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Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams
I think what speaks for itself is your ability and willingness to take on advice and keep an open mind when it comes to being told something isn't a good idea or even something like needing a different cage size. Unfortunately, not everyone is so understanding and open minded when it comes to these wonderful creatures and many other pets.
I can definitely agree on cage size being in some ways more difficult to figure out with hamsters compared to some other pets, but I do know that any kind of pet store can and often will sell horribly unsuitable habitats(along with online businesses and such doing the exact same thing). A great example you're probably aware of being involved with reptiles are those awful turtle lagoon type enclosures and similar ridiculously tiny "turtle" enclosures, or another less obvious example some people may not quite understand are even the largest "iguana" enclosures sold by pet stores which would never comfortably accommodate a full grown iguana(and are riddled with other issues that I'd best avoid to stay on topic).
Perhaps something you could look into if you ever have the money and time along with the space would be setting up even a very small scale hamster rescue. It wouldn't fix all the problems, but it would at least mean that some more hamsters could have a safe stop along the way to a proper permanent home. I know with other species(and most likely hamsters as well) that having established rescue groups and even individuals who can take in some animals can be very helpful in keeping individual animals out of the worst case scenario situations like being abandoned or put into a more questionable rescue facility, so even if you still eventually did want to go into breeding when you have more genetics knowledge and general crucial knowledge you would also have the advantage of potential rehoming through an established network for example in the event that someone did buy a hamster from you but has to move somewhere pets are not allowed and you just didn't have enough space for another hamster.
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Yes! Commercial pet shops are generally quite bad with accessories they sell for their animals, it seems to be just a quick and easy route to make sales.. not that I think the staff are completely negligent obviously someone told them "this cage goes with that animal" and that's what they advise you to do. Reptile enclosures is a big one, I have 3 snakes and each of them have their own vivarium for their maximum size requirement plus some extra, so many people keep their snakes in RUBS or racks and this is a massive debate constantly seen on reptile forums as I myself think its cruel and others deem it fine due to the belief that certain animals lack the emotional range to 'care' about space... I guess people make the same error with small animals! Mine being "it's an expensive and well reviewed product, it must be fine" nope, I really should have considered my hamster no differently to my reptiles and really thought about space. It's why forums like this are great to be honest, everyone learns something.
That actually sounds like a wonderful idea! I've taken the advice from others on this thread about looking at certain ikea furniture and have gotten a lot of inspiration from converted furniture like bookshelves which would be great for setting up a rescue
I hadn't really thought of persuing it that way, so thank you for the inspiration!