Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Hamster Chat

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-24-2019, 12:30 PM   #1
Creampuff
Hamster Pup
 
Creampuff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 129
Question Are Harnesses and Leashes Okay/Safe for Hamsters?

Hi,

I was wondering if getting a harness and leash for my hamster would be safe/okay. Then I could control her, but still let her have time out. What is your opinion on this? Also, if yes, do you know where I could find one?

Thank you!
__________________
Hamster mom to Creampuff 🐹.
Creampuff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2019, 12:39 PM   #2
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: Are Harnesses and Leashes Okay/Safe for Hamsters?

NO!! Definitely not suitable for a fragile little hamster! You can get or make a play pen to give your hamster room to play and run around in. They are not meant to be controlled either but supervised.
Ria P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2019, 12:48 PM   #3
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Are Harnesses and Leashes Okay/Safe for Hamsters?

As Ria P has said, definitely not. They can cause serious injury and even kill a hamster, so never under any circumstances try to use any kind of harness or leash.

Proper supervision is mandatory with any time out of the cage, unless you created some sort of play bin with a secure mesh lid. You're not meant to control their actions, you're supposed to prevent anything bad from happening in the first place. Don't give them opportunities to escape or get injured or otherwise get into trouble, rather than trying to rely on some random device that just isn't safe in the first place to do your job for you.
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2019, 01:03 PM   #4
Creampuff
Hamster Pup
 
Creampuff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 129
Default Re: Are Harnesses and Leashes Okay/Safe for Hamsters?

Okay thank you! I have a playpen, but she doesn't seem to like it that much. I don't know why.
__________________
Hamster mom to Creampuff 🐹.
Creampuff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2019, 01:21 PM   #5
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Are Harnesses and Leashes Okay/Safe for Hamsters?

How do you have the playpen set up? It's possible you might have too much uncovered space, which would be solved through adding more toys and hiding spots. They are prey animals and no amount of captive breeding will change that, so they need quite a bit of hiding potential with their enclosures and playpens/play bins/etc!
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2019, 12:49 PM   #6
Creampuff
Hamster Pup
 
Creampuff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 129
Question Re: Are Harnesses and Leashes Okay/Safe for Hamsters?

Oh, okay! Thank you! I think it does have too many open spots. It's not completely filled up with toys. Does it need to be? Does the cage need to like that too? I also seem to have trouble finding good toys that my hamster will play with.
__________________
Hamster mom to Creampuff 🐹.
Creampuff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2019, 12:56 PM   #7
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: Are Harnesses and Leashes Okay/Safe for Hamsters?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Creampuff View Post
Oh, okay! Thank you! I think it does have too many open spots. It's not completely filled up with toys. Does it need to be? Does the cage need to like that too? I also seem to have trouble finding good toys that my hamster will play with.
Could you post a photo of your hamster's cage and playpen?
Ria P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-29-2019, 09:46 AM   #8
Creampuff
Hamster Pup
 
Creampuff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 129
Default Re: Are Harnesses and Leashes Okay/Safe for Hamsters?

Yes, here's a few pictures of my cage. However, I do not have the playpen set up right now so I'll post pictures of that later.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Cage1.jpg (4.18 MB, 20 views)
File Type: jpg Cage2.jpg (3.98 MB, 17 views)
File Type: jpg Cage3.jpg (4.62 MB, 12 views)
__________________
Hamster mom to Creampuff 🐹.
Creampuff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-31-2019, 09:20 AM   #9
Creampuff
Hamster Pup
 
Creampuff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 129
Default Re: Are Harnesses and Leashes Okay/Safe for Hamsters?

Do you have any suggestions as to how I could make it better?
__________________
Hamster mom to Creampuff 🐹.
Creampuff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-31-2019, 11:43 AM   #10
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: Are Harnesses and Leashes Okay/Safe for Hamsters?

Have a look at the thread "Let's see your cage" under Housing on the Forum for ideas.
It took me quite a while to set up my Syrian's cage so he'd like it because not all hamsters like the same things. He doesn't burrow but likes to sit on shelves which took a while to figure out.

They need their house to be bottomless and to sit on top of the substrate and not on a shelf because they like to build a big nest sunk into the substrate, well, most Syrians do anyway. Wood is preferable to plastic because it "breathes" whereas plastic can "sweat". Or use a cardboard box, shoe box is ideal. Cut the bottom out and a big enough entrance and use the lid as a roof that lifts off so you can check inside if needed. A plastic corner toilet is handy too once you locate your hamster's peeing corner for easy cleaning.

I like the big blue wheel by the way.

The cube thingy hanging off the roof i'd take out because a hamster can get tangled in it and if its fabric its not suitable in any case. You could replace it with a sputnik for overhead cover and create access to the sputnik via a shelf or the platform.
You could add a sand bath if you haven't got one already.
I like the long bendy Trixie ladders you can do lots of things with and with a barred cage you can add degu shelves for the hamster to sit on or under or a coconut hide is popular because hamsters seem to like round things. All on Amazon.

When i set up a hamster home i buy lots of staff from a pet shop (keep receipt) or Amazon but don't open it.
I sit down and look at the cage and stuff i've got then make a plan for a set up. I then keep what i want and return the things i don't want to the shop to get the money back.

What kind of cage do you have? I like the front doors which make life so much easier.

Sorry, if i mention anything you already know or have but i get carried away when writing and need to look at your photos again to refresh my fading memory.
Ria P is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
find, harness, harnesses, opinion, time, hamsters, okay/safe, leashes

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 05:13 AM.