I dispair!

Ewins87 · 01-18-2014, 11:30 AM

Someone i know bought a male syrian from a pet shop before christmas, i went round this week to see that the poor little ( or not so little!!!) mite is very distressed!

He is in a tiny cage that i wouldnt house any living thing in! Its a ferplast laura! He is housed on woodbased cat litter, has cotton wool bedding and apparently never sleeps!

He screams as soon as you go near the cage and is obviously distressed! He has a 5 inch wheel "which he never uses" no wonder!!!

Not the sort of person that i can say anything to as every time i mentioned something she had a go!

Ahhhhhhh! I hate it!

SquishyHelium · 01-18-2014, 11:52 AM

OH HOW AWFUL! I don't know what to recommend - maybe suggest a referral to the RSPCA online guidelines for minimum requirements for hamsters...

racinghamster · 01-18-2014, 12:27 PM

I don`t like ranting about people I don`t know, but people like this never research the pet before they impulsively buy one and in this instance, the hamster is doomed to ignorance.

All you can do is advise and copy a few internet articles on better care. The Laura cage is too small on it`s own even for a dwarf hamster, never mind a Syrian! This cage is one of the `has been` oldies that should be scrapped along with many others.

This Syrian could well bite someone hard and pay the consequences for it. (Human thinking hamster is evil and should be dumped) scenario. I hope I am wrong, but the likelihood is, hamsters that scream and can`t settle are scared/stressed hamsters. Poor thing...

If they `want rid`, I would offer to rehome the hamster or try my best to convince them to part with it if they are not prepared to see the reality of this.

SquishyHelium · 01-20-2014, 05:00 AM

I agree, the Laura cage is terrible, as are a lot of others on the market! If you are prepared to take the hamster should they not want it perhaps be sure to make it known - that way they'd come to you first should they not want it any more.

HollyHamster · 01-20-2014, 07:20 PM

If you are really that concerned, take it up with your local RSPCA, and not complain about it on here.

Ewins87 · 01-21-2014, 08:57 AM

Since when can we not air our concerns on here? I am starting to not want to post anything anymore as i always gets criticised!

I wasnt complaining holly hamster i was mereley airing my frustration both with pet shops and owners.

I am sorry if i offended someone

Plus if i did report it i would lose a friend

**chinesehammy** · 01-21-2014, 09:18 AM

You may lose a friend, but you would be saving a poor wee hamster from a life of cramped cages and unsafe cotton wool bedding. And I'm sure if you reported it anonymously she wouldn't even know it was you. I don't think hollyhamster was having a go, I think she was more saying that if you are really concerned you should go to RSPCA because none of us can remove the hamster only RSPCA can. But I mean I don't think they would even do anything, as they are not actually *abusing* the hamster, they just aren't providing it with a very good life! but at the end of the day, if it has a cage, food and water and meets RSPCA min standards they don't want to know. I think even if it doesn't meet the RSPCA min size they still don't care.

Maybe you should offer to take it on? Or try to buy it of her?

HollyHamster · 01-21-2014, 01:19 PM

I am not a mod, but I do know that you agreed to abide by the forum rules when joining this forum. One of these rules is as follows.

Quote:

Welfare: It should be noted that this is pet hamster forum and is primarily concerned with the care and welfare of the hamsters we share our homes with. If a member has concerns about the welfare of any animal they should report it to the appropriate authorities.

It is not appropriate to post about animal abuse or animal welfare in relation to pet shops or other situations on Hamster Central. All issues should be raised with the RSPCA, SSPCA or the appropriate organization for your own country. Concerns about animals in pet shops must be raised in the first instance with the store manager, then customer services and in the case of smaller shops the local authority which issues licenses to sell live animals. Any concerns relating to videos or articles that are found on the internet should be reported to the site owners where appropriate.

If you are unsure whether a thread will be acceptable please run it past a moderator first.

If the animal in question is truly being abused and/or neglected, its imperative that you inform the proper authorities immediately. Remember, animals can't speak for themselves, you need to be their voice. Otherwise, they will silently suffer and die without knowing love or kindness in their lives.

Be it a choice between keeping a friend, or helping their pet who is suffering, I would personally, always chose to help the pet. Its hard to speak up sometimes, especially with those you care most about, but it has to be done in order to save the most innocent of souls, who don't deserve to suffer one second.