Why are there so many Russian dwarfs on Gumtree?

[kyrilliondaemon]

Kiania - We on the other hand got Scamp perfectly fine, gave the impression I knew about hams and there were no questions asked, not even after she'd dived out of my hand and would've splatted on the shop floor if I hadn't got lucky and caught her... Pet shops need to be more consistent
(The others they knew we had a ham and left us to it.)


I do think its people going "oh my kids can have them" and not planning at all unfortunately
Could be worse though - we saw a "russian breeder" selling robos on preloved a day or two ago. I looked at the pics, thought "thats a robo" then made my partner check and we're agreed, the "breeder" is mislabeling the species...
I kinda prefer the irresponsible parents when faced with that, but think both that person and the parents should be way more careful.

[kiania]

Originally Posted by kyrilliondaemon

Kiania - We on the other hand got Scamp perfectly fine, gave the impression I knew about hams and there were no questions asked, not even after she'd dived out of my hand and would've splatted on the shop floor if I hadn't got lucky and caught her... Pet shops need to be more consistent
(The others they knew we had a ham and left us to it.)

Oh, I know! Where I was in Reading, we had two P@H - one was pretty good (or at least the manager and dep. manager knew their stuff, the staff were a bit variable, but the animals were clean, and sensible numbers), and the other was fairly rubbish (staff always too busy to help, rabbits just stereotyping constantly, reptile section never seemed to have any stock other than the reptiles themselves with the rest just empty shelves, and what irked me was they were selling edible tunnels that were smashed to crumbs for full price - yes, it is still edible, but most of it was dust!).

Then again, they did say I could keep tetra in a 2 gal tank (which you shouldn't).

But yes, there was a little bit of checking and telling me Nimh was going to be spoilt, but they didn't ask what kind/size of cage I had (I volunteered that I already had one along with the substrate), and the lack of asking about a wheel was a bit...off. I could have been more impressed, but it wasn't disasterous. Certainly didn't mention anything about her being a hybrid and a diabetic risk (but then I already knew that before we picked her up).

Kids and pets are not a good mix - I know I wasn't especially consciencious when I was young when it came to my pets (especially the hams, but that was because I had rotastak and it was a pain in the bum to clean and get the ham out!). But my parents wouldn't have given them up - just a terrible message to send to your kids. They really need to get out of the mentality that any pet is the kid's pet, and into the idea that the pet is the family's pet - would solve at least half of the rehomes, I reckon!

[racinghamster]

I agree with everything P anda said. I wouldn`t deal with Pets At Home or any shop that sold pets. I just don`t agree with it. It`s like walking into Tesco and the prospect of seeing animals in glass tanks and looking miserable isn`t my idea of the best way to give a pet a home. The only good thing about PAH is their adoption area and that`s only there for people to rebound back to if they want rid of the pet they purchased and for whatever reason, don`t want it anymore (because they shouldn`t have bought the animal in the first place).

I was badly bitten by my cousins syrian when I was a child and needless to say, it took a good number of years for me to keep a hamster as a pet and that turned out to be two roborovskis and a russian dwarf! I now have a syrian and a chinese and adore them. Children should NOT have a hamster as a pet for all the reasons given earlier. They sleep during the day (child comes in from school and wakes the hamster up and ends up bitten). Result? Angry mum and dad who then want the hamster gone because little Johnny is crying and how dare the hamster bite him.

I will be glad to see the day when only good, licenced breeders can sell hamsters and other pets or rescue organisations only. Shops floors are no place for animals to be. Potential owners should also have to fill out a quastionnaire and be quized about their income and told how much a vet might cost should the animal need a vet. None of this is asked by pet shops and it`s totally wrong.

[samzyzg]

Hmm the parents should realise that if they let their child have a hamster its also their responsibility.
When i first had a hamster when i was younger it was because my brother had one and i harrassed until i got one :3 But i ended up having them longer than my brother did. I'd play with mine every day, i was a very big fan of the russian dwarfs and they were all tame and loved to just run around. Also they did like to adjust their schedules, i always found that they woke up for a bit when i got home from school and then they were up again for a bit before i went to bed. And well then on the wheel most of the night xD. Also i cleaned out my hamster all by myself, my mum would look after them whilst i was cleaning.
But when i had my fish i did require help because i couldnt lift their tank. But i think in general i have been good with animals, although now some of the things i had for them when smaller i realise weren't good, such as too small cages and fluffy bedding D: .

