Might Adopt a Syrian.. Fingers crossed.

[SnuggleHam]

Toddlers huh... I think any animal is to much for a toddler to care for, if I am correct toddlers are the ones still wearing the "pull ups" and still are figuring out how to stop when they get running through the house so they don’t run face first into a wall!!! LOL!!!



Still often learning to talk and finding them with jam on their fingers even if they didn’t have jam!



I think most parents get hamster for kids a bit older then this, and they still have no interest in taking care of them. But it’s true a cat or dog is more independent and further more awake in the day time. So they might make better first pets.. That or maybe fish!



When I had my first hamster Teddy, one of my sisters bought a hamster as well, named her Nala. Well I loved my hamster I took great care of her. My sister on the other hand was totally lacking in the desire or responsibility to care for hers. Countless times the cage would be left un-cleaned to the point that seeds started to sprout in corners where the hamster would urinate and because the bedding as just so moist.



My mother would take the hamster away from her for a time and give it to me to care for, but eventually my sister would pleased enough that she would get it back, and soon after they cycle would start over again..



This next part should only be read if those are not easily sickened. One morning my sister came running into my room telling me she though Nala was dead. (Now my hamster was still live so it wasn’t Nala’s times yet)



I went in the room and found the most disturbing death scene. Nala was in fact dead, Her back foot was stuck in wire platform mounted in the corner of her cage, her body floated on a diagonal toward the cage door at the top, her front paws were gripping onto the wire bars at the cage door and her tong was slightly hanging from her mouth, she was a stiff as a board, It looked like the ham committed suicide. There were bits of seed growing in the cage because again my bad sister didn’t clean the cage in weeks. It was like she was trying to escape and died in the process.



I felt she had no right to cry it was her fault the hamster died, of course if I yelled and blamed her my parents would get angry with me for rubbing her hamster death in her face right as she found it dead



I was responsible for trying to ease Nala down from the bars without breaking her leg, it’s not easy to detach a hanging stiff hamster from a wire cage.



And would you believe later she got a gerbil and did the same thing to it!! This time though my mother gave me that gerbil and it became officially mine so it was always cared for.



It really depends on the child I guess. But It should never get so far a hamster dies, if the kid isn’t watching it then find it a new home before its to late.



Oh.. And you know what I found out that Gerald the ham I hope to adopt is being given cedar bedding~~ I thought about sending some carefresh over but if hes fine now Im sure he will survive by the time I adopt him.. that is if I do...

[babyboos]

I would do it now. You can always get your friend to give them a letter with why it is better if he/she doesn't feel comfortable telling them himself/herself. Or if really not wanting to get involved they could just say the cage got knocked over, or the water bottle burst, or something so they had to change the litter layer?



You may find this disturbing sorry...

Does Life Get Any Better Than This!? by Brian Kershaw of Tershonian Hamstery, Ontario, Canada



"Wow! What a place! Lots of food, mom is so warm to snuggle up to, and I see a whole bunch of hamsters that look just like me. Can life get any better than this?! The man who feeds us our yummy food gives us tummy rubs as well. Mom really enjoys that, too. I have 8 siblings, and we all have a great time playing with our paper tubes, chasing each other and just having fun.



Today is the last time I am going to see our mom. We are all being put into a box. Where are we going? I'm going to miss you, Mom, but this is exciting and sad at the same time. I feel the bumps from the noisy machine we are in. Now that we have stopped, the man who feeds us is carrying the box into a big store. I feel safe as this is also the man who gives us tummy rubs. We are all put into separate cages, girls in one and boys in the other. I am a girl and get to stay with my sisters. It's a big cage, but the bedding smells different and kind of hurts my eyes and makes me sneeze. I like to climb up on the cage wire as it doesn't hurt up there. There are also no tubes to play with. Funny people keep looking at us. I'm not sure who they are, but they keep knocking on our cage and saying "Wake up! Wake up!" Don't they realize that I am so tired? I was up all last night playing with my sisters and checking out my new home.



Today is our birthday, I am 5 weeks old today. Wow! This funny looking person and her two little kids keep looking at me and pointing, saying "I want this one! I want this one!" Their voices are so loud it kind of scares me. I am being taken out of my big cage and being put into this little dark box. I am so scared that I am afraid I peed myself. What is happening to me? I hear someone in a loud voice saying, "Yuck! It's all wet!" The little box is very bumping, and I can hear loud voices saying "I want to hold it! I want to hold it!" I am so scared--the loud voices, being bumped around, the loud machine that I am in, and I don't know who these people are.



Finally, the machine stops but not the loud voices. The people put me into a smaller cage than in the big store and Mom's home. The bedding really smells and hurts my eyes. It's not like Mom's or the big store. It's red in colour. I hear the lady say "It's cheaper than what the pet store wanted to sell us!" The smell really bothers me, and my chest hurts. I don't feel good at all. All I see are faces looking at me saying "Wake up! Wake up!" I am so tired from my trip and feel horrible. All I want to do is sleep, but where? There are no tubes, no nice warm place at all. Just empty corners, but I am just so tired, and my tummy hurts. Why won't they leave me alone?



