Should I board my hamster?

[Inky]

Hi Everyone, I have a Syrian Black Bear hamster named Inky who is almost 1. I have a trip coming up in a few weeks and will be gone for 5 nights. I have found a boarding facility for him while I'm gone. I will be able to take his habitat and he'll be in a private room/area but he will be able to hear dogs barking, etc and other animals will pass by the area where he is staying. I've read several articles that suggest hamsters can get very stressed out and that can make them ill.

Do you think boarding is the best option? My only other choice is to leave him home alone. I'm just wondering if being in the strange environment with other animals will stress him too much (we do not have any other pets at home).

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

[souffle]

You can leave him at home providing you have a carer who will come in at least once a day to check all is well and feed and water your hamster. We have a pet sitter who comes in and sees to our hammies while we are away.
It can be stressful in a strange place but most hamsters adapt well enough to it. It may be better to look for somewhere that specifically boards small animals only or ask around if friends or relatives would look after him for you.

[InkyPen]

Erm, well, this is weird as I also have a black bear Syrian hamster called Inky This is her Instagram feed (she's far more popular on Instagram than I am...) https://www.instagram.com/inkythehamster/

In answer to your question - I wouldn't want to leave a ham alone for 5 nights. I've left Inky alone for 1/2 nights, and on both occasions she managed to destroy something in her cage Not sure if it was out of boredom or stress, but she doesn't much like being left! The other issue is that if something was to happen, such as her water bottle breaking and leaking everywhere, or if she was to get ill, no one would notice. On balance, I'd take her to the boarding facility.

The other option is that you could post on HC and see if there's anyone else in your area who might be willing to board her at home. If you're in London / can get her to me, then Inky can meet Inky as far as I'm concerned

Edited to add: I knew there was a thread for this somewhere! Have a look on here Holiday Hamster Sitters List

[Drago]

That's so funny you both have little Inky hams!

Technically speaking, hamsters are fine to be left for a weekend, but I never feel comfortable to leave my hamsters alone longer than overnight. Like mentioned above, so many things could go wrong and I worry about my little ones too much. One time, after leaving for just an overnight drive, I came back to find my hamster's bottle had leaked out everywhere leaving him on damp bedding, and with no water Since then I've been more careful, having someone check in on all my animals. Like Inkypen suggested, I would check to see locals willing to take him in, that would be the best option.

If you live in the southern region of the United States, I and my little animal menagerie would be happy to let him crash here

[Inky]

It's so funny that there are 2 Inkys!! I need to get my little guy on Instagram, too, that's adorable. Of course, I'll have to find the forum that teaches you how to get your hamster to pose for photos

[InkyPen]

Honestly, half of it's fluke. 90-95% of the photos I take of her are unusable anyway! And I do it using a DSLR, on the fast moving objects setting(!) and continuous shot mode, so it's optimised for these things.

As ever, social media is not an accurate reflection of real life - you also probably wouldn't guess that the photos are taken on my kitchen worktop, and the white background is actually just a roll of white wrapping paper