European/Common Hamster

Availia · 11-21-2011, 04:25 PM

Was just browsing through all the different hamster breeds and omg I'm in love!

Does anyone know if these guys can be/are kept as pets? or are they strictly a wild animal? I understand they can reach the size of a guinea pig, but omg wants

Demecat · 11-21-2011, 04:32 PM

Some people do keep them as pets but it highly NOT reccomended.

They are very, very aggressive and will attack dogs that wander onto their patch! They can also shoot seeds from their pouches like a mini machine gun.

emilyweb · 11-21-2011, 04:34 PM

GOSH!! thats some ham!! but I don't think I'd like one as a pet :S a bit too wild for me XD

Availia · 11-21-2011, 04:36 PM

I've seen some videos on youtube of peoples pet ones, the syrian started off as a wild animal so wondering why no ones ever decided to domesticate these guys?

Demecat · 11-21-2011, 04:42 PM

There are some animals in my opinion just shouldn't be tamed, the European Hamster is one. I feel it'd be too stressed and you'd never be able to trust it around other pets.

Malorey · 11-21-2011, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demecat

you'd never be able to trust it around other pets.

That goes for so many animals though. There are many animals that people really wouldn't think to trust around other animals, and while they might not own them, others do. Heck, some people don't even trust some animals around humans (such as giant snakes) and people still own them!

I mean, it is said a majority of the time you can't trust ferrets around hamsters, rats around hamsters, snakes around mice, etc ... but many still own them together.

~

I've always wanted to own them secretly myself.

MzWiz0915 · 11-21-2011, 07:29 PM

I absolutely love observing these critters and if there were a domesticated population I would love to have one, but Im not sure how I feel about domesticating wild animals. There are already so many pets that need homes. And it would be an unpleasant ordeal for the wild ones selected for the domesticating process.

LoveMyHams · 11-21-2011, 10:55 PM

Hamster of Doom! - YouTube

Still want one? lol, What idiots in the video as well.

samincittagazze · 11-22-2011, 03:41 AM

I believe that quite a few attempts have been made at domesticating it, but it's just too wild. Very pretty though, I'd love to see one in it's natural habitat.

samincittagazze · 11-22-2011, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoveMyHams

Hamster of Doom! - YouTube

Still want one? lol, What idiots in the video as well.

Ah, to be fair, the translation says they stopped their car cos it was in the middle of the road, and we're trying to get it to safety when it started attacking, so they filmed it in astonishment. Not the most sensible way to go about it perhaps, but at least their hearts were in the right place!