What is a hamstery?

[babyboos]

There appears to be a bit of a boom in hamsteries being set up just now - I am interested to hear what everyone thinks a good quality hamstery actually is? I personally do not think you can consider a couple of petstore bought hamsters bought and bred for more pet store hamsters a hamstery. Please check with any hobby breeder you contemplate adopting a hamster from what their goals and aims are in their breeding efforts, where their stock came from and their participation in the wider hamster fancy. Are they a member of any clubs/organisations?

There are sadly hundreds literally of hamsters living their lives in rescues or being euthanised by agencies every week, please think of these before you rush out to buy a baby hamster from a "hamstery". I always try to meet someone's desires with a rescue before I will part with any babies, and often I find people are happy to go with an older hamster once they see the difference - they can hold and play with them straight away and not worry so much about things like wet tail and biting.

I think we should be more actively encouraging rescue adoption rather than obtaining baby hamsters. And everyone who has a female hamster visit a rescue before deciding to breed.

[babyboos]

Some interesting articles for you to peruse:

Getting started in the Hamster Fancy

Starting a quality hamstery

Morag, you are so correct in regards to people setting up shop, and it is rather disturbing. I recall seeing one person new to hams by their own statement, and with in a MONTH they started refering to themselves as a "hamstery".



I have always thought a "hamstery" was the same as a person who breeds full bred, certified sog/show dogs, or cats and the like - not some one who just breds for quantity and profit.



I would much rather see some one gain profit by breeding the best quality and temperment. Also, by someone who is knowlegable in the genetics of the hams they breed and the proper care - not like the backdoor shops people are doing for sheer profit.

[babyboos]

The sadest thing is that many of them wont last - I have seen this all before so many times The novelty will soon wear off, especially when they are stuck with over 13 babies whom none wants plus they will see there is NO profit to be made in hamsters, especially if they care for them using quality products and give them the veterinary attention they may require... They may be lucky and get the majority of the first litter away to family and friends but after that... I feel sorry for the hamsters as they will be the ones to suffer in the long run, and the rescue organisations that will need to step in to help them. How many of these babies will end up euthanised by humane societies... Oh I just cannot think about it it makes me so sad All I can do is try and encourage them to think of what they are going to do - encourage them to adopt ethical breeding practices, obtain good quality stock, join a reputable hamster organisation for help and advise on standards, and speak to experienced breeders and petstores etc in advance, plus save, save, save for all the bills



They need to realise you cannot just go away for a long weekend anymore when you have all those hamsters relying on you to care for their daily requirements and the time to play with them all each evening, plus the socialisation commitments that newly weaned pups require... and try to get a fortnight in the sun - forget it



The hamster fancy always needs some new blood certainly but they need to learn to appreciate and care for hamsters, and gain a thorough grounding in their genetics and be able to identify quality standards before embarking on any breeding efforts. Hamsters in Focus - a Yahoo group is really beneficial for anyone seriously interested in the future breeding of hamsters and I hope they take the time to speak to the guys over there. Hamsters in Focus welcomes posts on breeding strategies and techniques, genetics, exhibition standards, and ethics as they relate to the purposeful, goal-directed breeding of both Dwarf and Syrian hamsters.



Off my soap-box now

[SnuggleHam]

I always thought that a Hamstery was someone that owned a bunch of hamster that they kept as family pets but also bred for show quality temperament ect, I figured it was sort of a hobby treated quite seriously and that people that had hamsterys, "real hamsterys" usually dealt with one or more species and had multiple cage set ups but did not do it by Mill breeding housing standards.

[littlemissdwarfhamster]

I have read 'Starting a Quality Hamstery By Linda Price' and I think what I thought a hamstery is about is what she says on there.



I thought that a hamstery was something that came from a person who has a love of hamsters, who breeds them (and hopefully shows them) and most importantly treats them all as pets not just as 'breeding machines'. The hamstery owner would breed for temperament, as well as colour/size etc

to improve the hamster.



When I did decided to get serious about hamsters I did a lot of internet research first. I got my first breeding pair a bit early (they werent planned), but these hamsters taught me a lot. As soon as I got them I joined two hamster clubs, and started going to shows to learn as much as I could. After about a year of this I started to get more hamsters. It's only now that I have taken the plunge into getting a hamstery name. I feel it is the right time as I have some great hamsters that have lovely temperaments and are doing really well in shows.



I took my time in the decision though. I have sourced a vet and good food/bedding supplier. I even have holiday cover (trained my mum so even she can hand-rear babies if needed). So I am completely sorted.



But I agree when you say there is no money in this. Any money I get from the hamsters goes straight back to them as I use it to buy food or bedding or anything they need. They dont fund my petrol to shows, or vets bills. I do this because they are my babies and I love them all very much. I couldnt imagine a life without hamsters. And I think thats an important feeling to have.

[SnuggleHam]

My hamster Gerald that I adopted is an excellent hamster, he is very large, larger then some hamsters I've seen, and he’s got very big round dark eyes, nice shape to him, really fluffly coat and seems really healthy and has an amazing calm temperment. I thought about how it would be nice to breed him just for all those great qualities, But I still don’t know anything about his background, genetics etc...



I don’t know if I’d have the room to breed Syrians, since they need to be separated around eight weeks of age. If I couldn’t find homes then that could be a lot of individual cages lying about. At least with gerbils and dwarf hamsters they are communal and can he housed together in same sex colonies.



Maybe I'll have a small hamstery once I get breeding my Roborovski

[babyboos]

I think there maybe needs to be clearer definition between what constitutes a hobby breeder and a hamstery - or is there no difference?



littlemissdwarfhamster has certainly done a lot more than the majority of the other recent hamsteries that have emerged and demonstrates the kind of things that are required in order to have a quality hamstery.



Best of luck in your showing efforts - let us know how you get on and show us pictures of all your lovely hamsters and winner's rosettes :P

[Emma]

I think that the way littlemissdwarfhamster has gone about things is the way to go - that a hamstery should come about through experience over time, not because someone suddenly decides that they want to breed hamsters after owning one pet for a month or two, and they've come up with a cool hamstery name! There are a few out there that have popped up recently that really irk me - a hamstery is a commitment and a responsibility, and people setting themselves up so quickly when they have no experience or real grasp of what they're doing demeans the "hamstery" title.