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Old 05-31-2021, 05:54 AM   #1
MikeTherk
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Default Rescue Rousey - the hammy I saved from neglect

I work at a vet as a vet's assistant and a co-worker became aware of a friend that was trying to get rid of their hamster. They didn't want to deal with it anymore because A) they said it bites and B) they just generally didn't feel like spending money and educating themselves. They were even considering killing it because they didn't want it around anymore. I asked my husband if I could save it (I have a 1 year Syrian - Orange, a 10 year old pitbull - Liggy) and he said yes. After 5 days of my texts being ignored, I feared the little hammy was already in Heaven... but then they literally showed up at my job with it unannounced and said "if you don't like it, just let it outside. we're not getting back in the car with it."

As you can guess, the hamster was a product of PetSmart branding. She was given to me in a Tiny Tales cage that has 245 inches of floor space. The BARE MINIMUM a hamster should have is 450, and Orange is in something around 700-800. It had no water bottle. Its wheel was suitable only for a Robo. It had no wood chews to file its teeth. Only 1 inch of CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP substrate. And all of its "treats" were nothing but sugar packed nibblers that looked cute to humans but offer the hamster nothing but diabetes. It had a playpen and a wooden hut in a bin with its treats, so the first thing I did was dump its bedding into the bin (which was only about 400) and transfer it there.

Since I worked 10am-10pm, I didn't have time to go to a pet shop, so I stopped by Walmart after my shift. I was able to get a bigger bin (that's still kind of small), a water bottle (that doesn't work) and more CHEAP substrate. The wheel I sent my husband to get earlier is way too small still, but that's my fault because I eyeballed it wrong online. Rescue Rousey needs another cage upgrade, definitely, but this was the best I could do with no notice. Plus, today is Memorial Day and PetSmart will probably be closed when I get out of work at 6:00pm.

Oh, I also threw a ton of wooden and alfalfa chews in her cage asap so we can get to work on grinding those teeth down normally.

I think Rescue Rousey is a baby. Orange is a year old exactly and she's double Rescue Rousey's size and they're both Syrians.

Also, I let my husband name her and he came up with Rousey because I'm a huge Ronda Rousey fan. I thought Rescue Rousey was a fitting name because I saved her from neglect and potentially death.
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Old 05-31-2021, 06:02 AM   #2
VOESSY
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Default Re: Rescue Rousey - the hammy I saved from neglect

Super relieved to read that her road to better life can begin with you, and I adore the name. Good on you for scrambling what you can, I look forward to reading more about Rousey as her story evolves. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 05-31-2021, 08:03 AM   #3
Ria P
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Default Re: Rescue Rousey - the hammy I saved from neglect

Same here. I am so much looking forward to hear more of Rousey and in time see some photos of her.

I'm glad that she's a baby and has a whole happy hamster life in front of her yet.
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Old 05-31-2021, 12:33 PM   #4
LunaTheHamster1
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Default Re: Rescue Rousey - the hammy I saved from neglect

You just can't believe some people. Thank goodness you got her.
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Old 05-31-2021, 08:51 PM   #5
MikeTherk
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Default Re: Rescue Rousey - the hammy I saved from neglect

UPDATE:

Of course Walmart & Target don't have suitable bin cages size, and there's no IKEA around me. I guess I'll just have to wait and check on every shopping trip to see if they restock. She's in a 633 inch cage now, which is already a huge upgrade from the 245 inch she was in.

No interest in the wheel or any of the chews. With other pets, whenever you switch their food, you always put some of the old food and some of the new food in the bowl to ween them off. I don't know if that goes for rodents, but she left all her old food in the bowl and took my good food and buried it beneath her burrow. No surprise there!

She's not nearly as "vicious" as they said she is. Even with just 24 hours, she seems inquisitive of my presence. I can sneak it some pets when she's distracted, but picking her up or going near the face is definitely out of the question right now. Since I'm trying to tame her, the first thing I did was get tissues and wipe them on my face, hands, arms, etc to get my scent. Then I ripped them up and put them in her cage. She used those ripped up pieces of paper to build her burrow, so I guess I should feel special?

I was able to find rodent water bottles at Walmart. As of tonight she has a working water bottle for the first time in... lord knows. She didn't have one when she was surrendered to me, and she drank from the spout for a good three minutes tonight nonstop once I installed the working one. I feel like she's actually super lucky dehydration didn't set in between then and now.
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Old 05-31-2021, 08:56 PM   #6
MikeTherk
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Default

Here's the first picture I was able to nab.

Please ignore the CHEAP substrate because Petsmart isn't open yet. And that ugly green thing was the nonworking water bottle that she was surrendered with that was in a box and not in the cage. I actually just need a slightly bigger cage and better substrate and she'll be all set! I already have 3 hides and a tunnel in her cage.

Also, I know it's hard to tell in the picture, but how old do yal think she is? My other hamster, Orange, is literally double her size if not more and she's a year old. I'm thinking Rescue Rouse is like.... baby bay. 3 months.

Here's the picture.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg rescue.jpg (46.7 KB, 32 views)

Last edited by velma; 06-01-2021 at 12:55 AM. Reason: Attaching picture
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Old 06-01-2021, 01:54 AM   #7
VOESSY
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Default Re: Rescue Rousey - the hammy I saved from neglect

I certainly cannot tell how old she is, but I have to say she is absolutely adorable.
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Old 06-01-2021, 02:51 AM   #8
LunaTheHamster1
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Default Re: Rescue Rousey - the hammy I saved from neglect

Aww, what a cutie. Sometimes the fur helps with aging a hamster, but cant really tell from your photo. If she grows some more then she probably is only young, but then some hamsters are only small anyway.
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Old 06-01-2021, 05:30 AM   #9
MikeTherk
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Default Re: Rescue Rousey - the hammy I saved from neglect

Quote:
Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1 View Post
Aww, what a cutie. Sometimes the fur helps with aging a hamster, but cant really tell from your photo. If she grows some more then she probably is only young, but then some hamsters are only small anyway.
Her fur is really shiny and has two little tuffs at the end. I originally thought she was longhair, but nope.
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Old 06-01-2021, 05:52 AM   #10
Ria P
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Default Re: Rescue Rousey - the hammy I saved from neglect

She is absolutely adorable! What a cute little hamster.

Hamsters can drink from a bowl as well as a bottle, in fact all our hamsters have both.

Is she running a lot on her wheel?
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