outside time?

[wettew]

would it be okay to take my dwarf hammy outside to play?

[lau200]

some people think it is ok, but personally I'm worried that they would pick up infections or escape

[SnuggleHam]

Hmm, They would have to be closely supervised and ideally placed in some sort of cage where they couldn't escape, and you would also want to be certain the ground or grass was never treated with any kinds of pesticides, and then of course there is the threat of ticks and mites and other harmful bugs.

[Christine Yule]

I don't take my hams outside to play. I would say that it is dangerous in several ways. One, is what will you do if he manages to escape! Two, hamsters are sensitive to changes in temperature and if placed in the sun could suffer. Three, predators like hawks, cats, snakes, dogs and pesticides on the lawn make the outside world a dangerous place for your little one.

It is best we keep our wee hams SAFE!

Hamstermama

[Holly]

I have let our Syrians out in the back garden (and will do again on suitable evenings this summer) after taking advice from Souffle and Pophammy who have done so with theirs. I chose a really warm evening, made sure they weren't in direct sunlight and used a rabbit run with small mesh for them to run in individually. I stayed with them all the time to make sure they were safe and didn't let them run free.

They all had a whale of a time and, after initially seeming a bit bewildered, seemed to realy enjoy sniffing round the run and nibbling dandelion leaves

I think it's important to understand the dangers - I know, for example, that there have been no pesticides or herbicides used on my garden for over four years.

I'm not sure about dwarf hams though - I haven't taken out Winter Whites outside and I'm not sure I will - they just seem so small and fast compared to our Syrians.

[wettew]

thanks guys. you might have just saved Morty's life

[babyboos]

Hamsters are really happy in your bedroom and don't require to go outside to play. If you do take them out don't let them run free on the lawn but closely protected and really make sure there is nothing poisonous on the ground as they will put anything in their mouth and also chemicals could cling to their fur and then be ingested when they clean themselves later.