[Pompompoms]

I've read this whole thread, sat for a bit to try to work out how I feel, and still haven't come up with a definitive answer, just various thoughts. I'm fine with that though, things are rarely black and white.

When I bought Jam and The Cloud my first two robos, they were from a large chain pet shop, and I imagine I was like many other people in that I wanted to get a hamster, so I went to a pet shop and got two hamsters.

They were lovely healthy hams, alright The Cloud was a bit er different, but they lived to two and two and a half respectively, a good age for robos. Had there not been an issue with Jam early on (the fluffy bedding incident) it could well have been I'd have had them their whole lives without ever searching out a hamster forum, or learning anything new about hamsters. Having had two healthy hams, I'd likely have gone back to the large chain store and got more robos after their passing too.

I imagine the majority or people keep their hams this way, with no idea at all of what goes on behind the scenes, cage sizing, bedding, nutrition, healthy stimulating environment, all the things we see as essential and the norm are not the knowledge your average hamster owner leaves the pet store equipped with. It doesn't necessarily mean that hamster is doomed to an awful existence, it's just they could have a much better existence.

So the first thing I would like to see changed in pet shops is the education. Education of staff passed on as education of owners. I know we mostly like to see the bigger the better with cages, but adequate sizing would be a start. My Syrian George lived very happily in a ZZ1, and then as I am fortunate enough to have both the space and the means he lived in a ZZ2. He was happy in both, what he was not happy in was the cage I rescued him in, which was about the size of a mini duna in length, and actually thinner. The same with wheel size, bedding (I am horrified that hamsters are STILL dying thanks to fluffy bedding) nutirtion ect. If a new owner can leave a store with a factual care leaflet, and have any questions answered informatively and correctly it would be a huge help.

On to the trickier subject of where hams are coming from. As I'm sure everyone else is, I am horrified at the conditions and treatment of the hamsters in hamster farms. For me there is no defense, it is abhorrent. When I was first told a cage the size of a Rody will have up to 25 hamsters writhing about all over each other, as well as the other horrors we are all aware of I was shocked and disgusted. I felt sad that it would have been the beginning of their lives.

Some here may know The Cloud was a white robo, most likely his colouring sprung up from a freak gene mutation. In the months after I got him there were a few more whites pop up in the same store, then no more. I imagine his mother was most likely bred till she died. When I contrast that with how I cared for Bianca, then Lilly, then Daisy while they were breeding it breaks my heart to be honest. I doubt if The Cloud's mum had a prolapsed pouch in the middle of the night she'd have been rushed to the vet, more likely she'd have been discarded or left to die.

If there had been no The Cloud, then I wouldn't have been asked to breed him, and there would have been no second and third generation of pompoms, so I have to ask myself am I hypocritical for detesting the system that produced him but being glad I got him for all that followed. Maybe so.

I think there should be a distinction made between a pet shop and a large chain store. Although I couldn't breed for pet shops myself as I'm too obsessive about potential owners, I can see that some breeders if they have a good relationship with the store owner, and feel satisfied the owner is as passionate about welfare as they are could do.
I think there are also good and bad breeders, breeders that do everything they can for the hamster's well being, healthy development of lines, and put a lot into finding good owners, providing detailed care sheets ect. Then there are breeders who are little more than mini hamster farms with the welfare of the hamster as a secondary issue.

My concern if there weren't farms would be that people will just breed hamsters, much like many won't take the time to seek out a really good breeder, and just go to the store, would more people just put a male and female hamster together and hope for the best. My George came about this way, from what I know there were five babies, other than George, none of whom made it to their first birthday, and again other than George all had various internal and external problems. George was a very fortunate boy. Obviously there wouldn't be as many hams as the farms produce, and I think no farms would encourage more people to seek out quality breeders, but it could potentially bring new problems.

So is the answer to cut down on the farms bringing in strict legislation to ensure that standards of health and hygiene are adhered to? To stop chain stores selling animals all together? To bring in a quality standard of breeders that can supply stores, cutting down the number and therefore raising the cost of hams?

I actually think the last one wouldn't be such a bad idea to be honest, along with the right education for and from store staff I mentioned earlier. Paying more would also possibly raise the status of a hamster and their worth in some people's eyes, take them away from being viewed as a child's pet, a throw away pet to an animal with it's own specific needs, emotions, and character that deserves our love and respect.