Hamster tiny cage dilemma

[souffle]

If they were to get another hamster then by then they will see that they must have a larger cage for it as they need that and will get one set up. At least they care enough to arrange holiday care for their little ones so they must be fairly responsible. Could you offer them the cage at the price you bought it for? A cardboard box house would be fine I'd imagine!

[ThePiggyRoom]

Originally Posted by souffle

If they were to get another hamster then by then they will see that they must have a larger cage for it as they need that and will get one set up. At least they care enough to arrange holiday care for their little ones so they must be fairly responsible. Could you offer them the cage at the price you bought it for? A cardboard box house would be fine I'd imagine!

That's true. Ok, I will loan them the cage, unless they want to buy it from me.

Thanks to everyone for your help, I will update you after they have picked her up.

[Pebbles82]

Fingers crossed xxx I am sure they will take your kind care in the way it is intended. Also think cardboard box will do as a house - and they will be able to see she has built a big nest in it . A biggish one might be good - shoebox? Not man size obviously

Did the cage and toys include a litter tray? Just thinking if they see her in her big nest and using a litter tray that could be quite persuasive. Most people tend to be deterred by the amount of bedding needed (cost) for a larger cage so seeing her use a litter tray may help you explain to them that they don't need to change the substrate very often so it saves on money in the long run. Doesn't really matter what they put in the litter tray - even substrate would do - as long as they only have to empty that mostly. It would be a good experience for the little boy to learn about this things and what hamsters like.

That is a bit sad about the rats. How old are they? I assume older rats don't climb much? If they are younger then it is a bit cruel. If they are older then I would maybe leave it. My relatives once had a budgie that got too fat to fly - awful looking back on it but he still liked to chirrup at them and didn't seem unhappy.

[ThePiggyRoom]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Fingers crossed xxx I am sure they will take your kind care in the way it is intended. Also think cardboard box will do as a house - and they will be able to see she has built a big nest in it . A biggish one might be good - shoebox? Not man size obviously

Did the cage and toys include a litter tray? Just thinking if they see her in her big nest and using a litter tray that could be quite persuasive. Most people tend to be deterred by the amount of bedding needed (cost) for a larger cage so seeing her use a litter tray may help you explain to them that they don't need to change the substrate very often so it saves on money in the long run. Doesn't really matter what they put in the litter tray - even substrate would do - as long as they only have to empty that mostly. It would be a good experience for the little boy to learn about this things and what hamsters like.

That is a bit sad about the rats. How old are they? I assume older rats don't climb much? If they are younger then it is a bit cruel. If they are older then I would maybe leave it. My relatives once had a budgie that got too fat to fly - awful looking back on it but he still liked to chirrup at them and didn't seem unhappy.

Sorry for the delay replying, I have been very busy.

The cage and toys didn't come with a litter tray, but I put one in, with some sand in it. I also put one of my houses in. I didn't have a suitable cardboard box, plus I wanted something permanent that they could continue to use.

The rats are three years old, which is quite old for rats. A lady came to pick up her ten rats yesterday and she rescues rats, so I showed her the two fat ones. She said they were very overweight and that old rats normally are thin. I tried holding a treat to persuade them to come out the door of their cage and they were unable to climb out. She also said the skin problem on the tail, was due to them being too fat to wash themselves.

The owners came yesterday evening to pick them up. The father came with two kids and I explained that I had to take her out of the old cage because she bar chewed constantly and was driving us nuts and that she was much happier in the bigger cage, as she had plenty to do and loved the wheel. I said they were welcome to borrow the cage for the lifetime of the hamster. The father straight out refused, saying there wasn't room in the car. I suggested making two trips (they only live 5 minutes away), but he wasn't interested. I also mentioned that the rats were rather fat. When he was outside loading the rat cage into his car, I told the kids that if they changed their minds they could have the cage anytime and they said they would ask mum. I have to say I nearly burst into tears when they left at the thought of the hamster in that awful cage for ever. Five minutes later though the mother phoned and said her son was very upset that he wasn't looking after his hamster properly and could she buy the cage! I sold it to her for £20, so only ended up losing £5 and to be honest the toys and hamster food I kept cost more than that!

She also said the rats had been to the vets last week and that she had been told to put them on a diet and was going to start it as soon as she came back from holiday. I have to say that I don't entirely believe her, as she said they weren't fat when she dropped them off with me. At least she is aware that they are overweight now and hopefully will do something about it.

[cypher]

That's really great that the ham now has the new cage, wheel & some toys to enjoy, you did really well there!
Hope the rats fare better now too.

[Pebbles82]

So stressful for you xxx I am glad the Mother got back to you and bought the cage - that does suggest they will use it. They were maybe scared you would report them to the RSPCA. Well done for saying to the child to talk to their Mother about it (and shame she wasn't there to pick them up!). You have done something very good there - educated the child how to look after a hamster (because their parents didn't know about it).

Did the Mother come and collect the cage?

[ThePiggyRoom]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

So stressful for you xxx I am glad the Mother got back to you and bought the cage - that does suggest they will use it. They were maybe scared you would report them to the RSPCA. Well done for saying to the child to talk to their Mother about it (and shame she wasn't there to pick them up!). You have done something very good there - educated the child how to look after a hamster (because their parents didn't know about it).

Did the Mother come and collect the cage?

The mother and father came back to pick the cage up about half an hour after ringing. That's when she said that the rats had been to the vets.I offered again to let them borrow the cage, but she said when this hamster dies they will be getting another one straight away, as the boy will be so upset, so they wanted to buy it. So maybe I have helped at least two hamsters, which made my day I took the opportunity to explain why they need a big wheel and about using a litter tray and some safe cheap nesting materials. She even asked me what the bedding was. I think the kids and mother genuinely want to do the right thing, they are just ignorant about the proper care of the animals, I think the dad just wants it to be cheap and isn't interested in animal welfare though. The mother even left me a nice review on my Facebook page

[Pebbles82]

That's really nice! Yes Dads can often think more about finances than hamsters!

[JennySTL]

This makes me so happy reading this. We are lucky that there are people like you in the world looking out for animals.

[ThePiggyRoom]

Originally Posted by JennySTL

This makes me so happy reading this. We are lucky that there are people like you in the world looking out for animals.

Aw, thank you Jenny, that's made my day!