I love hamsters

[juneandmary]

Hello! Just wanted to take a moment to rant about how awesome hamsters are, especially my new little baby. It's so great to have a community who loves hamsters as much as I do, other people think I'm crazy!
I recently adopted a little black 14 week old Syrian from a local shelter. They almost would not let me adopt him because they knew I had a female at home, and they were worried about my two Syrians mating when I "housed them together". I had to tell her that Syrian hamsters cannot live together and she had to get it confirmed by someone else! She even offered to neuter the poor guy so that I could house them together to "save space"! (note that I already had a 40 gallon breeder all set up waiting for this guy and my other girl lives in her own separate 40 gallon breeder). She finally let me take him when she was told that all the hamsters were going to be put down the next day. They gave him to me but warned me about how "aggressive" and what a "biter" he was. He was living with two siblings in one critter trail cage.
Even though he has been a handful with his health problems since arriving, he is the sweetest, most adorable little hammy ever. (And hasn't bitten me once, since he is finally being treated and handled properly.) It's crazy how a hammy's personality changes so much when they are given a nice big home and someone to love them, they are just such incredible little creatures.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, I am just enamored with my new hamster. (And of course with my other hamster too) My hope is that one day everyone will value hamsters as much as any other house pet and I will never have to hear people dismiss them as "kid's toys" or "aggressive" due to poor conditions again. And also to never see another critter trail in a pet shop again!

That is all, thank you for reading!

[Cotton]

Glad to read you are enjoying your hamsters. Yes, surprising how cats and dogs are considered adult pets and hamsters are for children. In reality, hamsters are great pets for adults and mature children or younger children with adult supervision. I think many posters here are educating people about proper habitats, but stores still have a long way to go. The Syrian hamster I adopted this month was in a car shaped cage which was surprising for a shelter animal. I had to show a picture of my cage as proof that I had an appropriate cage. I'm sure the car shaped cage did not meet their size requirements.