Just rescued a hamster from appalling conditions.

[MissJeliza]

Hi guys,
Im very angry right now,
Ive just got back home, after rescuing a hamster being given away for free, either as a pet or snake food. the old owners didnt care which.

They said she was a baby, but i dont believe it, shes as big as an Adult Syrian, Living with 3 other syrians, in a tiny cage,

When i rescued her she had blood all over her face and body, i imagine its from fighting with the others.
Sadly i was only able to rescue the 1 girl, because i just dont have the space or resources for more then one right now, but im just glad i was able to save her from a possibly horrible fate.

ive cleaned her up and cant see any wounds so i think its the other hamsters blood, and she seems fine now.

But she seems to be settling in well, because it was such a sudden rescue, i just found out about her situation and was able to go down straight away to get her, I literally picked her up in a wooden box with a sliding lid, which i kept partly open for the journey home, then switched her into a travel cage, Which is just a small hamster cage, while im sorting out her big cage for her. I cant but her in it right away because i ran out of sawdust half way through, ive sent out my boyfriend to grab some from the shop.

Right now shes having a sand bath, and rummaging around her hide away,(the travel cage is kitted out with three hide away's, a sand bath, a wheel, a water bottle and food bowl, and a cardboard toilet roll)

Hopefully within an hour she'll be in her new cage.
Shes really friendly considering her circumstances.
happily lets her hold her and check her over.

im just very angry how can some people treat small animals this way.

[CMB]

Well done for rescuing the hamster. Hopefully the others will be lucky and get good homes too.

You may have adopted a pregnant hamster as the previous owner seem to lack knowledge of how to keep hamsters and one or both the others may have been males.

Hope she settles in well. It seems she is so far.

[Crystalroborovski]

You did such an awesome thing by rescuing a hamster
If you can, maybe you could go back to the previous owner's house, get the other hamsters and take them to a local shelter. So that way, even if you don't have enough room for more hams you would be able to get the little guys out of their situation and hopefully they would be able to find a better owner.

As CMB mentioned your ham could possibly be pregnant if she was with a male/males. Just keep an eye on her and maybe read up on how to care for a pregnant hamster.

[MissJeliza]

Ill try to get into contact with the other owner and see what i can do, He did say they had a lot of interest though, so hopefully there are other me's who have swooped in to help out a suffering little ones.

I was thinking that she could be pregnant, although i think the other Hamsters she was with where her litter, Because they seemed to smaller then her from the photos i saw of them on the ad, Which is why i was so surprised she was so big, not at all like the photos. So i think ive been given the unwanted mother..., which is fine with me, if i can save her from being snake food, or possibly used for breeding then thats worth something.

Im going to have a look up about pregnancy in hamsters so i can be better prepared if she does turn out to be,

i think the worst thing about this whole situation is when i saw how bloody and stuff she was when i collected her, the people just laughed, how terrible,

But, on a more positive note, now i should think of a name for this little one,
Any suggestions?

[Pebbles82]

Boadicea? She sounds like a real tough little princess to have survived that Well done. I do hope the others find homes like you have given her.

[Drago]

Congrats on your new little one! Good on you for rescuing

It's so sad the conditions that small pets are kept in I wish humane societies would take them more seriously. It may be worth a shot through to contact one anyways. If animals are being hurt due to negligence, they'll occasionally step in. It's good that you were able to provide at least one with a home though. I hope the rest have a similar fate

[Golden_Syrian_Hammmies]

What an awful situation those hamsters were in....I can't believe those people found that funny. It makes me so cross that people have animals and treat them this way As others have said its brilliant you have rescued this girl and defo go back and the get the others out of there if you can (and no one has come yet to claim them) and on to a rescue were they can find them good homes. You could even buy a couple of bins cheaply and set them up in there temporarily while you could source good homes for them. Anything would be better than where they are. They obviously don't know a thing about hamsters. Poor little mites.

[MissJeliza]

Hi guys
I got back in contact with previous owner
Other hammys are already gone, I hope to good homes

I've let a local rescue know about the situation anyway and shown them the post that was made so they can keep an eye on this particular account so if they advertise again the rescue can help.

Rescues really go above and beyond to help poor little animals and I feel a lot better knowing this account will be watched in the future for neglectful behaviour towards hamsters.

Just wanted to let everyone know the outcome of this situation

[Rads]

Well done you for your timely rescue, I can not abide cruelty to animals, Mrs R has said that I could never have been in the RSPCA as taking a cricket bat to neglectful cruel animal owners was not allowed.....
May be you should call your new furry friend Lucky? As he/she is lucky you arrived when you did..!
Pippin says Hi waves a paw and bows to your kindness.
Looking forward to seeing pics.

[BorisPasha]

How horrible, no wonder you are so angry! I'm glad that you were able to take one, she's a lucky girl