Why Hamsters

[msdemi]

I have been sat thinking about why I want a hamster after years of being out of the keeping loop.

So here goes a long post that I have tried to compose three times but the iPad would freeze..

I have always loved their little fuzzy faces and a chocolate tort banded called Mischief was my first pet. He arrived for my 9th birthday and I felt so much pride about the responsibility I had been entrusted with. However looking back he must of suffered. My best friend had a long haired grey haired called Dopey and every weekend depending whose house we were at the hamsters joined us on our sleepovers both of us carrying the cage to eachothers house.We would spend the night making burgers with their mix, race tracks and mazes out of VHS cases and letting them lick ice cream from our fingers. They were both very tame, I think they had no choice but to be.

Hettie came after Mischief she was also a chocolate tort. By then we had both grown up and although we still had sleepovers every weekend the hamsters stayed behind. Hettie was a little madam, she was still very tame but was more happy to be clambering over me than in my hands. Mischief had loved hand ladders and hiding in my sleeves. Hettie seemed to live forever managing just over three years.

Then came Sammy a long haired light honey coloured male. Sadly he died six months after I got him, he had been an adoption from the local petshop. He was a slow placid hamster who would just sit on my lap. I always joked he was a TV addict.

After Sammy came Teddy I think he was a roan but he had grey ears and red eyes. He too was very cuddly and by that time I had plenty of homework, he became my study buddy. By the time he passed I was in my late teens and while I hadn't lost interest in hamsters, they weren't cool in my friends circle and I knew it would of been neglected if I did have one because I was always out.

In my early 20's I got into fancy rats and 10 years on I still have two Bella and Luna. Bella is evil I had never experienced a rodent bite until I got her and 2 years on she is still a demon and will attack my hand when I put food in.

Anyway most recently I have had those childhood memories stir up. I am also insomniac, it is 4:25 am at the moment. So I figured while my husband is snoring away I would have a little friend to entertain (other than talking to myself) that I could talk to and hopefully it would help taking the lonely feeling away as the rats are asleep as is the dog. However I do have my reservations because of the memories of my super tame hamsters and the lack of fear handling them. With age comes fear and I am that bit more wary and know it was pure luck they were all so tame and my fingers escaped toothy kisses. Now I am a believer it is not bite unless blood is drawn but after the savages from Bella I am wary, I have heard a hamsters bite is worse LOL.

Thankfully after a year of badgering and a lego millennium falcon my husband has caved. So here I am bothering you all, feeling super excited and spending my can't sleep hours watching hamster videos on youtube and hunting for blogs.

So over to you if you want to share, why did you choose hamsters as pets?

[DrKMcK]

First of all, I love your story and all the great hammies you had through the years. My story was similar and has spanned 53 years, since I was 8 years old. I actually began with gerbils, and have followed them up with all kinds of animals through the years. I think it is wonderful that you will bring a new hammy home.

I think any animal with teeth can bite, and a small frightened animal will defend itself. But it is rare that I've had a Syrian bite me. The worst bite I ever had was my own fault. I had a very old hammy who I reached in and picked up while he was asleep. I was so used to him allowing me to do that that it never occurred to me that I might scare him...I most certainly did...and I paid for it. Poor Dale bit me to the bone and it bled like mad. I was more worried about him than myself. He never bit me again and I made very sure he knew I was there before I put my hand in his cage.

You are already familiar with rodents, so I am sure you will be fine. Brush up on hammy literature and ask lots of questions. Check out Erin's Animals on You Tube. She has excellent videos showing how to tame a hammy, and just about any information you could want on videos. My favorite method is the bath tub method. I find it gives the hamster control in either getting close or keeping his distance. It builds trust. Once a hammy trusts you the only reason it would bite would be if it was in pain or really scared.

I find that dwarf hammies are more nippy as they seem to be more cage aggressive than Syrians in my experience. What I do with the little guys is use gardening gloves so I can relax and not flinch, and also use a container to get them out of the cage and into the tub. I find that if it is the hamsters idea to climb in a container, they aren't as stressed as they would be if I tried to pick them up. If a hammy doesn't want to come out, I never force them to.

It's always exciting to get a new pet. Hope you find your new best friend soon.
You will share him or her, won't you?

[cypher]

I love your story too, things have changed over the years & our understanding of hams has improved a lot but I wouldn't feel bad about your first hams, I'm sure they enjoyed their life with you.

