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Hammo23 · 04-15-2023, 12:52 PM

Hi I'm Hammo23! I've used this forum before back when I was a wee little child searching for tips on owning a pet hamster. I had the best experience with my first ham, she was my best friend and I loved her, and still do in my heart.❤️
I was heartbroken after losing my first ham and the two I got after that just didn't compare (though I still loved them).

I then opted to try rats as pets during highschool after doing a lot of research. I loved them too, but found them to be a lot of work, as an adult I don't have that much time and attention to spare. I've opted not to own any pets because I'm fairly lazy and like not having to be responsible for an animal.

Then in 2021 I took in a relatives senior hamster, a Djungarian Dwarf. She was an older ham and so I knew time with her was limited. She wasn't able to get the attention and care she deserved with my relative so I took her in and gave her a bigger bin cage hamster retirement home! She lived with me for a few months getting to wander outside of her bin cage almost daily before passing away in a warm towel in my hands.

My brother works at a local pet shop and received a call from a man asking if they took hamsters. They do not (not since they got a huge batch of surrenders from Petco, the owner said "never again." She's primarily a bird and rabbit person!)

Supposedly someone left a hamster in a $40 cage, a bag of bedding, a nearly full bag of Wal-Mart hamster food, a hamster ball, and a spare wheel on his porch.
I doubt this because it was 30° outside that morning and I imagine our little friend would've been a lost popsicle or in torpor.

So my brother said "bring him in I'll take him" and now we have a Syrian. I've only ever owned dwarves, he's so big!

I don't know his age, if he had a name or what. But I've decided to dub him Hammo23 like a neopet with numbers. The numbers are his silly last name to signify the year he joined us, 2023. Hammo is very cute. I think a touch underweight when we got him about a week or two ago but I've misplaced the scale to weigh him.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...414_172945.jpg

He's in a 19" bin cage right now, still a bit small but an improvement from that 10" x 15" store cage he had before. I'm slowly switching him from the Walmart mix to a pellet to prevent selective eating and hopefully have him have a nice healthy diet. And swapped his Walmart bedding for Sophresh odor control bedding to help with the smell bc the old bedding didn't do much in that regard.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...414_172327.jpg
After moving him to his new home I've let him stay by himself in his bin to adjust for a few days.
Now in the evenings when he's out and about I scoop him out gently with an upside down hamster house (the cage is high on to of bird cages and I'm short) and let him run around my robe sleeves and robe on the couch or bed with a few hiding places in case he gets overwhelmed and wants to hide in a little house.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...3TXwAAurlt.jpg
He's VERY jumpy to sound and movent and flinches a lot. I've never seen a hamster so easily startled. I was letting him roam around in my brother's room with a small 3D printer and it's a constant small house, but every now and then he would startle at a noise the printer made. I love to talk to my pets but that startled him sometimes so I whisper quietly and ask for my roommates to be quiet when he's outside of his room/cage.
He's not scared of hands, just sudden movent if he doesn't see it coming.

But I think it's important that he gets some run around outside-cage time because his current bin cage is still below a recommended size for a hamster.
I plan on upgrading him to a larger bin when I can afford it.

A hamster was not in my financial plans and I spent about $40 in food and bedding for him and we're in the process of rearranging three bedrooms, so I won't invest in a larger bin until we have the house settled and I can figure out where to put it.

04-15-2023, 12:52 PM
Hammo23 Join Date: Apr 2023 Location: Texas Posts: 1	Suddenly a hamster owner again, hi! Hi I'm Hammo23! I've used this forum before back when I was a wee little child searching for tips on owning a pet hamster. I had the best experience with my first ham, she was my best friend and I loved her, and still do in my heart.❤️ I was heartbroken after losing my first ham and the two I got after that just didn't compare (though I still loved them). I then opted to try rats as pets during highschool after doing a lot of research. I loved them too, but found them to be a lot of work, as an adult I don't have that much time and attention to spare. I've opted not to own any pets because I'm fairly lazy and like not having to be responsible for an animal. Then in 2021 I took in a relatives senior hamster, a Djungarian Dwarf. She was an older ham and so I knew time with her was limited. She wasn't able to get the attention and care she deserved with my relative so I took her in and gave her a bigger bin cage hamster retirement home! She lived with me for a few months getting to wander outside of her bin cage almost daily before passing away in a warm towel in my hands. My brother works at a local pet shop and received a call from a man asking if they took hamsters. They do not (not since they got a huge batch of surrenders from Petco, the owner said "never again." She's primarily a bird and rabbit person!) Supposedly someone left a hamster in a $40 cage, a bag of bedding, a nearly full bag of Wal-Mart hamster food, a hamster ball, and a spare wheel on his porch. I doubt this because it was 30° outside that morning and I imagine our little friend would've been a lost popsicle or in torpor. So my brother said "bring him in I'll take him" and now we have a Syrian. I've only ever owned dwarves, he's so big! I don't know his age, if he had a name or what. But I've decided to dub him Hammo23 like a neopet with numbers. The numbers are his silly last name to signify the year he joined us, 2023. Hammo is very cute. I think a touch underweight when we got him about a week or two ago but I've misplaced the scale to weigh him. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...414_172945.jpg He's in a 19" bin cage right now, still a bit small but an improvement from that 10" x 15" store cage he had before. I'm slowly switching him from the Walmart mix to a pellet to prevent selective eating and hopefully have him have a nice healthy diet. And swapped his Walmart bedding for Sophresh odor control bedding to help with the smell bc the old bedding didn't do much in that regard. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...414_172327.jpg After moving him to his new home I've let him stay by himself in his bin to adjust for a few days. Now in the evenings when he's out and about I scoop him out gently with an upside down hamster house (the cage is high on to of bird cages and I'm short) and let him run around my robe sleeves and robe on the couch or bed with a few hiding places in case he gets overwhelmed and wants to hide in a little house. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...3TXwAAurlt.jpg He's VERY jumpy to sound and movent and flinches a lot. I've never seen a hamster so easily startled. I was letting him roam around in my brother's room with a small 3D printer and it's a constant small house, but every now and then he would startle at a noise the printer made. I love to talk to my pets but that startled him sometimes so I whisper quietly and ask for my roommates to be quiet when he's outside of his room/cage. He's not scared of hands, just sudden movent if he doesn't see it coming. But I think it's important that he gets some run around outside-cage time because his current bin cage is still below a recommended size for a hamster. I plan on upgrading him to a larger bin when I can afford it. A hamster was not in my financial plans and I spent about $40 in food and bedding for him and we're in the process of rearranging three bedrooms, so I won't invest in a larger bin until we have the house settled and I can figure out where to put it.