Finally, I get to sleep but I am suddenly awakened when one of the younger ones puts in his fingers to poke at me. I was only scared. I thought he was going to hurt me, so I jumped up and grabbed his finger. "Sorry. You scared me!" The younger one yelled really loudly and was crying, "Mommy! Mommy! It bit me! It bit me!!" "I am sorry. You scared me", I was saying to myself. The younger one said to his mom that he hated me and that he was going to call me "Nasty". "Bad hamster", he said over and over again. I also heard his mother say, "Don't touch it ever again. Just look at it". Then she put me on a high shelf in the back room. What about my tummy rubs? I like tummy rubs! I like to play. Can I come out to play? I never did.



It was always very quiet in the room in which I was put, but I hardly ever saw the little face again, and, if I did, he would just say "Bad hamster!" I also heard him with a friend say "This is my hamster, Nasty. Don't touch it or go near it. It bites". I was only scared! Why have you forgotten me? I was only scared!



Occasionally, the mother gives me some water and some food, but not very often. Sometimes I am hungry and just feel horrible. The bedding is not like my Mom's. My chest is hurting so bad, and I can't get away from it. My nose is running all the time, and my eyes burn.



Today is my 1 year birthday. Nobody knows but me. Nobody comes to my cage anymore. Sometimes I get food; sometime I don't. My water bottle never gets new fresh water. The younger boy never comes to my cage, just his mother. I am having a hard time breathing, and my eyes are always shut. They hurt too much to open, so I sleep all the time.



In fact, does life really get any better than this? I faintly remember good times, but I am so miserable. If I just sleep, maybe this will all go away............"





(Footnote from Brian)



The only escape for this hamster was death. How many hamsters end up with similar stories? Some, I am sure, are very true. As a breeder and hobbyist, I am aware that every hamster we sell could end up like this one. Hamsters in the public eye are nothing more than disposible pets, cheap to buy, easy to forget, and easy to get rid of. Please make every effort to educate anyone (an individual, a pet store, or another hobbyist) who is purchasing a hamster of what is necessary for these little ones to have a good life.



Nasty didn't. --- She wanted to, though!



© 2004 Brian Kershaw of Tershonian Hamstery, Ontario, Canada and President/Editor of the Hamster Club of Ontario

Made up story or not it is very emotive and really brings home an idea of the sad reality that some little ones around the world may be living every day.



Brian is a lovely guy please check out his absolutely gorgeous hamsters at http://www.geocities.com/tershonianhamsters/index.html - I wish I lived in Canada as I would be off hamster napping now!!! I have invited him to come and join us - fingers crossed!



Incidently there is a campaign currently being run by the Californian Hamster Association regarding the use of Aspen bedding.



Oh and an interesting article for those kids who would like a hamster but their parents just say no, by a valued friend and member of the Californian Hamster Association. What this lady doesn't know about diabetes in hamsters (dwarves especially) is just not worth knowing!... http://www.geocities.com/calhamassoc/QandAParents.html. If diabetes is something you are at all concerned about please check out the HoneyHams Yahoo group.



Finally! (thank goodness I hear you say!) Some things you really need to seriously consider carefully before getting a hamster as a pet. If you are not willing to accomodate these things then I would recommend you choose a fish (NO, I love fish, I am a marine biologist after all!) okay a Cyber Pet then!:

• You MUST be willing to put aside a "vet fund" in case your hamster needs medical attention (If you are planning to hold an animal in captivity, please take responsibility for his medical needs - he cannot leave his cage to get what he needs.)
  
  
  
  You know that you will never be able to provide you hamster with more than the basic physical needs. (A hamster needs more than his usual four walls to look at day after day. You do not need to be rich to provide these extras for you pet, just a willingness to be creative in making sure his natural need to explore different sites and objects DAILY is met.) If you want some ideas please ask!
  
  
  
  You are not able to stay up past 8:00p.m. to play with your nocturnal pet, (mainly Syrians) and/or make time during the day to play with your hamster while he is active (mainly dwarves). The idea of keeping a hamster means you are willing to spend time with him daily. You will need to provide for his emotional/stimulation needs during his waking hours. (Failure to do this will make for a very lonely, lethargic, unfriendly hamster.)
  
  
  
  You know that you will never be able to provide you hamster with more than the basic physical needs. (A hamster needs more than his usual four walls to look at day after day. You do not need to be rich to provide these extras for you pet, just a willingness to be creative in making sure his natural need to explore different sites and objects DAILY is met.) If you want some ideas please ask!
  
