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Pebbles82 · 03-07-2022, 02:44 PM

I'm similar to you Ria

And similar age. For me it was stepson, who was 6 at the time, wanting a pet. I remembered a boyfriend from many years before who had a hamster. When we moved in together, the hamster came too - and I had got really fond of it.

We looked in the local pet shop and saw the hamsters (plus I'm allergic to most other pets - I reckoned I'd be ok with a hamster having been with one before). They had two hamsters. She picked out one to show us saying the other was "a bit bitey". And Charlie stood on his hind legs in the tank and popped his head over and was virtually nose to nose with stepson - he wanted us. That was it - love at first sight. We had to wait a few days to pick him up because a) OH got cold feet and fussing about the space and costs etc. b) Had to get a cage sorted c) Had to move things around to make space for a cage.

I vaguely googled hamsters and it said - at least 60cm by 40cm cage (back then). My old bf's hamster had lived in a 3 tier round rotostak and I thought - get one of those again. The newer ones had a larger base unit which was not 60 x 40 but I convinced myself that the overall area of the three compartments was at least that.

So we bought this 3 tier rotostak in yellow and blue with lots of external tubes and a kind of space pod thing on top. The food bowl was in the space pod at the top so to eat, the hamster had to use the long external tubes to get to the top. Unfortunately, being a baby he was then too scared to go down the vertical tubes. But he got the hang of it eventually.

It didn't go so well - he kept peeing in the tubes. He nested in the bottom larger compartment but if you tried to put your hand in he'd run at it and try to attack you. He constantly bar chewed on the small bars of the middle compartment and seemed desperate to get out all the time.

I began to think - he's not happy in there. My old bf's hamster had seeemed fine - but - we left that cage open all the time and he free roamed (wasn't possible in our house due to gaps in floorboards etc). Him running at you was a bit like cage rage.

But what really tipped it was he suddenly grew very big - and got stuck in a vertical tube. Nightmare. That was it - I did a lot more googling about hamster cages and found the RSPCA recommended a minimum of about 80cm x 50cm for a cage and a big open cage was better than smaller ones linked together.

Hamster central came up time and time again and I found a lot of info on there. I then had to quickly get another cage as hamster too big for the tubes. I moved a piece of furniture out of the living room to make space for an 80 x 50 cage and ordered the Savic Mickey 2 XL - it seemed huge - but afterwards wished I'd bought a 100cm cage - we had made enough space to fit bigger than 80 x 50 in the end. And realised he needed a bigger wheel too. We got the wood 28cm Karlie wheel and it made us smile. OH and I would sit as this wood wheel spun round while we were watching TV (the only hamster I've had who used his wheel mid evening with the lights on).

I then made a huge mistake. I treated our adorable Charlie like a parcel. I just put him straight in the new cage cold turkey. His reaction filled me with guilt and worry. He was completely traumatised. He would sit in and shake and look terrible. OH and I sat and watched him, very worried every night. OH said - maybe we should put him back in the rotostak. I said - can't he'll get stuck in the tubes again. We then thought about putting a blanket over the cage. Didn't help much. He was still terrified and sat and shook. I worried he'd have a heart attack.

So we sat and watched and worried for about a week while this carried on. He was our new baby and we both felt responsible for him (when stepson wasn't around). It was seeing him like that made me realise this is not just something to sit in a cage and be fed - it has feelings and how would I like to be suddenly moved without any warning.

I was about to put him back in the bottom section of the rotostak without the tubes, when on day 10 he suddenly got happy! Loved his new cage, loved his new wheel - got perky and confident. Ran in his wheel then threw himself on the substrate lying like he was sunbathing, all happy. Started to interact with us again. All was well. I know now you shouldn't move them cold turkey and should move their bedding with them and allow a bit of adjustment (which is common sense).

Then my second mistake. The new cage was in a different part of the room - further along. I had left the old one where it was. Every time he was out in his ball he went over to the old cage and got quite frantic and upset. He could smell it/recognise it! He missed his old home. I quickly removed that from the room. And hoovered around that area. But he still used to roll to that spot and sit there looking a bit sad. Eventually he got over it.

So - old cage has to be well removed when moving them to a new cage.

At first I found this all huge hassle - suddenly I was the one looking after the hamster and I wasn't that interested - stepson just wanted to hold him but he was very untame and that took time. But after the cage move I suddenly fell in love with this little thing who would communicate with me with looks and get scared now and then. He was just a baby!

We did lots of research on here and the internet about taming and stepson and I tamed Charlie in the bathtub - it took 2 months - but boy was it worth it - after that he would go to sleep on my knee or sit between us on the sofa. Charlie really bonded with me but perked up when stepson was around.

He was a lazy gentle hamster - enormous (I actually went back to the pet shop and said - are you sure he was a hamster, he's grown huge! Was his Father a guinea pig?

I made a few more mistakes with cage set up before getting it right (unsafe toys etc). A house that was too small that got stinky and kept falling over.

So Charlie was a pet for the whole family - we all loved him - we had our escapades (free roaming turned him a bit maverick and he got stuck behind the fridge). He moved house with us and settled fine. We were all completely hearbroken when he was dying and had to be pts. It really affected me and I realised you can become just as bonded to a small pet like a hamster, as something like a dog. People didn't understand.

A few months later, we were kindly given another Syrian by Souffle from one of her litter. That was Newtus Hamsterus - and the gloom lifted off us bringing him home.

Quite simply hamsters can really really get to you. They need us and they bring a lot of joy (and anxiety) - just like toddlers. But then they become little old men (or women) in front of our eyes and become patient with us and wise. So although they don't live very long I like that we see their whole life development from baby to child to teenager to confident middle age, to wise, patient old ham.