I completely missed out on hams as a child, I'm sure cages were pretty horrendous way back then so I'm actually quite glad about that! I was always more of a dog person but unable to keep one now & I first came across hamsters quite by chance after being dragged into P@H by a friend & wandering around saw my first russian hybrids & it was love at first sight lol!
Lots of research later I brought my first little ham home, I must admit it never even occurred to me that he might bite! He turned out to be a very friendly little guy who was very easy to tame.
After he passed away I didn't think I could bear losing another but soon empty cage syndrome struck & along came another little russian guy & so my ham life began & continues now with a little russian & a chinese, I've always loved little things so I'm definitely a dwarf addict!
I did finally lean about ham bites when I got Mickle, my female russian, nowhere near as laid back as my boys & very territorial! Bites aren't nice but really not so bad & with a little understanding & patience we soon got over that.
I doubt you'll have anything to fear with your new ham, just take your time go at your hams pace & you'll soon have another little friend happy to interact with you in the insomniac hours!

[msdemi]

With the Rats I used the tube method then an empty bath, before eventually moving in bath with them. Within a month or two they were free ranging on the bathroom floor with me. Never had a problem at all with the boys my first two were rescues and the rest were from breeders.. My girls are from the P@H adoption centre so I can't really blame Bella for being savage as I do not know her past. They are really my sons rats so he does most of the care and can feed her through the bars.

I'm sure I am worrying for nothing, I've not heard of any bite horror stories from hamsters. Although I've heard plenty of rat ones and seen a few keepers brandishing nasty scars.
I am looking forward to my new addition and I'm sure once I have it home and start the process the confidence will come back.

[cypher]

I thankfully don't have any experience of rat bites but I'm sure they must be a whole lot worse than ham bites!
Try not to be nervous about it, just take your time & relax around your new addition when s/he arrives, if you are nervous they do sense it & it just makes them nervous, we've had a few threads on here from people feeling the same fear but they all came through unscathed & bonded with their hams with a little patience.

[Fluffagrams]

Thank you for sharing your stories. It's interesting to see how others got into having hamsters.

I had Syrian hamsters as a child although they weren't really my first choice of pet. I really wanted Guinea Pigs but we didn't really have the right kind of outdoor space for them so they said that if I wanted anything other than fish it would have to be something like a hamster. I came around to the idea and did my research by getting books out of the library. About two years later I actually got my first hamster and fell for their charms.

I went several years without hamsters and eventually we decided on getting a couple of dwarves. We were in Pets at Home looking at cages when we saw two Chinese hamsters. I'd never seen them before but they were simply adorable and we just had to have them. Since then I have always had Chinese Hamsters.

Whilst I still want other pets, I adore my two little monkeys. Both with their own distinctive characters, I couldn't imagine my life without hamsters now.

[flowerfairy]

Awww great stories. I had my first hamster when I was about 10. He was a black eyed cream called Horace. I used to wake him up as soon as I came in from school. I remember feeling so happy the first day I got him. I put him into his cage and he immediately started washing which I knew meant that he felt relaxed.

He had lots of out of cage time and was always happy to be handled.

Next came Hercules. Very similar to Horace but bigger. He was given to me by a girl at school and was also friendly and handleable.

Then Ferdi. A silvery grey like a golden hamster but silver. She was sweet. Lively and clever and came when I called her.

Lots of years went by. Many many pets came and went. Had a long haired white hamster called Luke in my twenties. He was friendly and very beautiful.

I am now in my mid fifties and have a white fluffy syrian, Woodstock who is a really chilled out little sweetie with red eyes and black ish ears. He is getting on a bit but enjoys playing on his wheel every night.

I also have Gopal, a beautiful deep chocolate syrian with lots of fluff. He has piercing black eyes and white paws x

Then there are the two roborovski sisters, Flower and Fairy. They fought so had to be housed separately. They are such little whizzers and will tolerate my presence but are not (yet) hand friendly.

I did briefly keep russian dwarf hamsters in my twenties but they were mis-sexed by the pet shop and I became over run with the little things. Found it all a bit much and stopped keeping hammies for quite sometime after that.

[msdemi]

Your fluffs sound beautiful I do love red eyed whites.

Sid is now out and has found he can climb the sides of his cage, I am still pretty much ignoring him but feel much happier he is now exploring. For some reason I am also feeling more confident about my ability to tame this little guy. It has been years since I have been adopted by a hamster and to go for a non breeder one is slightly insane but