she wouldn’t burn) and warmed her up for over an hour. She didn’t move at all however she did become slightly more floppy and I could move her legs ( was checking for rigor Mortis). I tried to feel for her pulse and couldn’t feel anything ( I just pressed gently under her rib cage but could only feel my own heartbeat). I couldn’t see any signs of breathing. I left her a day to see if anything changed. It didn’t. She must have passed on,right?

Hey guys just wanted to have a rant to be honest. I’ve seen tons of pet stores especially pets at home that keep suggesting unethical and unhealthy products for hamsters and it really upsets me and annoys me.

It’s so unfortunate that tons of hamster owners end up being misled by pet stores into thinking products are safe and ethical. Because it’s a pet store right? They wouldn’t recommend bad things? Wrong.

I’ve seen in pets at home that about 90% of their products are unsafe. For example, “soft and safe bedding” by rosewood which has been proven is not digestible and can cause the material to wrap around hamsters insides if accidently digested.

Or their woodlands products which tend to have harmful glue used and also not be sanded down properly, causing splinters.

Or their fabric pouch houses which again, if chewed can cause the fabric to wrap around hamsters insides and be harmful.

Not to mention the unethical cage sizes they recommend or even the cages they keep the hamsters in before they’re bought. When I saved my hamster from there, baring in mind he is a dwarf and dwarfs should be kept apart anyway.

There was about 4-5 dwarf hamsters in a cage that was about 20cm wide, if that. I can’t imagine how stressed and unhappy they are in those kinds of environments.

Another thing… recommending wooden shavings that can cause breathing and eye issues.

It’s so upsetting because I feel like they know what they’re doing. It’s a money making tactic and I find it so disgusting. Don’t get me wrong they do have a few hamster safe products but when they’re setting the prices significantly higher but still recommending the unhealthy option because it’s cheapest, it causes so many customers to get the wrong things.

Like how can you offer a huge bag of wooden shavings for £4.49 but then offer a tiny bag of carefresh for £27.99 and expect people to choose the more expensive option??? Surely the healthy products should be cheaper or at least have more in them and the unhealthy products be more expensive or not be sold at all! (I’ve ended up using a different store that provides carefresh cheaper.)

But they know what they’re doing and I find it so sad. I feel like they deliberately know the harmful products are harmful so they recommend them to customers so their hamster ends up having health issues and pass away. Just so they will go get another one, spending more money.

It’s completely disgusting and it makes me so sad. You truly can’t trust any products from any company these days without doing deep research into what the things are made out of.

I just wish all unethical and harmful products could be banned. I’m sure a lot more hamsters will live a longer life that way :(

Hi, I got my (golden) hamster a few months back and recently put him in my bedroom as i feel like it’s too light and warm where it originally was now when it’s getting hotter outside (he’s also very social so i wanna keep him as much company as i can). And i’ve found out my hamster does this noise when he sleeps almost like snoring? It’s not loud at all nor consistent, i’m home all day and i only hear it a few times a day for like 5 min. I’ve tried to search it up online but i can’t find much about it. Should i be concerned? He’s well and happy otherwise:)

Hey guys! I just wanted some advice on my wheel situation. I’ve only had my hammy for a little while and he absolutely loves his wheel.

However, he seems to use it as a part of his tunnels that he burrows and then it gets stuck and he can’t use it. It also concerns me because I don’t want him to accidently squish himself whilst burrowing around it so I continuously panic when I see him starting to do it.

I was thinking of getting a wooden platform to put the wheel on but my concern with that is I don’t want it to slip off or anything and him hurt himself.

What’s the best and safest wheel set up? I really don’t want him to get injured 🥲

My little man is very old, he has large cancer that makes him a bit lobsided and wobbly. I want to give him the best life I can even though it's coming to an end. He's ocd, he cleans all the time and he loves his sand bath. I've notice three occasions now that he seems to get stuck on his back while sand bathing. On the first two I just immediately helped without thinking and on the third I waited, it broke my heart but I needed to see if he could do it himself for if it happens when I'm not watching. He did but it took half the sand moving into a ramp for him to tip over. I really don't want to remove something that bring him so much joy and life but seeing him struggle hurt, I don't want him to suffer at all. What should I do? I have removed the sand bath for tonight so I at least have peace of mind to go to sleep, but I don't know if I should keep it out or not. Is there an alternative or adjustment I can make? Really just any advice or support will be appreciated!

Ive had my hamster for half a year now and just today when i took her out she was cold and moving slower, should i be worried and what can i do?

I recently changed the cage for my hamster to a bigger cage. The original cage is too small for a hamster to live in. Only thing now is what do I do with the old cage? I don't want to sell it to someone who will use it as a hamster cage as it is too small for that. Is there any other animal I can market it as appropriate for?

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For information: the cage is about 85cm x 45 cm x 45 cm

My girlfriend is trying to take care of newly born Syrian hamsters for a school project but they don't have a mother. It says online they need to be fed every hour for the first couple weeks. Does this mean she'll be unable to sleep for two weeks besides napping? I couldn't find any information online. It talks about feeding them every hour, but it doesn't mention anything about getting some sleep. Will my girlfriend be unable to sleep for more than a hour? (Btw it's long distance so that's why I'm unable to help as well)

Hi, my hammy just finished her antibiotics (for URI) injections at the vet 1 day ago. But ever since she started getting injection, she's been hiding in her burrow even at night, and don't come out anymore. She only comes out to eat, drink, forage, running a bit then come straight back into her burrow. She used to be active for 2-3 hours per night so this sudden shift in routine has me worried. Could it be she's still recovering from the infection?

Thank you!

(i love this photo because she looks like the hamster meme) But i just look at my girl and i just think she deserves some spoiling. what can i purchase that is hamster safe that she would love. Toys, treats anything. I just have some extra money and want to spend on my girl. 🤍