03-07-2022, 02:44 PM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Why a hamster? I'm similar to you Ria And similar age. For me it was stepson, who was 6 at the time, wanting a pet. I remembered a boyfriend from many years before who had a hamster. When we moved in together, the hamster came too - and I had got really fond of it. We looked in the local pet shop and saw the hamsters (plus I'm allergic to most other pets - I reckoned I'd be ok with a hamster having been with one before). They had two hamsters. She picked out one to show us saying the other was "a bit bitey". And Charlie stood on his hind legs in the tank and popped his head over and was virtually nose to nose with stepson - he wanted us. That was it - love at first sight. We had to wait a few days to pick him up because a) OH got cold feet and fussing about the space and costs etc. b) Had to get a cage sorted c) Had to move things around to make space for a cage. I vaguely googled hamsters and it said - at least 60cm by 40cm cage (back then). My old bf's hamster had lived in a 3 tier round rotostak and I thought - get one of those again. The newer ones had a larger base unit which was not 60 x 40 but I convinced myself that the overall area of the three compartments was at least that. So we bought this 3 tier rotostak in yellow and blue with lots of external tubes and a kind of space pod thing on top. The food bowl was in the space pod at the top so to eat, the hamster had to use the long external tubes to get to the top. Unfortunately, being a baby he was then too scared to go down the vertical tubes. But he got the hang of it eventually. It didn't go so well - he kept peeing in the tubes. He nested in the bottom larger compartment but if you tried to put your hand in he'd run at it and try to attack you. He constantly bar chewed on the small bars of the middle compartment and seemed desperate to get out all the time. I began to think - he's not happy in there. My old bf's hamster had seeemed fine - but - we left that cage open all the time and he free roamed (wasn't possible in our house due to gaps in floorboards etc). Him running at you was a bit like cage rage. But what really tipped it was he suddenly grew very big - and got stuck in a vertical tube. Nightmare. That was it - I did a lot more googling about hamster cages and found the RSPCA recommended a minimum of about 80cm x 50cm for a cage and a big open cage was better than smaller ones linked together. Hamster central came up time and time again and I found a lot of info on there. I then had to quickly get another cage as hamster too big for the tubes. I moved a piece of furniture out of the living room to make space for an 80 x 50 cage and ordered the Savic Mickey 2 XL - it seemed huge - but afterwards wished I'd bought a 100cm cage - we had made enough space to fit bigger than 80 x 50 in the end. And realised he needed a bigger wheel too. We got the wood 28cm Karlie wheel and it made us smile. OH and I would sit as this wood wheel spun round while we were watching TV (the only hamster I've had who used his wheel mid evening with the lights on). I then made a huge mistake. I treated our adorable Charlie like a parcel. I just put him straight in the new cage cold turkey. His reaction filled me with guilt and worry. He was completely traumatised. He would sit in and shake and look terrible. OH and I sat and watched him, very worried every night. OH said - maybe we should put him back in the rotostak. I said - can't he'll get stuck in the tubes again. We then thought about putting a blanket over the cage. Didn't help much. He was still terrified and sat and shook. I worried he'd have a heart attack. So we sat and watched and worried for about a week while this carried on. He was our new baby and we both felt responsible for him (when stepson wasn't around). It was seeing him like that made me realise this is not just something to sit in a cage and be fed - it has feelings and how would I like to be suddenly moved without any warning. I was about to put him back in the bottom section of the rotostak without the tubes, when on day 10 he suddenly got happy! Loved his new cage, loved his new wheel - got perky and confident. Ran in his wheel then threw himself on the substrate lying like he was sunbathing, all happy. Started to interact with us again. All was well. I know now you shouldn't move them cold turkey and should move their bedding with them and allow a bit of adjustment (which is common sense). Then my second mistake. The new cage was in a different part of the room - further along. I had left the old one where it was. Every time he was out in his ball he went over to the old cage and got quite frantic and upset. He could smell it/recognise it! He missed his old home. I quickly removed that from the room. And hoovered around that area. But he still used to roll to that spot and sit there looking a bit sad. Eventually he got over it. So - old cage has to be well removed when moving them to a new cage. At first I found this all huge hassle - suddenly I was the one looking after the hamster and I wasn't that interested - stepson just wanted to hold him but he was very untame and that took time. But after the cage move I suddenly fell in love with this little thing who would communicate with me with looks and get scared now and then. He was just a baby! We did lots of research on here and the internet about taming and stepson and I tamed Charlie in the bathtub - it took 2 months - but boy was it worth it - after that he would go to sleep on my knee or sit between us on the sofa. Charlie really bonded with me but perked up when stepson was around. He was a lazy gentle hamster - enormous (I actually went back to the pet shop and said - are you sure he was a hamster, he's grown huge! Was his Father a guinea pig? I made a few more mistakes with cage set up before getting it right (unsafe toys etc). A house that was too small that got stinky and kept falling over. So Charlie was a pet for the whole family - we all loved him - we had our escapades (free roaming turned him a bit maverick and he got stuck behind the fridge). He moved house with us and settled fine. We were all completely hearbroken when he was dying and had to be pts. It really affected me and I realised you can become just as bonded to a small pet like a hamster, as something like a dog. People didn't understand. A few months later, we were kindly given another Syrian by Souffle from one of her litter. That was Newtus Hamsterus - and the gloom lifted off us bringing him home. Quite simply hamsters can really really get to you. They need us and they bring a lot of joy (and anxiety) - just like toddlers. But then they become little old men (or women) in front of our eyes and become patient with us and wise. So although they don't live very long I like that we see their whole life development from baby to child to teenager to confident middle age, to wise, patient old ham.