Rehoming hamster from strange seller

[njwilde]

I have made my mind up about rehoming another hamster, I am still sad about Woody but as he was such a kind creature I am sure he would fidn it daft me sitting about crying my eyes out when there are other hamsters about in too small cages and unwanted I could give a good home.

I saw an add a while ago at preloved from someone not far from us with hardly any info and it never left my thoughts as I thought if someone cant even be botehred with putting pictures and info up it can't be a good home. So I contacted the seller, who was very short worded and hardly gave me any info about the hamster, despite me asking stuff. All I foudn out is that he got her ( a female syrian) in June and reckons she is about 6 months but does not know. I asked about her name and whether she is allergic to anything and can be transported in her cage and teh seller did not comment on any of that, just gave me his address and phoen number and said it was fine to pick her up on Saturday.


Now I am a bit taken aback by the whole thing why te person would not answer my questions, I mean it sound sliek soemone just wants to get rid of her but I am now worried about all sorts regarding the hammie. Does anyone have a similar experience or advice on what to do? I hope I am not in for a con? He wants to give her away for free in a cage.

[jesselle]

sometimes communication over email/text can come across as cold/ignorant. the guy might just be bad at communicating/writing or just really busy.

i would write again asking your Qs... flagging that he hasn't answered them. or just give him a call and get a feel for him and ask your Qs! best idea i think...

i doubt it's a con but be sensible and as always when meeting anyone you've connected with via the net, take someone with you/let someone know where you are going. you can even ask to meet in a public place if you're really worried.

[Lynternette]

I 100% agree with Jesselle. Please don't go on your own. Maybe someone else in the house looks after the hammy and he's just a gobetween. xxx

[njwilde]

That's a good point if he is just doing that for his mum or so, who knows. And yes, there are indeed people that do not like writing. Ill defo take my boyfriend with me and I will rewrite the questions or ring tomorrow, if there is no proper reply.

[Pompompoms]

It may also be that he simply hasn't cared that much about the hamster to know any of the answers to your questions. You are asking from a potential loving owners point of view, from the view of someone that wants to do everything they can to give a hamster a long loving life, her current owner could well be the complete opposite.

If that's the case I'm really glad she has found a new loving home with you. As has been said take your boyfriend with you for safety, and a travel cage too just in case. It may be of course that he doesn't communicate well, was in a hurry ect. Good luck

[GemmasMom]

Just make sure you go with someone to pick up the little ham. I'd go ASAP and meet in a public area. If he's giving away the little girl for free, he probably just sees her as a hassle and doesn't want to even give the time to worry about her or anything related to her. It's a good thing you contacted him!

[racinghamster]

I would go sooner aswell if you can do that. How far away from you is the hamster? Did the guy give you a telephone number and his location? Check it on google maps to make sure it`s a true address (or royal mails postcode finder!) and then arrange when you can go and collect her. As the others have said, they might not want to give out too much information purely because if they do so, like say that she isn`t good with handling or she bites, that may put people off, so they don`t mention it. They really advertise their hamsters because they can`t be bothered with them anymore. It`s as simple as that sometimes.

Hope you get her. x

[Vectis Hamstery]

Rescue animals can have sketchy background infor action for the reasons described. I would agree with taking someone with you. Don't feel pressured by the person to hand over money except for anything that was agreed in advance. I would definitely suggest quarantining this hamster from any other pets, especially hamsters for two weeks so you can assess her temperament and also make sure she has no infectious diseases. I usually put rescue hamsters in a smaller cage initially to gauge their response as they can be overwhelmed by going straight into a large cage and become very fearful, but I'm aware not everyone has several different sizes of spare cage!

[njwilde]

Thanks guys, that's all very good points, I feel a lot better for it now. Can I just say again how much I love this forum? It helped me so much in all ways.
But OMG,I didnt even think of the quarantining bit, thanks for that,it's so true and so stupid of me to not think of it! I will put her in our music room, it's a whole staircase above all otehr pets and none of teh pets ever go there so that shoudl be fine.
As with the cage, I see what she is in (but I must say I fear the worst) and will leave her in there for at least a day or two to get used to the new surroundings before moving her onto a bigger cage. Plus, it may also well be that she is not tame/bites etc. so it will also be a lot for the little girl to take in and get used to.

The address looks quite alright and the seller has given me a landline phone number,which is also good.

To be honest, I was considering going earlier to pick her up but I am working lates this week and have a gig tonight after that and tomorrow my boyfriend has band practice so he cannot go either and it has to be first thing in teh morning on Saturday! Can't wait to get her, though, in whatever state. I ll also give teh seller a ring tonight and update you guys, fingers crossed it's just soemone that is not very caring and not a nutter!

[jesselle]

please do update us! it'll be fine and if it doesn't sound fine, go with your gut.