Hairless Hamsters

[heidii]

I have no intention of breeding any type of hamsters, however I've recently been seeing quite a bit on hairless hamsters & cohousing different species??

On the topic of breeding hairless hamsters, it seems completely unethical. However, I've been seeing large Pet Youtubers influencing their young viewer base into supporting hairless hamsters.

What's your opinion on it?

[cloudy]

My opinion is that it is cruel. They will be more prone to skin and eye irritations. I cannot imagine a hamster would enjoy not having any fur. It sounds to me like the latest fad.

There was a craze for skinny pigs until people realised they had more care needs and did not want them any more. Skinny pigs have skin issues and faster metabolism which can make it harder to maintain a healthy weight.

[AmityvilleHams]

Knowing the issues hairless hamsters face and how it's nothing like other hairless animals that can generally live a decent life regardless of their lack of a coat, I cannot ever in good conscience support their breeding.

Cohousing different species in general depends on the species. Obviously hamsters should never be kept with other species including other hamsters. Guinea pigs and rabbits are an example of two species which should never be allowed in the same enclosure - they can't properly communicate and rabbits can cause life threatening and even outright deadly injuries to guinea pigs. Of course an example of something acceptable would be keeping dogs and cats in the same house providing they're safe around each other. We also know very well in the hamster community to never allow dogs, cats, or other similar predatory species(such as ferrets) in the same room as hamsters or other prey animals. The prey & predator thing extends to rats and mice by the way as rats are natural predators of mice. Unfortunately, not every other pet community takes the predator/prey issue seriously even though everyone absolutely should.

[heidii]

I fostered guinea pigs who were the skinny variant and they did need different care, that was most definitely more expensive. They always were so cold no matter how we heated our home, I just felt sorry for the little guys. Thankfully they've been put into a good home from someone in the guinea pig forum, but I can't comprehend how popular guinea pigs still are especially in my area.

Cohousing definitely depends on species, but I'm solely talking about keeping Syrians with other Syrians and Syrians with dwarf species. It's crazy how they thought it was justified.

And I made this post because I've just now seen a video of a very popular Hamster content creator driving 4 hours to support the backyard breeding of naked hamsters, who were apparently housed in critter trails!

[LunaTheHamster1]

A pet youtuber got a hairless hamster the other year and there was a lot of backlash as she got it from a backyard breeder and she has not posted another video on youtube since. They have different requirements due to their skin and it is completely 100% unethical to breed them.

If you are on Instagram and part of that hamster community you will no doubt have seen a lot of posts about someone setting up a 'hamster colony' with different species of hamster after having proper hamster care for the last 2 years. Myself and a few friends have also done videos on this subject matter as sadly, it is becoming a 'thing' in certain countries. Again, not to be recommended at all.
As most of us on here will know there are so many people who have dwarf hamsters in pairs and they run into trouble with just 2, so multiply that and add in different hamster species, you are just asking for trouble.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Originally Posted by heidii

I
And I made this post because I've just now seen a video of a very popular Hamster content creator driving 4 hours to support the backyard breeding of naked hamsters, who were apparently housed in critter trails!

That's the person I mention in my comment, she hasn't posted since, I think that video must be at least a year old if not older.

[heidii]

No, she hasn't posted since, despite her description stating how she'd make a follow up decision explaining why she got it in the first place. However, she got the hairless Syrian with another Pet youtuber however, who took in the Syrians brother. They kept posting and as far as I'm aware, haven't posted about the hamster since.

And that instagram post is the one I'm referring to. I don't personally use it but I've seen a few people cover it and it's just disgusting. In my opinion, even if cohousing can happen in the wild with dwarf hamsters, doesn't mean we should recreate it in captivity. It's impossible to give them as much space and therefore you're already running into so many issues.

[cloudy]

I do not use social media so I had no idea people tried to house different species of hamster together. It was when I saw cosmic hamsters posting about it that I learned of it. I was horrified. It is almost like they are using vulnerable animals as a kind of experiment. It is just so cruel.

[Ria P]

As far as i know hairless hamsters are bred by breeding hamsters that are not compatible genetically resulting in hamsters without fur.

It's unethical, cruel and should not be supported. Their life expectancy is shorter and they are more prone to illnesses.

It's like purposely breeding hamsters with genetic defects.

I used to want skinny pigs because i had no idea how they were bred and believed that they were a separate breed like the teddys for example.

It's a typical example of unscrupulous people trying to make money at the expense of the animal.

I may not have gotten all the facts right because my memory is bad but that's the gist of it.

[heidii]

Originally Posted by Ria P

As far as i know hairless hamsters are bred by breeding hamsters that are not compatible genetically resulting in hamsters without fur.

It's unethical, cruel and should not be supported. Their life expectancy is shorter and they are more prone to illnesses.

It's like purposely breeding hamsters with genetic defects.

I used to want skinny pigs because i had no idea how they were bred and believed that they were a separate breed like the teddys for example.

It's a typical example of unscrupulous people trying to make money at the expense of the animal.

I may not have gotten all the facts right because my memory is bad but that's the gist of it.

Have you heard UK is considering banning the breeding of flat-faced dogs, including Pugs?

I think it's an interesting take and something that could be done for other animals, but I fear how it will actually be implemented.

Many of the articles I read mentioned the 4 dog breeds that are currently banned in England, however those dogs can be confiscated and "destroyed" as a result of their appearance. Will they do this for pugs too, given a new law comes in place? When Pit Bulls were banned, they rounded them up and "destroyed" them, too. Or perhaps mandatory sterilisation? I feel like that is a much better alternative to euthanasia of all banned breeds.