  
  
  You have a cat, dog or ferret in the house, and are not able to keep the hamster in a seperate room. (Dogs have been known to knock over hamster cages, and some will even injure or kill hamsters. Cats and ferrets are extrordinary climbers, so putting your hamster somewhere "high up" is not always a solution. Cats are very determined, and will usually find some way to get what they are after, even if you think they can not.)
  
  
  
  You are not willing to put up with the inevitable noise that will come from your hamster's nocturnal activities. If this will bother you, or you do not have an extra room to place your hamster in so that his noise will not disturb you, you should re-think buying a hamster. Also, many people will resort to removing thier hamster's wheel to cut noise. This is not fair to your hamster at all - it would be like someone locking you in a small room with nothing to read, look at, no one to talk to, and no way out. Your only option would be to stare at a wall. Once again, please think it through before you buy him!
  
  
  

Think I need to go and have a lie down now...

[SnuggleHam]

That is a sad story but I’m sure a true depiction of the fate of many hams. Brian’s hams are really cute, Those Rex hamster are pretty fuzzy looking, they must be higher maintenance to care for.



That’s list is pretty helpful to, maybe you should “sticky” it under hamster care.

[babyboos]

They certainly are very pretty indeed. The hair is very soft and fine.

[peanut25]

I think that story is just so sad. I can't imagine someone being that mean to any type of creature. They are so tiny and helpless. When I brought Bear to the vets twice people laughed at me because they don't live long and they aren't like a cat or dog. I went off on them and told them that if they got hurt I would do the same for them because they are a creature of good. It's a good thing there are caring people out there.

[babyboos]

Good for you Peanut (you don't mind us calling you Peanut do you? Sorry but I don't know your first name - mine is Morag by the way, but babyboos is fine)

It makes me mad when people refuse to spend a few pounds on a visit to the vet and a course of antibiotics. A consultation at least is less than ten pounds around here. We are starting to see more companies offering hamster pet insurance now thankfully as it can get really quite expensive for surgery on our little ones, I spent over one hundred pounds on a Syrian hamster with a bad case of absseses and I know this is cheap compared to some procedures.

[SnuggleHam]

I can see how it might be easy to laugh..

When Butters got sick and I wanted to bring her to the vet my father in law kind of laughed and asked how much would it cost.. So I told him 30.00 bucks and laughed again and asked, "how many more hamsters can you buy with that?"



So what if that will but me three more health ones, I took on the reasonability so I should take care of that animal, plus when a pet becomes part of the family you will do all you can to keep it healthy and happy.



When I did take butters in the vets everyone there wanted to see her, I felt bad because she was sick and they all wanted to hold her, it was as if they hardly see hamsters in there. Allot of vet places don’t even treat small animals.



So many people own rodents in this world, at this point it shouldn’t need to be a specialty it should be taught to vets just as well as dogs and cats.

[babyboos]

I thoroughly agree - in the UK at least, Emma will hopefully be able to back this up, vets receive training in small animal practice as standard during their initial degree but can specialise in it further in later years of working/training/CPD. I have a good friend whom is studying to be a rodentologist and another has recently completed her veterinary training from Glasgow Vet School and is now specialising at a small animal practice in exotics (which includes hamsters). I do not evny veterinary students, or graduates, the amount of information they must absorb and apply. I have heard it is harder to get into than medicine???

[Emma]

In UK vet schools we have to learn about everything - we cannot specialise during training. So we do farm animal, equine and companion animal practice. Companion animal is mostly cats & dogs, but rabbits are being given increasing importance, and rodents/birds/reptiles do get a look in. Not a big one though. It's completely understandable - we have just 5 years to get through everything with every species, of course the ones we see more often are going to take priority.



Once you qualify, that's where you either work in farm, equine, mixed or companion animal practice. There are specialist practices for pigs, poultry, wildlife. Some vets specialise with further certificates and diplomas in specific areas of medicine/surgery or specific species. There isn't a specific speciality for small pets - you can work towards certificates in small animal medicine or surgery, but that is only cats and dogs. There is a certificate in zoological medicine, but that is all zoo and wild animals and/or birds, it's where rodent cases would come in but it's not a rodent specialisation. There's a certificate in laboratory animal medicine, so this would definitely include rodents, but in a lab setting.



Any vet who "specialises" in pet rodents/small animals as far as I can tell is doing it off their own backs because they have a particular interest in it, like I will be doing! At the end of the day there is not that much money in rodent medicine and it counts for a very small proportion of cases seen in practice. I'm considering undertaking the distance learning course offered by the British Association of Rodentologists to complement my degree in that respect, so when I qualify I will already be set up to be a good rodent vet. I guess that's the course your friend must be doing Babyboos?

[babyboos]

Yes it certainly sounds like the BAR Course he is doing I believe it was originally focussed on guinea pigs? I looked into it myself as it has no direct veterinary entry requirements, but have so much do learn at my own work I just could not do it justice right now. Maybe one day when we win the lottery or my partner earns enough that I can become a lady of leisure