[Magnusmomma]

I agree with everyone here, but would like to share my experience as my son has a hamster. We rescued what was labeled a "fancy dwarf" hamster from a little girl who didn't want him anymore. My son had been asking for a hamster for many months and he is almost 13. I did research for at least 2 weeks and then when I had everything ready and brought him home I made it clear that my son would not be handling or feeding this animal without my supervision. Although this animal is technically "his" and he does all the cleaning and feeding and tending there is never a moment when I am not right there to see myself that he is doing a good job. I am very proud of him and so far he has done a superb job. I don't intend on letting him care for this animal without my supervision any time soon. I think that any parent that wants to let their child have a pet needs to be prepared to put in the time to teach their child how to care for it and be willing to watch over them as well. I also have a 9 year old, but I know he is too young to have a pet so he will have to wait until he is older. Most parents I know don't take that time and shouldn't have pets. Not to be mean. Pets can be wonderful for children in the right setting and they can teach children a lot, with supervision..

[p_anda]

When I got my Chinese hamster from Pets at Home I was not asked one question, even though there was a sign on Princess' tank that she was separated from her siblings due to fighting, THEN she was brought back by someone because they thought she was 'too shy and aggressive'. So they weren't even interested in whether I was prepared for a possibly problematic animal. Though this was the last time I ever bought a hamster from a pet shop. She seemed to have been traumatized by her previous owner.

I don't think animals should be sold in shops at all. It'd be better for everyone if all pets for sale were removed from the high street, and their breeding and sale restricted to private specialist breeders only. I think it would save a lot of heartache for potential owners and it would save more animals from possible cruelty and mistreatment.

Just recently my boyfriend's sister has got a teacup chihuahua from a pet shop, only to have the RSPCA turn up at her door a week later seizing the poor dog, saying he's been illegally imported from Slovakia and they have no idea whether he received the necessary vaccinations. So his sister was worrying herself sick whether they all managed to contract rabies from this dog, and if he had turned out to have rabies, he would have been put to sleep. He spent 4 weeks in quarantine, thankfully he was all right. Guess what though, the pet shop owner went back to the quarantine [as there were people who didn't want the dogs after all the carry on] and got back two of his puppies [as all the dogs from that pet shop were seized] and is selling them...he's not been fined/arrested/charged and he was allowed to keep his pet shop open.

When I was at the vets a while ago with Princess, an old lady came up to me, looked at her and said 'why are you spending money on a dirty rat?' I was like erm, first of all, it's not a rat, it's a hamster and it's none of your effing business what I spend my money on.

[kiania]

Originally Posted by racinghamster

Potential owners should also have to fill out a quastionnaire and be quized about their income...

I'm unemployed, but volunteer 5 days a week (need the experience) - I have no income I'd feel kinda silly having to get my partner to sign the questionnaire so I could have my pets

But the point about general things, such as vet costs, is fair. I know I need to re-organise my vet fund - haven't gotten any cash out lately, so it could do with a boost soon

[kyrilliondaemon]

I agree that all potential costs need to be covered, as do basic care things (including cage size) but I do disagree about the idea of asking about income I'm afraid.

We went through a phase of supporting two adults and seven hams on about £65 a week (for everything other than our rent) without it being an issue for the hams. That's less than jobseekers is for two people. The hams still got everything including treats that they'd always have had and we managed to get them the odd toy on that too. We just kept our costs as low as possible and made sure we went with less in return for them being happy, so I really don't feel that income is an issue.
We already had savings for vet bills (they're why our jobseekers was so low...) so that wasn't an issue or we'd have got savings for them before buying the hams.

[mongo]

It's so sad, but on the other hand good that people try to find a better home. Shops might prefer selling Russian Dwarf hamsters if it's easier to stock them. They're supposedly social and so might be kept together in the cages out back, plus they don't get wet tail & they're more active around dusk when kids arrive in the shop.

I agree with RacingHamster that hamsters aren't good for small children, better for parents and the child can help & wonder about things. If it's a Syrian then I don't know when a kid could ever see the hamster, Joffy only appears after 11pm! In fact the thing Joffy hates the most, the thing that he tuts & hmppfs at for ages afterwards, is being woken up. He gets so annoyed he just can't deal with it, like a grumpy old woman!

[Boofle]

Originally Posted by mongo

It's so sad, but on the other hand good that people try to find a better home. Shops might prefer selling Russian Dwarf hamsters if it's easier to stock them. They're supposedly social and so might be kept together in the cages out back, plus they don't get wet tail & they're more active around dusk when kids arrive in the shop.

I agree with RacingHamster that hamsters aren't good for small children, better for parents and the child can help & wonder about things. If it's a Syrian then I don't know when a kid could ever see the hamster, Joffy only appears after 11pm! In fact the thing Joffy hates the most, the thing that he tuts & hmppfs at for ages afterwards, is being woken up. He gets so annoyed he just can't deal with it, like a grumpy old woman!

They can get wait tail unfortunately, my first Russian dwarf died of it.